Aghstafa District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. Located in the northwest of the country, it belongs to the Gazakh-Tovuz Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Qazakh, Tovuz, as well as the Kakheti and Kvemo Kartli regions of Georgia. Its capital and largest city is Aghstafa. As of 2020, the district had a population of 88,500.

According to various folk etymologies, the area's name comes from the name of the Oghuz Turks, which include mainly the population of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan. Per these folk etymologies, Ağstafa is either a merger of Oğuz + tayfa (Oghuz + tribe) or Oğuz + təpə (Oghuz + hill).

Economy

The region is rich with bentonite, sand, raw cement material (volcanic ash) and other resources which are considered a core of the Aghstafa economy. The Kura River passes through the region. Lower sections of Aghstafa and Həsənsu rivers also flow through the district. Aghstafa has always been in the spotlight because of the historic Silk Way trade which went through the region. Caravans from and to Georgia and Iran would stop in Aghstafa. It was therefore named the "Camel route". In the 1990s, the caravan route was re-established within the TRACECA project initiated by Heydar Aliyev administration. Then Aghstafa gained importance when it became a transit route on the Baku-Tbilisi railroad built in 1881. A railroad junction at Aghstafa was built in 1914 thus creating leading to construction of Aghstafa city. In addition to the existing railway, the geostrategic importance of Aghstafa was enriched by Baku-Gazakh-Tbilisi gas pipeline, Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline. Of the total population, 43,000 are men and 44,200 are women. More than 26.4 percent of the population (about 23,100 persons) consists of young people and teenagers aged 14–29.

{| class="wikitable"

|+The population of the district by the year (at the beginning of the year, thsd. persons)

Tourism and historical monuments

Prehistoric monuments

  • Paleolithic tent settlement(Paleolithic)- village Kochesker
  • Open Palaeolithic tent(Paleolithic)- village Tatli
  • Toyratepe settlement(neolith(late Stone Age)-Bronze Age)-village Ashagi Goychali
  • 1st Shomutepe settlement (neolith)-Aghstafa city
  • Gargalar hill settlement (neolith)-village Girili
  • Arzamastepe settlement (neolith)-settlement Vurgun
  • Molla Nagi hill (Stone Age-neolith)-village Kochesker
  • Kichik tepe settlement (Stone Age, neolith and Bronze Age)-village Ashagi Goyjali
  • Chapiish settlement (eneolith-Bronze Age)-surrounding of Hasangulu river
  • Chinlitepe settlement (eneolith)-village Tatli
  • Ancient settlement and graveyard (choban dashi)(Bronze Age-Early Iron Age)-village Dagkesemen
  • Jantepe settlement (Bronze Age)-Aghstafa city
  • Sari gaznag graveyard (Bronze Age)- village Kochesker
  • Alchagtepe settlement (Bronze Age-Iron Age)-village Tatli
  • Alchagtepe settlement (Bronze Age)-village Tatli
  • Gabagtepe settlement (Bronze Age-Iron Age)- village Pirili
  • Yastitepe settlement (late Bronze Age)- Aghstafa city
  • Durnatepe settlement (late Bronze Age-early Iron Age)- village Kochesker
  • Boyuktepe settlement (Böyük Kəsik) (late Bronze Age-early Iron Age)- village Kochesker
  • Hasarlitepe settlement (late Bronze Age-early Iron Age)-village Yukhari Goyjali
  • Saritepe settlement (late Bronze Age-early Iron Age)- village Yukhari Goyjali
  • Goshatepe settlement (late Bronze Age-Iron Age)-village Yukhari Goyjali
  • Hasarligala ancient settlement (late Bronze Age-Iron Age)-village Tatli
  • 2nd Shomutepe settlement (Bronze Age-early Iron Age)- village Yukhari Goyjali
  • Nadir bey hill settlement (late Bronze Age)-village Hasansu
  • Agalig tepesi settlement (late Bronze Age-early Iron Age)- Aghstafa-Gazakh highway
  • Aranchi hill settlement (late Bronze Age- Iron Age)- Aghstafa-Dagkesemen highway
  • Deyirmantepe settlement (late Bronze Age- early Middle Age)- Dagkesemen highway
  • Agtepe settlement (late Bronze Age-antic period)- village Ashagi Goyjali
  • Maraltepe settlement (late Bronze Age-antic period)- village Ashagi Goyjali
  • Shish Guzey sacred place (Iron Age)- village Kochesker

