Sədərək

Sederek cave, burial monuments of the Bronze Age, the ruins of the cyclopes building named "Div hörən" (Built by Giant) allows to assume that this area is the ancient human settlement. The researchers, confirmed that the average flow banks of the Araz River including Sederek plain, at different times was part of the large state associations of Van, Medes, Assyrian kingdoms. In early Middle Ages, area have been under the sphere of influence of Sasanian Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Arab caliphate, and later the states of Atabegs, Kara Koyunlu and Ag Qoyunlu. In the period of Safavid, Sederek was part of Chukhursad province along with the present territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.[1]

Medieval ages settlement of Sederek has covered a large area on the left bank of the Araz River, in the south-east of the same named village of modern period. Located at the crossroads of trade and caravan routes Sederek, increased to city level in the Middle Ages, here have been built water pipeline with earthenware pipes. French traveler Jean Chardin (1643-1713), Turkish traveler, geographer Evliya Çelebi (1611–82) and others gave interesting information about the Sederek. Evliya Çelebi, who visited Azerbaijan many times (1640–44, 1646–48, 1655–56) writes about Sederek in his work of “Seyahatname”: "We ... have reached the village of Sadarak. The village which is located in the land of Nakhchivan ... is beautiful and prosperous, there have 1000 beautiful houses, countless gardens and vineyards, pleasant climate. All of its population is Shia. Behind the city, at the foot of the high hill near the gardens, the hot water comes out".[1]

Since beginning of 18th century, Sederek was under the control of the Ottomans. According to the Turkmenchay Treaty in 1828, Nakhchivan and Erivan Khanate, also along with the Sederek have been annexed to Russia. Shortly after the conclusion of that treaty, the resettlement of the Armenians to this land began.[3][1]

Armenians, to be annex the lands of Nakhchivan over and again (1904–05, 1918–20, 1990–93) attacked to the Sadarak and were committed brutalities against its population. Homes were destroyed, and the massacres were committed. The population of the Sederek have encountered in countless sufferings. The headquarter of the self-defense battalion, the "Red battalion" which was created by the lead of Abbasgulu bey Shadlinski was located in Sadarak. In 1921, in the cleaning of Nakhchivan, Yerevan, Daralayaz, Zengezur, Sharur and other places from the armed groups of Armenian Dashnak, 19 people (4 of them were from Sadarak) of the nearly 500 distinguished fighters of "Red battalion" (about 100 of them were from Sadarak) were awarded with the order of "Red Flag".[1]

In 1990–93, the Armenian-Russian armed groups 14 times attacked to the Sederek, Karki village was occupied on 19 January 1990. In 1990-93, 108 people were killed in the defense of Sadarak. On 28 March 1990, from the Armenian side were thrown nearly 300 missiles to the Sadarak. During this time nearly 500 houses, schools, administrative buildings has been destroyed in the Sadarak. In the defense of Sadarak, have participated many volunteers from the regions of Nakhchivan, Ordubad, Julfa, Babak and Shahbuz. In the acting period of Heydar Aliyev in Nakhchivan, Sederek as the other border regions, have been saved from the threat of occupation, too. Considering the strategic position of the area, in order to strengthen social and economic power of the border settlements, the Sadarak Rayon was established on the base of the village of Sadarak (August 28, 1990).[1]