Nahajir Castle

Nahajir, also known as Nəhəcir, is a village and municipality situated in the Babek District of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in Azerbaijan. Located approximately 22 kilometers north of the district center on a foothill area, the settlement currently supports a population of roughly 514 residents who are primarily engaged in farming and animal husbandry. The village contains essential community infrastructure, including a secondary school, a medical center, a club, and two libraries. Administratively, the area underwent a significant change on January 6, 2015, when it was transferred from the neighboring Julfa District to its current location within the Babek District.

The site holds profound historical significance due to the presence of Nahajir Fortress, an ancient defensive structure dating back to the end of the second millennium BC. Discovered by a Nakhchivan archaeological expedition in 2001, the fortress sits on the southern flat area of a steep, rocky mountain overlooking the village. It features massive Cyclopean-style defensive walls constructed from large rocks, measuring between 2 and 2.5 meters in width, which were built by ancient tribes to protect against enemy attacks. Archaeological excavations within the fortress and nearby destroyed barrows have yielded various artifacts, including basalt axes, stone pestles, and distinctive black, gray, and pink pottery fragments from the Bronze Age.

The name Nahajir is linguistically derived from a distorted form of the Persian word Nakhjir, meaning hunting area, a title researchers associate with natural ram figures found in the territory. In addition to the main fortress, the area includes Nahajir I, a substantial Bronze Age residence covering ten hectares with a cultural layer three meters thick. Excavations at this secondary site have revealed further evidence of early settlement, such as monochrome painted clay pots, grain stones, and graters. Today, while the ancient stone walls remain as a testament to the region's deep past, the modern village continues to function as an agricultural hub within the autonomous republic.