Zangilan

According to the Armenian historian Hovhannes Gharagyozian, the town's historical name of Pirchivan, which it held until 1957 when it was renamed to Zangilan, originates from the settlement of Ashtarak mentioned by Stepanos Orbelian in his list of villages in the Kovsakan county of Syunik. The word ‘Ashtarak’ is seen as a synonym for ‘burj’ (tower/fortress) in the Armenian language. The name of the settlement next to the fortress comes from the joining of the words “Burj” + the Armenian suffix “-avan” (settlement). Thus creating “Burgi avan>Burjevan>Brjevan,” which was transformed into Pirchivan under Turkic phonetic influence.{{cite book|title= Armenian Cultural Monuments in the Region of Karabakh|page= 195|author-first=Samvel|author-last=Karapetyan|author-link=Samvel Karapetyan (author)|url= http://www.raa-am.com/raa/pdf_files/136.pdf|date=2001|publisher="Gitutiun" Publishing House of NAS RA|volume= 3|isbn= 9785808004689}}

Soviet-Armenian historian Suren Yeremian states that the area of present-day Zangilan was part of the Kovsakan gavar (county) of the Syunik province within the Kingdom of Armenia.{{cite book|last= Hewsen|first= Robert|author-link= Robert Hewsen|title= The Geography of Ananias of Sirak (Asxarhacoyc): The Long and the Short Recensions|year= 1992|location= Wiesbaden|publisher= Reichert|page= 193 [https://archive.org/details/TheGeographyOfAnaniasOfSirak/page/n119/mode/1up?q=Kovsakan]|oclc= 643843083}} According to Armenian historian Konstantin Khudaverdyan, the area that would become Pirchivan was originally an Armenian settlement named Verjnavan ({{langx|hy|Վերջնավան}}).{{cite encyclopedia|last= Khudaverdyan|first= Konstantin|author-link= Konstantin Khudaverdyan|title= Haykakan Hartsʻ Hanragitaran|trans-title= Armenian Question Encyclopedia|year= 1996|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rKwlAQAAMAAJ|location= Yerevan|publisher= Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia|page= 156|lang= hy|oclc= 44627480}} In the 14th century, Verjnavan was mentioned as being a part of the Kovsakan gavar of the province of Syunik, during the period of Mongol Armenia.{{cite book|last1= Matthews|first1= Thomas F.|last2= Sanjian|first2= Avedis Krikor|last3= Orna|first3= Mary Virginia|last4= Russel|first4= James R.|author-link3= Mary Virginia Orna|author-link4= James R. Russell|title= Armenian Gospel Iconography: The Tradition of the Glajor Gospel|year= 1990|location= Washington D.C.|publisher= Dumbarton Oaks: Trustees for Harvard University|page= 19 [https://books.google.com/books?id=riNIXZzr_NcC&pg=PA19]|isbn= 9780884021834}}

After the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in the nineteenth century, Zangilan (then called Pirchivan) became part of the Zangezur Uyezd of the Russian Empire's Elisabethpol Governorate. According to 1886 census data, there were 50 homes and 211 Azerbaijanis (classified as "Tatars" in the census) of the Shiite branch of Islam in Pirchivan.{{cite book |title=Свод статистических данных о населении Закавказскаго края, извлеченных из посемейных списков 1886 г. |publisher=Transcaucasian Statistical Committee |date=1893 |location=Tiflis |page=[https://viewer.rsl.ru/ru/rsl01005403186?page=255 255]}} According to the 1912 Caucasian Calendar, the village of Zangilan was home to 762 people, the majority of whom were Azerbaijanis (classified as "Tatars" in the census).{{Cite book |url=https://www.prlib.ru/item/417317 |title=Кавказский календарь на 1912 год |publisher=Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom |year=1912 |edition=67th |publication-place=Tiflis |pages=155 |language=Russian |trans-title=Caucasian calendar for 1912 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211164139/https://www.prlib.ru/item/417317 |archive-date=11 December 2021}}

Pirchivan I and Pirchivan II were part of the village council of the same name in the Zangilan District of the Azerbaijan SSR during the early Soviet period in 1933. Pirchivan I was the administrative centre of the district, with 574 residents and 95 farms, while Pirchivan II had 148 residents and 35 farms. The village council's population, which also included the villages of Genlik, Malatkeşin, and Tağlı, was 98.7 percent Azerbaijani.{{cite book |title=Административное деление АССР |trans-title=Administrative divisions of the ASSR |date=1933 |publisher=AzUNKHU |language=ru |page=[https://viewer.rusneb.ru/ru/000200_000018_rc_2682917?page=108 101]}}

