Zardab: historical place

       

   Once Zardab played an important strategic role for its geographical situation. Because people used the river Kur as an propitious crossing. About many years the travellers, camelcade and troops from the far countries passed the river Kur through the territory of Zardab. It is shown in the sources that Shah Ismayil the first passed the river Kur near Zardab ( “Qoyun ulumu” – “The death of a sheep”) and went to Shamakhy while the troops of Safavids moved from Arzinjan to Tabriz during 1500-1501 years.

      Shah Tahmasib the first passed the river Kur from Cavad and came to Zardab ( “Qoyun ulumu”) and marched from here firstly to Gabala, then to Shamakhy while moving to Shirvan ( 1538) and Shaki ( 1551). Proffesor Oqtay Afandiyev writes thus in his work “Azerbaijan Safavids’ State” : “ Shah Tahmasib the first passed through Ganja when returning from the marching of Georgia, and stopped in the place named Yevlakh. On the 11-th of Zilhijje ( on the 2-nd of February) he passed the river Kur near the crossing by “Qoyun ulumu”. ( this expresses the oldest name of Zardab in historical sources) and came to …Ali Shaban.”

      During the 70-th years of the last century there were land reclamations in Zardab territory. During this reclamation there were found graves of earthenware pots, the china and ceramics which didn’t lose their color and quality in spite of being under the soil many centuries. There were also found the jewelry, household things and cultural things, the copper money coined at the Eldagizs and others’ Power. The examples of them are demonstrated like an exhibit in the ethnography museum of Zardab. All together, in the historical sources of 1578 we may come across with the name of Zardab. Some sources show that the name of Zardab means the unity of Zard ( yellow) and Ab ( water) in Persian language. It means the Yellow water spreading illness. But other investigators pretend that this word was used in the meaning of Pond (not being able to flow) . It arises some questions about the reason of why the people settled down in this territory in spite of they called it “ the yellow water spreading illness”.

      That is why this meaning is unbelievable. The explanation in the book of “The Province of Baku” by N.Zeydlis is interesting.. N.Zeydlis writes that firstly the word of Zardab was used in the meaning of “Cold water”. In this book it is noted that M.F.Akhundov helped the author during explanations. For the another hypothesis the word Zardab has the meaning of “Gold”( Gilt) and Water. Because in those times the rivers Kur and Qarasu often ran over. The water which remained in the ponds were as important as the Gold for the sowing and ploughmen. That water running over the bounds of the rivers cleaned off the soil both in real and figurative meanings. Maybe it is because of that some investigators called Zardab like “Beynelnehreyn” ( pure than water) . Maybe because of this cleanness this land drew attention of some Ovliyalar, Seyidds, and Shixs ( The holy men).

    In the book of “The friends of the God” it is shown that during the 30-th years of Hijret ( the years of 650- a chronology of Christianity) with the leadership of Hazrati Ali the Arabians came to Azerbaijan for popularize Moslem, there was a fight of Suffin in the city of Suffin near the forests of Tuqay. This territory is considered a part of the city of Yaser in which at present time the village of Yuxari Seyidler is situated. They say that our prophet’s follower Veysel Qerani was martyr in that place. For many years that place became a place for pilgrimage of the peoples.( The sanctuary of Veyselqara). It is said that the other village of Zardab by name Alvand has oldest history.. The first workshops in the East which produced silk, roots of liquorice, and sugar was in that territory. A.Bakikhanov writes in his work of “Gulustani-Irem” that in 1775 the khan of Agasi ruled Shirvan from that village. The Bazar ( market) of Alvand was one of the biggest Bazars of the East.

        In his book of “TheNizami summit ”Ajdar Farzali writes about the meeting of Nizami and Qizil Arslan in that village. If it isn’t simply a writer’s imagination at that time we may be proud of with genius Nizami Ganjavi’s being in the land of Zardab. At the next pages of the history we may come across the name of Zardab, too. In the book of “The province of Baku” it is noted that during the time of khanates the village of Zardab was one of the biggest settlement and the people of Zardab were busy with agriculture, silkworm breeding, cattle breeding. During the XIX and XX centuries Zardab was one of the biggest villages of the crash of Goychay and then it developed and turned into the centre of region in 1935.

    At present the territory of Zardab is about -860- square kilometers, the population is 5000. The administrative centre is the city of Zardab. This centre consolidates in itself the settlement of Bayimli., and the villages of Bichaqchi, Yuxari Seyidler, Sileyli, Korpukend, Malilkli, Burunlu, Qoruqbaqi, Sariqaya, Mammadqasimli, Godekqobu, Yarimammadbaqi, Lalaaqaji, Pervanli, Gelme, Salahli, Huseynkhanli, Khanmemmedli, Alibeylu, Allahqulubagi, Challi, Malikmudlu, The first Alijanli, The second Alijanli, Culovkhanli, Daliqushchu, Dekkeoba, Isaqbagi, Qaravelli, Boyuk Dekke, Nezerali, Shixbagi, Gendebil, Aqabagi, Shahuseynli, Sheftehal, Ashagi Seyidler, Elvend, Otmanoba villages.

Translated by Sevil Gulten