View source for Karabakh

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{{about||the mountainous region of Karabakh|Nagorno-Karabakh|other uses|}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Karabakh
| native_name             = 
| native_name_lang        = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| settlement_type         = [[Region]]
| image_skyline           = Karmir-shuka.jpeg
| image_alt               = 
| image_caption           = A landscape in Nagorno-Karabakh - a view of the municipality of [[Qirmizi Bazar (Azerbaijan)|Qırmızı Bazar]]
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| etymology               = "Black garden"
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| image_map               = Karabakh-Map.svg
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| map_caption             = Map of Karabakh within modern borders.
  {{legend|#FFFFEC|Typical definition of Karabakh.}}
  {{legend|#F5F5F5|Maximum historical definition of Karabakh.}}
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'''Karabakh''' ({{lang-az|Qarabağ}}; {{lang-hy|Ղարաբաղ}} ''Gharabagh'') is a geographic region in present-day eastern [[Armenia]] and southwestern [[Azerbaijan]], extending from the [[highland]]s of the [[Lesser Caucasus]] down to the [[lowland]]s between the rivers [[Kura (Caspian Sea)|Kura]] and [[Aras River|Aras]].

It is conventionally divided into three regions: Highland Karabakh (covered mostly by present-day [[Nagorno-Karabakh]]), Lowland Karabakh (the steppes between the [[Kura (Caspian Sea)|Kura]] and [[Aras river|Aras]] rivers), and the eastern slopes of the [[Zangezur Mountains]] (roughly [[Syunik Province|Syunik]] and [[Kashatagh Province|Kashatagh]]).<ref>{{in lang|hy}} [[Arakel Babakhanian|Leo]]. ''Երկերի Ժողովածու'' [Collected Works]. Yerevan: Hayastan Publishing, 1973, vol. 3, p. 9.</ref><ref>{{in lang|hy}} [[Bagrat Ulubabyan|Ulubabyan, Bagrat]] ''Արցախյան Գոյապայքարը'' [The Struggle for the Survival of Artsakh]. Yerevan: Gir Grots Publishing, 1994, p. 3. {{ISBN|5-8079-0869-4}}.</ref><ref>Mirza Jamal Javanshir Karabagi. [http://zerrspiegel.orientphil.uni-halle.de/t1154.html ''The History of Karabakh'']. Chapter 2: ''About the borders, old cities, population aggregates and rivers of the Karabakh region''.</ref><ref>Mirza Jamal Javanshir Karabagi. ''A History of Qarabagh: An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi's Tarikh-e Qarabagh'', trans. [[George Bournoutian|George A. Bournoutian]]. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishing, 1994, pp. 46ff.</ref><ref name="Meliks1">[[Robert H. Hewsen|Hewsen, Robert H]]. "The Meliks of Eastern Armenia: A Preliminary Study," ''[[Revue des Études Arméniennes]]'' 9 (1972), p. 289, note 17.</ref>

==Etymology==
The [[Russian language|Russian]] name {{lang|ru|Карабах}}, [[Romanization of Russian|transliterated]] {{transl|ru|Karabakh}}, derives from the [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]] {{lang|az|Qarabağ}}, which is generally believed to be a compound of the [[Turkic language|Turkic]] word ''kara'' (black) and the [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] word ''bagh'' (garden), literally meaning "black garden."<ref name= "bbc2005">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/3658938.stm Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh]. ''[[BBC News]]''. Retrieved August 29, 2009.</ref> However, there are some other hypotheses.

Russian Orientalist [[Vladimir Minorsky]] believed that the name possibly connected to the same-titled extinct Turkic tribe. By comparison, there are similar toponyms in Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Minorsky|first=Vladimir|title=Tadhkirt Al-muluk| year=1943| pages=174}}</ref>

