Khizi District

Khizi District is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the east of the country and belongs to the Absheron-Khizi Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Siyazan, Shabran, Quba, Shamakhi, Gobustan, and Absheron-Khizi. Its capital and largest city is Khizi. As of 2020, the district had a population of 17,100, making it the least populated district of Azerbaijan. Etymology Azerbaijanis and Tats compose the main ethnic background of Khizi. There are preconceptions about the etymology of the word "Xızı" which was previously used to represent a small village. Many experts assume that this name is from the Sassanid Empire. In the early Middle Ages (III-VI centuries), the Iranian tribes were transferred here to spread the Zoroastrianism, the official religion of the Empire, in northern territories of the empire, to combat Christianity and protect the northern borders from Hun, Peach and Khazar tribes. This process further strengthened after the Shirvanshahs were defeated by the Safavids. The tribes who moved here were mainly from Khuzistan. The name was gradually transformed into the form of Khizi in our time. According to another version, the toponym Khizi is derived from the word "Khazar". From history it is known that for several centuries the Khazars dominated the territories of the Caspian, Black and Baltic seas. As the 8th-century Arab historian Ibn Fadlan writes, the Muslim part of the Turkic-speaking Khazar people was headed by one of the representatives of the Khizi tribe. The Khizi tribe lived in the northern part of Azerbaijan in the II century BC. According to another version, the Turkic word "khyz" - quickly, rapidly, hastily gave the name of the area. Geography The climate of the district is mild and the air is dry. A large part of the district territory is covered with forests. On the flat Caspian coast there are irrigated cattle and chicken-breeding lowlands around Shurabad. West of Gilazi, the Khizi road climbs through the colourful semi-desert landscapes known as the Candy Cane Mountains. Around 10 km west of Khizi town, the green, heavily forested hills around Alti Agach which has been declared an Altyaghach National Park. The national park is home to the rare East Caucasian tur, a mountain-dwelling goat antelope found only in the eastern half of the Caucasus Mountains.