Ganja, Azerbaijan
city in Azerbaijan
Ganja (; Azerbaijani: Gəncə [ɟænˈdʒæ] ) 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.
Etymology
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 Adurbadagan. The city was renamed Yelizavetpol (Russian: Елизаветпо́ль, romanized: Yelizavetpól', IPA: [jɪlʲɪzəvʲɪtˈpolʲ]) in 1813, when it was part of the Russian Empire. After its incorporation into the Soviet Union, it was initially renamed back to Ganja (Gyandzha) in 1924, but in 1935 the name was changed again to Kirovabad (Russian: Кироваба́д, romanized: Kirovabád, IPA: [kʲɪrəvɐˈbat]) in honor of the Soviet politician Sergei Kirov, a name which the city retained throughout most of the rest of the Soviet period.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ganja, Azerbaijan” as city in Azerbaijan. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as city in Azerbaijan. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q131290. VIAF identifies the subject as 132686722. The Library of Congress control number is n95043787. Authority coordinates are 40.683, 46.361. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1804, 1813, 1991 and 1924.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ganja, Azerbaijan”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ganja, Azerbaijan primary sources, Ganja, Azerbaijan archive and Ganja research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ganja, Azerbaijan”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ganja, Azerbaijan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.