According to Iranian [[Linguistics|linguist]] Abdolali Karang, ''kara'' could have derived from ''kaleh'' or ''kala'', which means "large" in the [[Harzandi dialect|Harzani dialect]] of the extinct Iranian [[Old Azeri|Old Azeri language]].<ref>Karang, Abdolali. ''Tati va Harzani: Do lahje az zabane bastani-ye Azerbaijan'' (in Farsi), Tabriz: E. Vaezpour, 1954</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Dalby|first=Andrew|title=Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryoflang00dalb|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryoflang00dalb/page/156 156]|year=1998|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-11568-1}}, p. 496.</ref><ref name="Iranica">"Azari, the Old Iranian Language of Azerbaijan", ''[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]'', op. cit., Vol. III/2, 1987 by [[Ehsan Yarshater]].  External link: [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/azerbaijan-vii]</ref> The [[Iranian Azerbaijanis|Iranian-Azerbaijani]] historian [[Ahmad Kasravi]] also speaks of the translation of ''kara'' as "large" and not "black."<ref>Kasravi, Ahmad. Collection of 78 papers and talks (in Farsi), ed. Yahya Zeka, ''Lectures'', Tehran: Sherkate Sahami Ketabhaye Jibi, 2536, pp. 365/431</ref> The ''kara'' prefix has also been used for other nearby regions and landmarks, such as [[Arasbaran|Karadagh]] (''dagh'' "mountain") referring to a mountain range, and ''Karakilise'' (''kilise'' "church") referring to the largest church complex in its area, built mainly with white stone, the [[Monastery of Saint Thaddeus]]. In the sense of "large," ''Karakilise'' would translate to "large church," and ''Karabakh'' would translate to "large garden."

The placename is first mentioned in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in ''[[The Georgian Chronicles]]'' ({{lang-ka|ქართლის ცხოვრება}} "Life of Kartli"), and in Persian sources.<ref name="asev7">{{in lang|hy}} Ulubabyan, Bagrat. ''«Ղարաբաղ»'' [Gharabagh]. [[Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia]]. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1981, vol. 7, p. 26.</ref> The name became common after the 1230s when the region was conquered by the [[Mongols]].<ref>Great Soviet Encyclopedia, "NKAO, Historical Survey", 3rd edition, translated into English, New York: Macmillan Inc., 1973.</ref> The first time the name was mentioned in medieval Armenian sources was in the fifteenth century, in [[Thomas of Metsoph]]'s ''History of Tamerlane and His Successors''.<ref name="asev7"/>

==Geography==
Karabakh is a landlocked region located in the south of [[Armenia]] and the west of [[Azerbaijan]]. There is currently no official designation for what constitutes the whole of Karabakh. Historically, the maximum extent of what could be considered ''Karabakh'' was during the existence of the [[Karabakh Khanate]] in the 18th century, which extended from the [[Zangezur Mountains]] in the west, following eastwards along the [[Aras (river)|Aras river]] to the point where it meets with the [[Kura (Caspian Sea)|Kura river]] in the [[Kur-Araz Lowland]]. Following the Kura river north, it stretched as far as what is today the [[Mingachevir reservoir]] before turning back to the Zangezur Mountains through the [[Murovdag|Murov Mountains]]. However, when not referring to the territory covered by the Karabakh Khanate, the northern regions are often excluded (modern-day [[Goranboy District|Goranboy]] and [[Yevlakh District|Yevlakh]]). During the [[Russian Empire]], the eastern lowlands where the Kura and Aras rivers meet (mostly modern-day [[Imishli District|Imishli]]) were also excluded, but most pre-[[Elisabethpol Governorate|Elisabethpol]] maps include that region in Karabakh.

{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" style="width: 33%;" | Zangezur
! scope="col" style="width: 33%;" | Highlands or mountainous region
! scope="col" style="width: 33%;" | Lowlands or steppe
|-
| [[File:Karabakh-Map-Zangezur.svg|frameless|center]]
| [[File:Karabakh-Map-Mountainous-Karabakh.svg|frameless|center]]
| [[File:Karabakh-Map-Lowland-Karabakh.svg|frameless|center]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"

|'''Armenia:'''
* {{flagicon|Armenia}} [[Syunik Province|Syunik]]

'''Disputed:'''

* {{flagicon|Azerbaijan}} [[Lachin District|Lachin]], [[Qubadli District|Qubadli]], [[Zangilan District|Zangilan]]

