Shusha: from A to Z

Karabakh is a historical region extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus in Azerbaijan up to lowlands between the two rivers of Kura and Araz. Its highland and lowland areas have historically evolved as integral parts of the same cultural, economic and political/administrative region.

Ancient Ages: Caucasus Albania
The most ancient civilizations that existed in this area are known to the modern archeologists under the names of Kura-Araxes and Guruchay (or Khojaly-Gedabey) cultures.

Little is known of the ancient history of the region, primarily because of the scarcity of historical sources. Local hagiographic historical traditions maintain that son of Japheth named Aran was the first to establish a nation here. Zoroastrian traditions also point to this region as being the earliest sacred homeland of the Medes, their ancestors.

The area of Mountainous Karabakh was historically part of Caucasus Albania, a country which occupied approximately the territory of present-day Northern Azerbaijan (has no relation to the Balkan Albania). The area was then called 'Urtehke' (in Urartian sources), 'Artsakh' (in Armenian sources) or 'Orhistene' (in Greek sources). In I Millennium BC tribes of Gargars, Utis, and possibly, Sodes, Saks and Barsils, which along with several other tribes constituted the Albanian tribal union, lived in the territory of the present-day Karabakh. According to Strabo, the number of the Albanian tribes reached 26 (Strabo, XI, 4, 6).

In 6th-4th centuries BC the territory was ruled by the Medeans, and then by Sassanid Persians.

In app. 4th-3rd centuries BC Albanian tribes united and established the Caucasian Albanian State. Albanian historian Moses of Kalankaytuk (8-9 cc.), author of famous "History of Albans", the only preserved chronicle written by a native Albanian historian, writes that the southern border of Caucasian Albania was along the Araz river. Thus, referring to the events in 1st century AD, he mentions "…someone from the family of Sisakan, one of the descendants of Yafet - Aran who inherited the plains and mountains of Albania beginning from the river Yeraskh (Araks) up to the castle of Hunarakert." (II, 21). The Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi (9 c., in other sources 5 c.), who is considered in Armenian historiography "the father of Armenian history", also confirmed that Arran, who obviously was a legendary ancestor, the eponym of the Albans, acquired “all the Albanian plain with its highland part...” and that "the [Albanian] tribes of Utis, Gardmans, Sodes and the Gargarian principality derives from the descendants of Arran” ( Movses Khorenatsi II, 8).

At various times in antiquity that are difficult to establish with precision at this time, this area was conquered by the Greater Armenian kingdom. First Armenian invasions took place as early as 2nd-1st centuries BC. In 95 BC, it was conquered by Tigranes II, ruler of the Kingdom of Armenia.

Following the defeat of Tigranes II at the hands of the Romans in 66 BC, Albanians regained Artsakh. Little is known about the history of Artsakh or of Caucasus Albania in 1st-4th centuries. It is generally agreed that Albans and Armenians alternated control over the territory until the early 4th century AD., when the Albans managed to reclaim Artsakh; eventually, in 387, it re-established as a stable part of Caucasus Albania.

Christianity first came to Caucasus Albania with the mission of St. Eliseus in the 1st century. Christianity was widely accepted in the 5th century, after St. Gregory the Illuminator converted and baptized Albanian king Urnayr. In 488 (or 498), following an all-Albanian church assembly near Aluan (situated in present-day Karabakh, near Agdam town), Christianity became finally established as the official religion in Caucasus Albania.

From Medieval Ages to the Karabakh khanate
In the 7th and 8th centuries, the region was invaded by Arabs, who converted a portion of the population to Islam. Under the Arabs, the Albanian church was subordinated to the Armenian Church, resulting in the local Albanian population gradually becoming more like Armenians in terms of religion, culture, and language.

After the 8th century, Albania diminished in size, and came to exist only as the Khachin principality in Mountainous Karabakh. This principality, which had the vassal dependence on the Seljuk rulers of Azerbaijan and later the Mongol-Tatar invaders, was ruled by the Jalalid dynasty. The Jalalids claimed to be the descendants of the former Mihranid dynasty of Caucasus Albania.

In the 15th century, the territory of Karabakh was part of the Turkic states of Kara-Koyunlu (Black Sheep Turkomans) and then Ak-Koyunlu (White Sheep Turkomans). In the early 16th century, after the fall of the Ak-Koyunlu state, control of the region passed to the Turkic-speaking Safavid dynasty of Iran, that created a Ganje-Karabakh province (''beglarbekdom'', bəylərbəyliyi). Under the Safavids Karabakh province was for almost 200 years ruled by the Ziyadoglu family from the Turkic clan of Qajar (later, rulers of Iran in 18th-19th centuries).

