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49-482: "Jaqeli", literally meaning "of/from Jaqi", was originally a territorial epithet. The family received this name from the castle of Jaqi on the Jaqis-tsqali, one of the left affluents of the Mtkvari (Kura) (now in Turkey ). The Jaqeli traced their origin to the late 9th-century nobleman Beshken, of the Chorchaneli, whose descendants possessed the valleys of Jaqi, Postkhovi (modern Posof , Turkey), and Uraveli (near Akhaltsikhe , Georgia). The title "Jaqeli" first appears in

98-841: A Zoroastrian source written in Book Pahlavi , refers to the river as Tord in Persian. The river should not be confused with the Kura river in Russia , a westward flowing tributary of the Malka in Stavropol Krai ; the Kur near Kursk , Russia; Kur near Khabarovsk , also in Russia and Kor River , which is located in Fars Province , Iran . It rises in northeastern Turkey in

147-579: A bird research and education center was established by KuzeyDoğa , a Turkish non-governmental organization for nature conservation, in the Aras Valley at the village Yukarı Çıyrıklı, in the Tuzluca district of Iğdır Province , Turkey. It is one of Turkey's two bird-ringing stations that remain active yearly. Between 2006 and 2021, more than 145,000 birds of 201 species were ringed, and 306 bird species were observed at this station. Sixty-three percent of

196-509: A cliff on the bank of the Kura covering an area of 8 hectares (20 acres), contains underground living quarters, communal chambers, places of worship, storerooms, connected by a network of passageways. It reached its peak about 1,100 years ago as the political, religious and cultural center of the region, but in the 13th century, it fell to Mongolian invaders. Even though irrigation agriculture had been well established for thousands of years, until

245-506: A dam near its namesake town at the southeastern end. The rivers Iori (also known as Qabirri ) and Alazani formerly joined the Kura, but their mouths are now submerged under the lake. After leaving the dam, the river meanders southeast where it meets its biggest tributary Tartarchay in Barda Rayon and continues across a broad irrigated plain for several hundred kilometers, turning east near Lake Sarysu , and shortly after, receives

294-577: A geographic political boundary. Under the terms of the Treaty of Gulistan and the Treaty of Turkmenchay , the river was chosen as the border limit between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran , as the latter was forced to cede its Caucasian territories to Russia. Because of these 19th-century border changes, one modern, not widely accepted scheme draws Aras River as the line of continental demarcation between Europe and Asia. In 1963–1970, Iran and

343-868: A position which they retained, with some brief intermissions, within the family throughout the unceasing wars between the Ottomans, the Iranian dynasties and the Georgian rulers down to the eventual Russian conquest in 1829 (see Battle of Akhalzic ). A cadet branch, from the Kvabliani valley, accepted the Russian rule and assumed the surname of Atabekov-Kvabliansky. Presently, there are 1526 people in Georgia of Jaqeli family. [REDACTED] Media related to Jaqeli at Wikimedia Commons Mtkvari The Kura

392-605: A short canyon and along the west side of T'bilisi , the largest city in the region. The river flows steeply southeast past Rustavi and turns eastward at its confluence with the Khrami , crossing the Georgia- Azerbaijan border and flowing across grasslands into Shemkir reservoir and then Yenikend reservoir . The Kura then empties into Mingachevir reservoir , the largest body of water in Azerbaijan, formed by

441-599: A small valley in the Kars Upland of the Lesser Caucasus . It flows west, then north and east past Ardahan , and crosses into Georgia . It arcs to the northwest, then into a canyon near Akhaltsikhe where it starts to run northeast in a gorge for about 75 kilometres (47 mi), spilling out of the mountains near Khashuri . It then arcs east before flowing east-southeast for about 120 kilometres (75 mi), past Gori , then near Mtskheta , flows south through

