History of Nagorno-Karabakh
Encyclopedia
Nagorno-Karabakh
is the modern designation for a southern part of the Lesser Caucasus
range, encompassing the highland part of the wider geographical region Karabakh
. The name Karabakh itself (derived from Turkic
and Persian
, and literary meaning "Black Garden") was first employed in Georgian
and Persian sources from the 13th and 14th centuries to refer to an Armenian principality known by modern historians as the Kingdom of Artsakh
or Khachen. Currently most of this area is under the control of the internationally unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
, which has economical, political and military support from the Republic of Armenia, but which is internationally formally a part of Azerbaijan
and its final status is still a subject of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This article encompasses the history of the region from the ancient to the modern period.
was occupied by the people known to modern archaeologists as the Kura-Araxes
, and is located between the two rivers bearing those names. Little is known about the ancient history of the region, primarily because of the scarcity of historical sources. Jewelry has been found within the present confines of Nagorno-Karabakh inscribed with the cuneiform name of Adad-Nirari
, King of Assyria
(c. 800 BC).
's descendants. According to a 5th century AD Armenian tradition, a local chieftain named Aran (Առան) was appointed by the Armenian king Vagharshak to be the first governor of this province. Ancient Armenian authors, Movses Khorenatsi
and Movses Kaghankatvatsi
, name of it Aran the ancestor inhabitants of Artsakh and next province Utik
, the descendant of Sisak (the ancestor and eponym next province Sisakan, differently Siunik), and through it—the descendant of Haik, the ancestor and eponym of all Armenians
.
(763–734 BC), found in village Tsovk in Armenia
, as the region Urtekhini. Then—in our data—a break down to the Roman
epoch. A following mention—already at Strabo
which characterizes "Orkhistena" (Artsakh) as "the area of Armenia exposing the greatest number of horsemen". It is unclear when Orkhistena became part of Armenia. Strabo, carefully listing all gains of Armenian Kings since 189 BC., has no mention of Orkhistena, which indirectly testifies to the fact that it probably has been an accessory of the Armenian empire to which it could get in the inheritance from Persian satrapy "East Armenia". Ruins of city Tigranakert are situated in near proximity to modern city of Agdam
. It is one of four cities with such a name that were built in the beginning of 1 BC by king of Armenia Tigranes the Great
. Recently Armenian archaeologists have led excavation of this city. Fragments of a fortress, and also hundreds the ancient subjects similar to subjects, found in Armenia. Fencing of a citadel and basilica of 5th–6th century AD have been revealed. Excavation have shown, that the city existed since 1st century BC until 13th–14th centuries AD.
Ancient inhabitants of Artsakh spoke a special dialect of the Armenian language; we know about this from the author of the Armenian grammar Stepanos Siunetsi who lived in around 700AD.
Strabo and authors of 1st–2nd centuries—Claudius Ptolemaeus and Pliny the Elder
—unanimously approve, that border between Greater Armenia and Caucasian Albania
is river Cyrus (Kura
). Authoritative encyclopedias on antiquity also name Kura southern border of Albania. Artsakh is much to the south of this river. Certificates which would approve its accessory Albania or to other state up to the end of the 4th century, does not exist.
Armenian historian Faustus of Byzantium
wrote that during an epoch of the distempers which have followed intrusion of Persians to Armenia (about 370), Artsakh it has appeared among the risen provinces, whereas Utik has been grasped by Albanians. Armenian military commander Mushegh Mamikonian defeated the country of Artsakh in a big battle, made many inhabitants of the region prisoners, took hostages from the rest and imposed a tribute on them. In 372 Mushegh defeated the Albanians, took from them Utik
and restored the border on Kura, "as was earlier".
According to "Geography" (Ashkharatsuyts) by 7th c. Armenian geographer Anania Shirakatsi
, Artsakh was the 10th among the 15 provinces (nahangs) of Armenia, and consisted of 12 districts (gavars): Myus Haband (Second Haband, as opposed to Haband of Siunik), Vaykunik (Tsar
), Berdadzor
, Mets Arank, Mets Kvenk, Harjlank, Mukhank, Piank, Parsakank (Parzvank), Kusti
, Parnes, and Koght. However Anania writes, that during its time Atrsakh together with the next districts "will tear away from Armenia". And it is valid, in 387 Armenia has been divided between Roman Empire
and Persia; thus Artsakh together with Armenian provinces Utik
and Paytakaran
was attached to Caucasian Albania.
In 469 the kingdom of Albania was reformed into Persian "marzpandom" (satrapy).
In the early 4th century Christianity
spreads in Artsakh. At the beginning of the 5th century, thanks to the creation of the Armenian written language by Mesrop Mashtots, an unprecedented rise of culture began in whole Armenia, in particular also in Artsakh, Mesrop Mashtots having founded one of the first Armenian schools at the Artsakh Amaras Monastery
.
In the 5th century the eastern part of Armenia, including Artsakh, continued to remain under the Persian rule. In 451 the Armenians in response to the policy of compulsion to the Zoroastrian Persia organized a powerful revolt known as Vardan war. Artsakh took part in that war, its cavalry having particularly distinguished itself. After the suppression of the revolt the considerable part of the Armenian forces took shelter in the impregnable fortresses and thick woods of Artsakh to continue further struggle against the foreign yoke. At the end of the same century Artsakh and neighboring Utik united under the rule of the Aranshakhiks
with Vachagan the Devout at the head (487–510’s). Under the latter a considerable rise in culture and science is observed in Artsakh. According to the evidence of a contemporary, in those years in the land there were built as many churches and monasteries as there are days in a year. At the turn of the 7th century the Albanian marzpandom breaks into several small principalities. In the South Artsakh and Utik create a separate Armenian principality of the Aranshakhiks. In the 7th century the Armenian Aranshakhiks
are replaced by the Migranians (Mihranids) dynasty of Persian origin which, becoming related with the Aranshakhiks
, turns to Christianity and rapidly Armenized. In the second half of the 7th century in the initial period of the Arab dominion the political and cultural life in Artsakh does not cease. In the 7th–8th centuries a distinctive Christian culture was shaped. The monasteries Amaras
, Orek, Katarovank, Djrvshtik
and others acquire All-Armenian significance.
From the beginning of the 9th century, princely houses of Khachen and Dizak
were storing up strength. The prince of Khachen, Sahl Smbatean
and the prince of Dizak, Yesaie Abu Musse headed the struggle against the Arab
s. They and their heirs succeed in retaining their own dominion borders impregnable. From the 10th century the Khachen principality became of great importance in the land’s political and cultural life. For the 11th–12th centuries Artsakh and Khachen were subjected to the Seljuk
Turk nomad tribes’ invasion but they defended their independence.
The end of the 12th century and the first half of the 13th century became one of the most favorable periods for the land’s flourishing. During this time, valuable architecture was constructed, such as Hovanes Mkrtich (John the Baptist) church and the vestibule of Gandzasar monastery
(1216–1260; ancient residence of the Armenian Catholicos
of Albania), the Dadi Monastery Cathedral Church (1214), and Gtchavank Cathedral Church (1241–1248). These churches are considered to be the masterpieces of the Armenian architecture.
In 30–40 years of the 13th century the Tatar and Mongols
conquered Transcaucasia. The efforts of the Artsakh-Khachen king Hasan-Jalal succeeded in partially saving the land from being destroyed. However, after his death in 1261, Khachen became another victim of the Tatars and Mongols. The situation became still more aggravating in the 14th century in the years of the Turk tribes Qara Koyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu, having replaced the Tatars
and Mongols
. During this period the area received its Turkic name Karabakh (the Black garden) for the first time. However, it is necessary to mention that as the name Karabakh referred to not only present Nagorno-Karabah (Mountain Karabah), and also (and mainly) Flat Karabakh, that is the plain before merge of rivers Arax and Kura where Turkic nomads began to prevail.
The centuries-long subjection of the local Armenians to Muslim leaders, their relation with Turkic tribal elders and frequent cases of Turkic-Armenian intermarriage resulted in Armenians adopting elements of Turkic-Iranian Muslim culture, such as language, personal names, music, an increasingly humble position of women and, in some cases, even polygamy
.
doms"):
Those melikdoms were referred to as Khamsa, which means "five" in Arabic.
While initially subordinate to Persia's Ganja khanate (ruled by Ziyad-oglu Qajars), the Armenian meliks were granted a wide degree of autonomy by the Safavid Persia over Upper Karabakh, maintaining control over the region for four centuries,. In the early 18th century, Persia's Nadir shah took Karabakh out of control of Ganja khans in punishment for their support of Safavids, and placed the region directly under his own control. At the same time, the Armenian meliks were granted supreme command over neighboring Armenian principalities and Muslim khans in Caucasus, in return for the meliks' victories over the invading Ottoman Turks in 1720s.
According to some historiographers of the 18th century, of those five melik
s, only Melik-Hasan-Jalalyans – the rulers of Khachen – were local residents of Karabakh, while the other four had settled from neighboring provinces. Thus, Melik-Beglaryans of Gulistan were native Utis from the village of Nij in Shirvan
; Melik-Israelyans of Jraberd
were descendants of the melik of Siunik to south-east and hailed from the village of Magavuz in Zangezur
; Melik Shahnazars of Varanda hailed from the region of Armenian Gegharkunik to the east and received the title of meliks from shah Abbas I in reward for their services; Melik-Avanyans of Dizak – were descendants of meliks of Lori
, an Armenian princedom to north-west. These allegation is however discounted by modern scholarship. Modern western scholars Robert Hewsen and Cyril Toumanoff
have demonstrated that all of these meliks were the descendants of the House of Khachen.
Thanks to the meliks from the end of the 17th century in Artsakh there arouse and spread the idea of liberation of the motherland from the Persian yoke. Parallel with the armed struggle Armenians in that period made diplomatic efforts, at first turning to Europe, then – to Russia. Such political and war leaders as Israel Ori
, archimandrite Minas
, the Catholicos
of Gandsasar Yesai Jalalian, iuzbashis (the commanders of hundred; the capitans) Avan and Tarkhan become people leaders.
The absence of power in 18th century in Persia created the threat to its integrity. Both Turkey
and Russia
expected to get its share from the possible breaking up of Persia, Turkey with this purpose striving for enlisting the support of the Dagestan
mountaineers, Russia seeking its supporters among Armenians and Georgian
s.
In 1721, Peter the Great's Caspian campaign began. At the very beginning the Russian forces succeeded in occupying Derbent
and Baku
. Armenians encouraged by Russian, concluded the union with Georgians
and collected an army in the Karabakh. However their hopes were deceived. Instead of the promised help, Peter the Great advised the Armenians of Artsakh to leave their native places of residence and move to Derbent
, Baku
, Gilan, Mazandaran where the Russian power had already been established. Intending to consolidate its hold on the occupied. Khanates, attached to Caspia, Russia signed the treaty with Turkey, on July 12, 1724, giving the latter a free hand in the whole Transcaucasus (as far as Shamakha).
In the same year Ottoman troops invaded the land. Their main victim became the Artsakh Armenian population, who, headed by meliks, rose to struggle for its independence, never having received the promised support on Russian side. Yet, Peter the Greats march gave a new impulse to the struggle of the Armenians.
In the 1720s the formed in Karabakh host concentrated in three military camps or Skhnakhs (fortified place). The first of them, called the Great Skhnakh, was situated in the Mrav Mountains near the Tartar River
. The second Pokr (Minor) Skhnakh was on the slope of the Kirs Mountain in the province of Varanda and the third in the province of Kapan
. Shkhnakhs, i.e. the Armenian host possessed absolute power. That was a people army with the Council of military leaders, the Catholicos of Gandsasar also entering it and having a great influence. Proceed from the demands of wartime, meliks shared their power with iuzbashis, all of them having equal rights and obligations at the military councils. The Armenian host at the head of its leaders, Catholicos Yesai, iuzbashis Avan and Tarkhan resisted the Ottoman regular army for considerably a long time.
In 1733, Armenians encouraged by occurrence of Nadir Shah, In one especially appointed day massacred all Ottoman army stood on winter quartiers in Khamsa. After that former position of area has been restored.
In gratitude for services rendered to it, Nadir Shah released meliks of Khamsa from submission to khans of Ganja and appointed the governor above them Avan, melik of Dizak (the main organizer of plot 1733), having given it a title of khan. However, Avan-khan soon died
In 1747, Panah Ali Khan
Javanshir, by then already a successful naib
and royal gérant de maison, found himself displeased with Nader Shah's attitude towards him and having gathered many of those deported from Karabakh in 1736, returned to his homeland. Due to his reputation as a skillful warrior and his wealthy ancestor's legacy in Karabakh, Panah Ali proclaimed himself and was soon recognized throughout most of the region as a ruler (khan
). The shah sent troops to bring back the runaway however the order was never fulfilled: Nader Shah himself was killed in Khorasan in June of the same year. The new ruler of Persia, Adil Shah
issued a firman (decree) recognizing Panah Ali as the Khan of Karabakh.
