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Askeran

Coordinates: Template:Xb_type:city(2300) 39°56′12″N 46°49′58″E / 39.93667°N 46.83278°E / 39.93667; 46.83278
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This article is about the town. For other uses, see Askeran (disambiguation).

Askeran
Ասկերան
Askeran is located in Republic of Artsakh
Askeran
Askeran
Askeran is located in Azerbaijan
Askeran
Askeran
Coordinates: Template:Xb_type:city(2300) 39°56′12″N 46°49′58″E / 39.93667°N 46.83278°E / 39.93667; 46.83278
Country (de facto) Artsakh
 • ProvinceAskeran
Country (de jure) Azerbaijan
 • DistrictKhojaly
Elevation
512 m (1,680 ft)
Population
 (2015)[1]
 • Total2,300
Time zoneUTC+4 (AMT)

Askeran (Armenian: Ասկերան or Mayraberd, Մայրաբերդ; Azerbaijani: Əsgəran) is a town de facto in the Republic of Artsakh as the administrative centre of its Askeran Province, de jure in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan. It is located on the left bank of the Karkar River (Qarqarçay), approximately 7 miles northeast of the regional capital, Stepanakert.[2] The town has an ethnic Armenian-majority population, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989.[3]

Toponymy

According to Armenian historian Shahen Mkrtchyan, the town was historically known as Mayraberd (Armenian: Մայրաբերդ).[4] In "The History of the Country of Albania", the place is referred to as Mets Aran (Մեծ Արան; Great Arran). According to Azerbaijani sources, the name Askeran is comprised of Turkic-Azerbaijani word Əski (old, ancient) and Arran, meaning "old/ancient Arran".[5]

History

View of the Askeran Fortress

The Askeran Fortress (Mayraberd), built by the Karabakh Khanate ruler Panah Ali Khan in 1751,[6] is situated in the southern part of the town. Armenian historian Shahen Mkrtchyan writes that the Askeran fortress was built upon the foundations of the medieval Armenian village and fortress known as Mayraberd.[4] During the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 the Russian encampment was near the fortress.[7] In 1810, peace talks between the Russians and Persians were conducted at the fortress.[2] Restoration works on the fortress began in 2018.[8]

In the Russian Empire, Askeran was part of the Shusha Uyezd in the Elisabethpol Governorate. During the Soviet period, the city was the administrative center of the Askeran District, which was a part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in the Azerbaijan SSR.

Askeran was the site of one of the starting points of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 1988, the Askeran clash. On 22 February 1988, an crowd of angry Azerbaijanis marched from Agdam in the direction of Stepanakert and clashed with police and local Armenians in Askeran, ending in the death of two Azerbaijanis and injuries on both sides.[9] The town was known as an Armenian stronghold during the war.[10] In 1991, it became the center of the Askeran Province of the Republic of Artsakh following the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Historical heritage sites

Historical heritage sites in and around Askeran include the 18th-century Askeran Fortress, the cave-shrine of Hatsut (Armenian: Հացուտ), and the St. Astvatsatsin Church built in 2002.[11]

Economy and culture

The population is engaged in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry as well as in different state institutions and other private enterprises. The city is home to factories producing wine, brandy and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as architectural enterprises, secondary and musical schools, a house of culture, a municipal building, a kindergarten, and a hospital. The community of Askeran includes the village of Kyatuk.[11]

Demographics

In 1970 Askeran was estimated to have around 700 inhabitants, mostly ethnic Armenians,[12] per the 2005 census there were 1,967 inhabitants,[13] and in 2015 the town was estimated to have 2,300 inhabitants.[1]

  • Askeran Fortress
    Askeran Fortress
  • Street in Askeran
    Street in Askeran
  • Walls of the Askeran Fortress
    Walls of the Askeran Fortress
  • Street
    Street
  • St. Astvatsatsin Church (Church of the Holy Mother of God) in Askeran, opened in 2002
    St. Astvatsatsin Church (Church of the Holy Mother of God) in Askeran, opened in 2002
  • Scenery
    Scenery
  • Askeran City Stadium
    Askeran City Stadium
  • District court in Askeran
    District court in Askeran

References

  1. ^ a b Nagorno Karabakh in Figures (PDF). Stepanakert: National Statistical Service of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. 2015.
  2. ^ a b Ekbal, Kamran (2002). "ʿASKARĀN". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
  3. ^ Zubov, Andrei (1 October 2020). "Карабах: Мир и Война". drugoivzgliad.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b Shahen Mkrtchyan [in Armenian] (1988). Historical and Architectural Monuments of Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan: Parberakan. p. 162.
  5. ^ "Əsgəran". Azərbaycan toponimlərinin ensiklopedik lüğəti. 2 cilddə [Encyclopedic Dictionary of Toponyms of Azerbaijan. In 2 volumes] (PDF) (in Azerbaijani). Vol. 1st. Baku: Şərq-Qərb. 2007. p. 266.
  6. ^ Quliyev, Răsul (1997). Path to Democracy: Fateful Lessons of the 20th Century. New York: Liberty Publishing House. p. 50. ISBN 9780914481867. By the 18th century, Panakhali Khan had completed Askeran Fortress (Askeran Galasy) in order to defend Karabakh.
  7. ^ Bournoutian, George; Javanshir Qarabaghi, Jamal (2004). Mirza Jamal Javanshir's Tarikh-e Karabagh and Mirza Adigözal Beg's Karabagh-name [Two Chronicles on the History of Karabagh]. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers. pp. 120–124. ISBN 9781568591797.
  8. ^ ArtsakhPress (4 March 2019). "Reconstruction works are being conducted in Askeran fortress". artsakhpress.am.
  9. ^ De Waal, Thomas (2003). Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War. New York and London: New York University Press. p. 15. ISBN 0814719457.
  10. ^ Carney, James. "Former Soviet Union: Carnage in Karabakh." Time. April 13, 1992. "Almost every day for the past three weeks, commanders from Askeran, an Armenian town on Karabakh's border with Azerbaijan, and Agdam, on the Azeri side, have met along a dirt road on the front to negotiate prisoner exchanges."
  11. ^ a b Hakob Ghahramanyan. "Directory of socio-economic characteristics of NKR administrative-territorial units (2015)".
  12. ^ "Степанакертский Горсовет (1970 г.)". Этно-Кавказ.
  13. ^ 2005 թվականի Արցախի Հանրապետության մարդահաշիվ
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