Xalxal (also spelled as Xal-xal and Khalkhal) is a village and municipality in the

Babek District Babek District () is one of the 7 districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The district borders the districts of Julfa, Shahbuz, Kangarli, Nakhchivan city, as well as the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia and the East Azer ...

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 ...

. It is located 19 km in the north from the district center, on the left bank of the Nakhchivanchay River, on the foothill area. Its population is busy with gardening, grain-growing, poultry and animal husbandry. There are secondary school, library, club, mosque and a medical center in the village. It has a population of 568.

Etymology

In the ancient sources, the name of the Xalxal (Khalkhal) city (the ruins of the city is located in the territory of the Yuxarı Əskipara (Upper Askipara) village of the

Qazakh District Qazax District (; ) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. Located in the northwest of the country, it belongs to the Gazakh-Tovuz Economic Region. The district borders the district of Aghstafa, and the Tavush Province of Armenia. Its capital ...

), the winter residence of ruler of the

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

(Caucasian) is mentioned about the events of the fifth century. In the

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 ...

are exist the Khalkhal city, the neighborhood of Khalkhal and the Khalkhal Kuchek settlement. In the nineteenth century, in the Erivan Province have been registered the two mountains called Xalxallı (Khalkhally), and the mountain Xalxal (Khalkhal) in the

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 ...

. According to researchers, the toponym is related with the word of Xalxal which use in dialects of the Azerbaijan as the meaning of the "a place which surrounded with the fence to keep the cattle in the open air".''Encyclopedic dictionary of Azerbaijan toponyms''. In two volumes. Volume I. p. 304. Baku: "East-West". 2007. .

Vladimir Minorsky Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsky (; – 25 March 1966) was a White Russian academic, historian, and scholar of Oriental studies, best known for his contributions to the study of history of Iran and the Iranian peoples such as Persians, Lurs, and ...

also suggested that the name may indicate a connection with the ancient

Kharkhar kingdom Kharkhar may refer to: * Xarxar, Azerbaijan * Kharkhar, Iran * Kharkhar, Markazi, Iran {{geodis ...

, which existed somewhere in the eastern

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of s ...

Neo-Assyrian The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew to dominate the ancient Near East and parts of South Caucasus, Nort ...

times.

References

* Populated places in Babek District {{Nakhchivan-geo-stub