Lankaran District

Lankaran (Lenkoran, Lənkəran) is a rayon of Azerbaijan. It surrounds but does not include the city of Lankaran, which is technically a separate administrative region.

History

Archaeological excavations indicate that people have lived in the region since at least the Bronze Age (3rd or 2nd millennia BC). The area around Lankaran has fertile soil, rich water reserves and a humid subtropical climate with a maximum annual precipitation of 1,600 to 1,800 mm, the highest precipitation in Azerbaijan, lending to abundant agriculture, cattle-breeding, gardening, fishing, bee-keeping and silk production. Blacksmith, copper-smith, pottery and other trades have long been well established too. The area's development was also aided by its location as a point of communication between ancient empires, leading to caravan trade funnelled along the Caspian Sea coast.

Between 1747 and 1813, Lankaran was the main city of the Talysh Khanate. Following the 1813 Gulistan Treaty, the northern area of the khanate was occupied by Russia, and the remainder was seized in the final Russo-Persian war of 1826-1828. The 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay left the area within the Russian empire and the khanate was abolished. During the 19th century, Lankaran exported rice, silk, vegetables, wood and fish to Russia. During the 20th century the tea-cultivation and processing industry became important in the rayon.

Lankaran

Coordinates: 38°45′13″N 48°51′04″E / 38.75361°N 48.85111°E / 38.75361; 48.85111

Lankaran (Azerbaijani: Lənkəran) is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. It has a population of 220,780 (2015 census). It is next to but independent of Lankaran rayon. The city forms a distinct first-order division of Azerbaijan.

Etymology

The old form of the name was "Langarkanan" that in Persian means "the place of pulling up the anchor(s)" : "Langar" (Persian: لنگر‎‎, anchor) + "kan" (Persian: کن‎‎, to pull) + "an"(Persian: آن‎‎, suffix of places). However, some sources state that Lankaran is said to come from the Talish words for 'Cane house', which sounds as 'Lan Karan'. Alternatively, from Median *Lan(a)karan-, where *karan- means 'border, region, land' and Lan is probably a name of a Caspian tribe.

History

The city was built on a swamp along the northern bank of the river bearing the city's name. There are remains of human settlements in the area dating back to the Neolithic period as well as ruins of fortified villages from the Bronze and Iron Ages.