|
History
Of The Nagorno-Karabakh Region Of The Republic Of
Azerbaijan
The
history of Karabakh is rooted in an antiquity, and it is one of the
historic provinces of Azerbaijan, an important
political, culturel, and spiritual center.
Territorial
claims of the Armenians against the Azerbaijani people and
Azerbaijan are the main
reasons for the so-called “Karabakh problem”.
Karabakh
was inalienable part to all the state formations that have existed
on the territory of northern Azerbaijan.
From
4th century B.C. to 8th century A.D. the territory of the current
Nagorno- Karabakh region of Azerbaijan was one of the provinces
of Caucasian Albania, the most ancient state of Northern Azerbaijan. After the fall of the
independent Albanian state, Karabakh being inseparable from
Azerbaijan both geographically and politically, was a part to the
Azerbaijani state of Sajids, in 10th - to the state of Salarids, and
in 11-12th centuries - to the state of Sheddadids. During 12-13th
centuries Karabakh constituted part of the Atabey-Ildenizids state,
in the second half of the 13th century- beginning of 15th century,
during the existence of the Mongolian Khalugoid state- part of the
Jalairds’ state. In the 15th century it existed within the states of
Gharagounlou and Aghgounlou, and during 16th and 17th centuries
Karabakh, as a part of the Karabakh beylerbeyyat (duchy), was within
the Sefevi state. The latter consisted of 4 beylerbeyyats: Shirvani,
Karabakhi, Erivani and Tabrizi, when a part of the Karabakhi
beylerbeyyat was ruled by the representatives of the Turkic
Ziyad-oglu tribe, subordinated to Kajars from 16th till 19th
century. In the second half of the 18th century Karabakh belonged to
the khanate (principality) and along whit the latter was
incorporated into Russia.
Thus,
Karabakh has never been of part of the Armenian state, which was
established in Asia, far from South
Caucasus.
In
the antiquity the population of Karabakh consisted of Albans, and in
the early medieval period- of Albans and Turkic-speaking tribes of
Barsil, Savir, Hunn, Khazar, which lived on this territory. These
tribes were joined by other Kangary. Language of Albans belonged to
northeastern- Caucasian family. As it has been established as a
result of most recent research , tribes of that family have
inhabited the territory, at least, since the mesolithic period, no
less than ten thousand years ago.
Arabic
conquest of the lowlands of Albania, as well as valleys of
Kura and Araz in 7th century,
resulted in islamization of the population of the plains and it
merging with the Turkic-speaking population of the country. However,
Albanian population, ruled by Albanian Mikhranid princes, remained
in the mountainous Karabakh along with the Turkic tribes.
Descendants of the Mikhranid clan restored the Albanian kingdom in
Karabakh in the 9th century. This kingdom was ruled by the Jalaids,
descendants of Hasan-Jalal, until 15th
century.
After
losing political and secular power in the 15th century, the clan of
Jalal remained the spiritual leaders of the country. They became
Patriarch-Catolicos of the Albanian autonomus church, until 1836,
when independence of the church was abolished and subortinated to
the Armenian as a result of intrigues of the Armenian
clergy.
In
the 15th century the Jalalids were granted the title of Melik
(count) by Jahanshah. After that the clan broke up and five
melikates (smaller autonomous country) appeared in Karabakh:
Goulistan, Jraberd, Khachen, Varanda and Dizak. The title of melik
was conferred upon the ruling families of the Melikates. Meliks of
Karabakh in their letters to the Russian czar call themselves
“descendants of the Albanian Arshakids”. The Albanian princes had a
title of melik, differing from Armenian titles: ishkhan, tar etc.
None of the Albanian Melik Families was of Armenian
descent.
Thus,
the historical Albanian province of Karabakh until 19th century had
been an important political, cultural, spiritual center of Albanian
Christian population which managed to preserve its territorial,
political, confessional unity and, importantly, -its Albanian
self-conscience.
Appearance
of the first ethnic Armenian on the territory of
Azerbaijan, in
particular, in Karabakh, shoul be viewed through the prism of the
Armenian people’s history.
As
it is known, Armenians aren’t aboriginal neither in the Asian part
of historical Turkey, nor in the Caucasus. According to Armenologists, the
Armenians , who belonged to the Frigian tribes, originally
inhabiting the Balkans, following the Cimmerian ressetlement
appeared in Asia in the 7th century
B.C. They have further spread to the east, reaching Euphrates. The last edition of “The history of
the Armenian people” states that in the 12th century B.C. groups of
Hindo-European Armenian-speaking tribes penetrated territories of
the Khurrites and Louvian Khetts in the upper reaches of the
Euphrates. These tribes were,
reffered to as “moushku” and “urumu” by Assirian cuneiform texts,
and “arims” by the Greek sources, later called
“Armenians”.
The
first Armenian state, established in Asia
Minor in the 6th century B.C., lasted until 428 and was
only nominally a state being de-facto a province of the Persian and
Roman Empires. Attemps to restore the Armenian kingdom were made in
9th-10th centuries and in 12th-14th centuries. Thus, in 9th-11th
centuries Armenian Bagratid state, with the capital of Ani, was
established in the vicinity of Kars
and Erzurum. Later, in 12th-14th
centuries , an Armenian Kilikian kingdom was founded in a totally
different location on the northeastern shore of the Mediterranean.
Since
15th century the Armenian history is closely linked to the Armenian
church. Signifiance and influence of the church have especially
grown after the Catolicos’ seat was moved in 1441 from Kilikia to
Echmiadzin, in the vicinity of Yerevan. Since that time Echmiadzin
assumed both political and general leadership in the life of the
Armenians. It became the consolidating and organizing force of the
Armenians scatterd across many countries.
Thus,
Azerbaijani regions o Karabakh , partly populated by Christian
Albans, had preserved confessional unity with Armenians while
maintaining territorial and political unity with Azerbaijan.
With
the emergence of the Ottoman Empire Armenians lost hope to create
their state in Asia Minor. This is
when the Armenians turned to the Caucasus and historical
Azerbaijan with
the idea of the Armenian people “introduce into scientfic circles
the term “Eastern Armenia” shifts both in time and space from east
of the Euphrates to the Caucasus.
Beginning
from the 18th century the Armenians penetrating Russia are trying t gain
favor of the Russian court, first- of the Emperor Paul I, then-
Empress Catherine II by all means. Attracting them by the necessity
of liberating the so-called “Eastern Armenia” from Turkish and
Persian “yoke”, Armenians practically aimed at cleansing Karabakh
and the lands of Zangezur from Azerbaijanis, who so-existed with the
fragments of Albanian Christians. Another
goal was the Russian conquest of these
territories. |