490-462: Is Arax or Araks ( Armenian : Արաքս ). Historically, it was called Eraskh ( Old Armenian : Երասխ , Yeraskh in modern pronunciation) by Armenians and its Old Georgian name is Rakhsi ( რახსი ). In Azerbaijani , the river's name is Araz . In Persian , Kurdish and Turkish its name is ارس ( Aras ). The Aras is supported by the Kocagün stream, Dallı stream and Orman stream from

539-506: Is a point along the Aras at an elevation of 380 metres (1,250 ft). The following rivers are tributaries of the Aras, from source to mouth: In Armenian tradition, the river is named after Arast , a great-grandson of the legendary Armenian patriarch Haik . The name was later Hellenized to Araxes and was applied to the Kura–Araxes culture , a prehistoric people who flourished in

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588-662: Is an east-flowing river south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains which drains the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus east into the Caspian Sea . It also drains the north side of the Lesser Caucasus , while its main tributary, the Aras , drains the south side of those mountains. Starting in northeastern Turkey , the Kura flows through Turkey to Georgia , then to Azerbaijan , where it receives

637-837: Is believed to be the result of a rise in the level of the Caspian Sea coupled with a major flood of the Kura. About 174 kilometres (108 mi) of the river is in Turkey, 435 kilometres (270 mi) in Georgia, and 906 kilometres (563 mi) in Azerbaijan. About 5,500 square kilometres (2,100 sq mi) of the catchment is in Turkey, 29,743 square kilometres (11,484 sq mi) in Armenia, 46,237 square kilometres (17,852 sq mi) in Georgia, 56,290 square kilometres (21,730 sq mi) in Azerbaijan, and about 63,500 square kilometres (24,500 sq mi) are in Iran. At

686-479: Is limited and decreases every year. Irrigation agriculture has been one of the primary economic mainstays of the lower Kura valley since ancient times. Because of water taken out for irrigation use, up to 20% of the water that formerly flowed in the river no longer reaches the Caspian Sea. Over 70% of the water in the Iori (Gabirry) River, a major tributary of the Kura, is expended before it reaches Lake Mingachevir. Of

735-512: Is regarded as one of the most stressed river basins in Asia. Most of the water comes from snowmelt and infrequent precipitation in the mountains, which leads to severe floods and an abundance of water for a short time of the year (generally in June and July), and a relatively low sustainable baseflow . Forest cover is sparse, especially in the Kura and Aras headwaters, and most of the water that falls on

784-521: Is related either to Mingrelian kur 'water, river' or to an ancient Caucasian Albanian language term for 'reservoir'. The Georgian name of Kura is Mt'k'vari (in old Georgian Mt'k'uari ), either from Georgian "good water" or a Georgianized form of Megrelian tkvar-ua "gnaw" (as in, "river that eats its way through the mountains"). The name Kura was adopted first by the Russians and later by European cartographers. In some definitions of Europe,

833-494: The Aras , the largest tributary, at the city of Sabirabad . At the Aras confluence it makes a large arc to the north and then flows almost due south for about 60 kilometres (37 mi), passing the west side of Shirvan National Park , before turning east and emptying into the Caspian Sea at Neftçala . Most of the Kura runs in the broad and deep valley between the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus Mountains, and

882-706: The Bingöl Mountains on the borders of Varto district merge with it around the Kırıkhan village of Tekman district. It is surrounded by the Aras Mountains from the south. The Aras meets the Akhuryan River southeast of Digor . From Digor it flows along the Armenia–Turkey border , then runs close to the corridor that connects Turkey to Azerbaijan 's Nakhchivan exclave, and continues along

931-721: The Georgian kingdom finally dissolved into a number of weak and rivaling polities, the Jaqelis were among the most active contending factions, "not without responsibility for the failure to maintain the political unity of the nation", as the British scholar William Edward David Allen puts it. Beginning from 1578, Samtskhe became a target of Ottoman expansion, and the Jaqeli atabags, after a futile resistance, conveniently apostatized to Islam, and were made hereditary pashas of Akhaltsikhe,

