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===Modern===
===Modern===
{{see also|Armenian-Azerbaijani war (1918–1920)}}
{{see also|Armenian-Azerbaijani war (1918–1920)}}
Under Russian rule, Karabakh (both Lowland and Highland) was a region with an area of 13,600 km<sup>2</sup> (5,250 sq mi), with [[Shusha]] (Shushi) as its most prominent city. Its population consisted of [[Armenians]] and [[Muslims]]. Highland Karabakh was almost overwhelmingly Armenian in population according to an initial survey carried out by the Russians in 1823 and an official one published in 1836.<ref>''The 1823 Russian Survey of the Karabagh Province: A Primary Source on the Demography and Economy of Karabagh in the First Half of the 19th Century''. Trans. George A. Bournoutian. Costa Mesa, CA, 2011.</ref><ref name="GB">[[George Bournoutian|Bournoutian, George]]. "[http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/armenian/sas/bour2.html The Politics of Demography: Misuse of Sources on the Armenian Population of Mountainous Karabakh]." ''Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies'', vol. 9, 1996, 1997, pp. 101-102</ref> In 1828 the Karabakh khanate was dissolved and in 1840 it was absorbed into the Kaspijskaya (Caspian) oblast, and subsequently, in 1846, made a part of Shemakhanskaya (Shamakha) Governorate. In 1876 it was made a part of the Elizavetpol Governorate, an administrative arrangement which remained in place until the Russian Empire collapsed in 1917.
Under Russian rule, Karabakh (both Lowland and Highland) was a region with an area of 13,600 km<sup>2</sup> (5,250 sq mi), with [[Shusha]] as its most prominent city. Its population consisted of [[Armenians]] and [[Azerbaijan]]i [[Muslims]]. According to George A. Bournoutian, referring to an initial survey carried out by the Russians in 1823 and an official one published in 1836, Highland Karabakh was almost overwhelmingly Armenian in population.<ref>''The 1823 Russian Survey of the Karabagh Province: A Primary Source on the Demography and Economy of Karabagh in the First Half of the 19th Century''. Trans. George A. Bournoutian. Costa Mesa, CA, 2011.</ref><ref name="GB">[[George Bournoutian|Bournoutian, George]]. "[http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/armenian/sas/bour2.html The Politics of Demography: Misuse of Sources on the Armenian Population of Mountainous Karabakh]." ''Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies'', vol. 9, 1996, 1997, pp. 101-102</ref> According to Anoushiravan Ehteshami and other writers, referring to the Russian tsarist census taken in 1823, the Azeris made up the majority with 78% of population whilst Armenians were 22%.<ref>Anoushiravan Ehteshami. "[http://books.google.com/books?id=sgW_HEcULMYC&pg=PA159&dq=Armenians+Karabakh+1823&hl=en#v=onepage&q=Armenians%20Karabakh%201823&f=false From the Gulf to Central Asia: players in the new great game]." ''University of Exeter Press'', 1994, p. 159 [[ISBN]] 0-859-89451-7</ref> The whole area of Karabakh (Highland and Lowland) according to 1823 census results, was 91% Azeri and 9% Armenian. In following years, the number of Armenians increased due to migration policy of relocating Armenians to Karabakh and moving Azeris out of Karabakh. Thus, the percentage of Armenians increased to 35% in 1832 and 53% in 1880. These were also seen as consequences of Russo-Turkish wars of 1855-1856 and 1877-1878 because Russians saw Azeris as unreliable and allies to their ethnically close Turks.<ref name="Cornell">Svante Cornell [http://books.google.com/books?id=ff2zOZYaZx0C&pg=PA54&dq=Armenians+Karabakh+1823&hl=en#v=onepage&q=Armenians%20Karabakh%201823&f=false Small nations and great powers: a study of ethnopolitical conflict in the Caucasus]. ''Psychology Press'', 2001, p. 54. [[ISBN]] 0-700-71162-7</ref><ref>Frederick Coene. "[http://books.google.com/books?id=FqFMmVbfRfEC&pg=PA145&dq=Frederik+Coene+Karabakh&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false The Caucasus: an introduction]" ''Taylor & Francis", 2009. p. 145. [[ISBN]]: 0-415-48660-2</ref> After 1828, about 57,000 Armenians are believed to have been relocated to Karabakh and Yerevan province by Russians, when about 35,000 Azeris were moved out.<ref>Suzanne Goldenberg.
"Pride of small nations: the Caucasus and post-Soviet disorder." Volume 9 of Politics in contemporary Asia
Armenian Research Center collection. ''Zed'', 1994, p. 158. [[ISBN]]: 1-856-49237-0</ref>
In 1828 the Karabakh khanate was dissolved and in 1840 it was absorbed into the Kaspijskaya (Caspian) oblast, and subsequently, in 1846, made a part of [[Shemakha Governorate]]. In 1876 it was made a part of the [[Elisabethpol Governorate]], an administrative arrangement which remained in place until the Russian Empire collapsed in 1917.


