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56-407: 17th century geographer and historian prince Vakhushti Bagrationi in his book " Description of Kingdom of Georgia " writes that the inhabitants of Pankisi are Georgian nobility with titles of Aznauri and Tavadi who have buildings near the mountains. He also writes: "The village of Pankisi has vineyards, fruits and gardens, and mountain foods, like the places of mountains. Fish - trout, the forest

112-550: A large number of Azerbaijani refugees from Armenia and IDPs from the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. Their number was estimated to be more than 33,000 in 2011. Lezgi people in Ganja number around 20,000. In addition to Persian and Turkic-speaking Muslims, the city had a numerically, economically and culturally significant Christian Armenian community. The city's traditional Armenian name

168-723: A mixture of shopping opportunities in Ganja. Javad Khan Street is the traditional shopping street that is located in the old town. Constructed between 2014 and 2017, Ganja Mall is considered the city's largest mall. Other shopping centers include Khamsa Park, Taghiyev Mall and Aura Park. Ganja is one of the famous tourist destinations in Azerbaijan with its historic buildings such as Nizami Mausoleum , Ancient gates , Juma Mosque , Imamzadeh , Tomb of Javad Khan , Chokak Hamam , Shah Abbas Caravanserai and Ugurlu Bay Caravanserai. Other tourist and entertainment spots include Javad khan street, Triumphal Arch near Heydar Aliyev Center,

224-635: A printing-press, taught the art of printing to several Georgian clergymen, and completed the first printed edition of the Bible in Georgian in 1743. The printing-press was afterwards transferred to Moscow, where several religious works in Georgian were printed. Vakhushti married in 1717 Mariam, youngest daughter of Giorgi-Malakia Abashidze , ex-King of Imereti (1702–07) , and had several children: Ganja (city) Ganja ( / ˈ ɡ æ n dʒ ə / ; Azerbaijani : Gəncə [ɟænˈdʒæ] )

280-606: A result of the invasions, and rest of them resettled elsewhere. According to M. Albutashvili (also known as Kisti Chobani) toponym Pankisi is of Georgian origin, according to him, Pankisi derives from Pantisi which means land rich in wild forest pears (P’ant’a-პანტა) (pyrus caucasica) with Georgian suffix -სი(si). It had allegedly often been used as a base for transit, training and shipments of arms and financing by Chechen rebels and Islamic militants , including foreign fighters, many of whom followed Ruslan Gelayev . Most of these accusations were around 2002, but others allege that it

336-485: A wide variety of trees and plants in an open concept. Other prominent parks and gardens include Heydar Aliyev Park Complex, "Ganja 2016 European Youth Capital Park", "Ganja river" park-boulevard complex, Istiglal Avenue, Fikrat Amirov Park, Fuzuli Park, and Narimanov Park. Heydar Aliyev Park Complex includes an Amphitheater considered for organizing large outdoor events for up to 5000 people. The city has one professional football team, Kapaz , currently competing in

392-734: Is Azerbaijan 's third largest city , with a population of around 335,600. The city has been a historic and cultural center throughout most of its existence. It was the capital of the Ganja Khanate until 1804; after Qajar Iran ceded it to the Russian Empire following the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, it became part of the administrative divisions of the Georgia Governorate , Georgia-Imeretia Governorate , Tiflis Governorate , and Elizavetpol Governorate . Following

448-526: Is Gandzak ( Գանձակ ), which derives from gandz ( գանձ ), a loan word from Old Iranian , which means treasure or riches. The founder of the Hethumid dynasty , Oshin of Lampron was an Armenian nakharar (prince) and lord of a castle near Ganja who fled to Cilicia in 1075 during the Seljuk invasion of Armenia. The city's historically important Armenian figures include: The urban landscape of Ganja

