| Tovuz District | |
| Type: | District |
| Parts Type: | Settlements[1] |
| Parts: | 104 |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 8 August 1930 |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Azerbaijan |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Gazakh-Tovuz |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 177200 |
| Area Total Km2: | 1940 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Mammad Mammadov |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 6000 |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Tovuz |
| Timezone: | AZT |
| Utc Offset: | +4 |
Tovuz District (Azerbaijani: Tovuz rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north-west of the country and belongs to the Gazakh-Tovuz Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Gadabay, Shamkir, Samukh, Agstafa, as well as the Tavush Province of Armenia and Kakheti region of Georgia. Its capital and largest city is Tovuz. As of 2020, the district had a population of 177,200. A major train line runs through the center, stopping at Tovuz Station.
In July 2020, Tovuz became the main site for the clashes with Armenia.[3]
Tovuz covers 412 km2. The rayon is mountainous in the south, where it is crossed by the Lesser Caucasus mountains.[4]
The region includes rich deposits of ores and precious metals, notably gold.[5]
The region is located in the north-west of the Republic, bordering Georgia to the north, Armenia to the west, Gadabay to the south and south-west, Shamkir to the east, Samukh from north-east to the north.
The southern part of the district is located in the lowlands, the northern part lies in low mountainous and foothill zone, where positive and negative relief forms are shifted. There are three climate areas in the district:[6]
The river network:
The Kur River divides the region into two parts. The left coast is used as the main pasture for cattle breeding. The right bank of the river is used for agriculture, occupies the forest fund of the region and the meadow grassland. The annual rainfall is 40–70 mm.
There about 20 main villages in the district. They are Quşçu, Öysüzlü, Ayıblı, Alakol, Yuxarı Öysüzlü, Abulbəyli, Düz Qırıqlı, Düz Cırdaxan, Yanıqlı, Qəribli, Azaplı, Bozalqanlı, Dönük Qırıqlı, İbrahimhacılı, Dondar Quşçu, Kirən, Əlibəyli villages and Qovlar settlement. Qovlar settlement is more populated area among them.[7]
According to the statistics urbanization is low in the district. 26968 people live in the city and 130907 people live in the village. According to census of 2019, Tovuz has over 175.5 thousand people, out of which 1531 are war veterans.
Over 25536 are students and currently are in process of education.[8]
According to census of 2012 quantity of people from different nations were divided in this way:[9]
| Tovuz District | 157875 | |
| Azerbaijanis | 157599 | |
| Turkish | 157 | |
| Russians | 76 | |
| Talysh | 6 | |
| Таtars | 4 | |
| Armenians | 4 | |
| Other nations | 21 |
In Tovuz district, there are 4 museums, 13 cultural centers, 6 libraries and a Photo Gallery.Mədəniyyət - TOVUZ RAYON Icra Hakimiyyəti. Museums include Heydar Aliyev Center, History and Local Lore Museum, Ozan Ashug Museum and State Symbols Museum.[10] [11]
See main article: Goytepe archaeological complex. The ancient village of Goytepe (Göy Tepe) is one of the largest archaeological monuments in Tovuz District, and in Ganja – Gazakh region. It is located 2 km to the northeast from the village of Aşağı Quşçu, and well south of the current course of Kura river, but closer to Tovuz river which is flowing into Kura.
Starting in 2008, “Tovuz Archaeological expedition” conducted new archaeological investigations at Goytepe, and also at the Mentesh tepe ancient settlement nearby. This is a joint investigation of archaeologists from Azerbaijan, Japan and France.
In this same area of Azerbaijan are also located the ancient sites of Shomu Tepe, Soyuq Bulaq, and Boyuk Kesik. Shulaveris Gora is just across the border in Georgia.
Mentesh tepe is located close to Zeyem river about 10km east of Goytepe.[12] The excavations of Neolithic levels at Mentesh Tepe have brought to light a material culture related to the Shulaveri-Shomu culture, with some similarity to Baba-Dervish site. The earliest levels of Mentesh represent an advanced Neolitic culture with full domestication of cereals and animals. The pottery is also found, although in small numbers.
The occupation at Mentesh continued for a long period to the end of the Early Bronze Age. Local metallurgy here started already in the first half of the 6th millennium, and developed further during the second half of the 5th millennium.[13]
The region is dominated by agriculture. Wine, fruit, vegetables and grain crops are all produced along with cattle.[4]
Stock raising is one of the main revenue source of this region:
| Year | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The number of cattle | 38280 | 39993 | 40813 | 41558 | 41741 | 42275 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of cows and buffalos | 16185 | 16987 | 17330 | 17416 | 17420 | 17587 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of sheep and goat | 183429 | 192050 | 193543 | 195542 | 195749 | 196362 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birds | 340033 | 347605 | 375607 | 385025 | 409252 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pigs | 200 | 210 | 215 | -|-|-|-|horses||659|664|724|804|774|-|Donkeys||3049|3051|3052|2986|2795|-|Meat(tons)|23424|24852|25532|25839|27350|28225|-|Eggs|14628|14970|15140|15310|15840|16015|-|Wool production(tons)|295|331|340|344|351|358|}There are 24 entities which operate in industrial and agricultural sphere:
2020 Tovuz clashesAccording to Azerbaijani MOD, in the afternoon of July 12, Armenian Armed Forces started to fire on Azerbaijani State Border Service positions in Tovuz region using artillery mounds.[14] Thus, clashes between the Armenian Armed Forces and Azerbaijani Armed Forces broke out on July 12.The skirmishes resumed on 13 July and are ongoing with varying intensity, having resulted in at least 16 military and one civilian casualties. Among Azerbaijani military casualties were one major general (Polad Hashimov), one colonel (Ilgar Mirzayev) and two majors (Anar Novruzov and Namig Ahmadov).[15] However, the fighting has decreased, the situation in the region is still considered as volatile.[16] Notable natives
Gallery | Nature in Tovuz DistrictTovuz_rayon_tarix_diyarşünaslıq_muzeyi.jpg | Museum of History in TovuzTovuz,_Heydər_Əliyev_Parkı_-_10.jpg | Park in TovuzExternal links
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