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Meaning of â€œShabranâ€ becomes subject of discussions in the Parliament

25 February 2009 13:26 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Elbrus Seyfullayev-APA. The meaning of â€œShabranâ€ has become a subject of discussions while considering the issue on naming Devechi region as â€œShabranâ€ by the Parliamentâ€™s Standing Commission on Regional Issues today. One of the members of the Commission asked the meaning of â€œShabranâ€. The discussions have been conducted on the issue, but there was not any concrete opinion on the meaning of â€œShabranâ€. It was decided to investigate etymology of the word before raising it for discussions in plenary session of the parliament.

APA taking the issue into account investigated the issue. The Institute of Oriental Studies of ANAS and Toponymy Commission under the parliament did not know the meaning of â€œShabranâ€.

There were several versions of the â€œShabranâ€ etymology. The word is explained like â€œShabiranâ€, â€œShaporanâ€, â€œSabiranâ€ in the various historic books published in Azerbaijan. It was claimed that the cityâ€™s name related to the ancient Turkic tribes of Sabirs. According to the reports, there are analogues of this name in the Central Asian countries. One of the versions is about that Shabran was built during the Sasanid power in V-VI centuries. According to this version, Shabran was built as a fortress by the Sasanid Shah Khosrov Anushiravan.
Ruins of the ancient city of Shabran located near Shahnazarli Village of Devechi Region. The city was occupied for many times in IX-XIII centuries and further. Shabran lived through the strong decay and development for several times. The city located on the main trade route. Silkworm breeding, pottery and other handicrafts were developed in the city. The citizens lived on the right and left banks of Shabran River. 53-km Shabran River streams through the Devechi Regionâ€™s territory. There were archeological excavations in the ruins of ancient city of Shabran in 1979 and various reports were made about the city.

Renaming of Devechi Region was discussed for several times during USSR period. Today the issue was discussed in the Azerbaijani parliament as a draft law. The renaming of the region was positively accepted by the parliamentarians and recommended to the discussion of plenary meeting.