The Aresh ''uezd'', later known as the Agdash ''uezd'', was a county (''

uezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the ...

'') of the

Elizavetpol Governorate The Elizavetpol Governorate, also known after 1918 as the Ganja Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yelisavetpol (present-day Ganja). The area of the governorate st ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and later of the

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: ...

with its center in Aresh (present-day Agdash) from 1874 until its formal abolition in 1929 by Soviet authorities.

Geography

The Aresh ''uezd'' was located in the northeastern section of Elizavetpol Governorate, on the eastern bank of the Kura River, bordering the

Baku Governorate The Baku Governorate, known before 1859 as the Shemakha Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its center in the booming metropolis and Caspian Sea p ...

to the east, the Nukha uezd to the north, the Elizavetpol uezd to the northwest and Jebrail uezd to the southwest. The area of the ''uezd'' was 2822.9 square

verst A verst (; ) is an obsolete Russian unit of length, defined as 500 sazhen. This makes a verst equal to . Plurals and variants In the English language, ''verst'' is singular with the normal plural ''versts''. In Russian, the nominative singul ...

. The territory of the county was mainly made up of lowlands. The county capital was initially in Uchkovakh, later being moved to Agdash, which was considered the largest cotton-trading center in the lowlands of Transcaucasia.

History

The territory of Aresh ''uezd'' was located in the Turyanchay River basin. The area was called ''Aresh'' () in the Middle Ages and formed a part of Shirvan Baylarbaylik which was gradually made significantly weaker after repeated Ottoman-

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

conflicts on its territory, eventually being subdued into the Shaki Khanate in the 1750s. After the establishment of Russian rule, Aresh was a part of Nukha ''uezd'' of

, however, in 1874, the territory was detached and established as a separate Aresh ''uezd'' of the newly established Elizavetpol Governorate in 1868. The Aresh ''uezd'' was formally abolished by Soviet authorities in 1929, and superseded by the

Agdash Rayon Agdash District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the centre of the country, in the Central Aran Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Yevlakh, Shaki, Oghuz, Qabala, Goychay, Ujar, Zardab, and ...

, which was established in its place in 1930.

Administrative divisions

The subcounties ('' uchastoks'') of the Aresh ''uezd'' in 1912 were as follows:

Economy

The population was engaged primarily in agricultural farming and gardening. During summers, they would take the cattle to the mountains and return only in September. Wool production played an important role in the economy of uezd.

Demographics

Russian Empire Census

According to the Russian Empire Census, the Aresh ''uezd'' had a population of 67,277 on , including 36,623 men and 30,654 women. The plurality of the population indicated Tatar to be their mother tongue, with significant

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

and Kyurin ( Lezgian) speaking minorities.

''Kavkazskiy kalendar''

According to the 1917 publication of ''

Kavkazskiy kalendar ''Kavkazskiy kalendar'' (, ) was an annual almanac published in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi) in the Russian Empire by the office of the Viceroy of the Caucasus from 1846 to 1917. History ''Kavkazskiy kalendar'' contained a large number of ethno ...

'', the Aresh ''uezd'' had a population of 99,400 on , including 53,144 men and 46,256 women, 97,280 of whom were the permanent population, and 2,180 were temporary residents. The statistics indicated

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

to be the overwhelming majority of the population of the county with significant

and

Shia Muslim Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

minorities:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{coord, 40, 39, 00, N, 47, 28, 34, E, display=title Historical geography of Azerbaijan States and territories established in 1874 1929 disestablishments in the Soviet Union Uezds of the Soviet Union Uezds of Elizavetpol Governorate States and territories disestablished in 1929