Şahtaxtı
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Şahtaxtı is a village and municipality in the
Kangarli District Kangarli District () is one of the 7 districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The district borders the districts of Babek, Sharur, Nakhchivan city, as well as the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia and the West Azerbaijan Pro ...
of Nakhchivan,
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
. The village is located in the Sharur plain, 4.5 km south-west from the regional center. Its population engages in farming and animal husbandry. There are secondary school, kindergarten, cultural house and a medical center in the village. It has a population of 3,100. The medieval monuments of ''Cinlidere'' are located in the south-west of the village; in the west, near the Givrag plateau, is the location of ''Shahbaghy''. South of the village lies the city of Poldasht in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
.


Etymology

The name "Şahtaxtı" is the turkified name of the Persian "Shahtakht", which literally means "King's throne" (''Persian:'' "''Shah''" ''شاه + "Takht" تخت''), which itself is a Persian translation of the Armenian name "Tagavoranist" (''Armenian:'' "''Tagavor''" Թագավոր + ա + "''Nist''" նիստ). The original name of the settlement was "Arkashat" (Արքաշատ), meaning "The joy of the King", and was mentioned by Strabo as "Arxata" (Ἄρξατα).


Ancient settlement

Nearby is the site of an ancient settlement of the Bronze and first Iron Age; it is located south-west from the village. According to findings, the earliest settlement in the area was founded in the third millennium BC. Documents of the U.S. Department of State suggest a historically heavy Armenian presence in the area; the ancient city of Arshat-Arkashat () had been founded in the third century BC and served as a residence of Armenian kings. Tombs and cuneiform of the Van kingdom, dated to the third to second centuries BC had been also discovered on its territory. The area is about 2 hectares. As a result of wear and tear, the remains of the monuments and the destroyed stone buildings need to be monitored. The thickness of the cultural layer, which was defined as the result of researches (1936 and 1979–90), is 3–4.5 m. The castle walls, built of large stones (2.2–2.6 m in width, 1,2-2,5 m in height) and remains of the residential buildings are very interesting. During the 15-14th centuries BC, Şahtaxtı became a type of fortress-city settlement, and has been the center of large tribal unions of Nakhchivan. The pottery, metalwork, jewellery etc. were highly developed in Şahtaxtı. A rich painted ceramics, cylindrical seals (15-14 centuries BC), and the exquisite decorative patterns found here show that the Şahtaxtı was in close contact with the ancient cultural centers of the Middle East. Pink, gray and black pottery, ornaments, stone tools and osteologic remains were found in the settlement.


Demographics

According to the 1897 census, Şahtaxtı—mentioned as ''Shakhtakhty'' ()—had a population of 1,457 consisting of 1,427
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
. The village had 731 men and 726 women.


Notable natives

* Hamid bey ShahtakhtinskiMinister of Education and Religious Affairs of
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds. *Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...
. * Behbud Agha Shakhtakhtinski – People's Commissar of Justice of Azerbaijan SSR, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Nakhichevan SSR (1922). * Huseyin Ibrahimov – writer, People's Writer of Azerbaijan (1998), Chairman of the Supreme Council of Nakhichevan ASSR (1963–71), Minister of Culture of the Nakhichevan ASSR (1970–76). * Zarifa Aliyeva – ophthalmologist, academician of the
Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) (, located in Baku, is the main state research organization and the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activities in the fields of science and social sciences in Azerbaijan. It was ...
, professor; daughter of the People's Commissar of Health of Azerbaijan SSR, First Secretary of the Dagestan Regional Committee of the Communist Party, Aziz Aliyev, wife of the President of Azerbaijan
Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to ...
and the mother of the
President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The Constitution of Azerbaijan, Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of Executive (government), executive power, co ...
Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...
.


References


External links


SHAKHTAKHTY VILLAGE
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sahtaxti Populated places in Kangarli District Prehistoric Azerbaijan Archaeological sites in Nakhchivan