504-553: Is also a major source on the Georgian history of the 16th and 17th centuries. Vakhushti's works were soon translated into Russian and later into French and served as a guide to many contemporary European scholars and travelers to Caucasus up to the early 20th century. He also completed, together with his brother, Prince Bakar, the printing of the Bible in Georgian, which he had been only partly done by their father, Vakhtang VI. He established for that purpose, in his house near Moscow,

560-602: Is also home to Nizami Ganjavi Museum , which was built in 2014. The museum contains a research section, a library, a conference room, and corners for guests and tourists' relaxation. Other museums include Heydar Aliyev Museum, House Museum of Mir Jalal Pashayev, Memorial House-Museum of Nizami Ganjavi, Memorial-House Museum of İsrafil Mammadov, Ganja branch of Museum of Miniature Books, "Ganja Castle Gates – Archaeology and Ethnography Museum" monument complex, Cultural Center named after Mahsati Ganjavi, Museum of Modern Art and Museum of Mirza Shafi Vazeh. Ganja State Art Gallery

616-518: Is full of animals, land fertile for the grain, also for rice and cotton. A lots of cattle and a lot of pigs." In the legislative acts of Georgian law of the 18th century, the noble (Aznauri) Kobiashvili family of the Kingdom of Kakheti are mentioned as the lords of the Pankisi valley. According to sources, in 1730s, the Pankisi valley was emptied of Georgian population: part of them were killed as

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672-466: Is more peaceful now, although there are still many Chechen refugees living there. The former senior Islamic State leader Tarkan Batirashvili , otherwise known as "Omar the Chechen", grew up in the area where some of his family still lives. In 2014, Batirashvilii reportedly threatened to return to the area to lead a Muslim attack on Russian Chechnya. However, such a threat never came into fruition as he

728-408: Is observed. Blizzard is seen in 0.2 days annually. Today, Ganja is divided into 2 rayons (administrative districts). The mayor, presently Niyazi Bayramov embodies the executive power of the city. Ganja includes 6 administrative settlements, namely Hajikend , Javadkhan, Shikhzamanli, Natavan, Mahsati and Sadilli. Kapaz District ( Kəpəz rayonu ) was established on 21 November 1980 according to

784-692: Is shaped by many communities. Religious diversity has however greatly decreased over the last decades, with the emigration of most Armenians, Slavs, Jews and Germans. The religion with the largest community of followers by far is Islam. The majority of the Muslims are Shia Muslims , and the Republic of Azerbaijan has the second-highest Shia population percentage in the world after Iran . The city's notable mosques include Shah Abbas Mosque , Goy Imam Mosque , Shahsevenler Mosque , Qirikhli Mosque and Qazakhlar Mosque . There are some other faiths practiced among

840-622: Is still kept in Georgia , and again after the Mongol invasion in 1231. The city was revived after the Safavids came to power in 1501 and incorporated all of Azerbaijan and beyond into their territories. The city came under brief occupation by the Ottomans between 1578–1606 and 1723–1735 during the prolonged Ottoman-Persian Wars , but nevertheless stayed under intermittent Iranian suzerainty from

896-729: Is the Bottle house of Ganja . The Ganja State Philharmonic was established in August 1990 according to the decision of the Ministry of Culture of the Azerbaijan SSR . On 21 January 2012, president Ilham Aliyev laid the foundation of the Ganja State Philharmonic. The facility includes a 1,200 concert hall, an open-air cinema theatre, a drawing gallery, an urban center and an observation tower. The new building of

952-701: The Bottle House , Flag square, Hajikend resort zone. Goygol National Park with the sceneries of lake Goygol , lake Maralgol , Mount Kapaz and Mount Murov are located near Ganja. In 2016, Ganja was selected as the European Youth Capital by the final decision of international jury at the General Assembly of the European Youth Forum . Ganja became the first city to win the title of European Youth Capital among

