Saqiyan

Municipality in Shamakhi, Azerbaijan

Saqiyan Սաղիան • Saghian
Municipality
40°38′N 48°30′E / 40.633°N 48.500°E / 40.633; 48.500
Country	Azerbaijan
District	Shamakhi
Population ^{[citation needed]}
• Total	544
Time zone	UTC+4 (AZT)

Saqiyan (Sagiyan; Armenian: Սաղիան, romanized: Saghian) is a village and municipality in the Shamakhi District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 544 and was one of the oldest Armenian-populated villages of the Shamakhi district.^{[citation needed]}

History

Ruins of St. Stephen Protomartyr episcopal monastery

The name Saghian was first mentioned in 1636. At the north-western end of the village, the famous and valuable monument of the village, the episcopal monastery of St. Stephen Protomartyr is preserved. The monastery was built in 1660 and for hundreds of years it was the seat of the leader of the Shamakhi diocese.^{[citation needed]}

According to 1914 statistics, the village had a population of 1207 people, all of them Armenians. Until 1970, the village was exclusively inhabited by Armenians. The last Armenians left the village during the 1988 deportation.^[1]