Melik of Varanda Shahnazar II, who was at odds with other meliks, was the first to accept suzerainty
of Panakh khan. Panakh khan founded the fortress of Shusha
at a location, recommended by melik Shahnazar, and made it the capital of Karabakh khanate
.
Meliks, did not wish to reconcile to the new position. They hoped to the aid Russian and have entered into a correspondence to Catherine II of Russia
and its favorite Grigori Potyomkin
. Potyomkin already gave orders, that "at an opportunity its (Ibrahim-khans of Shusha) area which is made of people Armenian to give in board national and thus to renew in Asia the Christian state". But khan Ibrahim-Khalil (the son of Panakh-khan) learned about it. In 1785 he arrested the Dzraberd, Gulistan and Dizak meliks, and plundered Gandzasar monastery, and the Catholicos was planted in prison and poisoned. As a result of this the Khamsa melikdoms finally broke down.
Created thus Karabakh khanat borrowed large territory between rivers Arax and Kura. According to 1823, all Karabakh was occupied by 20.095 families (about 90.000 inhabitants), from them: Muslim 15.729 (78%) and Armenian 4.366 (22%). Armenians still prevailed in mountain Karabakh (was Khamsà, nowadays Nagorno-Karabakh), except for city Shusha where it was totaled 421 Armenian and 1.111 Muslim families.
Ibrahim-khan made the Karabakh khanate a semi-independent princedom, which only nominally recognized Persian rule.
In 1797, Karabakh suffered the invasion of armies of Persian shah Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. Shusha
was besieged, but Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar was killed in the tent by own servants. In 1805 Ibrahim-khan signed the Kurekchay Treaty
with Imperial Russia, represented by the Russian commander-in-chief in the war against Pavel Tsitsianov
, according to which Karabakh khanate became the protectorate
of Russia and the latter undertook to maintain Ibrahim-Khalil khan and his descendants as the ruling dynasty of Karabakh. However the following year Ibrahim-Khalil was killed by the Russian commandant of Shusha, who suspected that khan was trying to flee to Persia. Russia appointed Ibrahim-Khalil's son Mekhti-Gulu his successor.
In 1813, Karabakh khanate passed to Imperial Russia by the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 (before the rest of Transcaucasia was incorporated into the Empire in 1828 by the Treaty of Turkmenchay
). In 1822, Mekhti-khan escaped to Persia. In 1826, in Karabakh the Persian armies with which was and Mekhti-khan have intruded; but they could not grasp Shusha which was protected desperately with Russian and Armenians, and have been expelled by Russian general Madatoff (the Armenian from Karabakh by origin). The Karabakh khanate was dissolved, and the area became part of the Caspian oblast, and then Elizavetpol governorate within the Russian Empire
(1823).
The Russian Empire consolidated its power over the Karabakh Khanate following the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 and Treaty of Turkmenchay
of 1828, when following two Russo-Persian wars, Persia recognized Karabakh Khanate, along with many other khanates, as part of Russia
.
The Karabakh khanate was eliminated in 1822. A survey prepared by the Russian imperial authorities in 1823, a year after and several years before the 1828 Armenian migration from Persia to the newly established Armenian Province, shows that all Armenians of Karabakh compactly resided in its highland portion, i.e. on the territory of the five traditional Armenian principalities, and constituted an absolute demographic majority on those lands. The survey's more than 260 pages recorded that the district of Khachen had twelve Armenian villages and no Tatar (Muslim) villages; Jalapert (Jraberd) had eight Armenian villages and no Tatar villages; Dizak had fourteen Armenian villages and one Tatar village; Gulistan had two Armenian and five Tatar villages; and Varanda had twenty-three Armenian villages and one Tatar village.
Only 222 Armenians migrated to lands that were part of the Karabakh province, in 1840. In the mountainous part of Karabakh Armenian immigrants founded a new village, which they named Maraga after the town in Persia where they came from.
During 19th century, Shusha becomes one of the most significant cities of Transcaucasia. By 1900 Susha was the fifth on size city of Transcaucasia; there was a theatre, printing houses, etc.; manufacture of carpets and trade were especially developed, since being there for a long time. Census of 1897 shows 25.656 inhabitants, from them of 56,5% of Armenians and 43,2% " the Azerbaijan Tatars " For the period from 1874 to 1920 there were 21 names of newspapers and magazines, from them 19 were in the Armenian language and 2 in Russian language were published. Armenians, making the richest and educated part of the population, defined cultural shape of Shusha.
During the first Russian revolution 1905, in the fields, there were bloody armed conflicts between Armenians and Tatars (Azerbaijanians).
The set of Russian Provisional Government
happened after the Russian Revolution of 1917
. Grand Duke Nicholas
with the Special Transcaucasian Committee (особый Закавказский Комитет (ОЗАКОМ), osobyy Zakavkazskiy Komitet (OZAKOM)) committee established the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
. Karabakh became part of the Transcaucasian Federation.
Following the October Revolution
, a government of the local Soviet, led by an ethnic Armenian Stepan Shaumyan, was established in Baku: the so-called National Council of Baku (November 1917 – July 31, 1918).
The Armenians under the Russian control devised a national congress at October 1917. The convention in Tiflis was concluded in September 1917 with delegates from former Romanov realm (203)]. The Muslim National Councils (MNC) pass the law to organize the defense and devised a local control and administrative structure of the Transcaucasia. The Council also selected a fifteen member permanent executive committee, known as the Azerbaijani National Council
.
, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
, and Georgian Democratic Republic states.
by Bolsheviks and their allies. Armenian and Muslim militia engaged in armed confrontation, with the formally neutral Bolsheviks tacitly supporting the Armenian side. The Armenian nationalist Dashnak forces launched a massacre on the city's Azerbaijani population. As a result, between 3,000 and 12,000 were killed in what is known as the March Days
. Muslims were expelled from Baku, or went underground. At the same time the Baku Commune
was involved in heavy fighting with the advancing Ottoman Caucasian Army of Islam in and around Ganja. Major battles occurred in Yevlakh and Agdash, where the Turks routed and defeated Dashnak and Russian Bolshevik forces.
In these circumstances the government of Azerbaijan declared the incorporation of Karabakh into the newly established Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
of Baku and Yelizavetpol Gubernias. However the Nagorno-Karabakh and Zangezur rejected to recognize the jurisdiction of the Azerbaijani Republic. Here the two Armenian national uezd (district) Councils took the power into their hands, organised and headed the struggle against Azerbaijan.
as well as the People’s government. Peoples Government of Karabakh had five administrators in the following areas:
Prime-minister of the government was Yeghishe Ishkhanian, the secretary – Melikset Yesayan. The government published the newspaper "Westnik Karabakha".
In September, at the 2nd Congress of the Armenians of Karabakh the People's Government was renamed into the Armenian National Council of Karabakh. In essence, its structure remained the same:
On July 24, the Declaration of the People’s government of Karabakh was adopted which set forth the objectives of the newly established state power.
, the English command in reality did everything for incorporating Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan long before the final resolution of the problem. Establishing a full control over the export of the Baku oil, the English sought the final secession of Transcaucasia from Russia; Azerbaijan, as it was supposed, was to play a role of an advanced post of the West in the South Caucasus to create barriers to the sovietization of the region.
On this account the policy of the allied powers in the relation with Transcaucasia had a pro-Azerbaijani trend. The solution of the Karabakhian problem was dragged out rather calculating on the development of the military-political situation that would be favourable for Azerbaijan, therefore the change of the ethnic structure of Nagorno-Karabakh.
On January 15, 1919, the Azerbaijani government with "the knowledge of the English command" appointed Khosrovebek Sultanov governor-general of Nagorno-Karabakh, simultaneously laying an ultimatum to the Karabakhian National Council to recognize the power of Azerbaijan. On February 19, 1919, the 4th Congress of the Armenian population of Karabakh was convened in Shushi, which decisively rejected this ultimatum of Azerbaijan and expressed protest in connection with the appointment of Sultanov governor-general. The resolution adopted by the congress says, "Insisting on the principle of the self-determination of a people, the Armenian population of Karabakh respects the right of the neighbouring Turkish people for self-determination and together with this decisively protests against the attempts of the Azerbaijani government to eliminate this principle in the relation of Nagorno-Karabakh, which never will admit the power of Azerbaijan over it".
In the connection with the appointment of Sultanov the British mission came out with an official notification, which stated, that "by the British command’s consent Dr. Khosrov Bek Sultanov is appointed provisional governor of Zangezur, Shusha, Jivanshir and Jebrail useds [sic]. The British Mission finds it necessary to confirm that belonging of the mentioned districts to one or another unit must be solved at a Peace Conference".
The National Council of Karabakh gave the following answer:
However in spite of the Karabakhi people’s protests the English commandment continued to assist and support the Azerbaijani Government in realizing the policy of incorporation of Armenian Karabakh into Azerbaijan. The English troops’ commander in Baku Colonel Schatelwort stated to the Karabakhian people:
Having received a refusal from the Fifth Congress, Sultanov decided to subordinate Nagorno-Karabakh by means of the armed forces. Almost the whole army of Azerbaijan was concentrated at the Nagorno-Karabakh borders. In the beginning of June Sultanov has tried to borrow the Armenian quarters of Shusha, attacked positions of Armenians and has organized pogroms the Armenian villages. So, nomads under leadership of Sultanov's brother completely massacred village Gayballu. 580 Armenians in total were lost... The English troops withdrew from Nagorno-Karabakh to give the Azerbaijani troops a free hand.
On those days there was concluded the agreement to convene the Sixth Congress of the Karbaghi Armenians, at which the representatives of the English Mission and Azerbaijani government were to take part. The main objective of the Congress was the discussion of the interrelations of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan before the convention of the Peace Conference in Paris. However the representatives of the English mission and the government of Azerbaijan arrived at the Congress, after it had finished its work and the negotiations did not take place. To find out whether Nagorno-Karabgh would be able to defend its independence in case of war, at the Congress the Commission was established which came to the conclusion, that the Karabakhians would not be able to do so. In such circumstances the Congress, being under the threat of the armed assault form Azerbaijan, was compelled to start negotiations.
In February, Azerbaijan has started to focus around Karabakh military parts and irregular groups. The Karabakh Armenians declared, that Sultanov "has organized large gangs of Tatars, Kurds, prepares grandiose massacre of Armenians (…) On roads kill travellers, rape women's, the cattle steal up. Proclaimed the economic blockade of Karabakh. Sultanov is declared demands entry of garrison in heart of Armenian Karabakh: Varanda, Dzraberd, break these the agreement of VII Congress".
From February 23 until March 4, 1920 there was held the Eighth Congress of Karabakhi Armenians which rejected the demand of Sultanov. The Congress has accused the Sultanov of numerous infringements of the peace agreement, entry of armies in Karabakh without the permission of National Council and the organization of murders of Armenians, in particular the massacre accomplished on February, 22nd in Khankendy, Askeran and on road Shusha-Evlakh.
However, in all these events, the aspirations and wishes of Azerbaijani population of Karabakh were continuously violated by Armenian inhabitants "who had no right to represent in its Congress the will of the entire population of the region"
In accordance with the decision of the Congress the diplomatic and the military representatives of the allied states of the Entente, three Transcaucasian republics and the provisional governor-general were informed that "the repetition of the events will compel the Armenians of Nagorno- Karabakh to turn to the appropriate means for defense.".
