Tigranakert of Artsakh

Tigranakert of Artsakh
Fragment of Tigranakert's city wall
Tigranakert of Artsakh is located in Azerbaijan
Tigranakert of Artsakh
Location within Azerbaijan
LocationAghdam District, Azerbaijan
Coordinates40°03′55″N 46°54′21″E / 40.06528°N 46.90583°E / 40.06528; 46.90583
History
BuilderTigranes the Great or Tigranes I
Founded2nd–1st century B.C.
Site notes
Excavation dates2005–2020

Tigranakert (Armenian: Արցախի Տիգրանակերտ, Arts'akhi Tigranakert), also known as Tigranakert-Artsakh,[1] is a ruined Armenian city dating back to the Hellenistic period, located in the Aghdam District of what is today Azerbaijan.

It is one of several former cities in the Armenian plateau with the same name, named in honor of the Armenian king Tigranes the Great (r. 95–55 B.C.), with the name Artsakh referring to the historical province of Artsakh in the ancient Kingdom of Armenia.[2] However, some scholars, such as Robert Hewsen and Babken Harutyunyan, have posited that this particular Tigranakert may have been founded by Tigranes the Great's father, Tigranes I (r. ca. 123–95 B.C.).[3] It occupies an area of about 50 hectares and is located approximately four kilometers south of the Khachinchay (Khachen) River.

The site was within territory that came under the occupation of Armenian forces after the First Nagorno-Karabakh war and was made part of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh until November 2020 when it was handed over to Azerbaijan as part of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement. In November 2021, Armenian sources reported that Azerbaijanis have turned a section of Tigranakert into a barbecue restaurant.[4][5]

  1. ^ Canepa 2018, p. 104.
  2. ^ Petrosyan, Hamlet L. (2010). "Tigranakert in Artsakh," in Tigranes the Great. Yerevan, pp. 380-87.
  3. ^ Hewsen, Robert H. (2001). Armenia: A Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 58, 73, map 62. ISBN 0-226-33228-4.
  4. ^ "Azerbaijanis turn ancient Armenian site into barbecue restaurant". panarmenian.net. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Azerbaijanis turned the Park of Royal Springs of Tigranakert into a barbeque restaurant". monumentwatch.org. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.