980-1113: The Soviet Union built the Aras Dam near the Azerbaijani city of Nakhchivan , creating the Aras Reservoir. In 1999–2008, Iran built the Khoda Afarin Dam near the historic Khudafarin Bridges , creating the Khoda Afarin Reservoir , and the Giz Galasi Dam 12 km down the river, creating the Giz Galasi Reservoir . Iran and Armenia are planning to build the Meghri Dam near the Armenian town of Meghri . In 2006,

1029-650: The raptor Shikra , or Little Banded Goshawk ( Accipiter badius ), which was new to Turkey's avifauna. A Biology professor at the University of Utah and a president of the KuzeyDoğa Society, Çağan Şekercioğlu, appealed to the Ministry of Forest and Water Management to drop the Tuzluca Dam project, which would destroy the wetland harboring bird wildlife in the Aras Valley. In 2013, the ministry granted

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1078-491: The 1920s, wetlands were drained and reservoirs were created to facilitate development of irrigation in the lower Kura valley. In the 1950s and 1960s, when the Caucasus region was part of the Soviet Union , construction of many of the reservoirs and waterworks in the Kura basin began. Of the major reservoirs in the Kura catchment, one of the earliest was at Varvara in 1952. Large-scale construction of dams continued until

1127-416: The 1920s, humans did not have a significant effect on the ecology or hydrology of the Kura catchment area. Since then, logging , grazing and especially agriculture began to have a severe outcome on the water availability of the basin. Many forested areas in the mountains have been replaced by thin grassland because of logging. These habitat changes have been detrimental to the ecology of the Kura basin. After

1176-575: The 1970s. Aras (river) The Aras (also known as the Araks , Arax , Araxes , or Araz ) is a 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, finally, through Azerbaijan where it flows into the Kura river . It drains

1225-546: The 4,525,000 hectares (11,180,000 acres) of agricultural land in the lower Kura catchment area, 1,426,000 hectares (3,520,000 acres), about 31%, are irrigated. Much of the water diverted from the river for irrigation goes to waste because of leakage from the canals, evaporation, poor maintenance, and other causes. Leaking water causes groundwater to rise, in some areas so high that about 267,000 hectares (660,000 acres) of land are so waterlogged that they are no longer suitable for agriculture. About 631,000 hectares (1,560,000 acres) of

1274-462: The 489 bird species found in Turkey are recorded at this wetland, making it eastern Turkey's most species-rich wetland for birds. The number of ringed and observed 306 bird species comprises 90 percent of the 340 bird species in Iğdır Province, the most bird species rich landlocked province of Turkey. Seven new bird species were observed during the bird ringing activities in 2012 alone, including

1323-534: The Aras as a right tributary, and enters the Caspian Sea at Neftçala . The total length of the river is 1,515 kilometres (941 mi). People have inhabited the Caucasus region for thousands of years and first established agriculture in the Kura Valley over 4,500 years ago. Large, complex civilizations eventually grew on the river, but by 1200 CE most were reduced to ruin by natural disasters and foreign invaders. The increasing human use, and eventual damage, of

1372-652: The Armenian people. According to a legend cited by Strabo , in ancient times, the Araxes river in Armenia had no outflow to the Caspian Sea , but spread out in plains and created a lake without outflow. In Islamic times, the Araxes became known in Arabic parlance as al-Rass (not to be confused with modern-day Ar Rass ) and in Perso-Turkish contexts as Aras . In modern history, the Aras gained significance as

1421-911: The Iranian-Armenian and the Iranian-Azerbaijani border. The Aras is fed by several major tributaries, including the Arpa Çayı (also known as the Akhuryan), which gathers the waters from the Kars River and Lake Çıldır located in Turkey, the Hrazdan River , which empties into Lake Sevan in Armenia, and the Qareh Sū, originating from the Sabalān Mountains in northeastern Iranian Azerbaijan. The lowest point in Armenia