Pirchivan was classified as an urban-type settlement and renamed Zangilan by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic on 31 August 1957. It was given city status in 1967. The city had a railway station on the Baku-Nakhchivan branch line, three schools, a music school, two public libraries, a cultural centre, a movie theatre, and a hospital.{{cite encyclopedia |title=ЗӘНҜИЛАН |encyclopedia=Azerbaijani Soviet Encyclopedia |year=1980 |location=Baku |volume=4 |page=317 |url=https://archive.org/details/ace-iv/page/317 }}{{cite encyclopedia |title=Зангелан |trans-title=Zangelan |encyclopedia=Great Soviet Encyclopedia |date=1972 |volume=9 |page=329 |location=Moscow}} The population was 6,968 people, according to the Soviet Census of 1989.{{cite web|url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng89_reg2.php|title=Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г.|website=www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru}}

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenian forces occupied the city on 29 October 1993, forcing the Azerbaijani population to flee.{{cite web |title=Tarixi |url=http://www.zengilan-ih.gov.az/az/page/11.html |website=Azərbaycan Respublikası Zəngilan Rayon İcra Hakimiyyəti |access-date=17 June 2022 |language=az}} It was later incorporated into the breakaway Republic of Artsakh as part of its Kashatagh Province, where it was known as Kovsakan ({{langx|hy|Կովսական}}). Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, Armenian refugees from Syria, mostly farmers, settled in the city.{{cite web|title=Armenia: Syrian Refugees Resettling in Occupied Azerbaijani Territory|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66461|website=EurasiaNet|date=28 January 2013}}{{Cite web|url=http://armenianow.com/news/50505/agbu_syrian_armenians_karabakh|title=Syrian-Armenians in NKR benefit from AGBU agricultural program|access-date=14 February 2016|archive-date=16 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616153652/https://www.armenianow.com/news/50505/agbu_syrian_armenians_karabakh|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Armenia: refugees in the military|url=http://www.dw.com/en/armenia-refugees-in-the-military/av-19447727|publisher=Deutsche Welle}} Azerbaijan protested and described the settlement of Syrian Armenians on its internationally recognised territory as a violation of international law that impeded the peace process.{{cite web |last1=Ghazaryan |first1=Hayk |last2=Sultanova |first2=Shahla |title=Карабах может стать второй родиной для сирийских армян |url=https://iwpr.net/ru/global-voices/karabakh-mozhet-stat-vtoroy-rodinoy-dlya-siriyskikh-armyan |website=Institute for War and Peace Reporting |access-date=17 June 2022 |language=ru}}

Azerbaijan recaptured the city on 20 October 2020, during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.{{cite web |url=https://mod.gov.az/en/news/president-ilham-aliyev-zangilan-city-and-6-villages-of-the-district-18-villages-of-fuzuli-jabrayil-and-khojavand-distric-33131.html |title=President Ilham Aliyev: Zangilan city and 6 villages of the district, 18 villages of Fuzuli, Jabrayil, and Khojavand districts liberated |author= |date=20 October 2020 |website=mod.gov.az }} On 23 December 2020, President Ilham Aliyev raised the Azerbaijani flag in the city.{{cite web |title=Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva visited Gubadli and Zangilan districts |url=https://president.az/en/articles/view/49394 |website=president.az |access-date=17 June 2022 |language=en}}

Among the historical heritage sites in and around the city is the "Imam Huseyn" mosque, built between the 17th and 18th centuries.{{cite web |title=Bir "Cəngi"lik Zəngilan vüsalı |url=https://medeniyyet.az/page/news/54400/Bir-Cengilik-Zengilan-vusali.html?lang=az |website=Ministry of Culture |access-date=9 July 2022 |language=az |date=22 October 2020}}

Ковсакан - panoramio.jpg

Kovsakan125.jpg|Okhchu River

İlham Əliyev Qubadlı və Zəngilan rayonlarında olub 48.jpg|Ruins of the "Imam Huseyn" mosque

Kovsakan126.jpg|Okhchu River

Дорога в Ковсакан - panoramio.jpg|Zangilan's nature

Kovsakan132.jpg|Roundabout in central Zangilan

Kovsakan129.jpg|Old khachkar

Kovsakan112.jpg|New khachkar

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{{Zangilan District}}

{{Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan}}

{{Kashatagh Province}}

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Category:Populated places in Zangilan District