Qakh District (; ; ) is one of the 66
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
of
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 ...
. It is located in the north of the country, in the
Shaki-Zagatala Economic Region. The district borders the districts of
Zagatala,
Shaki,
Samukh,
Yevlakh, as well as the
Kakheti
Kakheti (; ) is a region of Georgia. Telavi is its administrative center. The region comprises eight administrative districts: Telavi, Gurjaani, Qvareli, Sagarejo, Dedoplistsqaro, Signagi, Lagodekhi and Akhmeta.
Kakhetians speak the ...
region of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and the
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n
Republic of Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...
. Its capital and largest city is
Qakh
Qakh District (; ; ) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country, in the Shaki-Zagatala Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Zagatala, Shaki, Samukh, Yevlakh, as well as the Kakheti ...
. As of 2020, the district had a population of 57,200.
Geography
The region is dominated by hot and subtropical climate. However mountainous areas are rather cold. Annual rain precipitation varies from 300mm (in the south) to 1600mm in mountain areas.
Meadows, water resources, forests, and fertile soils are providing space for agricultural development, especially for walnut, chestnut production.
Heavy rains and snowmelts from mountains often result in a flood.
The region also has one of the biggest Natural Reserves in Azerbaijan named “Ilisu Natural Reserve”. Reserve is located near Aghchay village.
Region borders with Dagestan Republic (Russia) in north east, Zagatala region in the north, Samukh region in the south, Georgia in the west.
Gakh region accounts for 13% of water supplies of Caucasus (3873 cubic kilometers), 100 thousand cub meters of which are extracted for the administrative district, 63 000 of which used for irrigation and only 2 000 cub meters are used for agriculture. Rest is used for domestic consumption and production.
Local economy
The local economy is specialized in crop production and livestock. The most common products produced here are tobacco and grain.
The main enterprises are canned food and vegetables. Other enterprises cover sweets, oil products, and beverages. Enterprises mainly cover domestic demand and ship products to other districts.
The region is also rich with minerals and building raw materials, such as rubble, sand, clay, sulfur, etc.
These materials are widespread in river valleys, especially in the valleys of the Kurmuk River and its branches.
Furthermore, mineral springs are also common in the region. Near Suskand village “Gah” mineral water is produced.
History
The Qakh region of Azerbaijan has a long history dating back to ancient times. Archaeological excavations the area had been populated during
Eneolithic
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as st ...
,
Bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
and early
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
s. What remains of these early inhabitants' activities indicates they engaged largely in sedentary cultivation, animal-breeding and art.
Qax (Kakhi) region was part of Kakheti-Hereti Kingdom and then part of the united Georgian kingdom.
In 1921 Kakhi Region became part of Azerbaijan.
With the spread of Christianity throughout the region during the existence of
Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus, mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...
, some Churches were built in the Qakh district. In the 8th century A.D., Qakh fell under Arab
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...
occupation. Starting from the 11th century first
Oghuz Turks
The Oghuz Turks ( Middle Turkic: , ) were a western Turkic people who spoke the Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family. In the 8th century, they formed a tribal confederation conventionally named the Oghuz Yabgu State in Central Asia ...
and later
Qipchaq Turks inhabited the area, the region was incorporated into the
Seljuq Empire
The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...
. Qakh was later a part of
Atabeg
Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic language, Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the ti ...
and
Shirvanshah states. With the invasion of
Hulaguids in Azerbaijan in the 13th century, Mongolian nomadic tribes populated the region.
According to the legend mentioned by 19th century author I. Linevich, the city of Qakh was called ''Toraghay'' () until 16th century. This word was mentioned in
Mahmud Kashgari's dictionary called "
Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk
The ' (; translated to English as the ''Compendium of the languages of the Turks'') is the first comprehensive dictionary of Turkic languages, compiled between 1072–74 by the Kara-Khanid scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari, who extensively documented t ...
". According to the dictionary, it means "shelter between the mountains" in the
Kipchak language
Cuman or Kuman (also called Kipchak, Qypchaq or Polovtsian, self referred to as Tatar () in Codex Cumanicus) was a West Kipchak Turkic language spoken by the Cumans (Polovtsy, Folban, Vallany, Kun) and Kipchaks; the language was similar to tod ...