Ancient to modern monuments

Several important archaeological sites in Aghstafa District belong to the prehistoric Shulaveri–Shomu culture. Among them are Soyuqbulaq, Agstafa, Poylu, Agstafa, and Böyük Kəsik. Also should be included here Toyra Tepe and

Gargalar sites. Research in this area emerged especially in the 21st century. Shomu-Tepe, the type site of the Shulaveri–Shomu culture, is also located in the Agstafa District.

Other ancient archaeological sites in the area include:

  • The David Gareja monastery complex (Keşiş Dağ in Azerbaijani) is partially located in this region. However, access is on unpaved roads and, because the site is subject to a border dispute between Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities, visitors are treated with considerable suspicion.
  • Nekropol (antic period)-village Pirili
  • Tatli Albanian temple (early Middle Ages)-between the villages Yukhari Goychali and Tatli
  • Construction forked mountain air(middle age)- village Kochesker
  • Settlement (4th-7th centuries)-village Dagkesemen
  • Underground water-supply system(19th century)-village Kolkhalafli.

Notable natives

  • Sabir Azeri (1938-2010) - Writer, author of best selling books.
  • Aslan Aslanov (1926–1995) - Doctor of philosophical sciences, the real member of the NA of the Republic of Azerbaijan, deserved scientific figure, rector of Azerbaijan State University of Arts (1977), the vice-president of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences and director of the Institute of Philosophy and Law(1988–1995).
  • Baba Mirzayev (1940-2006) - The National artist of the Azerbaijan Republic
  • Bayram Bayramov (1935) - Candidate of technical sciences, owner of the order of "Glory", pensioner by the President, deserved rationalizer of Azerbaijan, the deputy of the chairman of Oil and Gas Extraction Office "Neft Dashlari" (from 1987).
  • Huseyn Arif (1924-1992) - poet
  • Ibrahim Rahimov (1849–1927) - The first psychiatrist-doctor of Azerbaijan.
  • Ilyas Abdullayev (1913) the academician of NA of Azerbaijan SSR, the deputy of the chairman of the Council of the Ministers of Azerbaijan SSR (1948–1950), Minister of Agriculture (1950–1953), the first deputy of the chairman of the Council of the Ministers (1954–1958), the chairman of Presidium of the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan SSR (1958–1959), the deputy of the Supreme Councils of USSR and Azerbaijan SSR.
  • Isa Huseynov (1928) - writer
  • Museyib Allahverdiyev (1909–1969)- Hero of the Soviet Union(1945), commander of detachment.
  • Nariman Hasanzade (1931) - poet
  • Nizami Jafarov (1954) - philologist
  • Nusrat Kasamanli (1946-2003) - poet
  • Samed aga Agamalioglu (1867–1930)-famous revolutionary, the first deputy of Azerbaijan CEC (1921), the chairman of CEC of Azerbaijan SSR, one of the chairmen of CEC of TSFSR (1922–1929), the chairman of the committee of All-Union New Turkish alphabet.
  • Suleyman Tatliyev (1925)-the chief of the department of the affairs at the Council of the Ministers (1970–1978), the 1st deputy of the chairman of the Council of the Ministers (1978–1985), the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic (1985–1989), the president of the House of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Azerbaijan (from 1994), deputy of the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan SSR.
  • Vidadi Babanli (1927) - writer

References