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History of Garabagh in Armenian sources

  


Thus, the western part of Garabagh was named as Urtekh-Urtekhini in the Urartu sources. The later name of this area Arstakh was derived from Urtekhi. In local sources this area is indicated as the territory of Albania, its population was to be utis, sodis, aynians. Even Udins wrote in a letter addressed to Peter I: "We are white blood and utis by nationality." A. S. Mnatsakanian in his works shows that udins are one of Armenian tribes and their native language since ancient time was the Armenian language. The great expert of this problem M. Dyakonov considers that "as the ancient Armenian language was not cognate languages to languages of local population of Armenian plateau, so it is clear that the language has been brought here from outside." In another place he writes that the primary carriers of the Armenian language came to Armenian plateau as migrating cattle breeders that had class society but having auxiliary farming. The sources show that the Armenians may come to these areas after wars of occupation of Transcaucasian Artaksiyan and Zondiyan. i.e. after II BC. Of course, Armenian ethnos was not formed in these areas. They were formed in upper Euphrates valley in the 1st half of I millennium of BC. If to take into account the above mentioned we can come to the conclusion that during the given period the population of Artsakh were Albanians and the area of Albanian lands. These facts were confirmed by Leo, S. T. Yeremian, A. G. Sukiasian and they write that the right bank of Albania - Artsakh and Utik provinces were Albanian lands.
Albania had retained its independence during the early of I century at Roman-Sassanid wars. During these wars from ethnic and political point of view, the sovereign territory of Nagorno-Garabagh was remained as part of ubiya-Albania-Albanian kingdom. Colonization and armeniazation of this area are later events. Academician İ. A. Orbeli also wrote about the occupation of Nagorno-Garabagh by the present-day Armenian feudal lords.. The academician S. T. Yeremian wrote about the population’s "armeniazation". The territory of Nagorno-Garabagh in the first century, politically was under the rule of Albanian Arsaqids, and during VII-VIII centuries - great knyaz miranids. As a result of the Arab occupation of the VIII century, the Albanian kingdom collapsed. 

In this period, the Armenian Church was an active participant of the tragic events of the Albanian population in the territory of Nagorno-Garabagh and later grigorianization and even armeniazation of Garabagh population. However, the Albanian ethnos lived, even in IX century the kingdom of Albania was restored partly in the territory of Artsakh. During XII-XIII centuries in the zone of Artsakh and Utiya "the growing of part of the ancient Albania, Khachin kinghood” was confirmed by academician I.. A. Orbeli. The development of this kingdom Albania coincides with the time of ruler Hasan Jalal (1215-1261). Just in his time later "the Qonzasar monastery was built which became the church capital of Albania. Throughout the Middle Ages the Nagorno-Garabagh zone was part of the Garabagh beylerbeylik. Later, at early of the XVIII-XIX centuries it was included in the Garabagh khanate.
The Armenian author S. T. Yeremian also confirms that the part of the population of Nagorno-Garabagh was armeniazied later. During the II Russian-Iranian war (1826-1828) at condition of no doubt on the victory of the Russian army Kh. B. Lazarev has introduced a project to tsarist government. According to the project by the decree of Nicholas I on March 21, 1828, an administrative unit under the name of the "Armenian oblast" was created. According to the Turkmenchay Treaty signed between Russia and Iran Armenians could come to these areas and resettle free. At that time the real Azerbaijani population of Garabagh was undoubtedly much more than Armenian population. According to the official reports of the year 1810 there were 12000 families in “Garabagh region". Among them 2500 were Armenian families. This information was confirmed in published
 in 1979 in Yerevan, "Присоединение вoсточной Армении к России" (Annexation of eastern Armenia to Russia)" (I chapter, p 562). In the case of Garabagh Armenian meliks in fact they were yesterday’s Albanians. The surnames of Garabagh meliks it was clear that they were not from the families of aristocratic (nakharar) Armenians. They were local feudals of non- Armenian origin. At the end of the first quarter of the XIX century Armenians were in the absolute minority in Garabagh. According to description of “Garabagh province" in 1823 prepared by the active state advisor Maqilyovski and colonel Yermolov of Tbilisi of 1866, there were one city with 90 000 residents and over 600 villages in the Garabagh khanate, of which only 150 were Armenian villages. In Shusha approximately 1048 consisting of 474 Armenians and rest Azerbaijanis and rural areas respectively 12.902, and 43.311 people lived. All it happened after Nadir Shah (in 30-es of the XVIII century) shifted people to Iran's Khorasan province after severe reprisals to Garabagh’s Azerbaijani people. Above facts were confirmed by V. Ishkanian. So he wrote in "Народности Кавказа» (Peoples of the Caucasus) (Petrograd, 1916) work. Part of the Armenians living in Nagorno-Garabagh is aboriginal, from ancient generations of Albanians. The Azerbaijani land became a shelter for them from persecution and threats. In 1978 the monument was erected in former Mardakert by Armenians on occasion the 150 anniversary of this resettlement.



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