Zorakert

41°05′34″N 43°39′35″E / 41.09278°N 43.65972°E / 41.09278; 43.65972

Zorakert
Զորակերտ
Zorakert is located in Armenia
Zorakert
Zorakert
Zorakert is located in Shirak
Zorakert
Zorakert
Coordinates: 41°05′34″N 43°39′35″E / 41.09278°N 43.65972°E / 41.09278; 43.65972
CountryArmenia
ProvinceShirak
MunicipalityAmasia
Population
 • Total
145
Time zoneUTC+4

Zorakert (Armenian: Զորակերտ) is a village in the Amasia Municipality of the Shirak Province of Armenia.

Name

Zorakert was formerly known as Balekhli (Armenian: Բալըխլի, Azerbaijani: Balıqlı).[2] It was renamed Zorakert in April 1991.[2]

History

Zorakert was founded in the early nineteenth century.[3] Its inhabitants moved there from the nearby village of Khanjalli, which is now abandoned.[2][3] The village was previously populated mainly by Karapapakhs, a Turkic-speaking Sunni Muslim ethnic group.[4] In the Tsarist period, the village was a part of the Agbaba sub-county (uchastok) of the Kars Oblast, which was annexed by the Russian Empire after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.[4] Unlike the rest of the Kars Oblast, the Agbaba sub-county was not ceded to Turkey in 1921 and remained a part of Soviet Armenia.[4] In the Soviet period, the village fell under the Amasia District of Soviet Armenia. Zorakert's Turkic population left mainly in late 1988.[4] The village is now inhabited by Armenians.

Geography

Zorakert is located on the northeastern shore of Lake Arpi, in a rocky and hilly area, at an elevation of 2030 meters above sea level.[2][3] The climate is cold and precipitation is plenty.[3] The village receives its drinking water through a pipeline from a source 4 kilometers away.[3] It is 50 kilometers away from the provincial capital of Gyumri.[4]

Landmarks

A mosque dating to the 19th or 20th century is located in the village.[5] The remains of an ancient fortress and gravesite are located on the hill to the northeast of the village.[3][5]

Economy

The main economic activities of the village are animal husbandry and the cultivation of vegetable crops.[2]

Demographics

The population of the village since 1886 is as follows:[2]

Year Population
1886 205
1912 398[6]
1922 119
1931 205
1964 300
1970 440
1979 472
1989 212
2001 152
2004 109
2011 145[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Population Census 2011: Distribution of RA De facto and De jure Population by RA administrative-territorial units" (PDF). Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia. 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Հայաստանի Հանրապետության բնակավայրերի բառարան [Republic of Armenia settlements dictionary] (PDF) (in Armenian). Yerevan: Cadastre Committee of the Republic of Armenia. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Hakobyan, Tadevos Kh.; Melik-Bakhshyan, Stepan T.; Barseghyan, Hovhannes Kh. (1986). Բալըխլի. Հայաստանի և հարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան [Dictionary of Toponymy of Armenia and Adjacent Territories]] (in Armenian). Vol. 1. Yerevan State University Publishing House. p. 556.
  4. ^ a b c d e Hakobyan, Tatul (13 November 2021). Զորակերտ գյուղի բնակչությունը 1886-1931 թվականներին. Ամասիայի շրջան [Population of Zorakert village 1886-1931. Amasia district]. ANI Armenian Research Center (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Կառավարության որոշում․ 9 սեպտեմբերի 2004 թվականի N 1270-Ն․ Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Շիրակի մարզի պատմության և մշակույթի անշարժ հուշարձանների պետական ցուցակը հաստատելու մասին [Decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia. September 9, 2004 N 1270-N. On approving the state list of immovable monuments of history and culture of Shirak Province of the Republic of Armenia]. Armenian Legal Information System (in Armenian). 9 September 2004. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  6. ^ Кавказский календарь на 1912 год [Caucasian calendar for 1912] (in Russian) (67th ed.). Tiflis: Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom. 1912. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.