===Soviet rule===
===Soviet rule===

Revision as of 19:45, 10 October 2011

For other uses of "Karabakh", see "Karabakh" (disambiguation).
A landscape in Nagorno-Karabakh - a view of the municipality of Qırmızı Bazar.

Karabakh (Armenian: Ղարաբաղ Gharabagh; Azerbaijani: Qarabağ) is a geographic region in present-day eastern Armenia and southwestern Azerbaijan, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and Aras. It includes three regions: Highland Karabakh (historical Artsakh, present-day Nagorno-Karabakh), Lowland Karabakh (the southern Kura-steppes), and a part of Syunik.[1][2][3][4]

Origins of the name

The Karabakh region as seen in an Old Russian map from the ESBE (1890-1906).

The word "Karabakh" is generally said to originate from Turkic and Persian, and literally means "black garden".[5] An alternative theory, proposed by Bagrat Ulubabyan, is that it has a Turkic-Armenian origin, meaning "Greater Baghk", a reference to Ktish-Baghk (later: Dizak), one of the principalities of Artsakh during the 11th to 13th centuries.[6]

The placename is first mentioned in the Georgian Chronicles (Kartlis Tskhovreba), as well in Persian sources from the 13th and 14th centuries.[7] The name became common after the 1230s, when the region was conquered by the Mongols.[8] The first time the name was mentioned in medieval Armenian sources was in the 15th century, in Tovma Metsop'etsi's History of Tamerlane and His Successors.[7]

History

Part of a series on the
History of
Artsakh
Antiquity
Middle Ages
Early Modern Age
Modern Age
Main article: History of Nagorno-Karabakh

Ancient and medieval

Lowland and Highland Karabakh populated with various Caucasian tribes were conquered by Armenians in the 2nd century BC and organized as the Artsakh province of the Kingdom of Armenia. However, it is possible that the region had earlier been part of Orontid Armenia from the 4th to 2nd centuries BC.[9] After the 387 AD partition of Armenia, it passed to the kingdom of Caucasian Albania. The Arab invasions later led to the rise of several Armenian princes who came to establish their dominance in the region.[10]

In the 15th century, the German traveler Johann Schiltberger toured Lowland Karabakh and described it as a large and beautiful plain in Armenia.[11] Highland Karabakh (Russian: Nagorno-Karabakh) or Artsakh was from 821 until the early 19th century ruled by the Armenian House of Khachen and its several lines, the latter Melikdoms of Karabakh.[10] In 1747, Panah Javanshir, a local Turkoman chieftain, seized control of the region after the death of the Persian ruler Nadir Shah, and both Lower Karabakh and Highland Karabakh comprised the new Karabakh khanate.[10] Nevertheless Highland Karabakh was still ruled by its own hereditary princes, known as meliks, until the Russian annexation of the region in 1805.[10]

Modern

See also: Armenian-Azerbaijani war (1918–1920)

Under Russian rule, Karabakh (both Lowland and Highland) was a region with an area of 13,600 km2 (5,250 sq mi), with Shusha as its most prominent city. Its population consisted of Armenians and Azerbaijani Muslims. According to George A. Bournoutian, referring to an initial survey carried out by the Russians in 1823 and an official one published in 1836, Highland Karabakh was almost overwhelmingly Armenian in population.[12][13] According to Anoushiravan Ehteshami and other writers, referring to the Russian tsarist census taken in 1823, the Azeris made up the majority with 78% of population whilst Armenians were 22%.[14] The whole area of Karabakh (Highland and Lowland) according to 1823 census results, was 91% Azeri and 9% Armenian. In following years, the number of Armenians increased due to migration policy of relocating Armenians to Karabakh and moving Azeris out of Karabakh. Thus, the percentage of Armenians increased to 35% in 1832 and 53% in 1880. These were also seen as consequences of Russo-Turkish wars of 1855-1856 and 1877-1878 because Russians saw Azeris as unreliable and allies to their ethnically close Turks.[15][16] After 1828, about 57,000 Armenians are believed to have been relocated to Karabakh and Yerevan province by Russians, when about 35,000 Azeris were moved out.[17] In 1828 the Karabakh khanate was dissolved and in 1840 it was absorbed into the Kaspijskaya (Caspian) oblast, and subsequently, in 1846, made a part of Shemakha Governorate. In 1876 it was made a part of the Elisabethpol Governorate, an administrative arrangement which remained in place until the Russian Empire collapsed in 1917.

Soviet rule

After the dissolution of Russian Empire Karabakh, Zangezur and Nakhchivan were disputed between newly established republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan.[18] Fighting between two republics broke out. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, British troops occupied the South Caucasus. The British command affirmed Khosrov bey Sultanov (an appointee of the Azerbaijani government) as the provisional governor-general of Karabakh and Zangezur, pending a final decision by the Paris Peace Conference. But in 1920, Azerbaijan and Armenia were sovietized and the Karabakh's status was taken up by the Soviet authorities.

In 1923, parts of Karabakh were made a part of the newly-established Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), an administrative entity of the Azerbaijan SSR, leaving it with a population that was 94% Armenian.[19][20] During the Soviet era a few attempts to unite NKAO with Armenia were made by the Armenian authorities but they were not supported by Moscow authorities.