* {{flagicon|Artsakh}} [[Kashatagh Province|Kashatagh]]

|'''Disputed:'''
* {{flagicon|Azerbaijan}} [[Kalbajar District|Kalbajar]], [[Tartar District|Tartar]], [[Khojali District|Khojali]], [[Khankendi]], [[Agdam District|Agdam]], [[Shusha District|Shusha]], [[Khojavend District|Khojavend]], [[Jabrayil District|Jabrayil]], [[Fizuli District|Fizuli]]
* {{flagicon|Artsakh}} [[Shahumyan Province|Shahumyan]], [[Martakert Province|Mardakert]], [[Askeran Province|Askeran]], [[Shushi Province|Shushi]], [[Martuni Province|Martuni]], [[Hadrut Province|Hadrut]]

|'''Azerbaijan:'''
* {{flagicon|Azerbaijan}} [[Barda District|Barda]], [[Aghjabadi District|Aghjabadi]], [[Beylagan District|Beylagan]].
* Historically also included [[Imishli District|Imishli]] and small parts of north-western [[Saatly District|Saatly]] and  [[Sabirabad District|Sabirabad]].
|}

==History==

===Antiquity===
The region today referred to as Karabakh, which was populated with various [[Peoples of the Caucasus|Caucasian]] tribes, is believed to have been conquered by the [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]] in the 2<sup>nd</sup> century BC and organized as parts of the [[Artsakh (historic province)|Artsakh]], [[Utik]] and the southern regions of [[Syunik (historic province)|Syunik]] provinces. However, it is possible that the region had earlier been part of the [[Satrapy of Armenia]] under the [[Orontid dynasty]] from as early as the 4<sup>th</sup> century BC.<ref>Hewsen. ''Armenia'', pp. 118-121.</ref> After the partition of Armenia by [[Roman Empire|Rome]] and [[Sasanian Empire|Persia]] in 387 AD, Artsakh and Utik became a part of the [[Albania (satrapy)|Caucasian Albanian satrapy]] of [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanian Persia]], while Syunik remained in Armenia.

===Middle Ages===
The [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Arab invasions]] later led to the rise of several Armenian princes who came to establish their dominance in the region.<ref name="Atlas">Hewsen. ''Armenia'', pp. 119, 155, 163, 264-265.</ref> Centuries of constant warfare on the Armenian Plateau forced many Armenians, including those in the Karabakh region, to emigrate and settle elsewhere. During the period of Mongol domination, a great number of Armenians left Lowland Karabakh and sought refuge in the mountainous (Highland) heights of the region.<ref>[[George Bournoutian|Bournoutian, George A]]. "Review of ''The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity Under Russian Rule'', by Audrey L. Altstadt," ''[[Armenian Review]]'' 45/2 (Autumn 1992), pp. 63-69.</ref>

From the 11th century and onwards Karabakh became a home to numerous [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz Turkic tribes]], the ancestors of the modern [[Azerbaijanis|Azeris]], who sticked to the nomadic way of life, circulating between the winter pastures in Karabakh lowlands and the summer pastures in Karabakh highlands.<ref name="Olcott 1998">{{Cite book|last1=Olcott|first1=M.|url=https://www.academia.edu/2857517|title=Фактор этноконфессиональной самобытности в постсоветском обществе|last2=Malashenko|first2=M.|publisher=Московский Центр Карнеги (The Moscow Center of Carnegie)|year=1998|isbn=0-87003-140-6|pages=179–180|trans-title=The Factor of Ethno-confessional Identity in the Post-Soviet Society|script-chapter=ru:Традиционное землепользование кочевников исторического Карабаха и современный армяно-азербайджанский этнотерриториальный конфликт (Анатолий Ямсков)|trans-chapter=The Traditional Land-use of the Nomads of Historical Karabakh and the Modern Armenian-Azerbaijani Ethno-territorial Conflict (by Anatoly N. Yamskov)|quote=This seasonal coexistence in the mountains of historical Karabakh with a sedentary Armenian population and a nomadic Turkic one, as well as some Kurdish, completely assimilated by Azerbaijanis in the 19th-20th centuries, arose a long time ago, simultaneously with the great movement of nomadic pastoralists into the plains of Azerbaijan... Thus, during the last centuries the highlands of Karabakh were owned by nomadic Turkic herdsmen, of whom was the khan of Karabakh as well.<p>Указанная ситуация сезонного сосуществования в горах исторического Карабаха оседлого армянского и кочевого тюркского населения, а также частично и курдского, полностью ассимилированного азербайджанцами в XIX—XX вв., возникла очень давно, одновременно с массовым проникновением кочевых скотоводов на равнины Азербайджана... Итак, на протяжении последних нескольких веков вся высокогорная зона исторического Карабаха фактически принадлежала кочевым скотоводам-тюркам, из которых вышли и ханы Карабаха.</p>}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yamskov|first=A. N.|date=22 June 2014|title=Ethnic Conflict in the Transcausasus: The Case of Nagorno-Karabakh|journal=Theory and Society|publication-date=October 1991|volume=20|issue=No. 5, Special Issue on Ethnic Conflict in the Soviet Union|page=650|quote=The Azeri conception of Karabakh as an inseparable part of Azerbaijan is based on other considerations than the oblast's ethnic composition. The Armenians have resided in Karabakh for a long time, and they represented an absolute majority of its population at the time that the autonomous oblast was formed. However, for centuries the entire high mountain zone of this region belonged to the nomadic Turkic herdsmen, from whom the Khans of Karabakh were descended. Traditionally, these direct ancestors of the Azeris of the Agdamskii raion (and of the other raions between the mountains of Karabakh and the Kura and Araks Rivers) lived in Karabakh for the four or five warm months of the year, and spent the winter in the Mil'sko-Karabakh plains. The descendants of this nomadic herding population therefore claim a historic right to Karabakh and consider it as much their native land as that of the settled agricultural population that lived there year-round.|via=JSTOR}}</ref> These tribes dominated the region,<ref name="Olcott 1998" /> and were key allies of the Safavid Empire, that owned Karabakh in 16th-early 18th centuries.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ghereghlou|first=Kioumars|title=Cashing in on land and privelege for the welfare of the shah: monetisation of tiyul in ealy Safavid Iran and Eastern Anatolia|journal=Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hung|volume=68|issue=1|page=110}}</ref>

In the fifteenth century, the [[Germans|German]] traveler [[Johann Schiltberger]] toured Lowland Karabakh and described it as a large and beautiful plain in Armenia, ruled by Muslims.<ref>[[Johannes Schiltberger]]. ''Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger.'' Translated by J. Buchan Telfer. Ayer Publishing, 1966, p. 86. {{ISBN|0-8337-3489-X}}.</ref> Highland Karabakh from 821 until the early 19th century passed under the hands of a number of states, including the [[Abbasid Caliphate]], [[Bagratid Armenia]], the Mongol [[Ilkhanate]] and [[Jalayirids|Jalayirid Sultanate]]s, the Turkic [[Kara Koyunlu]], [[Ak Koyunlu]] and Karabakh Baylarbaylik states of the [[Safavid Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Caucasus and Globalization |year=2006 |volume= 1 |publisher= Institute of Strategic Studies of the Caucasus |location= Sweden|page=9 |url= http://www.ca-c.org/c-g-online/2006/journal_eng/c-g-1/C-G-E-01-2006.pdf |access-date= 2011-10-17}}</ref> Armenian princes times ruled as vassal territories by the Armenian House of [[Khachen]] and its several lines, the latter [[Melikdoms of Karabakh]].<ref name="Atlas" /> The Safavids appointed the rulers of [[Ganja khanate]] from Ziad-oglu Qajar family to govern Karabakh.<ref>"[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ganja- Ganja]." [[Encyclopædia Iranica]].</ref> It was also invaded and ruled by [[Ottoman Empire]] between 1578-1605 and again between 1723-1736, as they briefly conquered it during the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–90)|Ottoman-Safavid War of 1578-1590]] and during the disintegration of Safavid Iran, respectively. In 1747, [[Panah Ali Khan]], a local [[Oghuz Turks|Turkic]] chieftain from the [[Javanshir clan]], seized control of the region after the death of the Persian ruler [[Nader Shah]], and both Lower Karabakh and Highland Karabakh comprised the new [[Karabakh Khanate]].<ref name="Atlas" /> The [[Qajar dynasty|Iranian Qajar]] dynasty reestablished rule over the region several years later.

===Early Modern Age===
{{see also|Russo-Persian War (1804-1813)|Treaty of Gulistan}}
In 1813, under the terms of the [[Treaty of Gulistan]], the region of Karabakh was lost by the [[Qajar dynasty|Persians]] to the [[Russian Empire]]. Under Russian rule, Karabakh (both Lowland and Highland) was a region with an area of 13,600&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (5,250 sq mi), with [[Shusha]] (Shushi) as its most prominent city. Its population consisted of [[Armenians]] and [[Muslims]] (mainly of [[Azerbaijanis]], then known as Tatars, but also [[Kurds]]). The Russians conducted a census in 1823 and had tallied the number of villages (though not the number of people) and assessed the tax basis of the entire Karabakh khanate, which also included Lowland Karabakh.<ref>For an English translation see, ''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> It is probable that the Armenians formed the majority of the population of Eastern Armenia at the turn of the seventeenth century,<ref>Bournoutian, George A. "Eastern Armenia from the Seventeenth Century to the Russian Annexation," in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume II: Foreign Dominion to Statehood: The Fifteenth Century to the Twentieth Century'', ed. [[Richard G. Hovannisian]]. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997, p. 96.</ref>{{Disputed inline||date=October 2020}}{{Verify quote|date=October 2020}} but following [[Shah Abbas I]]'s massive relocation of Armenians in 1604-05 their numbers decreased markedly, as they eventually became a minority among their Muslim neighbors.

According to the statistics of the initial survey carried out by the Russians in 1823 and an official one published in 1836, Highland Karabakh was found almost overwhelmingly Armenian in population (96.7%).<ref name="GB">Bournoutian, George. "[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20100819161838/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'' 9 (1996-1997), pp. 99-103.</ref> In contrast, the population of the Karabakh khanate, taken as a whole, was largely made up of Muslims (91% Muslim versus 9% Armenian).<ref name="Cornell">Cornell, Svante. ''[https://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]''. Richmond, Surrey, England: Curzon, 2001, p. 54. {{ISBN|0-700-71162-7}}.</ref> A decade after the Russian annexation of the region, many Armenians who had fled Karabakh during the reign of [[Ibrahim Khalil Khan]] (1730-1806) and settled in Yerevan, [[Ganja, Azerbaijan|Ganja]], and parts of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] were repatriated to their villages, many of which had been left derelict.<ref name="GB"/> An additional 279 Armenian families were settled in the villages of [[Ghapan]] and [[Meghri]] in Syunik.<ref name="GB"/> Though some of the returning Armenians wished to settle in Karabakh, they were told by Russian authorities that there was no room for them.<ref name="GB"/> This took place at the same time as many of the region's Muslims departed for the [[Ottoman Empire]] and [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar Iran]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lD97QrsCTIMC&pg=PA175 ''The penny cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge''. 1833, Georgia.]</ref> The population of Karabakh, according to the official returns of 1832, consisted of 13,965 Muslim and 1,491 Armenian families, besides some [[Nestorian Christians]] and [[Gypsies]]. The limited population was ascribed to the frequent wars and emigration of many Muslim families to Iran since the region's subjection to Russia, although many Armenians were induced by the Russian government, after the [[Treaty of Turkmenchay]], to emigrate from Persia to Karabakh.<ref> The Penny Encyclopædia [ed. by G. Long] of the Society for the diffusion of useful knowledge. Publication Date: 1833.</ref>  

It has to be noted that censuses and surveys, which were conducted in winter, did not count tens of thousands Azeri nomads, who stayed in the lowlands during winter and were migrating en masse to the summer pastures in Mountainous Karabakh during the warmer months. Seasonal demographic changes were significant, as e.g. in 1845 in historic Karabakh the population included 30,000 Armenians and 62,000 Moslems (Azeris), of whom approximately 50,000 were nomads, who circulated between Lowland and Mountainous Karabakh.<ref>Yamskov, A. N. (22/06/2014). "Ethnic Conflict in the Transcausasus: The Case of Nagorno-Karabakh". ''Theory and Society'' (published October 1991). '''20''' (No. 5, Special Issue on Ethnic Conflict in the Soviet Union): 650 – via JSTOR. "The following statistics permit us to make a rough estimate of the number of nomadic Azeris who summered in the mountains of what is now Nagorno-Karabakh and the neighboring raions of Azerbaijan (Kel'badzharskiy,. Lachinskiy) and Armenia (Kafanskiy, Gorisskiy, Sisianskiy, Azizbekovskiy). In 1845 in historic Karabakh the population included 30,000 Armenians and 62,000 Moslems (Azeris), of whom approximately 50,000 were nomads.' In the late 1890s, only about 1/30 of the plains population remained in the lowlands in the summer, whereas the overwhelming majority spent the period in the mountain pastures of the Karabakh ridge (the western boundary of Nagorno-Karabakh), the Murovdagskii ridge (a part of the northern boundary of Nagorno-Karabakh), and in the Zangezurskii ridge and the Karabakh uplands (outside the autonomous oblast).' In 1897 the rural population of the Shushinskii and Dzhevanshirskii districts, which comprised almost the entire territory of historic Karabakh, was 43.3 percent Armenian (93,600) and 54.8 percent Azeri (115,800). In the Agdamskii and neighboring raions of the Karabakh steppe, most of the Azeri population were semi-nomads, but some resided in settled Azerbaijani villages. In Nagorno-Karabakh most of the population was Armenian, but there were a few Azeri villages, whereas in the Kelbadzharskii raion there were only a few Azeri and Kurdish villages."</ref> <!--In 1823, 8.4% of the population of the whole of Karabakh was Armenian<ref>{{Cite book|title=Geteiltes Aserbaidschan: Blick auf ein bedrohtes Volk (German Edition)|last=Yazdani|first=Ahmed Omid|publisher=Das Arabische Buch|year=1993|isbn=3860930230|pages=88}}</ref> who were primarily concentrated in the highlands of Karabakh where they formed 90.8% of the population.<ref name="Tbilisi 1866">''Description of the Karabakh province prepared in 1823 according to the order of the governor in Georgia Yermolov by state advisor Mogilevsky and colonel Yermolov 2nd'' ({{lang-ru|Opisaniye Karabakhskoy provincii sostavlennoye v 1823 g po rasporyazheniyu glavnoupravlyayushego v Gruzii Yermolova deystvitelnim statskim sovetnikom Mogilevskim i polkovnikom Yermolovim 2-m|script=Latn}}), Tbilisi, 1866.</ref><ref name="Bournoutian, George A. 1994, page 18">Bournoutian, George A. ''A History of Qarabagh: An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi's Tarikh-E Qarabagh''. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 1994, page 18</ref>-->  <!--Russia's population policy changed the figures, and therefore, Armenian population formed 35% of the population in 1832, and 53% in 1880. Growth of Armenian population in Karabakh is explained with the "increasing migration of Armenians to Mountanious Karabakh or an exodus of Muslims from the region."<ref name="Cornell"/> -->

In 1828 the Karabakh khanate was dissolved and in 1840 it was absorbed into the Kaspijskaya 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.

===Modern Age===

====Soviet rule====
{{see also|Armenian-Azerbaijani war (1918–1920)}}
After the dissolution of Russian Empire Karabakh, Zangezur and Nakhchivan were disputed between newly established republics of Armenia and [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic|Azerbaijan]].<ref>[[Richard G. Hovannisian|Hovannisian, Richard G]]. "The Armeno-Azerbaijani Conflict Over Mountainous Karabagh," ''Armenian Review'' 24/2 (Summer 1971), pp. 3-39.</ref> 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, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]]. Local Armenian Council confronted this till the August of 1919, when it was subjected by Azeri military to admit the provisional jurisdiction of Azerbaijan. However, later Karabakh Armenians accused Azerbaijan in the violation of the treaty of 1919 and pursuit for the further submission of them to Azerbaijan and rebelled in the March of 1920 with the help of emissaries from Armenia. Uprising failed, as Azerbaijani forced quickly restored control over the main centers of Karabakh (Shusha, Khankendi, Askeran), although fighting in the countryside of Mountainous Karabakh continued. In April 1920, Azerbaijan and Armenia were sovietized and  Karabakh's status was taken up by the Soviet authorities. In 1921 after the heavy trilateral negotiations Soviets decided that Karabakh has to remain within Azerbaijan.<ref>See Hovannisian, Richard G. ''The Republic of Armenia: The First Year, 1918-1919''. Berkeley: University of California, 1971, pp. 162ff, 178–194. {{ISBN|0-5200-1984-9}}; ''idem'', ''The Republic of Armenia: From London to Sevres, February - August 1920, Vol. 3''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 131-172. {{ISBN|0-5200-8803-4}}; ''Arsène Saparov.'' Why Autonomy? The Making of NagornoKarabakh Autonomous Region 1918–1925 (англ.) // Europa–Asia Studies. — Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2012. — March (vol. 64, no. 2). — P. 281—323..</ref>

In 1923, Armenian parts of Mountainous Karabakh were made a part of the newly established [[Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast]] (NKAO), an administrative entity of the [[Azerbaijan SSR]]. According to the first census of this administrative unit the population was 94% Armenian,<ref>{{Cite book
  | last = Bradshaw
  | first = Michael J
  | author2 = George W. White
  | title = Contemporary World Regional Geography: Global Connections, Local Voices
  | publisher = Mcgraw-Hill
  | year = 2004
  | location = New York
  | isbn = 0-0725-4975-0
  | page = [https://archive.org/details/contemporaryworl0000brad/page/164 164]
  | url = https://archive.org/details/contemporaryworl0000brad/page/164
  }}</ref> however, this census did not count a considerable Azeri nomadic population.<ref>Yamskov, A. N. "Ethnic Conflict in the Transcausasus: The Case of Nagorno-Karabakh," Special Issue on Ethnic Conflict in the Soviet Union for the ''Theory and Society'' 20 (October 1991), p. 650.</ref> Besides, it has to be mentioned that NKAO is Armenian-dominated part of historical Mountainous Karabakh<ref>''Давид Львович Златопольский.'' Национальная государственность союзных республик. — 1968. — p. 295. "Implementing Lenin's principles of the national policy, CEC of Azerbaijani SSR created an autonomous oblast within itself '''from the Armenian part of Nagorno-Karabakh''' Претворяя в жизнь ленинские принципы национальной политики, ЦИК Азербайджанской ССР декретом от 7 июля 1923 года образовал '''из армянской части Нагорного Карабаха''' автономную область, как составную часть Азербайджанской ССР."</ref> and many Azeri villages of this region were administratively excluded from the former.<ref>''Audrey Altstadt''. Creation of the Autonomous oblast' of Nagorno-Karabakh // The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity under Russian Rule.</ref>

During the Soviet period, several few attempts were made by the authorities of the [[Armenian SSR]] to unite it with the NKAO but these proposals found no support in Moscow.

====Nagorno-Karabakh War====
{{main|First Nagorno-Karabakh War}}
In February 1988, within the context of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s ''glasnost'' and ''perestroika'' policies, the Supreme Soviet of the NKAO voted to unite itself with Armenia.<ref>[[Thomas de Waal|De Waal, Thomas]]. ''Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War''. New York: New York University Press, 2003, pp. 10-11.</ref> By the summer of 1989 the Armenian-populated areas of the NKAO were under blockade by Azerbaijan as a response to Armenia's blockade against [[Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic|Nakhichevan]], cutting road and rail links to the outside world. On July 12 the Nagorno-Karabakh AO Supreme Soviet voted to secede from Azerbaijan, which was rejected unanimously by the [[Supreme Soviet of USSR]], declaring NKAO had no right to secede from [[Azerbaijan SSR]] under Soviet Constitution.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24806449.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+19%2C+1988&author=Vincent+J+Schodolski%2C+Chicago+Tribune&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=4&desc=TOP+SOVIETS+REJECT+ARMENIA%27S+CLAIM+AZERBAIJAN+KEEPS+DISPUTED+REGION |title=TOP SOVIETS REJECT ARMENIA'S CLAIM AZERBAIJAN KEEPS DISPUTED REGION |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=1988-07-19 |access-date=2011-10-17}}</ref> Soviet authorities in Moscow then placed the region under its direct rule, 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.<ref>De Waal. ''Black Garden'', p. 85.</ref>

In late 1991, the Armenian representatives in the local government of the NKAO proclaimed the region a republic, independent from Azerbaijan. Portions of the lowland Karabakh are now under the control of the Karabakh Armenian forces. The region's Azerbaijani inhabitants were forced to leave the territories remaining under Armenian control.

