Practical information: Gabala

Qabala or Gabala (Azerbaijani: Qəbələ) is the most ancient and historical city of Azerbaijan. The municipality consists of the city of Qəbələ and the village of Küşnət.

Qabala bears the name of the ancient Qabala, a city which was the capital of the ancient state of Caucasian Albania on the territory of present Azerbaijan. The ruins of the old city are located 20 kilometers to southwest of the present center of the district. The remnants of the large buildings, city gates, tower walls and patters of material culture prove that Gabala was one of the most prominent cities at that time.

Qabala was located on the pathway of 2500 years old Silk Road and was mentioned in works of Pliny the Younger as "Kabalaka", Greek geographer Ptolemy as "Khabala", Arabic historian Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Baladhuri as "Khazar". In the 19th century, the Azerbaijani historian Abbasqulu Bakikhanov mentioned in his book "Gulistani Irem" that Kbala or Khabala were in fact Qabala. In 60s B.C., Roman troops attacked Caucasian Albania but did not succeed in capturing the Qabala territory. In 262, Caucasian Albania was occupied by Sassanid Empire but preserved its political and economic status. In 464 AD, lost its independence due to years of invasions from the northern nomadic tribes and had to move its capital city to Partava (currently Barda in Azerbaijan). Qabala was occupied by Shirvanshah Fariburz, Georgian tsar David III of Tao in 1120, Mongol khan Timurleng in 1386, Safavid shah Tahmasib I in 1538, Persian Nader Shah in 1734 but was able to preserve its culture and identity. After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, Azerbaijan split into independent khanates and sultanates and Qabala became a Qutqashen Sultanate. It was also called Qabala Mahali. After Azerbaijan was occupied by Russian Empire in 1813 it conducted administrative reforms and in 1841 Azerbaijani khanates were terminated and the territories were incorporated into governorates. Qabala area was added to Nukha uyezd of Elisabethpol Governorate. Due to archeological finds in Qabala, it was declared a National State Reserve in 1985.

Gabala is renowned for the ruins of an ancient walled city, Chukur Gabala, dating back to the 4th century BC.

Sources and some more information about the region:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qəbələ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qabala_Rayon
http://www.zerbaijan.com/azeri/history1.htm
http://www.caucasianhistory.org/
http://turkicethnogenesis.narod.ru/index.html