Pirjavidan

Pirjavidan or Pirdavidan was a village in the territory of the Zangezur uezd of the former Yelizavetpol (Ganja) governorate, later in the former Gafan district, and present-day Syunik province. It was located 37 km to the northwest of Gafan and on the right bank of the Okhchu River. The name of the village was noted as “Pirdavdan” and as “Pirdovudan” in sources. The authentic name of the village is “Pirjavidan”.

The village was inhabited by 17 Azerbaijanis in 1831, 135 in 1873, 223 in 1886, 254 in 1897, 231 in 1904 and 360 Azerbaijanis in 1914. The Azerbaijanis were attacked, massacred or expelled from the village by Armenian armed units in 1918. After the establishment of Soviet power in present-day Armenia, the Azerbaijanis that survived managed to return to their homes. The village was inhabited by 19 Azerbaijanis in 1922. Later, the village was merged with the town of Qajaran and abolished.

The toponym was related to the name “Javidan”, one of Babak’s heros which means “the shrine of Javidan”.