Ganja

Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of just over 320,000, mostly ethnical Azeris.
It was named Elisabethpol (Russian: Елизаветпо́ль) in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name Ganja in 1920 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again in 1935 to Kirovabad (Russian: Кироваба́д) and retained it throughout the later Soviet period from 1935. Finally in 1989, during Perestroika, the city regained the original name.

Even though some sources from medieval Islamic time attribute the building of the town to a Muslim Arab ruler, modern historians believe that the fact that the name Ganja (گنجه / Ganjeh) derives from the New Persian ganj (گنج: "treasure, treasury") and in Arabic source the name is recorded as Janza (Middle Persian: ganza: treasure, treasury") suggests that the city existed in pre-Islamic times and was likely founded in the 5th century.
The area in which Ganja is located was known as Arran from the 9th to 12th century; its urban population spoke mainly in the Persian language. The economy of Ganja is partially agricultural, partially tourist based, with some industries in operation. Ore minerals extracted from nearby mines supply Ganja's metallurgical industries, which produces copper and alumina. There are porcelain, silk and footwear industries. Other industries process food, grapes and cotton from the surrounding farmlands.

Historically an important city of the South Caucasus, Ganja has been part of the Sassanid empire, Great Seljuk Empire, Kingdom of Georgia, Atabegs of Azerbaijan, Khwarezmid Empire, Il-Khans, Timurids, Jalayirids, Qara Qoyunlu, Ak Koyunlu, the Safavid, the Afsharid, the Zand and the Qajar empires of Persia/Iran. Prior to the Iranian Zand and Qajar rule, following Nader Shah's death, it was ruled locally for a few decades by the khans/dukes of the Ganja Khanate, who themselves were subordinate to the central rule in mainland Iran and were a branch of the Iranian Qajar family.

Armenian Community:
In addition to Persian and Turkic-speaking Muslims, the city has had a numerically, economically and, culturally significant Armenian Christians community. Among the Armenians, the city is known as Gandzak.
In November 1988, the Kirovabad pogrom forced many Armenians to leave the city.

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