. Considering the city of Qakh is located in a lowland area between the mountains, it can be said that the Kipchaks who came through the
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...
settled in Qakh and called the area as "Toraghay". One of the districts of the regional center of Qakh is still called ''Qakh-mughal''. This can be explained as the influence of Mongol period.
In 1562, by the order of the
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 ...
Shah
Tahmasp I,
Ilisu Sultanate was established in Qakh. In the 18th century, Ilisu Sultanate became so powerful that, the
Ottoman Emperor conferred its ruler Ali Sultan Bey the highest title of
Pasha
Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...
recognizing him as the
Beylerbey
''Beylerbey'' (, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords’, sometimes rendered governor-general) was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks and the I ...
of
Shaki.
In 1803 the sultanate of Ilisu was annexed to the Russian empire. The ruler of the sultanate,
Daniyal, inspired the people to rise against Russian rule in 1844, due to a disagreement between him and the government of Russia. Sultan Daniyel was defeated near the village of
İlisu and continued his struggle against Russian along with the leader of the national freedom movement,
Sheykh Shamil. Russians burnt Ilisu and divided the territory of the sultanate into mahals (territorial units) and annexed them to the ''Jar-Balaken'' daire (a territorial unit) converting it into a colony of tsarist Russia. With proclamation of independence 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: ...
in May 1918, Qakh became disputed between ADR and DRG. During the Soviet rule, Qakh was established as raion of
Azerbaijan SSR
The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...
in 1930.
Demographics
The overall statistics indicate the population growth fluctuates. For instance, In 2000 there were 832 newly born, in 2006 - 816, down to 753 in 2009.
The Qakh District is also a centre of the Georgian minority in Azerbaijan, with most of the ones in this district being of Christian origin.
Villages
There are 59 villages in the district:
*
Ağçay
*
Ağyazı
*
Almalı
*
Amanlı
*
Armudlu
*
Bağtala
*
Baydarlı
*
Böyük Alatəmir
*
Cəlayer
*
Çinarlı
*
Çüdüllü
*
Dəymədağlı
*
Əlibəyli
*
Əmbərçay
*
Əmircan
*
Fıstıqlı
*
Güllük
*
İbaxlı
*
İlisu
*
Keşqutan
*
Kiçik Alatəmir
Kiçik Alatəmir (also, Alatemur-Bala and Kichik Alatemir) is a village in the Qakh Rayon of Azerbaijan. The village forms part of the municipality of Qaxbaş
Qaxbaş (also, Kakhbash) is
a village and the most populous municipality, except for ...
*
Kötüklü
*
Ləkit
*
Ləkit Kötüklü
*
Ləkit Malax
*
Lələli
*
Lələpaşa
*
Malax
*
Marsan
*
Meşəbaş
*
Oncallı
*
Qapıçay
*
Qarabaldır
*
Qarameşə
*
Qaratala
*
Qaşqaçay
*
Qaxbaş
Qaxbaş (also, Kakhbash) is
a village and the most populous municipality, except for the capital Qax, in the Qakh Rayon of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontin ...
*
Qaxingiloy
*
Qaxmuğal
*
Qaysarlı
*
Qazmalar
*
Qımır
*
Qındırğa
*
Qıpçaq
*
Qorağan
*
Qum
*
Sarıbaş
*
Şıxlar
*
Şotavar
*
Süskən
*
Tanqıt
*
Tasmalı
*
Turaclı
*
Üzümlü
*
Uzuntala
*
Xələftala
*
Yeni İlisu
*
Zərnə
*
Zəyəm
Gallery
Image: Qalacha.jpg
Image: Qalaça.jpg
Image: Sumuqala1.jpg
Image: İçəri bazar8.jpg
Image: Ala qapı.jpg
Image: Burc.jpg
Image: Frescos in St. Georges church in Qax, Azerbaijan 3.jpg, Fresco in St. George's Church
Image: Cinli qala10.JPG
Image: Cinli qala4.JPG
Image: Cinli qala9.JPG
Image: Qala kompleksi.jpg
Image: St. Georges church in Qax, Saingilo 005.jpg, St.George's Church
Image: İçəri bazar4.jpg
Image:İçəri bazar2.jpg
References
{{Coord, 41.4167, N, 46.9167, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:AZ, display=title
Districts of Azerbaijan