41°05′36″N 45°21′58″E / 41.09333°N 45.36611°E / 41.09333; 45.36611

Gazakh
City & Municipality
Azerbaijani: Qazax
Gazakh is located in Azerbaijan
Gazakh
Gazakh
Coordinates: 41°05′36″N 45°21′58″E / 41.09333°N 45.36611°E / 41.09333; 45.36611
CountryAzerbaijan
DistrictGazakh
Established1909
Area
 • Total10 km2 (4 sq mi)
Elevation
381 m (1,250 ft)
Population
 (2014)[1]
 • Total35,102
 • Density3,500/km2 (9,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+4 (AZT)
Area code+994 2229

Qazax (Gazakh; (listen)ⓘ) is a city in and the capital of the Gazakh District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 20,900.[2] Gazakh is a city and administrative district in the west of Azerbaijan, the "western gate" of Azerbaijan.[3]

History

Early history

In the 17–18th century, Gazakh was the capital of the Kazakh Sultanate. During the Russian Empire, the city was the administrative center of the Kazakh uezd of the Elizavetpol Governorate. It is situated 10 km from the Aghstafa station of the Transcaucasus Railway.

Conflicts and disputes with Armenia

From 1905 to 1906, during the Armenian–Tatar massacres, many Armenian homes were burned and looted by Tatars (later known as Azerbaijanis), as well as the Armenian school and church. Many Armenian inhabitants as a result fled to Tbilisi and other nearby Armenian-populated areas.[4][better source needed]

From an Armenian perspective, these territories were historical Armenian provinces—which had been, factually, incorporated in various Armenian states—and therefore, the Gazakh region was initially contested between the Armenian and Azerbaijani SSRs.[5] The Armenian name for the city is Ghazakh (Armenian: Ղազախ, romanized: Ġazax),[6] and it is based on the Azerbaijani name itself. Another Armenian name is Koght (Կողթ).[7]

When the South Caucasus came under British occupation, Sir John Oliver Wardrop, British Chief Commissioner in the South Caucasus, decided that assigning the Erivan Governorate and the Kars Oblast to Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA) and the Elisabethpol and Baku Governorates to the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) would solve the region's outstanding disputes. However, this proposal was rejected by both Armenians (who did not wish to give up their claims to Gazakh, Syunik, and Nagorno-Karabakh) and Azerbaijanis (who did not wish to give up their claims to Nakhchivan). As conflict broke out between the two groups, the British left the region in mid-1919.[5]

In 1930, Gazakh became the administrative center of Azerbaijan's Gazakh District. The area has major strategic importance for modern-day Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey regional communication and energy projects.[citation needed]

Modern history

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenian troops took control of several villages of the Gazakh district. Several Azerbaijani inhabitants were killed during the war whilst others were able to flee.[8][9]

In July 2020, Gazakh became a site for clashes with Armenia.[10]

Demographics

According to the 1897 Russian Empire census, Gazakh had a population of 1,769—the linguistic composition was as follows: 802 (45.3%) Armenian, 601 (34.0%) Tatar (later known as Azerbaijani), 251 Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian, 60 (3.4%) Georgian, 19 (1.1%) Greek, 11 (0.6%) Polish, and 23 (1.3%) other language speakers.[11][12]

According to the Caucasian Calendar, the population of the city in 1907 was 732 people, primarily Armenians with Tatars (later known as Azerbaijanis) as a minority, and by 1910, the population was 1,050 people.[13] According to the 1912 publication, the city had an Armenian plurality.[13]

According to the 1926 census of the USSR, 6,767 people lived in the city.[14]

In 1970, the city was home to about 13,000 people,[15] in 1991, that number was about 19,300 people.[15]

By 2013, there were about 21,000 people living in Gazakh (10,200 men and 10,800 women).[16]

The main occupations of the population are carpet making[17] and horse breeding (specifically the Deliboz breed).[18]

The total population of the district is 98932 people as of 01.01.2021[19]

Economy

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2014)

The economy of Gazakh is partially agricultural, partially tourism-based, with some industries in operation.

Gazakh Cement Plant

The Gazakh Cement Plant is served by a railway branch off the BTK railway at Aghstafa.

Location

Gazakh region is located in the west of Azerbaijan. It borders with Georgia for 9 km and with Armenia for 168 km.