Briefly after the fall of the Safavid state and death of the Nadir-shah Afshar (1747), central government in Iran collapsed and what once used to be Safavid Empire Empire splitted into numerous small independent and semi-independent khanates. One of them was the Karabakh khanate that existed between 1748-1822 in the present-day territory of mountainous and lowland Karabakh.

The founder of the khanate was Panah-Ali khan from the local clan of Javanshir (1693-1758). He built a new capital high on the mountains and called it Panahabad, which later during his son Ibrahim-Khalil khan, became a large town and was renamed Shusha.

Caucasus in XIX c. Russian expansion	Karabakh and other Azeri khanates in XVIII c.	Incorporation of Azerbaijan to Russia. XIX c.

19th century: Russian rule and Armenian resettlements
In 1805, a Kurekchay Treaty was signed between the Karabakh khanate and the Russian Empire. According to this treaty, the Karabakh khan recognized dependence on the Russian Empire.

Russian Empire consolidated its power in the Karabakh khanate following the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 and Treaty of Turkmanchay of 1828, when following two brief Russo-Iranian wars, Iran recognized belonging of the Karabakh khanate, along with many other Azerbaijanian khanates, to Russia.

Constant wars and plague decease have caused a great damage to the Karabakh population. In 1795 before Aga Muhammad khan Qajar's attack, the population of Karabakh totalled 60,000. In 1816 there lived only 24,000 people in the Karabakh khanate. Thus, within twenty years from 1795 to 1815 the population of Karabakh decreased by 36,000, i.e. more than 50%.

In 1822 Russian Empire eliminated Karabakh khanate, just like all other Azerbaijanian khanates it subdued by the early 19th century. A Karabakh province was created in its place, administered by Russian officials.

As a result of Russo-Iranian and Russo-Turkish wars throughout 19th century, Russian imperial authorities have pursued a policy of massive resettlement of Karabakh as well as several other formerly Azeri khanates with Armenian population from Iran and Ottoman Empire.

Specific provisions stipulating Armenian population resettlement from these two countries to the newly acquired Russian provinces in the Caucasus were mentioned in the peace treaties.

The Russian author of 19th century S. Glinka explained the logic behind this resettlement policy as follows: "...increase of the resettled related Christian people [in Azerbaijan] can place a reliable stronghold in the borders of Russia for repulse of the hostile actions of the neighboring peoples, particularly, of the Turks, Persians, and the mountaineers" .

Mass Armenian resettlements of 19th century put an end to the existence of offsprings of ancient Albans in Karabakh, who even though were mostly Armenianized culturally and ethnically by 19th century, still preserved some part of their distinctiveness and remembered their origins. Having been in absolute minority as opposed to the new Armenian settlers, they assimilated and disappeared from history for good.

These resettlements also significantly altered the ethnic compositon of the region. Thus, according to the first Russian-held census of 1823, Azeris ("Muslims") constituted 72.5% of the population of Shusha town and 78.7% of the Karabakh province. By the end of the 1880s the percentage of Azeri population living in the Shusha district (part of earlier former Karabakh province) considerably decreased and constituted only 41.5%, while the percentage of the Armenian population living in the same district increased from 21.3% in 1823 to 58.2% in 1886. However, the Azeris retained their numerical superiority in the wider Karabakh area.

20th century: from independent to Soviet Azerbaijan
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Karabakh briefly became part of the Transcaucasian Federation, but this soon dissolved into separate Armenian, Azeri, and Georgian states. Azerbaijan declared sovereignty over the province, and sought to secure its claims with help from the Ottoman Empire.

Despite the fact that the Ottomans were defeated in the course of World War I, Karabakh's de facto ownership by Azerbaijan was provisionally recognized in 1919 by the Entente Allies, who recognized Khosrov-bey Sultanov (appointed by the Azerbaijan government) as governor-general of Karabakh. The Allies decided that the ultimate status of Karabakh was pending final decision in Paris Peace Conference. Whereas Azerbaijan commended this decision as a recognition of its rights to the territory, the Armenian side criticized it, arguing that this decision was made because of the Allies' economic interests in the oil fields near Azerbaijan's capital, Baku.

In 1920, South Caucasus was taken over by the Bolsheviks who, in order to attract Armenian public support, promised that they would allot Karabakh to Armenia, along with Nakhchivan, and Zangezur (the latter separates Nakhichevan from Azerbaijan proper). 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 and Armenia at the same time, Moscow agreed to a division that transferred Zangezur to Armenia, while leaving Karabakh and Nakhchivan as parts of Azerbaijan. As a result, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region 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 Stalin, who is still blamed by both Azeris and Armenians for arbitrary decisions made against their national interests.

