City in Ganja-Dashkasan, Azerbaijan
About Ganja, Azerbaijan
Ganja 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 and most other Iranian territories in the Caucasus 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 the dissolution of the Russian Empire and the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, it became a part of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, followed by the Azerbaijan SSR, and, since 1991, the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Etymology
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 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 the Russian Empire. …
History
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, 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 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. …
Geography
Ganja, located 400–450 meters (1,310–1,480 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 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 14 days per year in which snow cover is observed. Blizzard is seen in 0.2 days annually.
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