Erivan Uyezd
The Erivan Uyezd (; ) was an "uezd" (county) of the Erivan Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. The "uezd" bordered the governorate's Etchmiadzin and Surmalu Uyezds to the west, the Nor Bayazet Uyezd to the east, the Sharur-Daralayaz Uyezd to the south, and Persia to the southwest. It included most of the Ararat Province and southern parts of the Kotayk Province of present-day central Armenia, the Sadarak District of the Nakhichevan exclave of present-day Azerbaijan, and the Aras corridor of the Aralık District of the Iğdır Province of present-day Turkey. The  administrative center of the Erivan Uyezd was the city of Erivan (Yerevan, current capital of Armenia). Economy. The population was engaged primarily in agricultural farming, gardening, and winemaking. Approximately 50% of the wine in the Erivan Governorate was produced in the Erivan Uyezd. According to statistical data, there were 129,120 great cattle in the uyezd, which made up 11% of the cattle in the whole governorate. Geography. The northeastern part of the "uezd" was mountainous and rocky while the southwestern part consisted of steppes and plains. The southwestern part was watered by the Aras River with the lowest altitude of  on the border with Sharur-Daralayaz Uyezd. The administrative center Erivan laid at above sea level, which was the highest point of the "uezd". Among the rivers discharging into the Aras were the Zanga, the Garni-chay, and the Vedi-chay, which usually dried out during the summers and became active in the winters. History. The territory of the "uezd" had been a part of Persia's Erivan Khanate until 1828, when according to the Treaty of Turkmenchay, it was annexed to the Russian Empire. It was administered as part of the Armenian Oblast from 1828 to 1840. In 1844 , the Caucasus Viceroyalty was re-established, in which the territory of the Erivan Uyezd formed part of the Tiflis Governorate. In 1849, the Erivan Governorate was established, separate from the Tiflis Governorate. In 1918, the "uezd" became a part of the First Republic of Armenia, partially being occupied by the Ottoman army through much of 1918 as a result of the Treaty of Batum until its reincorporation into Armenian administration in the December of 1918. Many of the Azerbaijanis in the southern rural portions of the "uezd", particularly in centers including Boyuk Vedi (Vedi), Davalu (Ararat) and Zangibasar (Masis) after  being prompted by Kemalist Turkish agents engaged in open rebellion against the Armenian government, hostilities lasting from July 1919 until the Sovietization of Armenia. After the establishment of Soviet power on 3 December 1920, most of the "uezd" formed part of the Armenian SSR, the center Erivan (Yerevan) serving as the new government's capital. The southernmost parts of the "uezd" corresponding to the locality of Sadarak became the northernmost section of the new Nakhichevan ASSR of the Azerbaijan SSR and the outer southwestern strip of the "uezd", corresponding to the Aras corridor on the west bank of the Aras  river, was ceded to Turkey in accordance with the treaties of Moscow and Kars. Administrative divisions. The Erivan Uyezd was split into 4 unnamed contiguous "uchastoks" (subcounties): Demographics. Russian Empire census (1897). According to the Russian Empire census of 1897, the Erivan Uyezd had a population of 150,879, including 82,899 men and 67,980 women. The majority of the population indicated Tatar (later known as Azerbaijani) to be their mother tongue, with significant Armenian and Kurdish speaking minorities. Caucasian Calendar (1917). The 1917 Caucasian Calendar which produced statistics of 1916 indicates 205,617 residents in the Erivan Uyezd, including 108,228 men and  97,389 women, 157,100 of whom were the permanent population, and 48,517 were temporary residents. The statistics indicated an overwhelmingly ethnic Armenian population in the capital Erivan, with a significant Azerbaijani population, conversely, in the rural peripheries of the district, the population which was mainly Azerbaijani was concentrated in the fertile lowlands south of Erivan, adjacent to the contiguous Sharur-Daralayaz Uyezd: