Baghdati ( ) is a town of 3,700 peopleNational Statistics Office of Georgia, Population Census 2014 in the Imereti region of western Georgia, at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the river Khanistsqali, a tributary of the Rioni.

Geography The town is located at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the left bank of the river Khanistsqali, about west-northwest of Tbilisi and south-southeast of Kutaisi.

The climate of Baghdati can be classified as moderately humid subtropical (Köppen climate classification Cfa).

History

Baghdati is one of the oldest villages in the historical region of Imereti. Its name shares the same roots as Baghdād, the capital of Iraq derived from the Pahlavi words bagh ("god") and dāti ("given"), translating to "God-given" or "God’s gift." The town has gone under many name changes through out its history. During the Imperial and early Soviet era the town's name was adapted into its Russian form of Bagdadi. () In 1940, it was renamed Mayakovsky (; ), after the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky who was born in the settlement in 1893.Е. М. Поспелов (Ye. M. Pospelov). "Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь." (City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary.) Москва, "Русские словари", 1993, p. 30. In 1981, Mayakovsky was granted town status. In 1991, the original Georgian name was restored.

Demographics YearPopulation19594586197046091979483119895465200247142009480020143707 Note: Census data 1959–2014

Notable people Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930), poet

Notes

External links

Municipality of Baghdati (in Georgian)