Gazakh region is located in the western part of the republic, in the western part of the vast Ganja-Gazakh plain, which starts from the slopes of the mountain range of the Lesser Caucasus and extends along the right bank of the Kura river. The highest elevation is "Odun" mountain (1316 meters). Its nature is mainly plain, the southern part is low mountainous.[20]

Culture

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2014)

A memorial museum dedicated to Molla Panah Vagif and Molla Vali Vidadi is located in the city.

Sports

The city has one professional football team, Goyazan Gazakh, currently competing in the second-flight of Azerbaijani football, the Azerbaijan First Division.

Transport

Public transport

Gazakh has a large urban transport system, mostly managed by the Ministry of Transportation.

Notable natives

Further information: Category:People from Qazax

Some of the city's many prestigious residents include: poets Samad Vurgun, Molla Panah Vagif, Mirvarid Dilbazi and Nusrat Kasamanli, scholar Molla Vali Vidadi, lieutenant-general of the Russian imperial army Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, writer Ismayil Shykhly and wrestler Hasan Aliyev.

Gallery

References

  1. ^ "The state statistical committee of the Azerbaijan Republic". Archived from the original on November 14, 2010.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". www.stat.gov.az. Archived from the original on 25 October 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Tarixi | Azərbaycan Respublikası Qazax Rayon İcra Hakimiyyəti". qazax-ih.gov.az. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  4. ^ Ա-Դօ (A-Do), Հայ-թուրքական ընդհարումները Կովկասում (1905-1906 թ.) (Armenian-Turkish conflicts in the Caucasus of 1905–1906), Yerevan, 1907, p. 360
  5. ^ a b Dr. Andrew Andersen, PhD Atlas of Conflicts: Armenia: Nation Building and Territorial Disputes: 1918–1920
  6. ^ Karapetyan, Samvel (2007). Northern Artsakh. Yerevan: HH GAA "Gitutʻyun publishing-house of the NAS RA. pp. 435–454. ISBN 978-5-8080-0677-5. OCLC 506641072.
  7. ^ "Նամակ դոկտոր Ֆարիդ Ալեքփերլիին (եթե ճաղերի հետևում չէ, կամ չեն վերացրել)". aztagdaily.com (in Armenian). 2018.
  8. ^ "Армения - Азербайджан: Это уже просто война" (in Russian). Журнал «Власть». 20 August 1990.
  9. ^ "Ermənistan-Azərbaycan, Dağlıq Qarabağ münaqişəsi nəticəsində Qazax rayonunda hərbi təcavüzün nəticələri barədə MƏLUMAT". www.qazax-ih.gov.az. KAZAKH DISTRICT EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020. Xocalı soyqırımında olduğu kimi Qazax rayonunun Bağanıs Ayrım kəndində Dədəş Əsliyevin 4 nəfərdən ibarət ailə üzvü və 3 nəfər kənd sakini ermənilər tərəfindən diri-diri yandırılmışdır.
  10. ^ Harutyunyan, Sargis; Danielyan, Emil. "Armenia-Azerbaijan Border 'Calm' After Deadly Clashes". azatutyun.am. RFE/RL. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020. ...the border between Armenia's northern Tavush province and the Tovuz district in Azerbaijan, the scene of the clashes.
  11. ^ Первая Всеобщая перепись населения Российской империи 1897 г.. Елисаветпольская губерния – via www.prlib.ru.
  12. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru.
  13. ^ a b Кавказский календарь на 1912 год [Caucasian calendar for 1912] (in Russian) (67th ed.). Tiflis: Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom. 1912. p. 160. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru.
  15. ^ a b Казах — статья из Большой советской энциклопедии
  16. ^ "Данные Государственного статистического комитета Азербайджанской Республики на 2013 год". Archived from the original on 2013-10-25.
  17. ^ "Ковроткачество в Азербайджане" (PDF).
  18. ^ "Город Газах (Азербайджан)" (in Russian). geogoroda.ru. 2016-06-12. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  19. ^ "Əhalisi | Azərbaycan Respublikası Qazax Rayon İcra Hakimiyyəti". qazax-ih.gov.az. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  20. ^ "Coğrafi mövqeyi | Azərbaycan Respublikası Qazax Rayon İcra Hakimiyyəti". qazax-ih.gov.az. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  21. ^ Swietochowski, Tadeusz; Collins, Brian C. (1999). Brian C. Collins, Historical dictionary of Azerbaijan, USA, Scarecrow Press, 1999. ISBN 9780810835504. Archived from the original on 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2016-11-05.

External links

Qazax District
Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan
Authority control databases
Categories