Baghdati ( ka, ბაღდათი, tr ) is a town of 3,700 peopleNational Statistics Office of Georgia, Population Census 2014
/ref> in the Imereti region of western Georgia, at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the river Khanistsqali, a tributary of the Rioni.

Geography

The town is located at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the left bank of the river Khanistsqali, about west-northwest of Tbilisi and south-southeast of Kutaisi. The climate of Baghdati can be classified as moderately humid subtropical ( Köppen climate classification ''Cfa'').

History

Baghdati is one of the oldest villages in the historical Imereti region. Its name shares the same origins as the name of the capital of Iraq, Baghdād: ''Bagh'' 'god' and ''dāti'' 'given', which can be translated as "God-given" or "God's gift" in the Pahlavi language. When Georgia was part 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 during the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, its name was changed to Baghdadi (). In 1940, it was renamed Mayakovsky ( ka, მაიაკოვსკი; ), after the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky who was born here in 1893.Е. М. Поспелов (Ye. M. Pospelov). "Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь." (''City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary.'') Москва, "Русские словари", 1993, p. 30. In 1981, Mayakovsky was granted town status. In 1991, the original name, slightly modified, was restored.

Demographics

:Note: Census data 1959–2014

Notable people

* Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930), poet

Notes

External links

Municipality of Baghdati
(in Georgian) {{Cities and towns in Georgia (country) Cities and towns in Imereti Populated places in Baghdati Municipality Kutaisi Governorate