Ashaghi Akhta

Ashaghi Akhta is a town in the Novo-Bayazid uezd of the former Iravan governorate, later in the former Akhta (Hrazdan) district, the centre of the present-day Kutayk province. It is located by the Zangi River. It was mentioned on the five-verst map of the Caucasus.

The village was inhabited by 119 Azerbaijanis in 1897. In the early 20th century, in 1905-1906 the Azerbaijanis were ousted from the village which was turned into an Armenian settlement. In 1926 three Azerbaijanis lived there, who were later also driven out.

The toponym was coined by combining the Turkish word “ashaghi” denoting distinction and the ethnonym “Akhta” of the Padars, a branch of Turkic tribe.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR dated 30 June 1959, the village was renamed “Hrazdan”. 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 Kotayk province.

Geographic coordinates: latitude: 40°30’ N., longitude: 44°46’ E.