In March–April 1920 there was a short war between Azerbaijan and Armenia for Nagorno-Karabakh. War has begun as a revolt of the Armenian population, who on March, 22nd (on Nouruz) broke the armistice and unexpectedly attacked Askeran and Khankendi. Armenians assumed that Azerbaijanians would have been celebrating Nouruz would not be prepared for defense. An attempted attack on the Azerbaijan garrison in Shusha failed because of inconsistency of actions of the Armenian groups; in turn the Azerbaijan armies and population have crushed and have burnt Armenian part of Shusha, and massacred the population. " The most beautiful Armenian city has been destroyed, crushed up to the basis; in wells we have seen corpses of women and children " – recollects Soviet communist leader Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze
The officer of the Azerbaijan army Alimardanbekov wrote to his brother in his letter, which was preserved in archives, "Ermeni Shusha (i.e. Armenian Shusha), which you saw, has been completely burned down. Only 5–10 houses were left intact. More than 1000 Armenians were taken as prisoners. All men have been killed, all famous and wealthy people, even Khalif (the Bishop). The Muslims robbed innumerable wealth of the Armenians and got so rich that has become impudent". ". According to the description of Azerbaijan communist Musaev, «has begun ruthless destruction of defenceless women, children, old women, old men, etc. Armenians were exposed to a mass slaughter (...). At what beautiful Armenian girls raped, then shot. (...) On an order (...) Khosrov-bek Sultanov, pogroms proceeded more than six days, houses in the Armenian part have been crushed, plundered and reduced all to ashes, everyone lead away women where it will wish to executioners musavatists. During these historical artful punishments Khosrov-bek Sultanov, saying speeches, declared to moslems, about sacred war and called to finish finally with Armenians of city Shusha, not having spared women, children, etc.
The Armenian sources name different figures of victims among Armenians, from 500 person at R. Hovannisian up to 35 thousand; ordinarily name figure in 20–30 thousand; number of the burnt houses estimate from (R. Hovannisian) 2 thousand up to 7 thousand (ordinarily named figure). According to Greater Soviet Encyclopedia, during military events 20% of the population of the Nagorno-Karabakh were lost, (that at absolute calculation gives up to 30 thousand persons); mainly Armenians (which 94% of the population of area in general ade)
Pogrom in Shusha was kept in historical memory of the Karabakh Armenians as largest of the accidents gone through by them.
As a result of rout, Shusha has come to the pithiest situation. Its population was reduced up to 9.000, and by the end of 20th and up to 5.000 person (and so never and has not risen above 17.000 in 1989). Nadezhda Mandelstam
so describes Shusha 20th years: " everywhere the same: two houses without a roof, without windows, without doors. (...)Speak, that after slaughter all wells have been hammered by corpses. If who has escaped, ran from this city of death. On all mountainous streets we did not see and have not met any person. Only below – on a market square – pottered about small group to people, but among them there was no Armenian, only muslims ".
The course of the war was as follows. On April 3, Azerbaijanians have borrowed Askeran (grasped on March, 22nd the Armenian insurgents). On April, 7th, being based on Shusha, the Azerbaijan army has led approach to the south. At the same time there was an approach in the north, on Giulistan. By April, 12th the Azerbaijan approach has been stopped in Giulistan – under Chaikend, in the Varanda – under Keshishkend and Sigankh. In Khachen to Armenians in general it was possible to beat off successfully from the Azerbaijanians come from Agdam, and Azerbaijanians have only destroyed some villages in a valley of river Khachen, to northeast from Askeran. Against Azerbaijan all armed manned population of Karabakh (30.000) operated; Armenia officially denied the participation in operations, that mismatched the validity. However, the Armenian armies on Zangezur front, under command of the general Dro
(Drastamat Kanayan
) crushed the Azerbaijan barriers and broke in Karabakh. The strategic situation had sharply changed, and Armenians have started to prepare for storm of Shusha.
But, with the direct intervention of Russian troops, Azerbaijan regained control of the area.
In 1921, Armenia
and Georgia
were also taken over by the Bolsheviks who, in order to attract public support, promised they would allot Karabakh to Armenia, along with two other disputable areas with ethnically mixed population – Nakhchivan and Zangezur (Syunik
) (both last de-facto belonged to Armenia). However, Moscow
also had far-reaching plans concerning Turkey—hoping that it would, with a little help from Russia, develop along Communist lines. Needing to appease Turkey, bolsheviks not only have transferred Karabakh to Azerbaijan, but also have transferred it area Nachichevan, per 1919–1920 a part of Republic Armenia. From the areas declared disputable, only small area Zangezur (a strip separating Nakhichevan
from Azerbaijan proper)it has been left of Armenia. As a result, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
(NKAO) was established within the Azerbaijan SSR
in 1923. Most of the decisions on the transfer of the territories, and the establishment of new autonomous entities, were made under pressure from Joseph Stalin
, who is still blamed by both Azerbaijanis and Armenians for arbitrary decisions made against their national interests.
For 65 years of the NKAO's existence, the Karabakh Armenians felt they were the object of various restrictions on the part of Azerbaijan. The essence of Armenian discontent lay in the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities deliberately severed the ties between the oblast and Armenia and pursued a policy of cultural de-Armenization in the region, of planned Azeri settlement, squeezing the Armenian population out of the NKAO and neglecting its economic needs. Census of 1979 has shown, that the general number of inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region is made by 162200 person, from them 123100 Armenians (75.9%) and 37300 Azerbaijanians (22.9%) Armenians marked this fact, comparing with it with data of 1923 (94% of Armenians). Except for that they marked, that " to 1980 in Nagorno-Karabakh 85 Armenian villages (30%) have been liquidated and none at all Azerbaijanian " Also Armenians accused a management of Azerbaijan in " to the purposeful policy of discrimination and replacement ". They believed, that Baku is measured to supersede absolutely Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh on the sample of how it, from their words, has been done in Nakhichevan Autonomous Region.
With the beginning of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the question of Nagorno-Karabakh re-emerged. On February 20, 1988, the Oblast Soviet of the NKAO weighed up the results of an unofficial referendum on the reattachment of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, held in the form of a petition signed by 80,000 people. On the basis of that referendum, the session of the Oblast Soviet of Nagorno-Karabakh adopted the appeals to the Supreme Soviets of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Armenia, asking them to authorize the secession of Karabakh from Azerbaijan and its attachment to Armenia.
It has caused indignation among the neighboring Azerbaijan population, which began to gather crowds to go and "put things in order" in Nagorno-Karabakh. On February 24, 1988, a direct confrontation between Armenians and gone "to put things in order" the Azerbaijanians, occurred near Askeran (border of Nagorno-Karabakh, on the road Stepanakert – Agdam) degenerated into a skirmish. During the clashes, which left about 50 Armenians wounded, a local policeman, in accordance with information from International Historical-enlightenment Human rights Society – Memorial he was an Azeri, shot dead two Azerbaijanis – Bakhtiyar Guliyev, 16, and Ali Hajiyev, 23. On February 27, 1988, while speaking on Central TV, the USSR Deputy Prosecutor General A. Katusev mentioned the nationality of those killed. Within hours, a pogrom
against Armenian residents began in the city of Sumgait, 25 km north of Baku, where many Azerbaijani refugees resided. The pogrom lasted for three days. The exact figures for the dead are disputed. The official investigation reported 32 deaths – 6 Azerbaijanis and 26 Armenians, while the US Library of Congress
places the number of Armenian victims at over 100.
A similar attack on Azerbaijanis occurred in the Armenian towns of Spitak
, Gugark
and others. Azerbaijani sources put the number of Azerbaijanis killed in clashes in Armenia at 216 in total, including 57 women, 5 infants and 18 children of different ages. KGB of Armenia, however, approves, that it has tracked the destiny of all those from the Azerbaijan list-of-dead and the majority of them – earlier died, living in other regions USSR, from the earthquake of 1988 in Spitak etc.; the figure of Armenian KGB – 25 killed – originally was not challenged and in Azerbaijan.
Large numbers of refugees left Armenia and Azerbaijan as pogroms began against the minority populations of the respective countries. In the fall of 1989, intensified inter-ethnic conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh led Moscow to grant Azerbaijani authorities greater leeway in controlling that region. The Soviet policy backfired, however, when a joint session of the Armenian Supreme Soviet and the National Council, the legislative body of Nagorno-Karabakh, proclaimed the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. In mid-January 1990, Azerbaijani protesters in Baku
went on a rampage against remaining Armenians. Moscow
intervened only after there were almost no Armenian population left in Baku, sending army troops, who violently suppressed the Azerbaijan Popular Front (APF) and installed Mutalibov as president. The troops reportedly killed 122 Azerbaijanis in quelling the uprising, and Gorbachev denounced the APF for striving to establish an Islamic republic
. These events further alienated the Azerbaijani population from Moscow and ACP rule. It is fair to mention, that in the eyes of many, the Red Army was sent not for protection of Armenians, but for prevention of ACP from taking total control of the republic. This appears true, as during the pogroms against Armenians there were enough National Guard soldiers and local Militia for prevention of violence, in which almost 300.000 Armenians (the whole Armenian population of Baku then) suffered torture, massacres, violence and either died or flee Baku by miracle. Even those Azeries in "mix-families", their children and parents had to flee, as supported by the KGB of Azerbaijan SSR the mobs had detailed addresses and information about the exact locations of the families. Such protection order was never issued by Moscow.
In a December 1991 referendum, that was taking place along with similar referendums all around the USSR, and boycotted by most of local Azerbaijanis, the yet majority population of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh approved the creation of an independent state. However, the Constitution of the USSR was the instrument in accordance to which only the 15 Soviet Republics could vote for independence and Nagorno-Karabakh was not one of the Soviet Republics. A Soviet proposal for enhanced autonomy for Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan satisfied neither side, and Azerbaijan attacked militarily Nagorno-Karabakh which had no army at the moment. This could not leave the already independent Republic of Armenia irrelevant, so, by its support of the Armenian population in defense, a war subsequently erupted between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.
The struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated after both Armenia and Azerbaijan attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In the post-Soviet power vacuum, military action between Azerbaijan and Armenia was heavily influenced by the Russian military. Extensive Russian military support was exposed by the Head of the Standing Commission of the Russian Duma
, General Lev Rokhlin
, who was subsequently allegedly killed by his wife in unknown circumstances. He had claimed that munitions (worth one billion US dollars) had been illegally transferred to Armenia between 1992 and 1996. According to Armenian news agency Noyan Tapan, Rokhlin openly lobbied for the interests of Azerbaijan http://www.noev-kovcheg.ru/article.asp?n=45&a=12. According to The Washington Times, Western intelligence sources said that the weapons played a crucial role in Armenia's seizure of large areas of Azerbaijan. Other Western sources dispute that assessment, because Russia continued to provide military support to Azerbaijan, as well, throughout the military conflict. Russian Minister of Defense Igor Rodionov in his letter to Aman Tuleyev, Minister of cooperation with CIS countries, said that a Defense Ministry commission had determined that a large quantity of Russian weapons, including 84 T-72 tanks and 50 armored personnel carriers, were illegally transferred to Armenia between 1994 and 96, after the ceasefire, for free and without authorization by the Russian government. The The Washington Times article suggested that Russia's military support for Armenia was aimed to force "pro-Western Azerbaijan and its strategic oil reserves into Russia's orbit". Armenia has officially denied any such weapons delivery.
Both sides used mercenaries. Mercenaries from Russia and other CIS countries fought on the Armenian side, and some of them were killed or captured by the Azerbaijan army. According to The Wall Street Journal, Azerbaijani President Heydər Əliyev recruited thousands of mujahedeen fighters from Afghanistan (as well as mercenaries from Iran and elsewhere) and brought in even more Turkish officers to organize his army. The Washington Post discovered that Azerbaijan hired more than 1,000 guerrilla fighters from Afghanistan's radical prime minister, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
. Meanwhile, Turkey and Iran supplied trainers, and the republic also was aided by 200 Russian officers who taught basic tactics to Azerbaijani soldiers in the northwest city of Barda. Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev
, generally considered a notorious terrorist, personally engaged Armenian forces in NKR. According to EurasiaNet, unidentified sources have stated that Arab guerrilla Ibn al-Khattab
joined Basayev in Azerbaijan between 1992 and 1993, although that is dismissed by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense. In addition, officers from the Russian 4th Army participated in combat missions for Azerbaijan on a mercenary basis.
According to Human Rights Watch
, "from the beginning of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia provided aid, weapons, and volunteers which were taken from Russia. Armenian involvement in Karabakh escalated after a December 1993 Azerbaijani offensive. The Republic of Armenia began sending conscripts and regular Army and Interior Ministry troops to fight in Karabakh. In January 1994, several active-duty Armenian Army soldiers were captured near the village of Chaply, Azerbaijan. To bolster the ranks of its army, the Armenia government resorted to press-gang raids to enlist recruits. Draft raids intensified in early spring, after Decree no. 129 was issued, instituting a three-month call-up for men up to age forty-five. Military police would seal off public areas, such as squares, and round up anyone who looked to be draft age".