1008-583: The COVID-19 pandemic , had been shelled. On 17 October, 21 civilians were killed and more than 50 injured when an Armenian SCUD B ballistic missile hit a residential area in Ganja. Ganja, located 400–450 meters (1312 to 1476 ft) above the sea level, lies on the Ganja-Dashkasan plain in the Kur-Araz lowland in the west of Azerbaijan, 375 km (233 mi) away from Baku. It is situated at

1064-645: The Caucasus region accompanied by the images of several historic coats of arms (1745–46). His famous Description of the Kingdom of Georgia is essentially an adorned synopsis of the initial texts of the corpus of medieval Georgian annals, Kartlis Tskhovreba . Vakhushti was critical of the re-edition of the corpus assembled by a scholarly commission chaired by his father Vakhtang VI. So as to rectify perceived oversights of Vakhtang's version, Vakhushti compiled his own comprehensive history and geographical description of

1120-659: The Karabakh province. In 1747, Ganja became the center of the Ganja Khanate for a few decades following the death of Nader Shah , until the advent of the Iranian Zand and Qajar dynasties . The khans/dukes who de facto self-ruled the khanate, were subordinate to the central rule in mainland Iran and were from a branch of the Iranian Qajar family. From the late 18th century, Russia actively started to increase its encroachments into Iranian and Turkish territory to

1176-893: The Persian language . Historically an important city of the South Caucasus, Ganja has been part of the Sassanid Empire , Great Seljuk Empire , Kingdom of Georgia , Atabegs of Azerbaijan , Khwarezmid Empire , Il-Khans , Timurids , Qara Qoyunlu , Ak Koyunlu , the Safavid , the Afsharid , the Zand and the Qajar empires of Persia / Iran . Prior to the Iranian Zand and Qajar rule, following Nader Shah 's death, it

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1232-561: The Russian Empire . After its incorporation into the Soviet Union , it was initially renamed back to Ganja ( Gyandzha ) in 1924, but in 1935 the name was changed again to Kirovabad (Russian: Кироваба́д , romanized : Kirovabád , IPA: [kʲɪrəvɐˈbat] ) in honor of the Soviet politician Sergei Kirov , a name which the city retained throughout most of the rest of the Soviet period. In 1989, during perestroika ,

1288-464: The Arab governor of the region during the reign of the caliph Al-Mutawakkil , and so-called because of a treasure unearthed there. According to the legend, the Arab governor had a dream where a voice told him that there was a treasure hidden under one of the three hills around the area where he camped. The voice told him to unearth it and use the money to found a city. He did so and informed the caliph about

1344-635: The Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR in September 1986. Before receiving "state theater" status in 1986, it was functioning as public theater. Ganja Puppet Theater operates in the building of Lutheran church constructed in 1885 by German settlers. Ganja has many well-maintained parks and gardens, with the Khan's garden being one of the most scenic parks, and one of the city's most known landmarks. It features interesting landscaping, and consists of

1400-452: The Ganja military airbase on Ganja International Airport , which they alleged was used to bombard Artsakh's capital Stepanakert and also stated that the Azerbaijani population were given warning to move away from military facilities to avoid collateral damage. Subsequently, both a correspondent reporting from the scene for a Russian media outlet and the airport director denied that the airport, which had not been operational since March due to

1456-450: The Georgian people and lands. One of the chief goals of his corrective was to underscore all-Georgian political and cultural unity despite the fact that Georgia was politically divided among competing kings and princes during Vakhushti's lifetime. The popularity of Vakhushti's tome is evidenced by the many copies made of it, and his narrative significantly shaped the way in which subsequent generations have conceived of an all-Georgian past. It

1512-704: The Philharmonic Hall was put into use in 2017. The Goygol State Song and Dance Ensemble, the Orchestra of Folk Instruments and the Ganja State Chamber Orchestra operate under the Ganja State Philharmonic. Two regional channels, Kapaz TV and Alternativ TV, are headquartered in Ganja. Two newspapers are published in Ganja ( Gəncənin səsi and Novosti Qyandji ). The building of the Ganja State Drama Theater

