40°49′47″N 46°01′08″E / 40.82972°N 46.01889°E
Shamkir
Şəmkir | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 40°49′47″N 46°01′08″E / 40.82972°N 46.01889°E | |
Country | Azerbaijan |
District | Shamkir |
Founded | 1944 |
Elevation | 450 m (1,480 ft) |
Population (2010)
[1] | |
• Total | 67,200 |
Time zone | UTC+4 ( AZT) |
Area code | +994 241 |
Website |
shamkir-ih |
Shamkir ( Azerbaijani: Şəmkir), known historically as Annenfeld, is a city in and the capital of Shamkir District in western Azerbaijan, located in the northern foothills of the Lesser Caucasus, on the coast of the Chagirchay River on Tbilisi- Yevlakh highway, about 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) from Dallar railway station. It is the eighth most populous city in Azerbaijan.
One theory is that the name derives from the dialectal Azerbaijani word sham, meaning a place covered in green. [2] [3]
As of October 1, 2021, the population of the region was 221,372 people. [4]
In antiquity, the territory of the modern Shamkir was part of the province of Utik, a part of the Kingdom of Armenia until 387 AD. Greco-Roman historians from the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD state that Utik was a province of Armenia, with the Kura River separating Armenia and Caucasian Albania. [5] [6] [7]
The historical Shamkur (also known as Shamkhor and Shamkir [2]) has been known since the 5th century as a merchant and craft center of Persia. [3] In 652, the city was seized by Arabs. [8] In 737, Khazars settled in Shamkir after the Arabian commander Mervan's campaign to the Volga. [8] In 752, the city was destroyed by the Sabir people, who lived nearby and rebelled against the Arabs. [8] In 854, the Muslim Khazars took refuge in Shamkir. [8] Later, the city was under the reign of Ganja amirs from the Kurdish dynasty of Shaddadids. [8] In the 12th century and in the beginning of the 13th century, Shamkir was under the Georgian reign. [8] In 1195, the Georgian Queen Tamar's commanders destroyed the troops of Azerbaijan's Atabey Abu-Bakr, who was from Seljuk dynasty of the Ildegizids. [8] In 1235, Shamkir was destroyed by Mongols. [8] From the first quarter of the 16th century till the beginning of the 19th century Shamkir was governed by hereditary rulers a Turkic tribe called Shamsaddinli-Zulgadar. [8] In 1803, during the military actions against the Ganja Khanate of Qajar Iran, Shamkir was taken up by Russian troops and annexed to Russia. [8]
In 1817–1818, a colony of Germans resettled from Württemberg, was established on the site of Shamkir under the name Annenfeld. [2] There were also other Germans in Azerbaijan besides those associated with the colony. On September 3, 1826, during the Russo-Persian War, the Shah's guard consisting of 10,000 soldiers was destroyed near Annenfeld. [8] In 1915, Assyrians from Turkey and Iran were resettled here and still lived here as of the 1930s. [9]
Following World War I, Annenfeld was given the Russian name of Annino ( Russian: Аннино). [2] In 1938, it was granted urban-type settlement and renamed Shamkhor (Шамхор), after the nearby railway station and the historical Shamkir. [2] [3] In 1944, two years after the German population was deported as part of the population transfer in the Soviet Union, it was granted town status. [3] In 1991, the name was changed to Shamkir. [2]
There are cognac and wine plants and also a plant of local industry functioning in the city.
Shamkir has a large urban transport system, mostly managed by the Ministry of Transportation.
The city has one professional football team, Shamkir, currently competing in the second-flight of Azerbaijani football, the Azerbaijan First Division. [10] The club has two Azerbaijani league titles.
As of 2014, city's home of Shamkir Chess a category 22 event and one of the highest rated tournaments of all time. [11]
Some of the city's many prestigious residents include: poets Molla Vali Vidadi and Ahmad Javad, footballer Javid Imamverdiyev and archer Zinyat Valiyeva.