By the end of 1993, the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh had caused thousands of casualties and created hundreds of thousands of refugees on both sides. In a national address in November 1993, Əliyev stated that 16,000 Azerbaijani troops had died and 22,000 had been injured in nearly six years of fighting. The UN estimated that just under 1 million Azerbaijani
refugees and displaced persons
were in Azerbaijan at the end of 1993. Mediation was attempted by officials from Russia
, Kazakhstan
, and Iran
, among other countries, as well as by organizations, including the UN and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which began sponsoring peace talks in mid-1992. All negotiations met with little success, and several cease-fires broke down. In mid-1993, Əliyev launched efforts to negotiate a solution directly with the Karabakh Armenians, a step Elchibey had refused to take. Əliyev's efforts achieved several relatively long cease-fires within Nagorno-Karabakh, but outside the region Armenians occupied large sections of southwestern Azerbaijan near the Iranian border during offensives in August and October 1993. Iran and Turkey
warned the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians to cease the offensive operations that threatened to spill over into foreign territory. The Armenians responded by claiming that they were driving back Azerbaijani forces to protect Nagorno-Karabakh from shelling.
In 1993, the UN Security Council called for Armenian forces to cease their attacks on and occupation of a number of Azerbaijani regions. In September 1993, Turkey strengthened its forces along its border with Armenia and issued a warning to Armenia to withdraw its troops from Azerbaijan immediately and unconditionally. At the same time, Iran was conducting military maneuvers near the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic in a move widely regarded as a warning to Armenia. Iran proposed creation of a twenty-kilometer security zone along the Iranian-Azerbaijani border, where Azerbaijanis would be protected by Iranian firepower. Iran also contributed to the upkeep of camps in southwestern Azerbaijan to house and feed up to 200,000 Azerbaijanis fleeing the fighting.
Fighting continued into early 1994, with Azerbaijani forces reportedly winning some engagements and regaining some territory lost in previous months. In January 1994, Əliyev pledged that in the coming year occupied territory would be liberated and Azerbaijani refugees would return to their homes. At that point, Armenian forces held an estimated 14 percent of the area recognized as Azerbaijan, with Nagorno-Karabakh proper comprising 5 percent.
However, during the first three months of 1994 the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army
has started new offensive campaign and captured some areas thus creating a wider safety and buffer zone around Nagorno-Karabakh. By May 1994 the Armenian were in control of 20 percent of the territory of Azerbaijan. At that stage the Government of Azerbaijan for the first time during the entire duration of the conflict recognised Nagorno-Karabakh as a third party of the war and started direct negotiations with the Karabakhi authorities. As a result An unofficial cease-fire was reached on May 12, 1994, through Russian negotiation, and continues today.
As a result of the war for Nagorno-Karabakh safety and independence, Azerbaijanis were driven out of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as territories adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh. Those are still under control of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian military. With the support of Soviet/Russian military forces, Azerbaijanis forced out tens of thousand Armenians from Shahumyan region. Armenians remain in control of the Soviet-era autonomous region, and a strip of land called the Lachin corridor
linking it with the Republic of Armenia; as well as the so-called 'security zone'—strips of territory along the region's borders that had been used by Azerbaijani artillery during the war. The Shahumyan region remains under the control of Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
is the modern designation for a southern part of the Lesser Caucasus
Lesser Caucasus
Lesser Caucasus is one of the two main mountain ranges of Caucasus mountains, of length about 600 km....
range, encompassing the highland part of the wider geographical region Karabakh
Karabakh
The Karabakh horse , also known as Karabakh, is a mountain-steppe racing and riding horse. It is named after the geographic region where the horse was originally developed, Karabakh in the Southern Caucasus, an area that is de jure part of Azerbaijan but the highland part of which is currently...
. The name Karabakh itself (derived from Turkic
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, and literary meaning "Black Garden") was first employed in Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
and Persian sources from the 13th and 14th centuries to refer to an Armenian principality known by modern historians as the Kingdom of Artsakh
Kingdom of Artsakh
The Kingdom of Artsakh is the modern name given to the medieval eastern Armenian state on the territory of Artsakh , Gardman and Gegharkunik. Contempororay sources referred to it as the "kingdom of Aghuank" or "Khachen". The royal house of Artsakh was a cadet branch of the ancient Syunid dynasty...
or Khachen. Currently most of this area is under the control of the internationally unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic , or Artsakh Republic is a de facto independent republic located in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, which has economical, political and military support from the Republic of Armenia, but which is internationally formally a part of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
and its final status is still a subject of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This article encompasses the history of the region from the ancient to the modern period.
Ancient history
The region of Nagorno-KarabakhNagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
was occupied by the people known to modern archaeologists as the Kura-Araxes
Kura-Araxes culture
The Kura-Araxes culture or the Early trans-Caucasian culture, was a civilization that existed from 3400 BC until about 2000 BC. The earliest evidence for this culture is found on the Ararat plain; thence it spread to Georgia by 3000 BC, and during the next millennium it proceeded westward to the...
, and is located between the two rivers bearing those names. Little is known about the ancient history of the region, primarily because of the scarcity of historical sources. Jewelry has been found within the present confines of Nagorno-Karabakh inscribed with the cuneiform name of Adad-Nirari
Adad-nirari III
Adad-nirari III was King of Assyria from 811 to 783 BC. He was the son and successor of Shamshi-Adad V, and was apparently quite young at the time of his accession, because for the first five years of his reign his mother Shammuramat acted as regent, which may have given rise to the legend of...
, King of Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
(c. 800 BC).
Legend of Aran
According to the local traditions held by many people in the area, the two river valleys in Nagorno-Karabakh were among the first to be settled by NoahNoah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
's descendants. According to a 5th century AD Armenian tradition, a local chieftain named Aran (Առան) was appointed by the Armenian king Vagharshak to be the first governor of this province. Ancient Armenian authors, Movses Khorenatsi
Movses Khorenatsi
Moses of Chorene, also Moses of Khoren, Moses Chorenensis, or Movses Khorenatsi , or a 7th to 9th century date) was an Armenian historian, and author of the History of Armenia....
and Movses Kaghankatvatsi
Movses Kaghankatvatsi
Movses Kaghankatvatsi , or Movses Daskhurantsi , is the reputed author of a 10th-century Old Armenian historiographical work on Caucasian Albania, known as The History of the Country of Albania .- Authorship :...
, name of it Aran the ancestor inhabitants of Artsakh and next province Utik
Utik
Utik was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia and a region of Caucasian Albania. Most of the region is located within present-day Azerbaijan immediately west of the Kura River while a part of it lies within the Tavush province of present-day northeastern Armenia.-History:According to...
, the descendant of Sisak (the ancestor and eponym next province Sisakan, differently Siunik), and through it—the descendant of Haik, the ancestor and eponym of all Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
.
Artsakh, a Province of the Kingdom of Armenia
For the first time the territory of modern Nagorno Karabakh is mentioned in inscriptions of Sardur II, King of UrartuUrartu
Urartu , corresponding to Ararat or Kingdom of Van was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highland....
(763–734 BC), found in village Tsovk in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, as the region Urtekhini. Then—in our data—a break down to the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
epoch. A following mention—already at Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
which characterizes "Orkhistena" (Artsakh) as "the area of Armenia exposing the greatest number of horsemen". It is unclear when Orkhistena became part of Armenia. Strabo, carefully listing all gains of Armenian Kings since 189 BC., has no mention of Orkhistena, which indirectly testifies to the fact that it probably has been an accessory of the Armenian empire to which it could get in the inheritance from Persian satrapy "East Armenia". Ruins of city Tigranakert are situated in near proximity to modern city of Agdam
Agdam
Agdam or Ağdam or Aghdam may refer to:*Agdam city, Azerbaijan*Agdam Rayon, Azerbaijan*Ağdam, Khojavend, Azerbaijan*Ağdam, Tovuz, Azerbaijan...
. It is one of four cities with such a name that were built in the beginning of 1 BC by king of Armenia Tigranes the Great
Tigranes the Great
Tigranes the Great was emperor of Armenia under whom the country became, for a short time, the strongest state east of the Roman Republic. He was a member of the Artaxiad Royal House...
. Recently Armenian archaeologists have led excavation of this city. Fragments of a fortress, and also hundreds the ancient subjects similar to subjects, found in Armenia. Fencing of a citadel and basilica of 5th–6th century AD have been revealed. Excavation have shown, that the city existed since 1st century BC until 13th–14th centuries AD.
Ancient inhabitants of Artsakh spoke a special dialect of the Armenian language; we know about this from the author of the Armenian grammar Stepanos Siunetsi who lived in around 700AD.
Strabo and authors of 1st–2nd centuries—Claudius Ptolemaeus and Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
—unanimously approve, that border between Greater Armenia and Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania
Albania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
is river Cyrus (Kura
Kura
Kura may refer to:* Kura River in Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan* Kura River, Russia in Russia* Kura Test Range in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, a major ICBM testing site during the Cold War* Kura, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Kano State...
). Authoritative encyclopedias on antiquity also name Kura southern border of Albania. Artsakh is much to the south of this river. Certificates which would approve its accessory Albania or to other state up to the end of the 4th century, does not exist.
Armenian historian Faustus of Byzantium
Faustus of Byzantium
Faustus of Byzantium was an Armenian historian of the 5th century. He wrote a six volume history, of which the first two volumes are lost. He described in details the reign of Arshak II and his son Pap of Armenia...
wrote that during an epoch of the distempers which have followed intrusion of Persians to Armenia (about 370), Artsakh it has appeared among the risen provinces, whereas Utik has been grasped by Albanians. Armenian military commander Mushegh Mamikonian defeated the country of Artsakh in a big battle, made many inhabitants of the region prisoners, took hostages from the rest and imposed a tribute on them. In 372 Mushegh defeated the Albanians, took from them Utik
Utik
Utik was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia and a region of Caucasian Albania. Most of the region is located within present-day Azerbaijan immediately west of the Kura River while a part of it lies within the Tavush province of present-day northeastern Armenia.-History:According to...
and restored the border on Kura, "as was earlier".
According to "Geography" (Ashkharatsuyts) by 7th c. Armenian geographer Anania Shirakatsi
Anania Shirakatsi
Anania Shirakatsi was an Armenian mathematician, astronomer and geographer. He is commonly attributed to having written the Geography .-Life:Scholars are split on where exactly Anania was born...
, Artsakh was the 10th among the 15 provinces (nahangs) of Armenia, and consisted of 12 districts (gavars): Myus Haband (Second Haband, as opposed to Haband of Siunik), Vaykunik (Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
), Berdadzor
Berdadzor
Berdadzor is a village in Nagorno-Karabakh. It has been under Armenian control since the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War....
, Mets Arank, Mets Kvenk, Harjlank, Mukhank, Piank, Parsakank (Parzvank), Kusti
Kusti
Kusti may refer to:* Kosti, major city in Sudan* Kushti, sacred girdle worn by Zoroastrians...
, Parnes, and Koght. However Anania writes, that during its time Atrsakh together with the next districts "will tear away from Armenia". And it is valid, in 387 Armenia has been divided between Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and Persia; thus Artsakh together with Armenian provinces Utik
Utik
Utik was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia and a region of Caucasian Albania. Most of the region is located within present-day Azerbaijan immediately west of the Kura River while a part of it lies within the Tavush province of present-day northeastern Armenia.-History:According to...
and Paytakaran
Paytakaran
Paytakaran was the easternmost province of the Kingdom of Armenia. The province was located in the area of the lower courses of the rivers of Kura and Araks, adjacent to the Caspian sea. Today, the area is located in the territory of modern day southeastern Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran.-...
was attached to Caucasian Albania.
Mashtots and Aranshakhik Period
In the early 4th century Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
spreads in Artsakh. At the beginning of the 5th century, thanks to the creation of the Armenian written language by Mesrop Mashtots, an unprecedented rise of culture began in whole Armenia, in particular also in Artsakh, Mesrop Mashtots having founded one of the first Armenian schools at the Artsakh Amaras Monastery
Amaras Monastery
Amaras Monastery is one of the oldest Christian sites in the world and in Nagorno-Karabakh, and is an Armenian Apostolic monastery located near the village of Sos in the Martuni county of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.- History :...
.
