Askeran: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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{{short description|Place in Nagorno-Karabakh}}
{{about|the town|other uses}}
{{pp-semi-indefextended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=JulyOctober 20132023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Askeran
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| image_caption =
| image_size = 300px
| pushpin_map = Azerbaijan#Karabakh
| pushpin_mapsize = 300
| subdivision_type1subdivision_type = Country <small>{{nobold|(''[[de jure]]'')}}</small>
| subdivision_name1subdivision_name = {{flag|Azerbaijan}}
| subdivision_type2subdivision_type1 = {{*}} [[Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan|District]]
| subdivision_name2subdivision_name1 = [[Khojaly District|Khojaly]]
| subdivision_type2 =
| subdivision_name2 =
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name =
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| population_footnotes = <ref name="2015population">{{Cite book|url=http://stat-nkr.am/files/publications/2015/LXH_tverov_2015.pdf|title=Nagorno Karabakh in Figures|publisher=National Statistical Service of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic|year=2015|location=Stepanakert}}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone = [[Azerbaijan Time|AMTAZT]]
| utc_offset = +4
| timezone_DST =
| utc_offset_DST =
| coordinates = {{coord|39|56|12|N|46|49|58|E|region:{{xb|AZ<!--NKR}}-->|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m = 512
| area_code =
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}}
'''Askeran''' ({{lang-hy|Ասկերան}} or {{transliteration|hy|Mayraberd}}, {{Lang|hy|Մայրաբերդ}}; {{lang-az|Əsgəran}}) is a town in the [[Khojaly District]] of [[Azerbaijan]], in the region of [[Nagorno-Karabakh]]. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway [[Republic of Artsakh]], as the centre of its [[Askeran Province]]. The town had an ethnic [[Armenians|Armenian]]-majority population<ref>{{cite web |url=https://drugoivzgliad.com/karabach-mir-i-voina-a-zubov/ |title=Андрей Зубов. Карабах: Мир и Война |author=Андрей Зубов |date= |website=drugoivzgliad.com |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref> until the [[Flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians|exodus]] of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh following the [[2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sauer |first=Pjotr |date=2 October 2023 |title=‘It’s a ghost town’: UN arrives in Nagorno-Karabakh to find ethnic Armenians have fled |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/02/nagorno-karabakh-ghost-town-un-ethnic-armenians-azerbaijan |access-date=9 November 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> It is located on the left bank of the [[Qarqarçay|Karkar River]] (Qarqarçay), approximately {{convert|7|mi|order=flip}} northeast of the regional capital, [[Stepanakert]].{{sfn|Ekbal|2002}}
'''Askeran''' {{lang-az|Əsgəran}}) or ({{lang-hy|Ասկերան}} or {{transl|hy|Mayraberd}}, is a town in the [[Khojaly District]] of [[Azerbaijan]], in the [[Political status of Nagorno-Karabakh|disputed]] region of [[Nagorno-Karabakh]]. It is located on the left bank of the [[Qarqarçay|Karkar River]] (Qarqarçay), approximately {{convert|7|mi|order=flip}} northeast of the regional capital, [[Stepanakert]].<ref name= Ekbal>{{Encyclopædia Iranica Online|last=Ekbal|first=Kamran|title=ʿASKARĀN|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/askaran|year=2002}}</ref> The town has an ethnic [[Armenians|Armenian]]-majority population, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|author=Zubov|first=Andrei|date=1 October 2020|title=Карабах: Мир и Война|url=https://drugoivzgliad.com/karabach-mir-i-voina-a-zubov/|url-status=live|website=drugoivzgliad.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020150302/https://drugoivzgliad.com/karabach-mir-i-voina-a-zubov/ |archive-date=20 October 2020 }}</ref>
==Etymology==
Medieval Armenian sources attest to a settlement in the locale called ''Mayraberd'' ({{Lang-hy|Մայրաբերդ|lit=mother fortress}}). The modern name ''Askeran'' ({{Lang-hy|Ասկերան|lit=military encampment}}) refers to the settlement's historic use from the beginning of the 18th-century as an arsenal for various military powers.{{sfn|Mkrtchyan|1988|pp= 161-162}}
