Zorgala

In the village of Zar, Kavar district, Goycha district, approximately 2 kilometers south of the village of Kenizler

Kavar-Kamo, now Gavar

Architecture

A number of inscriptions in the Zorgala fortress were cut down and taken away by Armenians. The fortress, whose ruins remain, was taken over by Armenians.

Zorgala fortress is located approximately 2 kilometers south of the village of Kenizler (now the city of Kamo). Zorgala is reminiscent of the “Qishlag-1” fortress on the right bank of the Kavar River in terms of its architectural solution. The fortress is surrounded by single-layer walls made of large rocks from the north and east, and after the walls, there are circular underground excavations with stone walls and arches. The southern and western directions consist of hard, rocky cliffs. Although the Armenian “historian” E. Lalayan conducted excavations in Zorgala as early as 1906, there is no information about this in Armenian history. Only in the 30s of the 20th century, after academician B. Piotrovsky investigated the fortress, expressed a firm opinion that the fortress, by its purpose, served as an auxiliary element in the protection of the Kavar fortress (Khalda city), and publicized the fact that excavations had once been carried out here and a number of inscriptions had been cut out, did Armenian scientific journals provide information about Lalayan's excavations; but the Armenians did not use the name of the fortress as it was, writing it as "Mrtbi-dzor".
On page 12 of the "Irevan Province Summary Book", approved and sealed by Ahmad Shah Mehmet Khan oglu on April 12, 1728, the name of Zar is indicated as the 18th village among the administrative units of the Goycha district and relevant notes are made about its annual payment to the sultan's treasury being determined in the amount of 3220 agcha. It is also clear from that document that the village of Zar was located in a geographical position bordering Keniz (Kavar). None of the documents dating back to the period after the formation of the Armenian province mentions the name of the village of Zar. This means that one of the ancient Turkish villages that the Armenians purposefully destroyed in 1826-1829, and later, without allowing it to be restored, they summarized it in the category of "dead villages whose names have been forgotten" is the village of Zar.

The first written information about dice dates back to the time of the Babak movement, and from this historical information it is clear that the main striking force of the Khurramid commanders consisted of Zar warriors. The 12th century author Samani, giving information about the "Zar" tribes that took a warlike position against the Arabs in his time, states that their customs and traditions are the same as those of the Khurramids. The same author clearly indicates in his notes that it is a mistake to accept the word "zar" as a distorted form of the Arabic word "zaer"; information about "zar" dates back much earlier than the Mazdekis and is most likely connected with Zoroastrianism.