The Origin of the Name “Çärjew”
The Çärjew district is one of the most significant settlements of Turkmenistan, located on the banks of the Amu Darya. This region holds considerable historical and strategic importance. The origin of its name is connected not only with administrative terminology but also directly with the historical and geographical characteristics of the area.
According to scholarly analyses, the name “Çärjew” derives from ancient Persian words. In Persian, čār means “four,” and jūy refers to a “watercourse” or “irrigation canal.” Combined, these terms convey the meaning “a place where four waters meet” or “a land with four canals.” This meaning corresponds closely to the local geography, as several major irrigation canals branched from the Amu Darya in the Çärjew region, supplying water to agricultural fields and playing a crucial role in the economic life of the area.
Historical sources record the name Çärjew in various forms, such as Chirchuy, Charjuy, Chardzhui / Chardzhou. All of these variants confirm its Persian origin and reflect phonetic transformations that occurred as the name became Turkicized. During the Soviet period, the city was written as Chardzhou, which also demonstrates the historical and phonetic continuity of the name.
Some historians propose an alternative interpretation, suggesting that the name may mean “a place where four roads meet.” This explanation is linked to the fact that during the medieval period, the region served as a major crossroads where four significant trade routes intersected: Khwarazm, Bukhara–Samarkand, Merv, and Kerki–Afghanistan. However, from an academic standpoint, the most widely accepted explanation remains the Persian-derived meaning “four waters.”
