Djaro-Belokani

350 px|thumb|right|Map of Jar-Balakan Communities in the 18th Century The Djaro-Belokani communities (also Char, Car, Jar, Djari, Chary, rarely Chartalah) were a group of self-governing communities in the Caucasus from the 17th to the 19th centuries. They had close ties with the Elisu Sultanate to the southeast. alt=|center|thumb|Flag of Jar-Balakan

==Geography, peoples and government== 150px|thumb|right|Chingizgala The entity extended for about 60 kilometres along the south slope of the Caucasus Mountains in what is now Azerbaijan. Here a series of valleys extended down from the mountain crest southwest to the lowlands of the Alazan River. The population was centered in the lower valleys and their outwash plains. To the southeast was the Elisu Sultanate and beyond that the Shaki Khanate. To the west was the Georgian Kingdom of Kakheti and north over the mountains was Dagestan. The lowlands to the southwest were inhabited by Georgians in the west and Azerbaijanis in the east. Its location near the Christian-Muslim divide and proximity to Dagestani raiders made it a battleground.