Ganja

About Ganja

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.

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...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.