Khalaj or Khelej is a village in the Zangezur uezd of the former Yelizavetpol (Ganja) governorate, later in the former Gafan district, and currently in the Syunik province. The provincial centre is located 8 km to the northeast of the town of Gapan, on the left bank of the Khalaj River, at a height of 910 m above sea level. It was marked on the five-verst map of the Caucasus. Following the establishment of the Zangezur district in Soviet Armenia on 31 August 1921, the settlement was integrated into the administrative area of Armenia.

The village was inhabited by 23 Azerbaijanis in 1831, 34 in 1873, 308 in 1886, 329 in 1897, 319 in 1904 and 300 Azerbaijanis in 1914. In 1918 the Azerbaijanis were massacred and deported by Armenian armed forces. The Azerbaijani inhabitants, who left the village, managed to return to their homeland following the establishment of Soviet power in present-day Armenia. The village was inhabited by 132 Azerbaijanis in 1922, 94 in 1926, 114 in 1931 and 780 Azerbaijanis in 1939. According to the decision of the USSR Council of Ministers “On the resettlement of collective farmers and other Azerbaijani population from the Armenian SSR to the Kur-Araz lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR” dated 23 December 1947, 11 families (48 people) were forcibly deported from the village to Azerbaijan in 1948. The remaining residents of the village were deported by the Armenian government in late November 1988. At present, Armenians live there.

The toponym “Khalaj” was coined on the basis of the name of the ancient Turkic tribe.

By decision of the Armenian parliament dated 4 July 2006, the village was renamed “Ajanan”. 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 Syunik province.

Geographical coordinates: latitude: 39°14’ N., longitude: 46°25’ E.