While Nagorno-Karabakh remained an internationally recognised territory of Azerbaijan, as of October 2020, four UN security council resolutions, adopted in 1993 and demanding immediate withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from all occupied regions of Azerbaijan, remained unfulfilled.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/01/nagorno-karabakh-belongs-to-azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan], ''The Guardian'', 1 October 2020</ref>  In the [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war]] the southeastern portion of historic Karabakh, including the southern part of the old Nagorno-Karabakh AO, was conquered by Azerbajani forces, while the areas outside the old AO gained by Armenian forces in the first war were returned to Azerbaijani control as part of the armistice agreement.

==Karabakh dialect==
{{Main|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.<ref>De Waal. ''Black Garden'', p. 186.</ref> 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]].<ref name="Meliks1"/>

==Flora==
The [[Khari-bulbul]] (Ophrys caucasica) is a flowering plant that is considered by some to be "official flower" of the [[Karabakh]] region.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://azerbaijancenter.com/do-business-in-azerbaijan/karabakh/the-flower-of-karabakh/|title=The Flower of Karabakh|work=Azerbaijan Center|access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref> Its interesting appearance gives an impression as if a bird, [[bulbul]] is sitting on it.

Populations of [[Tulipa armena]] found in the [[Karabakh]] mountain range have been called ''T. karabachens.''<ref name="WCSP_289694">{{Citation |chapter=''Tulipa armena''|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |chapter-url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=289694 |access-date=2013-10-15}}</ref><ref name="ChriGovaDaviHall13">{{Citation |last1=Christenhusz |first1=Maarten J.M. |last2=Govaerts |first2=Rafaël |last3=David |first3=John C. |last4=Hall |first4=Tony |last5=Borland |first5=Katherine |last6=Roberts |first6=Penelope S. |last7=Tuomisto |first7=Anne |last8=Buerki |first8=Sven |last9=Chase |first9=Mark W. |last10=Fay |first10=Michael F. |year=2013 |title=Tiptoe through the tulips – cultural history, molecular phylogenetics and classification of ''Tulipa'' (Liliaceae) |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=172 |issue=3 |pages=280–328 |doi=10.1111/boj.12061 |name-list-style=amp |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Gharabaghi (surname)]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==

===Primary sources===
*Mirza Jamal Javanshir Karabagi. ''A History of Qarabagh: An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi's Tarikh-e Qarabagh''. Trans. George A. Bournoutian. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishing, 1994.
*Archbishop Sargis Hasan-Jalaliants. ''A History of the Land of Artsakh, Karabagh and Genje, 1722-1827''. Trans. Ka'ren Ketendjian, with introduction, annotations and notes by [[Robert H. Hewsen]]. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishing, 2012.

===Secondary sources===
* {{EI2|last=Bosworth|first=C.E.|title=Ḳarā Bāg̲h̲|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/kara-bagh-SIM_3886?s.num=16&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&s.q=Ak+Koyunlu+Persian|volume=4}}
*[[George Bournoutian|Bournoutian, George]]. "[http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011110023636/http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/armenian/sas/bour.html Rewriting History: Recent Azeri Alterations of Primary Sources Dealing with Karabakh]." ''Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies''. 1992, 1993, pp.&nbsp;185–190.
* De Waal, Thomas. ''Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War''. New York: New York University Press, 2003.
*Hewsen, Robert H. "The Meliks of Eastern Armenia: A Preliminary Study," (serialized in four parts) ''[[Revue des Études Arméniennes]]'' 9 (1972); 10 (1973/74); 11 (1975/76); 14 (1980).

{{Coord missing|Azerbaijan}}

[[Category:Caucasus]]
[[Category:Geography of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Geography of Armenia]]