1470-503: The Kura defines the borderline between Europe and Asia . In the various regional languages, the river is known as: Azerbaijani : Kür , Georgian : მტკვარი , Mt’k’vari , Persian : Korr, Armenian : Կուր , Kour , and Turkish : Kür . In Greek and Latin sources of antiquity, the river was known as the Cyrus river; Ancient Greek : Κῦρος ; Latin : Cyrus , as attested by Strabo and Pliny respectively. Bundahishn ,

1519-549: The Kura-Aras lowland called the river Mother Kür , signifying the importance of the river to the region. The first irrigation agriculture began about 4,500 years ago in the eastern Azerbaijan lowlands. Trading centers were established in time, including one at Mingachevir in Azerbaijan and another at Mtskheta in Georgia. The site at Mingachevir (probably Sudagylan ), first discovered in the 1940s by archaeologist G. I. Ione, had "seven rectangular kilns ... The fuel chamber

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1568-572: The confluence with the Aras River, the drainage area of the tributary is actually larger than the Kura by about 4%, and it is also longer. However, because of the more arid conditions and equally intensive water use, the discharge of the Aras is much less than the Kura, so downstream of the confluence the river is still called the Kura. About 52% of the river's flow comes from snowmelt and glaciers, 30% comes from groundwater seepage, and roughly 18% from precipitation. Because of high water use, many of

1617-401: The dignity of atabag , which would become hereditary in the Jaqeli line down to the 17th century. Henceforth, the principality was known as Samtskhe-Saatabago , the latter part of this portmanteau meaning "of the atabags". By the mid-15th century, the Jaqeli family had finally succeeded in reducing the rival noble families into vassalage or in driving them out of Samtskhe. By 1490/1491, when

1666-425: The highlands becomes runoff instead of supplying groundwater . Attempts at flood control include the constructions of levees , dikes and dams, the largest of which is at Mingachevir , an 80-metre (260 ft)-high rockfill dam impounding over 15.73 cubic kilometres (12,750,000 acre⋅ft) of water. However, because of the high sediment content of rivers in the Kura basin, the effectiveness of these floodworks

1715-413: The irrigated lands have a dangerously high salt content because of mineral deposits from irrigation. Of this, 66,000 hectares (160,000 acres) are extremely salinated. Irrigation returns water, returned to the river by an extensive but outdated drainage system, contributes to severe pollution. Some of this degradation also comes from industrial and municipal wastewater discharge. The ancient inhabitants of

1764-443: The lower half, which is typically more turbid and polluted. This pattern is also apparent in most of its tributaries, especially the larger ones that span more climate zones, such as the Aras and Alazani. There are many lakes and wetlands along the Kura's lower course, most of which are formed by flooding, and some of which are formed by irrigation runoff water. Many lakes also form at the mouths of small tributaries that do not reach

1813-421: The major tributary, the Aras, drains most of the southern Caucasus and the mountain ranges of the extreme northern Middle East . The entirety of Armenia and most of Azerbaijan are drained by the river. Most of the elevation change in the river occurs within the first 200 kilometres (120 mi). While the river starts at 2,740 metres (8,990 ft) above sea level, the elevation is 693 metres (2,274 ft) by

1862-573: The names of Beshken (I), lord ( eristavi ) of Tukharisi, and Murvan, lord of Q'ueli and Beshken's possible son. Beshken (II), Murvan's possible son, died fighting the Seljuk Turks in Javakheti in 1118. From the 1050s to the 1190s, the Jaqeli took part in several feudal uprisings against the Bagratid kings of Georgia. Eventually, under the queen Tamar of Georgia (1184-1213), the family, in

1911-523: The new line of the Jaqeli dynasty emerged. It attained, in the person of Sargis I (r. c. 1260-1285), to the hereditary principate of Samtskhe, and became de facto independent of the kings of Georgia under the protectorate of Mongol Ilkhanate in 1268. The residence of Jaqeli was established in Sapara . In 1334, King George V of Georgia brought Samtskhe within the Georgian realm again, and bestowed his maternal uncle Sargis II Jaqeli (r. 1306-1334) with

