Aghkend

Aghkend is a village in the Sharur-Daralayaz uezd of the former Iravan governorate, later in the former Keshishkend (Yeghegnadzor) district, and currently in the Vayots Dzor province. The provincial centre lies 23 km to the north of the town of Keshishkend, by the Salim River, on the right bank of the Arpa River, at a height of 1,610 m above sea level.

The village was inhabited only by 222 Azerbaijanis in 1831, 498 in 1873, 546 in 1886, 670 in 1897, 918 in 1904, 1,010 in 1914 and 704 Azerbaijanis in 1916. In 1918 the inhabitants of the village had to desert it through massacres having been exposed to Armenian aggression. Only after Soviet power had been established in the present-day Armenian territory, the survivors managed to return to their village. The place was inhabited by 106 Azerbaijanis in 1922, 126 Azerbaijanis, 172 Armenians in 1926, 167 Azerbaijanis, 297 Armenians in 1931, 621 Azerbaijanis and Armenians in 1939. The Armenians were removed to the village from the provinces of Khoy and Salmas of Iran in 1829. The Azerbaijani inhabitants were forcibly removed to Azerbaijan in 1948–1949. At present, the village is inhabited by Armenians.

The toponym was coined by combining the Old Turkic word “agh” meaning “small, little” and the Old Turkic word “kend” meaning “a settlement”, “a town”.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR dated 3 July 1968, the village was renamed “Aghnjazor”. According to the law “On the administrative-territorial division of the Republic of Armenia” dated 7 November 1995, it was integrated into the administrative area of the Vayots Dzor province.

Geographic coordinates: latitude: 39°54′ N., longitude: 45°14′ E.