In the 5th century the eastern part of Armenia, including Artsakh, continued to remain under the Persian rule. In 451 the Armenians in response to the policy of compulsion to the Zoroastrian Persia organized a powerful revolt known as Vardan war. Artsakh took part in that war, its cavalry having particularly distinguished itself. After the suppression of the revolt the considerable part of the Armenian forces took shelter in the impregnable fortresses and thick woods of Artsakh to continue further struggle against the foreign yoke. At the end of the same century Artsakh and neighboring Utik united under the rule of the Aranshakhiks
Albania (satrapy)
Albania, or Ardhan in Parthian or Arran in Middle Persian as it was known in Persian, was a Caucasian satrapy of the Sassanid Empire.-History:...
with Vachagan the Devout at the head (487–510’s). Under the latter a considerable rise in culture and science is observed in Artsakh. According to the evidence of a contemporary, in those years in the land there were built as many churches and monasteries as there are days in a year. At the turn of the 7th century the Albanian marzpandom breaks into several small principalities. In the South Artsakh and Utik create a separate Armenian principality of the Aranshakhiks. In the 7th century the Armenian Aranshakhiks
Albania (satrapy)
Albania, or Ardhan in Parthian or Arran in Middle Persian as it was known in Persian, was a Caucasian satrapy of the Sassanid Empire.-History:...
are replaced by the Migranians (Mihranids) dynasty of Persian origin which, becoming related with the Aranshakhiks
Albania (satrapy)
Albania, or Ardhan in Parthian or Arran in Middle Persian as it was known in Persian, was a Caucasian satrapy of the Sassanid Empire.-History:...
, turns to Christianity and rapidly Armenized. In the second half of the 7th century in the initial period of the Arab dominion the political and cultural life in Artsakh does not cease. In the 7th–8th centuries a distinctive Christian culture was shaped. The monasteries Amaras
Amaras Monastery
Amaras Monastery is one of the oldest Christian sites in the world and in Nagorno-Karabakh, and is an Armenian Apostolic monastery located near the village of Sos in the Martuni county of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.- History :...
, Orek, Katarovank, Djrvshtik
Yeghish Arakyal Monastery
Yeghishe Arakyal Monastery is an Armenian Apostolic monastery located on the bank of the Yeghsharakel River in the Mardakert region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Because of the close proximity to the militarized border, no visitors are allowed to travel to the monastery.Yeghishe Arakyal...
and others acquire All-Armenian significance.
Armenian Princedoms of Dizak and Khachen
Dizak
Dizak , also known as Ktish after its main stronghold, was a medieval Armenian principality in the historical Artsakh and later one of the five melikdoms of Karabakh, which included the southern third of Khachen and from the 13th century also the canton of Baghk of Syunik. The founder of this...
were storing up strength. The prince of Khachen, Sahl Smbatean
Sahl Smbatean
Sahl Smbatjan Eṙanshahik was an Armenian prince of Arran and Shaki, who played a considerable role in the history of eastern Caucasus during the 9th century and was the ancestor of the House of Khachen established in 821 .-Name:...
and the prince of Dizak, Yesaie Abu Musse headed the struggle against the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s. They and their heirs succeed in retaining their own dominion borders impregnable. From the 10th century the Khachen principality became of great importance in the land’s political and cultural life. For the 11th–12th centuries Artsakh and Khachen were subjected to the Seljuk
Seljuq dynasty
The Seljuq ; were a Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries...
Turk nomad tribes’ invasion but they defended their independence.
The end of the 12th century and the first half of the 13th century became one of the most favorable periods for the land’s flourishing. During this time, valuable architecture was constructed, such as Hovanes Mkrtich (John the Baptist) church and the vestibule of Gandzasar monastery
Gandzasar monastery
Gandzasar monastery is a 10-13th century Armenian monastery situated in the Mardakert region of Nagorno-Karabakh, near the village of Vank. "Gandzasar" means treasure mountain or hilltop treasure in Armenian. The monastery holds relics believed to belong to St. John the Baptist and St Zechariah,...
(1216–1260; ancient residence of the Armenian Catholicos
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
of Albania), the Dadi Monastery Cathedral Church (1214), and Gtchavank Cathedral Church (1241–1248). These churches are considered to be the masterpieces of the Armenian architecture.
In 30–40 years of the 13th century the Tatar and Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
conquered Transcaucasia. The efforts of the Artsakh-Khachen king Hasan-Jalal succeeded in partially saving the land from being destroyed. However, after his death in 1261, Khachen became another victim of the Tatars and Mongols. The situation became still more aggravating in the 14th century in the years of the Turk tribes Qara Koyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu, having replaced the Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
and Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
. During this period the area received its Turkic name Karabakh (the Black garden) for the first time. However, it is necessary to mention that as the name Karabakh referred to not only present Nagorno-Karabah (Mountain Karabah), and also (and mainly) Flat Karabakh, that is the plain before merge of rivers Arax and Kura where Turkic nomads began to prevail.
The centuries-long subjection of the local Armenians to Muslim leaders, their relation with Turkic tribal elders and frequent cases of Turkic-Armenian intermarriage resulted in Armenians adopting elements of Turkic-Iranian Muslim culture, such as language, personal names, music, an increasingly humble position of women and, in some cases, even polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
.
Armenian Melikdoms
Princedom Khachen existed until 16th–17th century and has broken up into five small princedoms ("melikMelik
Мelik , from malik ) was a hereditary Armenian noble title, in various Eastern Armenian principalities known as melikdoms encompassing modern Yerevan, Kars, Nakhchivan, Sevan, Lori, Artsakh, Tabriz and Syunik starting from the Late Middle Ages until the end of the nineteenth century...
doms"):
- Giulistan or Talish Melikdom included the territory from GanjaGanja, AzerbaijanGanja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of around 313,300. It was named Yelizavetpol in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name—Ganja—from 1920–1935 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again and...
to the bed of the River TartarTartarTartar may refer to: *An alternative spelling of the name Tatars, an ethnic group in present-day Russia.* Tartars, the name of the athletic teams from 1927–1999 at Wayne State University in Detroit.*Tartar sauce*Tartar on teeth, hardened dental plaque...
. - Dzraberd or Charaberd Melikdom was situated in the territory stretching from the River Tartar to the River Khachenaget.
- Khachen Melikdom existed in the territory from the River Khachenaget to the River Karkar.
- VarandaVarandaVaranda may refer to:* Fizuli Rayon, Azerbaijan* Qaradağlı, Khojavend, Azerbaijan...
Melikdom included the territory from Karkar to the southern side of Big Kirs mountain. - DizakDizakDizak , also known as Ktish after its main stronghold, was a medieval Armenian principality in the historical Artsakh and later one of the five melikdoms of Karabakh, which included the southern third of Khachen and from the 13th century also the canton of Baghk of Syunik. The founder of this...
Melikdom stretched from the southern slope of Big Kirs mountain to the River Arax.
Those melikdoms were referred to as Khamsa, which means "five" in Arabic.
While initially subordinate to Persia's Ganja khanate (ruled by Ziyad-oglu Qajars), the Armenian meliks were granted a wide degree of autonomy by the Safavid Persia over Upper Karabakh, maintaining control over the region for four centuries,. In the early 18th century, Persia's Nadir shah took Karabakh out of control of Ganja khans in punishment for their support of Safavids, and placed the region directly under his own control. At the same time, the Armenian meliks were granted supreme command over neighboring Armenian principalities and Muslim khans in Caucasus, in return for the meliks' victories over the invading Ottoman Turks in 1720s.
According to some historiographers of the 18th century, of those five melik
Melik
Мelik , from malik ) was a hereditary Armenian noble title, in various Eastern Armenian principalities known as melikdoms encompassing modern Yerevan, Kars, Nakhchivan, Sevan, Lori, Artsakh, Tabriz and Syunik starting from the Late Middle Ages until the end of the nineteenth century...
s, only Melik-Hasan-Jalalyans – the rulers of Khachen – were local residents of Karabakh, while the other four had settled from neighboring provinces. Thus, Melik-Beglaryans of Gulistan were native Utis from the village of Nij in Shirvan
Shirvan
Shirvan , also spelled as Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both Islamic and modern times...
; Melik-Israelyans of Jraberd
Jraberd
Jraberd is a village in the Tartar Rayon of Azerbaijan. The village is on the cease-fire line between the armed forces of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and those of Azerbaijan. There have been allegations of cease fire violations in the village's vicinity....
were descendants of the melik of Siunik to south-east and hailed from the village of Magavuz in Zangezur
Zangezur
Zangezur may refer to:* Syunik, alternative name of an Armenian geographic-historic region, nowadays one of the provinces of Armenia* Kapan, former name of a city in Armenia...
; Melik Shahnazars of Varanda hailed from the region of Armenian Gegharkunik to the east and received the title of meliks from shah Abbas I in reward for their services; Melik-Avanyans of Dizak – were descendants of meliks of Lori
Lori
Lori may refer to:*Lori *Lori Province, Armenia*Lori , a nomadic community found in Balochistan region of Pakistan and Iran*Luri language , spoken by the Lur people Lorestān, Iran...
, an Armenian princedom to north-west. These allegation is however discounted by modern scholarship. Modern western scholars Robert Hewsen and Cyril Toumanoff
Cyril Toumanoff
Cyril Leo Heraclius, Prince Toumanoff was an United States-based historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, the Byzantine Empire, and Iran...
have demonstrated that all of these meliks were the descendants of the House of Khachen.
Thanks to the meliks from the end of the 17th century in Artsakh there arouse and spread the idea of liberation of the motherland from the Persian yoke. Parallel with the armed struggle Armenians in that period made diplomatic efforts, at first turning to Europe, then – to Russia. Such political and war leaders as Israel Ori
Israel Ori
Israel Ori was a prominent figure of the Armenian national liberation movement and a diplomat that sought the liberation of Armenia from Persia and the Ottoman Empire.-Early life:...
, archimandrite Minas
Minas
Minas are ancient Near Eastern units of weight, and hence, also units of currency.Places* Minas Gerais, Brazil* Minas, Uruguay* Minas Department, Córdoba* Minas Department, Neuquén* Minas, Cuba, a municipality in Cuba...
, the Catholicos
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
of Gandsasar Yesai Jalalian, iuzbashis (the commanders of hundred; the capitans) Avan and Tarkhan become people leaders.
The absence of power in 18th century in Persia created the threat to its integrity. Both Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
expected to get its share from the possible breaking up of Persia, Turkey with this purpose striving for enlisting the support of the Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
mountaineers, Russia seeking its supporters among Armenians and Georgian
Georgian people
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
s.
In 1721, Peter the Great's Caspian campaign began. At the very beginning the Russian forces succeeded in occupying Derbent
Derbent
Derbent |Lak]]: Чурул, Churul; Persian: دربند; Judæo-Tat: דארבּאנד/Дэрбэнд/Dərbənd) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, close to the Azerbaijani border. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second most important city of Dagestan...
and Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
. Armenians encouraged by Russian, concluded the union with Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
and collected an army in the Karabakh. However their hopes were deceived. Instead of the promised help, Peter the Great advised the Armenians of Artsakh to leave their native places of residence and move to Derbent
Derbent
Derbent |Lak]]: Чурул, Churul; Persian: دربند; Judæo-Tat: דארבּאנד/Дэрбэнд/Dərbənd) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, close to the Azerbaijani border. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second most important city of Dagestan...
, Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Gilan, Mazandaran where the Russian power had already been established. Intending to consolidate its hold on the occupied. Khanates, attached to Caspia, Russia signed the treaty with Turkey, on July 12, 1724, giving the latter a free hand in the whole Transcaucasus (as far as Shamakha).
In the same year Ottoman troops invaded the land. Their main victim became the Artsakh Armenian population, who, headed by meliks, rose to struggle for its independence, never having received the promised support on Russian side. Yet, Peter the Greats march gave a new impulse to the struggle of the Armenians.
In the 1720s the formed in Karabakh host concentrated in three military camps or Skhnakhs (fortified place). The first of them, called the Great Skhnakh, was situated in the Mrav Mountains near the Tartar River
Tartar river
Tartar is one of the tributaries of the Kura River. It is de-jure located in central part of Republic of Azerbaijan, though most of the area where it flows is de-facto part of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.-Overview:...
. The second Pokr (Minor) Skhnakh was on the slope of the Kirs Mountain in the province of Varanda and the third in the province of Kapan
Kapan
-Notable landmarks:*Vahanavank monastery*Baghaberd and Halidzor Fortresses.*Tatev Monastery - This monastery, situated northwest of Kapan was founded in the ninth century in the place of an ancient tabernacle well-known in ancient times...
. Shkhnakhs, i.e. the Armenian host possessed absolute power. That was a people army with the Council of military leaders, the Catholicos of Gandsasar also entering it and having a great influence. Proceed from the demands of wartime, meliks shared their power with iuzbashis, all of them having equal rights and obligations at the military councils. The Armenian host at the head of its leaders, Catholicos Yesai, iuzbashis Avan and Tarkhan resisted the Ottoman regular army for considerably a long time.
In 1733, Armenians encouraged by occurrence of Nadir Shah, In one especially appointed day massacred all Ottoman army stood on winter quartiers in Khamsa. After that former position of area has been restored.