1960-720: The person of Botso, fell in dishonor, and the title of Jaqeli as well as most of their possessions passed to their relatives of the House of Tsikhisjvari (Tsikhisjvreli), also a Chorchaneli offshoot. The dispossessed family of Botso Jaqeli came to be known as Botsosdze, last heard of with Memna, who died during the defense of Tbilisi against the Khwarezmid ruler Jalal ad-Din Manguberdi in 1226; and with his brother Botso. With Ivane-Qvarqvare of Tsikhisjvari (fl. c. 1195-1247), enfeoffed by Queen Tamar of Botso's titles and possessions,

2009-410: The river flow through a semi- desert environment. Forest cover is sparse. Almost 60 species of fish inhabit the Kura and its tributaries. Some common families include loach , bleak , trout and nase , and many of these fish are endemic to the region. Among rivers of the Caucasus, the Kura has the largest number of endemic species. The upper section of the river supports much more biodiversity than

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2058-476: The rivers that flow into the Caspian Sea, and is divided into three main sections, or "sleeves", composed of sediment the river deposited during different periods of time. Before 1998, the river flowed all the way to the tip of the delta, where it discharged into the Caspian. In that year, the river escaped its channel and started to flow off to the west, leaving the last few kilometers abandoned. The course change

2107-537: The smaller tributaries of the Kura no longer reach the river, instead disappearing in the plain many kilometers from their original mouths. The following rivers are tributaries of the Kura, from source to mouth: Steppe characterizes the arid reaches of the Kura catchment, while meadows are often found in the alpine areas. The Kura catchment area is considered as part of the Kura-South Caspian Sea Drainages ecoregion . Some portions of

2156-619: The south side of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, while the Kura drains the north side of the Lesser Caucasus. The river's total length is 1,072 km (666 mi) and its watershed covers an area of 102,000 km (39,000 sq mi). The Aras is one of the longest rivers in the Caucasus. In classical antiquity, the river was known to the Greeks as Araxes ( Greek : Ἀράξης ). Its modern Armenian name

2205-535: The time it reaches Khashuri in central Georgia, just out of the mountains, and only 291 metres (955 ft) when it reaches Azerbaijan. The lower part of the river flows through the Kura-Aras Lowland , which covers most of central Azerbaijan and abuts the Caspian Sea. The Kura is the third largest, after the Volga and Ural , of the rivers that flow into the Caspian. Its delta is the fourth largest among

2254-443: The ultimate destination in the Caspian most of the time. The local name for these lakes translate to dead lake or dead water , suggesting that these lakes do not support much biodiversity. Formerly navigable up to Tbilisi , the largest city on the river, the amount of water in the Kura has greatly diminished in the 20th century because of extensive use for irrigation , municipal water , and hydroelectricity generation. The Kura

2303-407: The valleys of the Kura and Aras. The river is also mentioned in the last chapter of Virgil's Aeneid VIII, as "angry at the bridge," since the Romans built a bridge over it so that it is thereby conquered. The river Aras has been associated with the biblical rivers Gihon and Pishon . Robert H. Hewsen described Aras as the only "true river" of Armenia and as "Mother Araxes," a symbol of pride to

2352-491: The watershed's forests and grasslands, contributed to a rising intensity of floods through the 20th century. In the 1950s, the Soviet Union started building many dams and canals on the river. Previously navigable up to Tbilisi in Georgia, the Kura is now much slower and shallower, having been harnessed by irrigation projects and hydroelectric power stations . The river is now moderately polluted by major industrial centers like Tbilisi and Rustavi in Georgia. The name Kura

2401-505: Was a trapezoid. The inner walls and floor were covered with a special coating. These kilns were attributed to the third century B.C. [2,300 years ago]. The number of kilns and the quantity of raw material indicate a trade center." The settlement was probably destroyed by a fire around A.D. 600, but its demise is uncertain. But perhaps the most famous of the ancient settlements on the Kura is the "cave town" at Uplistsikhe , Georgia, first settled as early as 3,500 years ago. The city, carved into

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