Nagorno-Karabakh War

Main article: Nagorno-Karabakh_War

In February 1988, within the context of Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika policies, the Supreme Soviet of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to unite itself with the Armenian SSR.[21] By the summer of 1989 the Armenian-populated areas of the Nagorno-Karabakh Oblast were under blockade by Azerbaijan as a response to Armenia's blockade against Nakhichevan, cutting road and rail links to the outside world. On July 12 the Nagorno-Karabakh Supreme Soviet voted to secede from Azerbaijan, and in response the Kremlin placed the region under the direct rule of Moscow, installing a special commission to govern the region. In November 1989 the Kremlin returned the oblast to Azerbaijani control. The local government in the region of Shahumian also declared its independence from the Azerbaijan SSR in 1991.[22]

In late 1991, the Armenian representatives in the local government of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast proclaimed the region a republic, independent from the Azerbaijan SSR. Portions of the lowland Karabakh are now under the control of the Karabakh Armenian forces. The region's Azerbaijani and Kurd inhabitants had to leave the territories remaining under the Armenian control.

Karabakh dialect

The Armenian population of the region speaks the Karabakh dialect of Armenian which has been heavily influenced by the Persian, Russian, and Turkish languages.[23] It was the most extensively spoken of all Armenian dialects until the Soviet period when the dialect of Yerevan became the official tongue of the Armenian SSR.[4]

Notes

  1. ^ Template:Hy icon Leo. Երկերի Ժողովածու (Collected Works). vol. iii. Yerevan: Hayastan Publishing, 1973, p. 9.
  2. ^ Template:Hy icon Ulubabyan, Bagrat Արցախյան Գոյապայքարը (The Struggle for the Survival of Artsakh). Yerevan: Gir Grots Publishing, 1994, p. 3. ISBN 5-8079-0869-4.
  3. ^ Mirza Jamal Javanshir Karabagi. The History of Karabakh. Chapter 2: About the borders, old cities, population aggregates and rivers of the Karabakh region.
  4. ^ a b Hewsen, Robert H. "The Meliks of Eastern Armenia: A Preliminary Study." Revue des Études Arméniennes. NS: IX, 1972, p. 289, note 17.
  5. ^ Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh. BBC News. Accessed August 29, 2009.
  6. ^ Hewsen, Robert H. Armenia: a Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001, pp. 119–120.
  7. ^ a b Template:Hy icon Ulubabyan, Bagrat. «Ղարաբաղ» (Gharabagh). Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. vol. vii. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1981, p. 26.
  8. ^ Great Soviet Encyclopedia, "NKAO, Historical Survey", 3rd edition, translated into English, New York: Macmillan Inc., 1973
  9. ^ Hewsen. Armenia, pp. 118-121.
  10. ^ a b c d Hewsen. Armenia, pp. 119, 155, 163, 264-265.
  11. ^ Johannes Schiltberger. Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger. Translated by J. Buchan Telfer. Ayer Publishing, 1966, p. 86. ISBN 0-8337-3489-X.
  12. ^ The 1823 Russian Survey of the Karabagh Province: A Primary Source on the Demography and Economy of Karabagh in the First Half of the 19th Century. Trans. George A. Bournoutian. Costa Mesa, CA, 2011.
  13. ^ Bournoutian, George. "The Politics of Demography: Misuse of Sources on the Armenian Population of Mountainous Karabakh." Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies, vol. 9, 1996, 1997, pp. 101-102
  14. ^ Anoushiravan Ehteshami. "From the Gulf to Central Asia: players in the new great game." University of Exeter Press, 1994, p. 159 ISBN 0-859-89451-7
  15. ^ Svante Cornell Small nations and great powers: a study of ethnopolitical conflict in the Caucasus. Psychology Press, 2001, p. 54. ISBN 0-700-71162-7
  16. ^ Frederick Coene. "The Caucasus: an introduction" Taylor & Francis", 2009. p. 145. ISBN: 0-415-48660-2
  17. ^ Suzanne Goldenberg. "Pride of small nations: the Caucasus and post-Soviet disorder." Volume 9 of Politics in contemporary Asia Armenian Research Center collection. Zed, 1994, p. 158. ISBN: 1-856-49237-0
  18. ^ Hovannisian, Richard G. "The Armeno-Azerbaijani Conflict Over Mountainous Karabagh." Armenian Review, XXIV, Summer 1971.
  19. ^ Bradshaw, Michael J (2004). Contemporary World Regional Geography: Global Connections, Local Voices. New York: Mcgraw-Hill. p. 164. ISBN 0-0725-4975-0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Yamskov, A. N. "Ethnic Conflict in the Transcausasus: The Case of Nagorno-Karabakh." Theory and Society. Vol. 20, No. 5, Special Issue on Ethnic Conflict in the Soviet Union October 1991, p. 659. Retrieved on February 13, 2007.
  21. ^ De Waal, Thomas. Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War. New York: New York University Press, 2003, pp. 10-11.
  22. ^ De Waal. Black Garden, p. 85.
  23. ^ De Waal. Black Garden, p. 186.

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