1568-611: The ancient name of the city was given back. For many years the 104th Guards Airborne Division of the Soviet Airborne Troops was based in the town. In November 1988, the Kirovabad pogrom forced the local Armenian population to leave the city. Reconstruction in the 21st century has led to dramatic changes in the city's urban development, transforming the old Soviet city into a hub of high-rise, mixed-use buildings. In 2008, Ganja Mausoleum Gates were built on

1624-639: The basis of sketches of ancient Ganja gates made by local master Ibrahim Osmanoğlu in 1063. In 2020, during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict , Ganja came under bombardment by Armenian armed forces several times, killing 32 civilians and injuring dozens more. On 11 October, a residential apartment block in Azerbaijan's city of Ganja was destroyed overnight in an Armenian missile strike, killing 10 civilians and wounding 34 others. The Armenian MoD denied that this came from its territory, while Artsakh stated that Armenian forces had targeted and destroyed

1680-595: The brothers Garsevanishvili and a Roman Catholic mission, he was fluent in Greek , Latin , French , Turkish , Russian and Armenian . His name Vakhushti derives from Old Iranian vahišta- ("paradise", superlative of veh "good", i.e., "superb, excellent"). Its equivalent in Middle Persian is wahišt and in New Persian behešt . In 1719 and 1720, he took part in two successive campaigns against

1736-709: The capital of the Elizavetpol uezd and later in 1868, the Elizavetpol Governorate. The Russian name of the city was rejected by the local Azerbaijanis, who continued call it Ganja . Ganja—known then as Yelizavetpol—was one of the main sites of the Armenian–Tatar massacres of 1905–07 . In 1918, Ganja became the temporary capital of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic , at which point it was renamed Ganja again, until Baku

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1792-521: The city regained its original name of Ganja ( Azerbaijani : Gəncə ), which is known as Gyandzha ( Гянджа , [ɡʲɪnˈdʑa] ) in Russian, Gyanja ( Գյանջա ) or Gandzak ( Գանձակ ) in Armenian, and Ganjeh ( گنجه ) in Persian . According to the anonymous medieval Arabic history Tarikh Bab al-abwab , the city of Ganja was founded in 859–60 by Muhammad ibn Khalid ibn Yazid ibn Mazyad ,

1848-561: The city was followed by a massacre of up to 3,000 inhabitants of Ganja by the Russians". They also claim that "500 of them were slaughtered in a mosque where they had taken refuge, after an Armenian apprised the Russians that there might have been 'Daghestani robbers' among them". With their military superiority, the Russians were victorious in the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813. By the Treaty of Gulistan that followed, Iran

1904-547: The city was founded in 659–60, when the Arab armies first arrived in the South Caucasus . However, the Persian origin of Ganja's name suggests that there was an older pre-Islamic town there. According to some sources, it changed hands between Persians, Khazars and Arabs even in the 7th century. The area in which Ganja is located was known as Arran from the 9th to 12th century; its urban population spoke mainly in

1960-401: The city was named this after its founder discovered treasure nearby ( see below ) is considered a folk etymology . According to one view, the city may have been named after Ganzak , the pre-Muslim capital of Adurbadagan . The city was renamed Yelizavetpol (Russian: Елизаветпо́ль , romanized : Yelizavetpól' , IPA: [jɪlʲɪzəvʲɪtˈpolʲ] ) in 1813, when it was part of

2016-442: The decision of Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR . The district consists of 2 administrative territorial units and 6 administrative settlements. It has an area of approximately 70 square kilometers (27 sq mi) with the population of 178,000. Nizami District ( Nizami rayonu ) was also established on 21 November 1980 according to the decision of Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR as Ganja raion of Kirovabad city. When Ganja's historic name

