Zangilan 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 ...

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 south-west of the country and belongs to the East Zangezur Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Qubadli,

Jabrayil Jabrayil (, ) is a ghost city in Azerbaijan, nominally the administrative capital of Azerbaijan's Jabrayil District. A town with Azerbaijani majority and Armenians, Armenian plurality at various times during the Russian Empire, Russian imperial ...

, the

Syunik Province Syunik (, ) is the southernmost province of Armenia. It is bordered by the Vayots Dzor Province to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. Its capital and larg ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and the

East Azerbaijan Province East Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tabriz. The province is located in Azerbaijan (Iran), Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Ardabil pro ...

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 ...

. Its capital and largest city is Zangilan. As of 2020, the district had a nominal population of 45,200.

Geography

Zangilan city is located in south-western Azerbaijan, in the northern part of the

Aras River The Aras is a transboundary river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between Iran and both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and, fin ...

and borders

and

. There exists a

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

relief and cretaceous, volcanic and sedimentary rocks are spread in the territory of the district. Remains of the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

and

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

periods spread in mountainous territories are dated back to a period of 150-200 thousand years ago. There are Barbar and Salafir (2270 meters) summits in the territory and this mountain range passes Aras ravine near Aghbend, Vegnali. There is another mountain range in the direction of Sobu-Top-Dallakli villages, beginning from Shukurataz upland and it lowers near to Aras. The Susan Mountains between the Okhchu and Bargushad Rivers lower in the direction of south-east and make Aghgoyun flat land. This locality consists of sedimentary rocks of the

periods. There are Karst caves on both coasts of the Okhchu River.

Karabakh Karabakh ( ; ) is a geographic region in southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and Aras. It is divided into three regions: Highland Kara ...

mountain ridge is located in the north-eastern part of the district. This ridge creates Goyan valley as it becomes lower. Forests spread in the mountainous territory of the district. Broad-leaved forests spread at the heights of 1800–2000 meters, gradually become lower and create subalpine and alpine meadows. The territory of the district is rich with healing plants and springs. There are also sources of construction materials, marble, clay, etc. in the district. Weather conditions of climate and complex relief created the uncommon climate. In a territory along the Aras River with semidesert and dry steppes winter passes drily, and in higher territories, the climate is mildly warm. The territory is rich in minerals –

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, construction materials,

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and others. The largest plain forest in Europe is also located in the district.

History

Zangilan district was famed under the name of Grakhmu castle located there in the medieval centuries. Only Achanan

volost Volost (; ; ) was a traditional administrative subdivision in Kievan Rus', the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and the Russian Empire. History The '' Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary'' (1890–1907) states that the origins of the concept is unc ...

and the western part was included in the Kapan district of Armenia, but the eastern and more favourable territories were included in the

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 ...

while determining borders of the Soviet Republics. In 1930, the administrative district of Zangilan was created there. On October 29, 1993, the district came under the occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army during the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

. There are historical monuments in the territory of the district: a circular tower in Khadijally village, an octagonal mausoleum of Yahya ibn Muhammad al-Haj (1304–1305) in

Məmmədbəyli Mammadbeyli () is a village in the Zangilan District of Azerbaijan. The village is situated on the bank of Hakari river. Toponym The village was originally called Terekeme. In the 19th century it belonged to Mammadbay Zangilani, and therefore ...

village. On 20 October 2020, the President of Azerbaijan,

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 ...

, announced that Azerbaijani military forces recaptured some settlements in Zangilan district, namely, Havali, Zarnali, Mammadbayli, Hakari, Sharifan, Mughanli villages, as well as Zangilan city itself. On October 21, 2020, it was announced that Minjivan settlement and 12 more villages of Zangilan district have been recaptured. Azerbaijani authorities announced the capture of 13 more villages and Aghband settlement of Zangilan district on October 22, 2020. The recapture of Aghband settlement was highlighted for the reason that full control over the state border between Azerbaijan and Iran was established after the recapture. On 19 July 2022, the first residents returned to Ağalı village after 29 years. The village has a school, post office, health centre, bank, market and café. It is expected that 1300 people will live in the village.

Demographics

On 1 Jan. 1979, the population was 28,400, counting 83 settlements. According to other sources, 29,377 people lived in 1979 in the district. Ethnic composition of the 29,377 people: *

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...

97,6% (28.685) *

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

2,0% (590) *

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

0,1% (35) Number of inhabitants rose to 32,698 people in 1989.

References

{{Coord, 39.0656, N, 46.6969, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:AZ, display=title Districts of Azerbaijan

Geography

History

Demographics

See also

References