History of Nagorno-Karabakh

This article is about the history of Nagorno-Karabakh only. For the history of Karabakh as a whole, see Karabakh § History.

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Nagorno-Karabakh is located in the southern part of the Lesser Caucasus range, at the eastern edge of the Armenian Highlands, encompassing the highland part of the wider geographical region known as Karabakh.[1] Under Russian and Soviet rule, the region came to be known as Nagorno-Karabakh, meaning "Mountainous Karabakh" in Russian. The name Karabakh itself (derived from Persian and Turkic, and meaning "black vineyard") was first encountered in Georgian and Persian sources from the 13th and 14th centuries to refer to lowlands between the Kura and Aras rivers and the adjacent mountainous territory.

Following the collapse of Soviet Union, most of this area came under the control of the de facto Artsakh Republic, which had economic, political, and military support from Armenia but has been internationally recognized as a de jure part of Azerbaijan. As a result of the 2020 war, all surrounding territories and some areas within Nagorno-Karabakh were taken back by Azerbaijan. On 1 January 2024, the Republic of Artsakh was dissolved.[2]

  1. ^ Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies: JSAS., Volume 8. University of Michigan, 1997, p 54.
  2. ^ "The Nagorno–Karabakh Republic Ceased to Exist". January 1, 2024.