Barda, Azerbaijan


Barda is the capital city of the Barda Rayon in Azerbaijan, located south of Yevlax and on the left bank of the Tartar river. It was the capital of Caucasian Albania perhaps since the end of the fourth century, Barda became the chief city of the Islamic province of Arran, the classical Caucasian Albania, remaining so until the tenth century.

Etymology

The name of the town derives from which derives from Old Armenian Partaw, itself from Iranian *pari-tāva- 'rampart', from *pari- 'around' and *tā̆v- 'to throw; to heap up'.

History

Ancient

In the 460s AD, King Vache II of Caucasian Albania, acting under the orders of the Sasanian Emperor Peroz I, had founded the settlement known as Partav, which was initially called Perozapat, and replaced Qabala as the capital of Caucasian Albania. According to the seventh-century atlas, the Ashkharhats'uyts', attributed to Anania Shirakatsi, Barda was known by the name of Partav during the period of late antiquity and was located in the district of Uti Aṛandznak in the province of Utik', which was at that time in the possession of Albania.. In 552, Partav was made the catholicosal seat of the Church of Caucasian Albania. In the mid-seventh century, Javanshir, the lord of Gardman, led a movement that expelled the Persian marzpan from the province of Utik' and made Partav his capital and constructed churches and other buildings. His deeds were chronicled by the Armenian historian Movses Kaghankatvatsi, who hailed from a neighboring village.

Medieval

In about 645, Partav fell under the control of the Muslim Arabs and was referred to as "Barda" or "Barda'a" in Arabic. In ca. 789, it was made the second alternate capital of the governor of the province of Arminiya. Its governors strengthened the defenses of the city in order to counter the invasions of the Khazars attacking from the north. In 768, the Catholicos of All Armenians, Sion I Bavonats'i, convoked an ecclesiastical council at Partav, which passed 24 canons that addressed issues relating to the administration of the Armenian Church and marriage practices. By the ninth to tenth centuries, Barda had largely lost its economic importance to the nearby town of Ganja; the seat of the Catholicos of the Church of Albania was also moved to Bardak, leaving Partav as a mere bishopric. According to the Muslim geographers Estakhri, Ibn Hawqal, and Al-Muqaddasi, the distinctive Caucasian Albanian language persisted into early Islamic times, and was still spoken in Barda in the tenth century. Thus, Ibn Hawkal mentioned that the people of Barda spoke Arranian, while Estakhri stated that Arranian was the language of the "country of Barda."
During this time, the city boasted a Muslim Arab population, as well as a substantial Christian community. Barda was even the seat of a Nestorian, Bishopric in the 10th century.
Referring to events in the late eleventh century, the twelfth-century Armenian historian Matthew of Edessa described Partav as an "Armenian city , which is also called Paytakaran and located near the vast Sea."
The same Muslim geographers describe Barda as a flourishing town with a citadel, a mosque, a circuit wall and gates, and a Sunday bazaar that was called "Keraki," "Korakī" or "al-Kurki". In 914, the city was captured by the Rus, who occupied it for six months. In 943, it was attacked once more by the Rus and sacked. This may have been a factor in the decline of Barḏa in the second half of the tenth century, along with the raids and oppressions from the rulers of the neighboring regions, when the town lost ground to Beylaqan.
Centuries of earthquakes and, finally, the Mongol invasions destroyed much of the town's landmarks, with the exception of the fourteenth century tomb of Ahmad Zocheybana, built by architect Ahmad ibn Ayyub Nakhchivani. The mausoleum is a cylindrical brick tower, decorated with turquoise tiles. There is also the more recently built Imamzadeh Mosque, which has four minarets.

Modern

Agriculture is the main activity in the area. Local economy is based on the production and processing of cotton, silk, poultry and dairy products. The cease fire line, concluded at the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994, is just a few kilometers west of Barda, near Terter.

Notable residents