- "Şəki" redirects here; for the rayon, see Shaki Rayon; for the village, see Şəki (village); for the singer, see Shakira.
Sheki
Şəki | |
---|---|
Official seal of Sheki | |
Country | Azerbaijan |
Government | |
• Head of the Executive Power | Murad Cabbarli |
Elevation | 545 m (1,788 ft) |
Population (2008)[2] | |
• Total | 65,045 |
Time zone | UTC+4 (AZT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+5 (AZT) |
Website | sheki-ih.gov.az |
Shaki (Azerbaijani: Şəki; until 1968 Nukha, Azerbaijani: Nuxa; also, Nucha, Noukha, Shäki, and Sheki) is a city in northwestern Azerbaijan, in the rayon of the same name.
Shaki is situated in northern Azerbaijan on the southern part of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, 325 km (200 miles) from Baku. The population of Shaki is 63,000.
Etymology
According to the Azerbaijan Development Gateway, the name of the town goes back to the ethnonym of the Sakas, who reached the territory of modern day Azerbaijan in the 7th century B.C. and populated it for several centuries. In the medieval sources, the name of the town is found in various forms such as Sheke, Sheki, Shaka, Shakki, Shakne, Shaken, Shakkan, Shekin.
History
There are traces of the large-scale settlements in Shaki that date to more than 2700 years ago. The Sakas were an Iranic people that wandered from the north side of the Black Sea through Derbend passage and to the South Caucasus and from there to Asia Minor in the 7th century B.C. They occupied a good deal of the fertile lads in the South Caucasus in an area called Sakasena. The city of Shaki was one of the areas occupied by the Sakas. The original settlement dates back to the late Bronze Age.
Shaki was one of the biggest cities of the Albanian states in the 1st century. The main temple of the ancient Albanians was located there. The kingdom of Shaki was divided into 11 administrative provinces. Shaki had been one of the important political and economic cities before the Arab invasion. But as a result of the invasion, Shaki was annexed to the third emirate. An independent principality was established in times of a weakened Arabian caliphate. She was also managed by Georgian Kingdom, Atabegs of Azerbaijan and Khwarezmid Empire before Mongol invasion.
After the collapse of the Hulakis in the first half of the 14th century, Shaki gained independence under the rule of Sidi Ahmed Orlat.[3] Shah Tahmasp put an end to the independence of Shaki in 1551 and annexed it to Safavid Iran except Ottoman administration between 1578–1603 and 1724-1735. Then the Shaki Khanate was established in 1743, and was one of the strongest feudal states among the Caucasian khanates. As a result of the flood in the river Kish, the city of Shaki was partially ruined and the population was resettled in the present day city. The Shaki khanate became a vassal of the Russian Empire in accordance with the second Kurekchay Treaty of 1805.
The area was fully annexed by Russia by the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 and the khanate was abolished in 1819 and in its place the Shaki province was established.
During its history, the town was devastated many times and because of that, the oldest historic and architectural monuments currently preserved are dated to only the 16th-19th centuries. For many centuries, Shaki has been famous as the basic center of silkworm-breeding. Originally located on the left bank of the river Kish, the town sited lower down the hill, however Shaki was moved to its present location after a devastating flood in 1772 and became the capital of Shaki Khanate. As the new location was near the village of Nukha, the city became also known as Nukha, until 1968 when it reverted back to the name Shaki.[4]
Shaki is famous for the 18th century Khan's palace and caravanserai.
Economy
Shaki possesses a small silk industry and relies on its agricultural sector, which produces tobacco, grapes, cattle, nuts, cereals and milk. The main production facilities of Shaki are the silk factory, gas-power plant, brick factory, wine factory, sausage factory, conserve factory, and a dairy plant with its integrated big scale Pedigree Dairy Farm. Tourism is an important sector in Shaki Region.
Community
Shaki residents are known for their sweet tooth. Delicious sweets, like halva are made from old and secret recipes, which the residents keep well guarded. Residents of Shaki speak a little different which causes other Azerbaijanis to smile upon hearing them talking and is regarded as a likeable accent and intonation of the words [citation needed]. Shaki also has specific words like yaraf and yelpenek that do not exist in other districts of Azerbaijan. Probably the most famous feature of Shakinians are their comic tales. Shaki's comic tales hero Haci Dayi is the subject of nearly all jokes here.
Nature
Shakki is surrounded by mountains and oak trees. During the Soviet period, many ascended to Shaki to bathe in its numerous mineral springs. Because of its natural beauty, Shaki is one of the towns with the greatest tourist potential in Azerbaijan.[citation needed]
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Notable natives
- Ayyub Abasov — Azerbaijani Soviet writer, Honored Art Worker of Azerbaijan SSR (1954)[5].
- Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh — poet, People's Poet of Azerbaijan.
- Elshad Yahyayev — National Hero of Azerbaijan[6].
- Fatali Khan Khoyski — attorney, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918-1919).
- Fuad Abdurakhmanov — sculptor-muralist, People's Artist of Azerbaijan SSR (1955)[7].
- Jovdat Hajiyev — composer, People's Artist of Azerbaijan SSR (1960)[8].
- Ismayil Osmanly — film and theater actor, People's Artist of USSR (1974)[9].
- Lutfali Abdullayev — theatre and film actor.
- Mirza Fatali Akhundov — writer, educator and philosopher, founder of Azerbaijani drama[10].
- Movlazadeh Mahammad Hasan Shakavi — a noble Azerbaijani religious leader, philosopher, alim and the first Sheikh ul-Islam of the Caucasus and the first scholar who translated Koran into Azerbaijani language.
- Rahim Gaziyev — Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan (1992-1993).
- Rasim Ojagov — film director and operator, Honored Artist of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1964), People's Artist of Azerbaijan SSR (1982)[11].
- Sabit Rahman — writer, playwright.
- Shakili Alasgar — folk musician and mugham singer.
- Ziya Yusifzadeh — Chairman of the KGB of Azerbaijan SSR (1980-1988)[12].
References
- ^ "Shaki, Azerbaijan Page". Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ World Gazetteer: Azerbaijan – World-Gazetteer.com
- ^ "Shaki", in Historical Dictionary of Azerbaijan, 1999, p. 117
- ^ Şəki Şəhərinin Tarixi Template:Az icon
- ^ "Абасов Эйюб Джебраил оглы". Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Yahyayev Elshad Mammadhanifa oglu". milliqahraman.az.
- ^ "Абдурахманов Фуад Гасан оглы". Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Гаджиев Ахмед Джевдет Исмаил оглы". Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Османлы Исмаил Осман оглы". Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Ахундов Мирза Фатали". Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Оджагов Расим Миркасум оглы". kino-teatr.ru.
- ^ "Yusifzadeh Ziya Mamediya ogly". Minister of National Security
Azerbaijan Republic.
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