ASAGI NEJILI

In Zangibasar district, 2 km west of the village of Uluhanli, the center of Zangibasar district, near the railway station of Uluhanli, on the left bank of the Zangi river.

Before 1950 (except for a short period after ­1828) in the village lived only Azerbaijani Turks, and in 1950-1988 - Azerbaijanis­ and Armenians.

Although statistics of 1832 included 411 Azerbaijanis (203 men, 208 women) in 45 households of the village and 114 Armenians (68 men, 46 women) in 24 households, Armenians who were deported from ­Iran did not live there for a long time and in 1873 only Azerbaijani population was registered in the village: 1183 people (613 men, 570 women) in 125 households.

In 1886 there were 1,147 (649 men, 498 women) Azerbaijanis living in the village in 168 farms, in 1897 - 1,178 Azerbaijanis, in 1905 - 1,430, in 1914 - 1,573.

In 1918-1919, the population of the village was expelled from their homeland ­by the Armenian Dashnaks and took refuge in Turkey. The village was destroyed by the Armenians­, part of the population was killed.

In the first years of Soviet power, some of the fugitive population of the village returned to their native land, they rebuilt the village and began to live on. In 1922 there were 555, in 1926 - 726, in 1931 - 627 Azerbaijanis registered in the village.

In 1950, part of the Azerbaijani population of the village was deported, and Armenian families brought in from abroad settled in the village.

On January 25, 1978, the name of the village Ashagi Nedzhili was renamed Sayat Nova.

In 1988, there were 490 households in the village. 90 of them were Armenians, 10-12 were Muslim Kurds, and the rest (about 390) were Azerbaijanis.

The genocide of 1988 in the village of Ashagi Nedzhili also resulted in the brutal expulsion of the Azerbaijani population from their homeland. The most devastating Armenian attack on the village of Ashagi Nedzhili occurred on June 18, 1988. On that day, Armenians attacked the village of Ashagi Nedzhili from several directions. Houses were destroyed, burned. This wild action was led directly by the Armenian leaders of the district.

There were two mosques in the village, one in the southern part of the village and one in the immediate vicinity of the Zangi river. The ruins of the old mosque stood, and it is unknown when it was built. Taza mosque was built in the early 20th century. The population of Ashagi Nedjeli has always strictly observed and followed religious customs, ceremonies, and rituals.

The village also had two Muslim cemeteries. The old cemetery was on the other side of the Zangi river. The new cemetery inside the village, at the back of the mosque building, was facing the bell tower. And the arriving Armenians, who began settling in the village in 1950, laid out a new Armenian cemetery.

In the village's new Muslim cemetery, Mir Abbas-aga's grave was located so that this grave turned into a hearth. During the oath in the village, people swore by Mir Abbas' grave, prayed for him, and made wishes for him.

 Haji-Mir-Jalil's mausoleum was also a place of pilgrimage for people.