Karabakh Khanate
Panah Ali Khan
Panah-Ali khan Javanshir was the founder and first ruler of Karabakh khanate, initially under nominal Persian suzerainty and by 1748 an independent feudal state that existed in 1747–1822 in Karabakh and adjacent areas..-Origins and early life:Panah Ali Khan was from the Sarijali branch of the...
Javanshir, by then already a successful naib
Naib
Naib is an Arabic term for a local leader in some parts of the Ottoman Empire and eastern Caucasus.Naib or NAIB may also refer to:*National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball or National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics...
and royal gérant de maison, found himself displeased with Nader Shah's attitude towards him and having gathered many of those deported from Karabakh in 1736, returned to his homeland. Due to his reputation as a skillful warrior and his wealthy ancestor's legacy in Karabakh, Panah Ali proclaimed himself and was soon recognized throughout most of the region as a ruler (khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
). The shah sent troops to bring back the runaway however the order was never fulfilled: Nader Shah himself was killed in Khorasan in June of the same year. The new ruler of Persia, Adil Shah
Adil Shah
Adil or Adel Shah Afshar or Ali Qoli was Shah of Persia from 1747 until 1748.Subsequent to the assassination of Nader Shah in Fathabad , his nephew Ali Qoli declared himself Adil Shah , and shah of Persia...
issued a firman (decree) recognizing Panah Ali as the Khan of Karabakh.
Melik of Varanda Shahnazar II, who was at odds with other meliks, was the first to accept suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
of Panakh khan. Panakh khan founded the fortress of Shusha
Shusha
Shusha , also known as Shushi is a town in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. It has been under the control of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since its capture in 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
at a location, recommended by melik Shahnazar, and made it the capital of Karabakh khanate
Karabakh khanate
The Karabakh khanate was a semi-independent khanate on the territories of modern Azerbaijan and Armenia established in about 1750 under Persian suzerainty in Karabakh and adjacent areas. The Karabakh khanate existed until 1805, when the Russian Empire gained control over it from Persia...
.
Meliks, did not wish to reconcile to the new position. They hoped to the aid Russian and have entered into a correspondence to Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
and its favorite Grigori Potyomkin
Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin
Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavricheski was a Russian military leader, statesman, nobleman and favorite of Catherine the Great. He died during negotiations over the Treaty of Jassy, which ended a war with the Ottoman Empire that he had overseen....
. Potyomkin already gave orders, that "at an opportunity its (Ibrahim-khans of Shusha) area which is made of people Armenian to give in board national and thus to renew in Asia the Christian state". But khan Ibrahim-Khalil (the son of Panakh-khan) learned about it. In 1785 he arrested the Dzraberd, Gulistan and Dizak meliks, and plundered Gandzasar monastery, and the Catholicos was planted in prison and poisoned. As a result of this the Khamsa melikdoms finally broke down.
Created thus Karabakh khanat borrowed large territory between rivers Arax and Kura. According to 1823, all Karabakh was occupied by 20.095 families (about 90.000 inhabitants), from them: Muslim 15.729 (78%) and Armenian 4.366 (22%). Armenians still prevailed in mountain Karabakh (was Khamsà, nowadays Nagorno-Karabakh), except for city Shusha where it was totaled 421 Armenian and 1.111 Muslim families.
Ibrahim-khan made the Karabakh khanate a semi-independent princedom, which only nominally recognized Persian rule.
In 1797, Karabakh suffered the invasion of armies of Persian shah Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. Shusha
Shusha
Shusha , also known as Shushi is a town in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. It has been under the control of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since its capture in 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
was besieged, but Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar was killed in the tent by own servants. In 1805 Ibrahim-khan signed the Kurekchay Treaty
Kurekchay Treaty
The Treaty of Kurakchay, also known as the Russo-Karabakhi treaty of May 14, 1805, was a treaty signed between the Russian military commander in the Caucasus Pavel Tsitsianov on behalf of Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Ibrahim Khalil Khan of the Karabakh khanate, which made the khanate a...
with Imperial Russia, represented by the Russian commander-in-chief in the war against Pavel Tsitsianov
Pavel Tsitsianov
Pavel Dmitriyevich Tsitsianov was the Georgian Imperial Russian military commander and infantry general from 1804. A member of the noble Georgian family Tsitsishvili , Tsitsianov participated in suppression of the Kościuszko Uprising and in the Russo-Persian War...
, according to which Karabakh khanate became the protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
of Russia and the latter undertook to maintain Ibrahim-Khalil khan and his descendants as the ruling dynasty of Karabakh. However the following year Ibrahim-Khalil was killed by the Russian commandant of Shusha, who suspected that khan was trying to flee to Persia. Russia appointed Ibrahim-Khalil's son Mekhti-Gulu his successor.
In 1813, Karabakh khanate passed to Imperial Russia by the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 (before the rest of Transcaucasia was incorporated into the Empire in 1828 by the Treaty of Turkmenchay
Treaty of Turkmenchay
The Treaty of Turkmenchay was a treaty negotiated in Turkmenchay by which the Qajar Empire recognized Russian suzerainty over the Erivan khanate, the Nakhchivan khanate, and the remainder of the Talysh khanate, establishing the Aras River as the common boundary between the empires, after its...
). In 1822, Mekhti-khan escaped to Persia. In 1826, in Karabakh the Persian armies with which was and Mekhti-khan have intruded; but they could not grasp Shusha which was protected desperately with Russian and Armenians, and have been expelled by Russian general Madatoff (the Armenian from Karabakh by origin). The Karabakh khanate was dissolved, and the area became part of the Caspian oblast, and then Elizavetpol governorate within the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(1823).
Russian Rule
Treaty of Turkmenchay
The Treaty of Turkmenchay was a treaty negotiated in Turkmenchay by which the Qajar Empire recognized Russian suzerainty over the Erivan khanate, the Nakhchivan khanate, and the remainder of the Talysh khanate, establishing the Aras River as the common boundary between the empires, after its...
of 1828, when following two Russo-Persian wars, Persia recognized Karabakh Khanate, along with many other khanates, as part of Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
The Karabakh khanate was eliminated in 1822. A survey prepared by the Russian imperial authorities in 1823, a year after and several years before the 1828 Armenian migration from Persia to the newly established Armenian Province, shows that all Armenians of Karabakh compactly resided in its highland portion, i.e. on the territory of the five traditional Armenian principalities, and constituted an absolute demographic majority on those lands. The survey's more than 260 pages recorded that the district of Khachen had twelve Armenian villages and no Tatar (Muslim) villages; Jalapert (Jraberd) had eight Armenian villages and no Tatar villages; Dizak had fourteen Armenian villages and one Tatar village; Gulistan had two Armenian and five Tatar villages; and Varanda had twenty-three Armenian villages and one Tatar village.
Only 222 Armenians migrated to lands that were part of the Karabakh province, in 1840. In the mountainous part of Karabakh Armenian immigrants founded a new village, which they named Maraga after the town in Persia where they came from.
During 19th century, Shusha becomes one of the most significant cities of Transcaucasia. By 1900 Susha was the fifth on size city of Transcaucasia; there was a theatre, printing houses, etc.; manufacture of carpets and trade were especially developed, since being there for a long time. Census of 1897 shows 25.656 inhabitants, from them of 56,5% of Armenians and 43,2% " the Azerbaijan Tatars " For the period from 1874 to 1920 there were 21 names of newspapers and magazines, from them 19 were in the Armenian language and 2 in Russian language were published. Armenians, making the richest and educated part of the population, defined cultural shape of Shusha.
During the first Russian revolution 1905, in the fields, there were bloody armed conflicts between Armenians and Tatars (Azerbaijanians).
October Revolution, 1917
Russian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II . On September 14, the State Duma of the Russian Empire was officially dissolved by the newly created Directorate, and the country was...
happened after the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
. Grand Duke Nicholas
Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaevich the younger
Grand Duke Nikolay Nikolayevich Romanov of Russia was a Russian general in World War I...
with the Special Transcaucasian Committee (особый Закавказский Комитет (ОЗАКОМ), osobyy Zakavkazskiy Komitet (OZAKOM)) committee established the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic , was a short-lived state composed of the modern-day countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in the South Caucasus.-...
. Karabakh became part of the Transcaucasian Federation.
Following the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, a government of the local Soviet, led by an ethnic Armenian Stepan Shaumyan, was established in Baku: the so-called National Council of Baku (November 1917 – July 31, 1918).
The Armenians under the Russian control devised a national congress at October 1917. The convention in Tiflis was concluded in September 1917 with delegates from former Romanov realm (203)]. The Muslim National Councils (MNC) pass the law to organize the defense and devised a local control and administrative structure of the Transcaucasia. The Council also selected a fifteen member permanent executive committee, known as the Azerbaijani National Council
Azerbaijani National Council
Azerbaijani National Council was the first delegated legislative body of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from 27 May 1918 to 17 June 1918 and again from 16 November 1918 to 3 December 1918...
.
Independent states, May 1918
On May 1918 this soon dissolved into separate Democratic Republic of ArmeniaDemocratic Republic of Armenia
The Democratic Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state...
, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...
, and Georgian Democratic Republic states.
Ethnic and religious tension, March 1918
In March 1918, ethnic and religious tension grew and the Armenian-Azeri conflict in Baku began. Musavat and Ittihad parties were accused of Pan-TurkismPan-Turkism
Pan-Turkism is a nationalist movement that emerged in 1880s among the Turkic intellectuals of the Russian Empire, with the aim of cultural and political unification of all Turkic peoples.-Name:...
by Bolsheviks and their allies. Armenian and Muslim militia engaged in armed confrontation, with the formally neutral Bolsheviks tacitly supporting the Armenian side. The Armenian nationalist Dashnak forces launched a massacre on the city's Azerbaijani population. As a result, between 3,000 and 12,000 were killed in what is known as the March Days
March Days
The March Days, or March Events, refer to an inter-ethnic strife and massacres of up to 12,000 Azerbaijanis and other Muslims that took place between March 30 and April 2, 1918 in the city of Baku and adjacent areas of the Baku Governorate of Russian Empire.Facilitated by a political power struggle...
. Muslims were expelled from Baku, or went underground. At the same time the Baku Commune
26 Baku Commissars
The 26 Baku Commissars were Bolshevik and Left Socialist Revolutionary members of the Baku Soviet Commune. The commune was established in the city of Baku...
was involved in heavy fighting with the advancing Ottoman Caucasian Army of Islam in and around Ganja. Major battles occurred in Yevlakh and Agdash, where the Turks routed and defeated Dashnak and Russian Bolshevik forces.
In these circumstances the government of Azerbaijan declared the incorporation of Karabakh into the newly established Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...
of Baku and Yelizavetpol Gubernias. However the Nagorno-Karabakh and Zangezur rejected to recognize the jurisdiction of the Azerbaijani Republic. Here the two Armenian national uezd (district) Councils took the power into their hands, organised and headed the struggle against Azerbaijan.
People’s Government of Karabakh, July 1918
On July 22, 1918 the First Congress of the Armenians of Karabakh was convened, which proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh an independent administrative-political unit, elected the National CouncilArmenian National Council of Karabagh
The Karabakh Council the government of Nagorno-Karabakh between 1918-1920. It was elected by the Karabakh Congress, the representative body of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, on July 27, 1918...
as well as the People’s government. Peoples Government of Karabakh had five administrators in the following areas:
- Foreign and internal affairs – Yeghishe IshkhanianYeghishe IshkhanianYeghishe Ishkhanian was a prominent Armenian politician and statesman, who held high offices in the Nagorno-Karabakh in the beginning of the 20th century. From July 27, 1918 to February 20, 1919, Ishkhanian headed the People's Government of Karabakh...
) - Military affairs – Harutiun Toumanian)
- Communications – Martiros Aivazian
- Finances – Movses Ter-Astvatsatrian
- Agronomy and justice – Arshavir Kamalyan
Prime-minister of the government was Yeghishe Ishkhanian, the secretary – Melikset Yesayan. The government published the newspaper "Westnik Karabakha".
In September, at the 2nd Congress of the Armenians of Karabakh the People's Government was renamed into the Armenian National Council of Karabakh. In essence, its structure remained the same:
- Justice Department – Commissar Arso Hovhannisian, Levon Vardapetian
- Military Department – Harutiun Tumian (Tumanian)
- Department of Education – Rouben Shahnazarian
- Refugees Department – Moushegh Zakharian
- Control Department – Anoush Ter-Mikaelian
- Department of Foreign Affairs – Ashot Melik-Hovsepian.
