Baku, March 29, AZERTAC
The Zagatala administrative district was founded on August 8, 1930. In 1940, its main residential area was given a city status. The region is situated in the northwestern part of Azerbaijan, on the southern outskirts of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range, in the Kanikh Ayrichay valley. Zagatala is a multi-ethnic region.
Tsaxurs, Avars, Ingiloys, Russians, and representatives of other ethnicities live in this territory, together with Azerbaijanis. There are several versions regarding the etymology of the word “Zagatala. The most important aspect is that the name "Zagatala" is a changed form of the word "Sakatala" (Sak plain). At the beginning of the seventh century B.C., Sak tribes who had come to western Asia via the Kimmer-Skit exodus, settled in the territory of Caucasian Albania. This territory covered the area from the right bank of the Kura River to the outskirts of the Caucasus Mountains.
The Zagatala region was also situated on the western border of Caucasian Albania as an integral part of the territory. The older residents of Zagatala still pronounce the word "Zagatala" as "Zaktala." According to another story, the word "Zagatala" was formed from the combination of the words "zaq" and "tala." The word "zaq" means "side" or "edge" in old Turkish, while "tala" means an open space in a woodland, or plain. So, the word "Zagatala" means "talanin yani" (the side of the plain) and the name "Tala" is more ancient even than the name Zagatala. Another story asserts that the word "Zagatala" originated from "Zakariyya talasi" (tala of Zakariyya), but this assertion has no scientific proof.