Ganja (
Azerbaijani G?nc?) is
Azerbaijan's second-largest city. It was named
Elizavetpol (Russian ????????????) in the Russian Empire, and
Kirovabad (Russian ?????????) in the USSR.
According to medieval Arab sources, the city of Ganja was founded in 859-60 by Mohammad b. Khaled b. Yazid b. Mazyad, the Arab governor of the region in the reign of the caliph Al-Mutawakkil, and so-called because of a treasure unearthed there. According to the legend, the Arab governor had a dream where a voice told him that there was a treasure hidden under one of the three hills around the area where he camped. The voice told him to unearth it and use the money to found a city. He did so and informed the caliph about the money and the city. Caliph made Mohammad the hereditary governor of the city on a condition that he would give the money he found to the caliph.[2]
Foundation of the city by Arabs is confirmed by the medieval Armenian historian Movses Kagankatvatsi, who mentions that the city of Ganja was founded in 846-47 in the canton of Arshakashen by the son of Khazr Patgos, “a furious and merciless man”.[3] Khazr is believed to be a corrupted form of the name of “Khaled”, while “Patgos” stands for Persian “patgospan”, i.e. governor.[4] Arshakashen (Armenian ?????????, meaning "built by Arshak") was one of the cantons of the province of Utik, which was part of Armenia, before 387 AD, and of Caucasian Albania after the division of the Kingdom of Armenia between Persia and Byzantium.
However, modern historians believe that the Persian name Ganja (???? / Ganjeh, "Ganja" derives from the New Persian ganj (??? "treasure, treasury")) suggests that the city existed in pre-Islamic times and was likely founded in the fifth century A.D.[5] The area in which there was Ganja, during the 9th to 12th century named Arran; its urban population spoke mainly in the Persian language.[6][7]
