[SwEeTLuScIouSGaNjA]

Ganja IPA: [gæn'ʤæ] (Azeri: Gəncə) is Azerbaijan's second largest city.

The city was most likely founded in the 5th century AD. To explain the etymology of "Ganja", people refer either to the Persian word ganj (گنج: "treasure, treasury", of Persian origin), or to the genç ("young"), which is of either Kurdish or Turkic origin.

Historically an important city of Iran (Persia), Ganja is also the birthplace of the famous classical Persian poet Nizami. People of Ganja experienced cultural decline after an earthquake in 1139 and the Mongol invasion in 1231. The city was revived after the Safavids came to power. For a short period of time, Ganja was called Abbasabad in honor of Shah Abbas I.[citation needed] In 1747, Ganja became the capital of the independent Ganja Khanate. In October 1813, the Gulistan Treaty transferred the city to the Russians after Persia's defeat in the Persia-Russia wars. It was renamed Elizavetpol after the wife of Alexander I of Russia, Elizabeth.

In 1918, Ganja became the temporary capital of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (which renamed it Ganja again), until Baku was recaptured from the British backed Centro Caspian Dictatorship. In 1920, the Red Army conquered Azerbaijan and in 1935 Joseph Stalin renamed the city Kirovabad after Sergei Kirov. In 1991, Azerbaijan became independent, and the ancient name of the city was re-established.

Today Ganja is the second largest city in Azerbaijan. The population is about 300,000. It has an airport, and is home to the Nizami Mausoleum, built in 1991.

And little have you know...Nizami...is one of my favorite poets...and...'GaNjA' can be good before homemade waffles.....

-GaNj
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