== History ==
[[File:Askeran fortress. Askeran, Republic of Mountainous Karabakh (Artsakh). 03.JPG|thumb|left|View of the [[Askeran Fortress]]]]
Askeran originally belonged to the historic territory of [[Dizak]] before becoming part of the Armenian [[Melikdom of Varanda]] in the first half of the 16th-century. The [[Askeran fortress]] protected the eastern frontier of Varanda from the semi-autonomous [[Karabakh Khanate]],{{sfn|Hewsen|1972|p=301}}{{sfn|Bournoutian|2016a|pp=107–108}} which was under the suzerainty of Iran.{{sfn|Bournoutian|2016b|p=xvii}}{{sfn|Hambly|1991|pp=145–146}} The Askeran Fortress was built upon the foundations of the medieval Armenian village and fortress known as Mayraberd.{{sfn|Mkrtchyan|1988|pp= 161-162}} In 1752, the ''[[melik]]'' (prince) of Varanda, [[Melik Shahnazar II|Shahnazar II]], made an alliance with the Karabakh khan [[Panah Ali Khan]],{{sfn|Bournoutian|1994|p=63 (see also note 141)}}{{sfn|Bournoutian|2021|p=262}} who expanded the fortress to its current state.{{sfn|Hakobyan|Melik-Bakhshyan|Barseghyan|1986|p= 336}} In July 1795, the Askeran fortress was captured by the forces of the [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar]] [[shah]] (king) [[Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar]] ({{reign|1789|1797}}), who attempted to restore Iranian rule in the southeastern [[Caucasus]].{{sfn|Behrooz|2023|pp=19–20}}
The [[Askeran Fortress]] (Mayraberd), built by the [[Karabakh Khanate]] ruler [[Panah Ali Khan]] in 1751,<ref>{{cite book|last= Quliyev|first= Răsul|title= Path to Democracy: Fateful Lessons of the 20th Century|author-link= Rasul Guliyev|location= New York|publisher= Liberty Publishing House|year= 1997|isbn= 9780914481867|page= 50|quote= By the 18th century, Panakhali Khan had completed Askeran Fortress (Askeran Galasy) in order to defend Karabakh.}}</ref> is situated in the southern part of the town. Armenian historian Shahen Mkrtchyan writes that the Askeran fortress was built upon the foundations of the medieval Armenian village and fortress known as Mayraberd.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title= Historical and Architectural Monuments of Nagorno-Karabakh|author= Shahen Mkrtchyan| author-link=:hy:Շահեն Մկրտչյան |date= 1988|location= Yerevan|publisher= Parberakan|page=162}}</ref> During the [[Russo-Persian War (1804–1813)|Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813]] the Russian encampment was near the fortress.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Bournoutian |first1= George|last2= Javanshir Qarabaghi|first2= Jamal|date= 2004|title= Mirza Jamal Javanshir's Tarikh-e Karabagh and Mirza Adigözal Beg's Karabagh-name|trans-title= Two Chronicles on the History of Karabagh|location= Costa Mesa|publisher= Mazda Publishers|isbn= 9781568591797|pages= 120–124}}</ref> In 1810, peace talks between the [[Russian Empire|Russians]] and [[Qajar dynasty|Persians]] were conducted at the fortress.<ref name= Ekbal/> Restoration works on the fortress began in 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.artsakhpress.am/eng/news/102385/reconstruction-works-are-being-conducted-in-askeran-fortress.html|title= Reconstruction works are being conducted in Askeran fortress|author= ArtsakhPress|date= March 4, 2019|website=artsakhpress.am}}</ref>
During the [[Russo-Persian War (1804–1813)|Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813]], the Russian encampment was near the fortress.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Bournoutian |first1= George|last2= Javanshir Qarabaghi|first2= Jamal|date= 2004|title= Mirza Jamal Javanshir's Tarikh-e Karabagh and Mirza Adigözal Beg's Karabagh-name|trans-title= Two Chronicles on the History of Karabagh|location= Costa Mesa|publisher= Mazda Publishers|isbn= 9781568591797|pages= 120–124}}</ref> In 1810, peace talks between Russia and Iran were conducted at the fortress.{{sfn|Ekbal|2002}} Restoration works on the fortress began in 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.artsakhpress.am/eng/news/102385/reconstruction-works-are-being-conducted-in-askeran-fortress.html|title= Reconstruction works are being conducted in Askeran fortress|author= ArtsakhPress|date= 4 March 2019|website=artsakhpress.am}}</ref> The fortress is situated in the southern part of the town.