2072-642: The different ethnic groups within the country. The other faith worshipping places include Alexander Nevsky Church , German Lutheran Church , Saint John Church and Saint Sarkis Church. Before the Kirovabad pogrom in 1988 a significant community of Armenian Christians existed. According to the State Statistics Committee , as of 2018, the population of city recorded 332,600 persons, which increased by 31,900 persons (about 10.6 percent) from 300,700 persons in 2000. 162,300 of total population are men, 170,300 are women. More than 26 percent of

2128-665: The dissolution of the Russian Empire and the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic , it became a part of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic , followed by Azerbaijan SSR , and, since 1991, the Republic of Azerbaijan . The name Ganja derives from the Persian word ganj ( Middle Persian : ganj ), meaning "treasure" or "treasury". It was called Janza in Arabic sources and Gandzak in Armenian sources. The explanation that

2184-460: The earliest 16th century up to the course of the 19th century, when it was forcefully ceded to neighbouring Imperial Russia. For a short period, Ganja was renamed Abbasabad by Shah Abbas after war against the Ottomans. He built a new city 8 kilometres (5 miles) to the southwest of the old one, but the name changed back to Ganja during the time. During the Safavid rule, it was the capital of

2240-498: The former Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) and non-EU cities. It was an event with a budget of 5.7 million euros, projected to boost tourism by about one-fifth. Some of the city landmarks include Gates of Ganja . As of 2012 , the city along with Baku and Lankaran participates in Earth Hour movement. Ganja State History-Ethnography Museum is the oldest museum in the city, with over 30,000 artifacts. The city

2296-559: The money and the city. The caliph made Muhammad the hereditary governor of the city on the condition that he would give the money he found to the caliph. The foundation of the city by the Arabs in the 9th century is supported by the medieval Armenian historian Movses Kaghankatvatsi , who mentions that the city of Ganja was founded in 846–47 in the canton of Arshakashen by "Mahmed son of Xałtʿ" (i.e., Muhammad ibn Khalid). The 14th-century Persian historian Hamdallah Mustawfi instead claims that

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2352-709: The north-eastern foothills of the Lesser Caucasus mountain ranges on the Ganjachay river. The city borders on the administrative rayons of Goygol to the south, west and north-west and Samukh to the north-east. Ganja has a cool semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification : BSk ), with an average annual precipitation of 241 millimetres (9.5 in), though annual precipitation varies in different years, ranging from 160 mm (6.3 in) in 1932 to 1,133 mm (44.6 in) in 1988. Winters are cold and may see snow, with 5 days per year in which snow cover

2408-428: The population (about 86,500 persons) consists of young people and teenagers aged 14–29. The economy of Ganja is partially agricultural, partially tourist based, with some industries in operation. Ore minerals extracted from nearby mines supply Ganja's metallurgical industries, which produces copper and alumina. There are porcelain , silk and footwear industries. Other industries process food, grapes and cotton from

2464-687: The rebel duke ( eristavi ) Shanshe of the Ksani . From August to November 1722, he was a governor of the kingdom during his father's absence at the Ganja campaign. Later he served as a commander in Kvemo Kartli . After the Ottoman occupation of Kartli , he followed King Vakhtang in his emigration to the Russian Empire in 1724. Retired to Moscow , Tsarevich Vakhusht (as he came to be known in Russia)

2520-530: The skyline of Ganja, building towering mosques and houses from red bricks. Among the oldest surviving examples of Islamic architecture in Ganja are the Nizami Mausoleum and Shah Abbas Caravanserai , which assisted the Shahs during their siege of the city. The area around and inside the mosques, contains many fine examples of traditional architecture like Chokak Bath . Another interesting building

2576-543: The south. Following the annexation of eastern Georgia in 1801, Russia was now keen to conquer the rest of the Iranian possessions in the Caucasus . Russian expansion into the South Caucasus met particularly strong opposition in Ganja. In 1804, the Russians, led by General Pavel Tsitsianov , invaded and sacked Ganja , sparking the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 . Some western sources assert that "the capture of