On July 24, the Declaration of the People’s government of Karabakh was adopted which set forth the objectives of the newly established state power.
Armistice of Mudros, October 1918
On October 31, 1918 Ottoman Empire admitted its defeat in World War I, and its troops retreated from Transcaucasia. British forces replaced them in December and took the area under its control.The British mission
The government of Azerbaijan for this once tried to capture Nagorno-Karabakh with the help of the English. The new borders of Transcaucasia could not be defined without the agreement of England. Stating that the fate of the disputable territories must be solved at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
, the English command in reality did everything for incorporating Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan long before the final resolution of the problem. Establishing a full control over the export of the Baku oil, the English sought the final secession of Transcaucasia from Russia; Azerbaijan, as it was supposed, was to play a role of an advanced post of the West in the South Caucasus to create barriers to the sovietization of the region.
On this account the policy of the allied powers in the relation with Transcaucasia had a pro-Azerbaijani trend. The solution of the Karabakhian problem was dragged out rather calculating on the development of the military-political situation that would be favourable for Azerbaijan, therefore the change of the ethnic structure of Nagorno-Karabakh.
On January 15, 1919, the Azerbaijani government with "the knowledge of the English command" appointed Khosrovebek Sultanov governor-general of Nagorno-Karabakh, simultaneously laying an ultimatum to the Karabakhian National Council to recognize the power of Azerbaijan. On February 19, 1919, the 4th Congress of the Armenian population of Karabakh was convened in Shushi, which decisively rejected this ultimatum of Azerbaijan and expressed protest in connection with the appointment of Sultanov governor-general. The resolution adopted by the congress says, "Insisting on the principle of the self-determination of a people, the Armenian population of Karabakh respects the right of the neighbouring Turkish people for self-determination and together with this decisively protests against the attempts of the Azerbaijani government to eliminate this principle in the relation of Nagorno-Karabakh, which never will admit the power of Azerbaijan over it".
In the connection with the appointment of Sultanov the British mission came out with an official notification, which stated, that "by the British command’s consent Dr. Khosrov Bek Sultanov is appointed provisional governor of Zangezur, Shusha, Jivanshir and Jebrail useds [sic]. The British Mission finds it necessary to confirm that belonging of the mentioned districts to one or another unit must be solved at a Peace Conference".
The National Council of Karabakh gave the following answer:
However in spite of the Karabakhi people’s protests the English commandment continued to assist and support the Azerbaijani Government in realizing the policy of incorporation of Armenian Karabakh into Azerbaijan. The English troops’ commander in Baku Colonel Schatelwort stated to the Karabakhian people:
Shusha, April 1919
Unable to force Nagorno-Karabakh to it knees by threats or by the help of the armed forces Schatelwort personally arrived at Shusha late in April 1919 to compel the National Council of Karabakh to recognize the power of Azerbaijan. On April 23, in Shusha the Fifth Congress was convened which rejected the Schatelwort’s demands. The congress has declared, that It has accused Azerbaijan of robbery, murders and hunting for Armenians on roads, and that it "aspires to destroy Armenians as the unique cultural element, gravitating not to the East, and to the Europe ". Therefore resolution declared, that any program having any attitude to Azerbaijan is unacceptable for Armenian.Having received a refusal from the Fifth Congress, Sultanov decided to subordinate Nagorno-Karabakh by means of the armed forces. Almost the whole army of Azerbaijan was concentrated at the Nagorno-Karabakh borders. In the beginning of June Sultanov has tried to borrow the Armenian quarters of Shusha, attacked positions of Armenians and has organized pogroms the Armenian villages. So, nomads under leadership of Sultanov's brother completely massacred village Gayballu. 580 Armenians in total were lost... The English troops withdrew from Nagorno-Karabakh to give the Azerbaijani troops a free hand.
On those days there was concluded the agreement to convene the Sixth Congress of the Karbaghi Armenians, at which the representatives of the English Mission and Azerbaijani government were to take part. The main objective of the Congress was the discussion of the interrelations of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan before the convention of the Peace Conference in Paris. However the representatives of the English mission and the government of Azerbaijan arrived at the Congress, after it had finished its work and the negotiations did not take place. To find out whether Nagorno-Karabgh would be able to defend its independence in case of war, at the Congress the Commission was established which came to the conclusion, that the Karabakhians would not be able to do so. In such circumstances the Congress, being under the threat of the armed assault form Azerbaijan, was compelled to start negotiations.
Final solution to peace conference, August 1919
Eager to win time and to concentrate the forces available, the Congress of the Armenians of Karabakh convened on August 13, 1919 concluded the agreement on August 22 according to which Nagorno-Karabgh considered itself to be fully within the borders of the Azerbaijani Republic till the final solution of the problem at Peace Conference in Paris. However the Azerbaijan armies are there in structure of a peace time. Azerbaijan cannot enter into area of an army without the permission of National Сouncil. Disarmament of the population stops before peace conference.In February, Azerbaijan has started to focus around Karabakh military parts and irregular groups. The Karabakh Armenians declared, that Sultanov "has organized large gangs of Tatars, Kurds, prepares grandiose massacre of Armenians (…) On roads kill travellers, rape women's, the cattle steal up. Proclaimed the economic blockade of Karabakh. Sultanov is declared demands entry of garrison in heart of Armenian Karabakh: Varanda, Dzraberd, break these the agreement of VII Congress".
1920–1921
On February 19, 1920, Sultanov turned to the National Council of the Karabakhi Armenians with the demand "urgently to solve the question of the final incorporation of Karabakh into Azerbaijan".From February 23 until March 4, 1920 there was held the Eighth Congress of Karabakhi Armenians which rejected the demand of Sultanov. The Congress has accused the Sultanov of numerous infringements of the peace agreement, entry of armies in Karabakh without the permission of National Council and the organization of murders of Armenians, in particular the massacre accomplished on February, 22nd in Khankendy, Askeran and on road Shusha-Evlakh.
However, in all these events, the aspirations and wishes of Azerbaijani population of Karabakh were continuously violated by Armenian inhabitants "who had no right to represent in its Congress the will of the entire population of the region"
In accordance with the decision of the Congress the diplomatic and the military representatives of the allied states of the Entente, three Transcaucasian republics and the provisional governor-general were informed that "the repetition of the events will compel the Armenians of Nagorno- Karabakh to turn to the appropriate means for defense.".
Nagorno-Karabakh war 1920
Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze
Grigol Ordzhonikidze ორჯონიკიძე - Grigol Orjonikidze, , generally known as Sergo Ordzhonikidze ; – February 18, 1937) was a Georgian Bolshevik, later member of the CPSU Politburo and close friend to Joseph Stalin...
The officer of the Azerbaijan army Alimardanbekov wrote to his brother in his letter, which was preserved in archives, "Ermeni Shusha (i.e. Armenian Shusha), which you saw, has been completely burned down. Only 5–10 houses were left intact. More than 1000 Armenians were taken as prisoners. All men have been killed, all famous and wealthy people, even Khalif (the Bishop). The Muslims robbed innumerable wealth of the Armenians and got so rich that has become impudent". ". According to the description of Azerbaijan communist Musaev, «has begun ruthless destruction of defenceless women, children, old women, old men, etc. Armenians were exposed to a mass slaughter (...). At what beautiful Armenian girls raped, then shot. (...) On an order (...) Khosrov-bek Sultanov, pogroms proceeded more than six days, houses in the Armenian part have been crushed, plundered and reduced all to ashes, everyone lead away women where it will wish to executioners musavatists. During these historical artful punishments Khosrov-bek Sultanov, saying speeches, declared to moslems, about sacred war and called to finish finally with Armenians of city Shusha, not having spared women, children, etc.
The Armenian sources name different figures of victims among Armenians, from 500 person at R. Hovannisian up to 35 thousand; ordinarily name figure in 20–30 thousand; number of the burnt houses estimate from (R. Hovannisian) 2 thousand up to 7 thousand (ordinarily named figure). According to Greater Soviet Encyclopedia, during military events 20% of the population of the Nagorno-Karabakh were lost, (that at absolute calculation gives up to 30 thousand persons); mainly Armenians (which 94% of the population of area in general ade)
Pogrom in Shusha was kept in historical memory of the Karabakh Armenians as largest of the accidents gone through by them.
As a result of rout, Shusha has come to the pithiest situation. Its population was reduced up to 9.000, and by the end of 20th and up to 5.000 person (and so never and has not risen above 17.000 in 1989). Nadezhda Mandelstam
Nadezhda Mandelstam
Nadezhda Yakovlevna Mandelstam was a Russian writer and educator, and the wife of the poet Osip Mandelstam, who died in 1938 in a transit camp to the gulag of Siberia...
so describes Shusha 20th years: " everywhere the same: two houses without a roof, without windows, without doors. (...)Speak, that after slaughter all wells have been hammered by corpses. If who has escaped, ran from this city of death. On all mountainous streets we did not see and have not met any person. Only below – on a market square – pottered about small group to people, but among them there was no Armenian, only muslims ".
The course of the war was as follows. On April 3, Azerbaijanians have borrowed Askeran (grasped on March, 22nd the Armenian insurgents). On April, 7th, being based on Shusha, the Azerbaijan army has led approach to the south. At the same time there was an approach in the north, on Giulistan. By April, 12th the Azerbaijan approach has been stopped in Giulistan – under Chaikend, in the Varanda – under Keshishkend and Sigankh. In Khachen to Armenians in general it was possible to beat off successfully from the Azerbaijanians come from Agdam, and Azerbaijanians have only destroyed some villages in a valley of river Khachen, to northeast from Askeran. Against Azerbaijan all armed manned population of Karabakh (30.000) operated; Armenia officially denied the participation in operations, that mismatched the validity. However, the Armenian armies on Zangezur front, under command of the general Dro
Dro
Dro may refer to*Dro Records.*Debt Relief Order, a form of bankruptcy in England.*Drastamat Kanayan, an Armenian general known as Dro.*Dispute resolution organization.*Dro, a commune in Trentino, Italy....
(Drastamat Kanayan
Drastamat Kanayan
General Drastamat Kanayan , known as General Dro, Դրօ, May 31, 1884 March 8, 1956), was a politician, revolutionary, military commander of Hitler’s Armenian Legion of the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of Nazi Germany, and part of Armenian national liberation movement as a member of the A.R.F...
) crushed the Azerbaijan barriers and broke in Karabakh. The strategic situation had sharply changed, and Armenians have started to prepare for storm of Shusha.
Armenian declaration
On April 1920, the Ninth Congress of the Karabakhi Armenians was held which proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh an essential part of Armenia. The concluding document reads:- "To consider the agreement, which was concluded with the government of Azerbaijan on behalf of the Seventh Congress of Karabakh, violated by the latter, in view of the organized attack of the Azerbaijani troops on the civilian Armenian population in Shusha and villages.
- To proclaim the joining of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia as an essential part of Armenia".
But, with the direct intervention of Russian troops, Azerbaijan regained control of the area.
Soviet era, 1921–1991
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
were also taken over by the Bolsheviks who, in order to attract public support, promised they would allot Karabakh to Armenia, along with two other disputable areas with ethnically mixed population – Nakhchivan and Zangezur (Syunik
Syunik
Syunik is the southernmost province of Armenia. It borders the Vayots Dzor marz to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave to the west, Karabakh to the east, and Iran to the south. Its capital is Kapan. Other important cities and towns include Goris, Sisian, Meghri, Agarak, and Dastakert...
) (both last de-facto belonged to Armenia). However, Moscow
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
also had far-reaching plans concerning Turkey—hoping that it would, with a little help from Russia, develop along Communist lines. Needing to appease Turkey, bolsheviks not only have transferred Karabakh to Azerbaijan, but also have transferred it area Nachichevan, per 1919–1920 a part of Republic Armenia. From the areas declared disputable, only small area Zangezur (a strip separating Nakhichevan
Nakhichevan
The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan. The region covers 5,363 km² and borders Armenia to the east and north, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest...
from Azerbaijan proper)it has been left of Armenia. As a result, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast within the borders of the Azerbaijan SSR, mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians and created on July 7, 1923. According to Karl R. DeRouen it was created as an enclave so that a narrow strip of land would separate it from Armenia proper....
(NKAO) was established within the Azerbaijan SSR
Azerbaijan SSR
The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Azerbaijan SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union....
in 1923. Most of the decisions on the transfer of the territories, and the establishment of new autonomous entities, were made under pressure from Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, who is still blamed by both Azerbaijanis and Armenians for arbitrary decisions made against their national interests.