With the beginning of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the late 1980's and early 1990's, the question of Nagorno-Karabakh reemerged. Complaining about "forced Azerification" of the region, the majority Armenian population, with ideological and material support from Armenia, started a movement to transfer it to Armenia. In November 1991, following the Karabakh Armenians' declaration of secession from Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan Parliament retaliated by removing the autonomous status of the region. In response, the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians held a referendum on December 10, 1991, with the overwhelming majority of them voting for outright independence. The minority Azeri community of Nagorno-Karabakh boycotted the referendum, however.

The spiralling conflict led to violent actions against Armenians living in Sumgait, Baku, and elsewhere in Azerbaijan, and against Azerbaijanis living in Vardenis, Masis, Ghukark, and other regions of Armenia. As a result, a vast number of Azerbaijanis in Armenia, and Armenians in Azerbaijan (except for Nagorno-Karabakh) were displaced. A land war between Armenia and Azerbaijan followed this civil violence.

From post-Soviet to modern days
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. It is alleged that Russian military forces inspired and manipulated the rivalry between the two neighbouring nations, providing weapons to both sides in order to keep both under control. Extensive Russian military support was exposed by the Head of the Standing Commission of the Russian ''Duma'', General Lev Rokhlin, who was subsequently killed by his wife in unknown circumstances. He had claimed that munitions (worth 1 bil. US dollars) had been illegally transferred to Armenia during 1992-1994. However, the Russian officials consistently denied these allegations. Armenians also claim that Azerbaijan was receiving extensive support from Turkey during the Karabakh war.

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, Heydar Aliyev stated that 16,000 Azerbaijani troops had died and 22,000 had been injured in nearly six years of fighting. The UN estimated that nearly 1 million 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. 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, Aliyev 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 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including 160 kilometers along the Iranian border.

As a result of the war, Azerbaijanis were driven out of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as territories adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh; and these are still under control of the Armenian military. An unofficial cease-fire was reached on May 12, 1994 through Russian negotiation, and continues today. Armenians remain in control of the Soviet-era autonomous region; the Lachin district, a strip of land called "Lachin Corridor" linking Nagorno-Karabakh with the Republic of Armenia; as well as the six adjacent regions (Kelbajar, Agdam (partially), Fizuli (partially), Jabrayil, Gubadly, and Zangilan).

Today, Nagorno-Karabakh is a de facto state, calling itself the ''Nagorno-Karabakh Republic''. It is closely tied to the Republic of Armenia and uses its currency, the dram. Successive Armenian governments have resisted internal pressure to unite the two, fearing reprisals from Azerbaijan and from the international community, that still considers Nagorno-Karabakh part of Azerbaijan. The politics of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh are so intermingled that a former president of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Robert Kocharian, became first the prime minister (1997) and then the president of Armenia (1998 to the present).

At present, the mediation process is stalled, as both sides are equally intransigent. Azerbaijan insists that Armenian troops withdraw from all areas of Azerbaijan outside Nagorno-Karabakh, and that all displaced persons be allowed to return to their homes before the status of Karabakh can be discussed. Armenia does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as being legally part of Azerbaijan, arguing that because the region declared independence at the same time that Azerbaijan became an independent state, both of them are equally successor states of the Soviet Union. The Armenian government insists that the government of Nagorno-Karabakh be part of any discussions on the region's future, and rejects ceding occupied territory or allowing dis[laced population to return prior to talks on the region's status. Azerbaijan prefers to negotiate with one Armenian party at a time and states that, in principle, is ready to start talks with the Karabakh Armenians as soon as Armenia withdraws its troops from its territory. It also underlines that Karabakh Azeris should be allowed to return to their previous homes and should be given rights to self-governance similar to those provided to the Karabakh Armenian community.

Representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, France, Russia and the United States met in Paris and Key-West, Florida in the Spring of 2001. The details of the talks have remained largely secret, but the parties are reported to have discussed non-hierarchical relationships between the central Azerbaijani government and the Karabakh Armenian authorities. Despite rumours that the parties were again close to a solution, the Azerbaijani authorities - both during Heydar Aliyev's period of office, and after the accession of his son Ilham Aliyev in the October 2003 elections - have firmly denied that any agreement was reached in Paris or Key-West.

Further talks between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents, Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan, were held in September 2004 in Astana, Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit. Reportedly, one of the suggestions put forward was the withdrawal of the occupying forces from the Azeri territories adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh, and holding referendum (plebiscites) in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan proper regarding the future status of the region.In February, 2006, Kocharian and Aliyev met in Rambouillet , France to discuss the fundamental principles of a settlement to the conflict, including the withdrawal of troops, formation of international peace keeping troops, and the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Contrary to the initial optimism, the Rambouillet talks did not produce any agreement, with key issues such as the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and timing of the Armenian troops withdrawal from Kelbajar still being contentious.

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