2632-574: The surrounding farmlands. The city has one of the largest textile conglomerates in Azerbaijan and is famous for a fabric named Ganja silk , which received the highest marks in the markets of neighboring countries and the Middle East . People are mainly employed in manufacturing, education, transportation, service sectors and catering. Det.Al-Aluminium is the largest employer operating in Ganja, followed by Ganja Auto Plant and Ganja Winery Plant 2. Traditional shops, modern shops and malls create

2688-590: Was a Georgian royal prince ( batonishvili ), geographer, historian and cartographer. His principal historical and geographic works, Description of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Geographical Atlas , were inscribed on UNESCO 's Memory of the World Register in 2013. Born as a royal bastard , son of King Vakhtang VI of Kartli (ruled 1716–24), he was born in Tbilisi , 1696. Educated by

2744-547: Was built by the German entrepreneur Christofor Forer in the 1880s. Ganja Drama Theater was established in 1921 in Baku as "Tənqid-təbliğ" (literally means "Criticism-propaganda"). In 1935 the theater moved to Ganja with its staff and continues its activity here under different names until 1990. The theater has been called the Ganja State Drama Theater since 1990. Ganja State Puppet Theater was established according to Decree No. 299 of

2800-523: Was established in April 1984 according to the decision of Council of Ministers of Azerbaijan SSR . The Gallery is headed by the carpet-artist Faig Osmanov. Ganja is primarily known for its Azerbaijani and Islamic architecture , but its buildings reflect the various peoples and empires that have previously ruled the city. During the Ganja Khanate period, the Khans proceeded to make an indelible impression on

2856-527: Was forced to cede the Ganja Khanate to Russia. The Iranians briefly managed to oust the Russians from Ganja during the 1826 offensive during the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828 , but the resulting Treaty of Turkmenchay made its inclusion into the Russian Empire permanent. It was renamed Yelizavetpol ( Елизаветполь ) after the wife of Alexander I of Russia , Elizabeth , and in 1840 became

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2912-403: Was granted a pension. He died at Moscow in 1757. He was buried at the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow , a traditional burial ground of Georgian emigrant royalty and nobility. Most of his works were written or completed in Moscow. The best known are Description of the Kingdom of Georgia (completed in 1745), The Geographic Description of Georgia (completed in 1750) and two geographic atlases of

2968-473: Was killed during a battle in the town of Al-Shirqat in Iraq of 2016. The situation in the Pankisi Gorge received an extensive fictional treatment factoring into several of the popular John Ringo anti-terrorism military science fiction books in the Paladin of Shadows series . This Georgia location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Vakhushti of Kartli Vakhushti ( Georgian : ვახუშტი ; c. 1696 – 1757)

3024-422: Was recaptured from the British -backed Centrocaspian Dictatorship . In April 1920, the Red Army occupied Azerbaijan. In May 1920, Ganja was the scene of an abortive anti-Soviet rebellion , during which the city was heavily damaged by fighting between the insurgents and the Red Army. In 1935, Joseph Stalin renamed the city Kirovabad after Sergei Kirov . In 1991, Azerbaijan re-established its independence, and

3080-419: Was restored and the city was renamed as Ganja instead of Kirovabad in 1989, the district was also renamed as Nizami rayon . The district consists of 2 administrative territorial units. The area of the district is roughly 39 square kilometers (15 sq mi) and population is 148,000. Ganja is the third largest city of Azerbaijan after Baku and Sumqayit with about 335,600 residents. The city is also inhabited by

3136-453: Was ruled locally for a few decades by the khans of the Ganja Khanate , who themselves were subordinate to the central rule in mainland Iran and were a branch of the Iranian Qajar family. Ganja is also the birthplace of the famous Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi . The people of Ganja experienced a temporary cultural decline after an earthquake in 1139 , when the city was taken by king Demetrius I of Georgia and its gates taken as trophies which

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