For 65 years of the NKAO's existence, the Karabakh Armenians felt they were the object of various restrictions on the part of Azerbaijan. The essence of Armenian discontent lay in the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities deliberately severed the ties between the oblast and Armenia and pursued a policy of cultural de-Armenization in the region, of planned Azeri settlement, squeezing the Armenian population out of the NKAO and neglecting its economic needs. Census of 1979 has shown, that the general number of inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region is made by 162200 person, from them 123100 Armenians (75.9%) and 37300 Azerbaijanians (22.9%) Armenians marked this fact, comparing with it with data of 1923 (94% of Armenians). Except for that they marked, that " to 1980 in Nagorno-Karabakh 85 Armenian villages (30%) have been liquidated and none at all Azerbaijanian " Also Armenians accused a management of Azerbaijan in " to the purposeful policy of discrimination and replacement ". They believed, that Baku is measured to supersede absolutely Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh on the sample of how it, from their words, has been done in Nakhichevan Autonomous Region.
With the beginning of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the question of Nagorno-Karabakh re-emerged. On February 20, 1988, the Oblast Soviet of the NKAO weighed up the results of an unofficial referendum on the reattachment of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, held in the form of a petition signed by 80,000 people. On the basis of that referendum, the session of the Oblast Soviet of Nagorno-Karabakh adopted the appeals to the Supreme Soviets of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Armenia, asking them to authorize the secession of Karabakh from Azerbaijan and its attachment to Armenia.
It has caused indignation among the neighboring Azerbaijan population, which began to gather crowds to go and "put things in order" in Nagorno-Karabakh. On February 24, 1988, a direct confrontation between Armenians and gone "to put things in order" the Azerbaijanians, occurred near Askeran (border of Nagorno-Karabakh, on the road Stepanakert – Agdam) degenerated into a skirmish. During the clashes, which left about 50 Armenians wounded, a local policeman, in accordance with information from International Historical-enlightenment Human rights Society – Memorial he was an Azeri, shot dead two Azerbaijanis – Bakhtiyar Guliyev, 16, and Ali Hajiyev, 23. On February 27, 1988, while speaking on Central TV, the USSR Deputy Prosecutor General A. Katusev mentioned the nationality of those killed. Within hours, a pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
against Armenian residents began in the city of Sumgait, 25 km north of Baku, where many Azerbaijani refugees resided. The pogrom lasted for three days. The exact figures for the dead are disputed. The official investigation reported 32 deaths – 6 Azerbaijanis and 26 Armenians, while the US Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
places the number of Armenian victims at over 100.
A similar attack on Azerbaijanis occurred in the Armenian towns of Spitak
Spitak
Spitak is a city in northern Armenia located in the Lori region with a population of 18,237. It was mostly destroyed by the devastating Spitak Earthquake in 1988, and was subsequently rebuilt in a slightly different location. Spitak means '"White" in Armenian....
, Gugark
Gugark
Gugark was the 13th province of Greater Armenia. It now comprises parts of northern Armenia, northeast Turkey, and southwest Georgia.-History:...
and others. Azerbaijani sources put the number of Azerbaijanis killed in clashes in Armenia at 216 in total, including 57 women, 5 infants and 18 children of different ages. KGB of Armenia, however, approves, that it has tracked the destiny of all those from the Azerbaijan list-of-dead and the majority of them – earlier died, living in other regions USSR, from the earthquake of 1988 in Spitak etc.; the figure of Armenian KGB – 25 killed – originally was not challenged and in Azerbaijan.
Large numbers of refugees left Armenia and Azerbaijan as pogroms began against the minority populations of the respective countries. In the fall of 1989, intensified inter-ethnic conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh led Moscow to grant Azerbaijani authorities greater leeway in controlling that region. The Soviet policy backfired, however, when a joint session of the Armenian Supreme Soviet and the National Council, the legislative body of Nagorno-Karabakh, proclaimed the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. In mid-January 1990, Azerbaijani protesters in Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
went on a rampage against remaining Armenians. Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
intervened only after there were almost no Armenian population left in Baku, sending army troops, who violently suppressed the Azerbaijan Popular Front (APF) and installed Mutalibov as president. The troops reportedly killed 122 Azerbaijanis in quelling the uprising, and Gorbachev denounced the APF for striving to establish an Islamic republic
Islamic republic
Islamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
. These events further alienated the Azerbaijani population from Moscow and ACP rule. It is fair to mention, that in the eyes of many, the Red Army was sent not for protection of Armenians, but for prevention of ACP from taking total control of the republic. This appears true, as during the pogroms against Armenians there were enough National Guard soldiers and local Militia for prevention of violence, in which almost 300.000 Armenians (the whole Armenian population of Baku then) suffered torture, massacres, violence and either died or flee Baku by miracle. Even those Azeries in "mix-families", their children and parents had to flee, as supported by the KGB of Azerbaijan SSR the mobs had detailed addresses and information about the exact locations of the families. Such protection order was never issued by Moscow.
In a December 1991 referendum, that was taking place along with similar referendums all around the USSR, and boycotted by most of local Azerbaijanis, the yet majority population of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh approved the creation of an independent state. However, the Constitution of the USSR was the instrument in accordance to which only the 15 Soviet Republics could vote for independence and Nagorno-Karabakh was not one of the Soviet Republics. A Soviet proposal for enhanced autonomy for Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan satisfied neither side, and Azerbaijan attacked militarily Nagorno-Karabakh which had no army at the moment. This could not leave the already independent Republic of Armenia irrelevant, so, by its support of the Armenian population in defense, a war subsequently erupted between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.
The war of Nagorno-Karabakh, 1991
Duma
A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...
, General Lev Rokhlin
Lev Rokhlin
Lev Yakovlevich Rokhlin was a Lieutenant-General in the Soviet and Russian armies.Rokhlin have reached the top of the Russian military, quickly rose through the ranks during and after the Soviet war in Afghanistan...
, who was subsequently allegedly killed by his wife in unknown circumstances. He had claimed that munitions (worth one billion US dollars) had been illegally transferred to Armenia between 1992 and 1996. According to Armenian news agency Noyan Tapan, Rokhlin openly lobbied for the interests of Azerbaijan http://www.noev-kovcheg.ru/article.asp?n=45&a=12. According to The Washington Times, Western intelligence sources said that the weapons played a crucial role in Armenia's seizure of large areas of Azerbaijan. Other Western sources dispute that assessment, because Russia continued to provide military support to Azerbaijan, as well, throughout the military conflict. Russian Minister of Defense Igor Rodionov in his letter to Aman Tuleyev, Minister of cooperation with CIS countries, said that a Defense Ministry commission had determined that a large quantity of Russian weapons, including 84 T-72 tanks and 50 armored personnel carriers, were illegally transferred to Armenia between 1994 and 96, after the ceasefire, for free and without authorization by the Russian government. The The Washington Times article suggested that Russia's military support for Armenia was aimed to force "pro-Western Azerbaijan and its strategic oil reserves into Russia's orbit". Armenia has officially denied any such weapons delivery.
Both sides used mercenaries. Mercenaries from Russia and other CIS countries fought on the Armenian side, and some of them were killed or captured by the Azerbaijan army. According to The Wall Street Journal, Azerbaijani President Heydər Əliyev recruited thousands of mujahedeen fighters from Afghanistan (as well as mercenaries from Iran and elsewhere) and brought in even more Turkish officers to organize his army. The Washington Post discovered that Azerbaijan hired more than 1,000 guerrilla fighters from Afghanistan's radical prime minister, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
. Meanwhile, Turkey and Iran supplied trainers, and the republic also was aided by 200 Russian officers who taught basic tactics to Azerbaijani soldiers in the northwest city of Barda. Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev
Shamil Basayev
Shamil Salmanovich Basayev was a Chechen militant Islamist and a leader of the Chechen rebel movement.Starting as a field commander in the Transcaucasus, Basayev led guerrilla campaigns against the Russian troops for years, as well as launching mass-hostage takings of civilians, with his goal...
, generally considered a notorious terrorist, personally engaged Armenian forces in NKR. According to EurasiaNet, unidentified sources have stated that Arab guerrilla Ibn al-Khattab
Ibn al-Khattab
Samir Saleh Abdullah Al-Suwailem , more commonly known as Emir Khattab meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab, and also known as Habib Abdul Rahman, was a Muslim guerilla fighter and financier working with Chechen Mujahideen in the First Chechen War...
joined Basayev in Azerbaijan between 1992 and 1993, although that is dismissed by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense. In addition, officers from the Russian 4th Army participated in combat missions for Azerbaijan on a mercenary basis.
According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, "from the beginning of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia provided aid, weapons, and volunteers which were taken from Russia. Armenian involvement in Karabakh escalated after a December 1993 Azerbaijani offensive. The Republic of Armenia began sending conscripts and regular Army and Interior Ministry troops to fight in Karabakh. In January 1994, several active-duty Armenian Army soldiers were captured near the village of Chaply, Azerbaijan. To bolster the ranks of its army, the Armenia government resorted to press-gang raids to enlist recruits. Draft raids intensified in early spring, after Decree no. 129 was issued, instituting a three-month call-up for men up to age forty-five. Military police would seal off public areas, such as squares, and round up anyone who looked to be draft age".
By the end of 1993, the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh had caused thousands of casualties and created hundreds of thousands of refugees on both sides. In a national address in November 1993, Əliyev stated that 16,000 Azerbaijani troops had died and 22,000 had been injured in nearly six years of fighting. The UN estimated that just under 1 million Azerbaijani
Azerbaijani people
The Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to...
refugees and displaced persons
Internally displaced person
An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee. At the end of 2006 it was estimated there were...
were in Azerbaijan at the end of 1993. Mediation was attempted by officials from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, among other countries, as well as by organizations, including the UN and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which began sponsoring peace talks in mid-1992. All negotiations met with little success, and several cease-fires broke down. In mid-1993, Əliyev launched efforts to negotiate a solution directly with the Karabakh Armenians, a step Elchibey had refused to take. Əliyev's efforts achieved several relatively long cease-fires within Nagorno-Karabakh, but outside the region Armenians occupied large sections of southwestern Azerbaijan near the Iranian border during offensives in August and October 1993. Iran and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
warned the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians to cease the offensive operations that threatened to spill over into foreign territory. The Armenians responded by claiming that they were driving back Azerbaijani forces to protect Nagorno-Karabakh from shelling.
In 1993, the UN Security Council called for Armenian forces to cease their attacks on and occupation of a number of Azerbaijani regions. In September 1993, Turkey strengthened its forces along its border with Armenia and issued a warning to Armenia to withdraw its troops from Azerbaijan immediately and unconditionally. At the same time, Iran was conducting military maneuvers near the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic in a move widely regarded as a warning to Armenia. Iran proposed creation of a twenty-kilometer security zone along the Iranian-Azerbaijani border, where Azerbaijanis would be protected by Iranian firepower. Iran also contributed to the upkeep of camps in southwestern Azerbaijan to house and feed up to 200,000 Azerbaijanis fleeing the fighting.
Fighting continued into early 1994, with Azerbaijani forces reportedly winning some engagements and regaining some territory lost in previous months. In January 1994, Əliyev pledged that in the coming year occupied territory would be liberated and Azerbaijani refugees would return to their homes. At that point, Armenian forces held an estimated 14 percent of the area recognized as Azerbaijan, with Nagorno-Karabakh proper comprising 5 percent.
However, during the first three months of 1994 the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army
Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army
The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Defense Army is the formal defense force of the unrecognized but de-facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic...
has started new offensive campaign and captured some areas thus creating a wider safety and buffer zone around Nagorno-Karabakh. By May 1994 the Armenian were in control of 20 percent of the territory of Azerbaijan. At that stage the Government of Azerbaijan for the first time during the entire duration of the conflict recognised Nagorno-Karabakh as a third party of the war and started direct negotiations with the Karabakhi authorities. As a result An unofficial cease-fire was reached on May 12, 1994, through Russian negotiation, and continues today.
As a result of the war for Nagorno-Karabakh safety and independence, Azerbaijanis were driven out of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as territories adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh. Those are still under control of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian military. With the support of Soviet/Russian military forces, Azerbaijanis forced out tens of thousand Armenians from Shahumyan region. Armenians remain in control of the Soviet-era autonomous region, and a strip of land called the Lachin corridor
Lachin corridor
The Lachin corridor is a mountain pass within de-jure borders of Azerbaijan, it is the shortest route which connects Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh Republic...
linking it with the Republic of Armenia; as well as the so-called 'security zone'—strips of territory along the region's borders that had been used by Azerbaijani artillery during the war. The Shahumyan region remains under the control of Azerbaijan.