In the [[Russian Empire]], Askeran was part of the [[Shusha Uyezd]] in the [[Elisabethpol Governorate]]. During the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] period, the city was the administrative center of the [[Askeran District (NKAO)|Askeran District]], which was a part of the [[Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast]] in the [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan SSR]].
[[File:Askeran, February 1988.jpg|thumb|left|1988 Armenian protest in Askeran during the [[Karabakh movement]]]]
Askeran was the site of one of the starting points of the [[Nagorno-Karabakh conflict]] in 1988, the [[Askeran clash]]. On 22 February 1988, a crowd of angry Azerbaijanis marched from [[Ağdam, Khojavend|Agdam]] in the direction of [[Stepanakert]] and clashed with police and local Armenians in Askeran, ending in the death of two Azerbaijanis and injuries on both sides.<ref name="dewaal">{{cite book|last=De Waal|first=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pletup86PMQC|title=Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War|date=2003|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=0814719457|location=New York and London|pages=15|author-link=Thomas de Waal}}</ref> The town was known as an Armenian stronghold during the war.<ref>Carney, James. "[http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,975278-3,00.html Former Soviet Union: Carnage in Karabakh]." ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. April 13, 1992. "Almost every day for the past three weeks, commanders from Askeran, an Armenian town on Karabakh's border with Azerbaijan, and Agdam, on the Azeri side, have met along a dirt road on the front to negotiate prisoner exchanges."</ref> In 1991, it became the center of the [[Askeran Province]] of the [[Republic of Artsakh]] following the [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]].
Askeran was the site of one of the starting points of the [[Nagorno-Karabakh conflict]] in 1988, the [[Askeran clash]]. On 22 February 1988, a crowd of angry Azerbaijanis marched from [[Ağdam, Khojavend|Agdam]] in the direction of [[Stepanakert]] and clashed with police and local Armenians in Askeran, ending in the death of two Azerbaijanis and injuries on both sides.<ref name="dewaal">{{cite book|last=De Waal|first=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pletup86PMQC|title=Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War|date=2003|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=0814719457|location=New York and London|pages=15|author-link=Thomas de Waal}}</ref> The town was known as an Armenian stronghold during the war.<ref>Carney, James. "[http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,975278-3,00.html Former Soviet Union: Carnage in Karabakh]." ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. 13 April 1992. "Almost every day for the past three weeks, commanders from Askeran, an Armenian town on Karabakh's border with Azerbaijan, and Agdam, on the Azeri side, have met along a dirt road on the front to negotiate prisoner exchanges."</ref> In 1991, it became the center of the [[Askeran Province]] of the [[Republic of Artsakh]] following the [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]]. Askeran came under Azerbaijani control on 24 September 2023, after the [[2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh]] and the [[Flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians|flight of the Armenian population]].<ref>{{cite news<!-- Citation bot bypass--> |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/09/28/azerbaijan-consolidates-control-armenians-flee-nagorno-karabakh/ |title=As Azerbaijan Consolidates Control, Armenians Flee Nagorno-Karabakh |work=[[Bellingcat]] |date=2023-09-28 |publisher=Armenpress |access-date=2023-10-04}}</ref>
== Historical heritage sites ==
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== Demographics ==
In 1970the Askerancensus wasof estimated1933, to222 havepeople arounddivided 700into inhabitants48 households were recorded in the village, all of whom were Armenians.<ref>{{cite book|author= Azerbaijan SSR Department of National Economic Accounting|title= Административное деление АССР|trans-title= Administrative division of the ASSR|language= ru|location= Baku|publisher= AzUNKHU Publishing House|url= https://rusneb.ru/catalog/000200_000018_rc_2682917/|year= 1933|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211228083343/https://rusneb.ru/catalog/000200_000018_rc_2682917/|archive-date= 28 December 2021|page= 107}}</ref> Until 2023, Askeran was mostly populated by ethnic [[Armenians]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Zubov|first=Andrei|date=1 October 2020|title=Карабах: Мир и Война|url=https://drugoivzgliad.com/karabach-mir-i-voina-a-zubov/|url-status=live|website=drugoivzgliad.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020150302/https://drugoivzgliad.com/karabach-mir-i-voina-a-zubov/ |archive-date=20 October 2020 }}</ref> with around 700 inhabitants in 1970,<ref name="ethnokavkaz1970">{{Cite web|title=Степанакертский Горсовет (1970 г.)|website=Этно-Кавказ|url=http://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/stepanakert70.html}}</ref> per the 2005 census there were 1,967 inhabitants, in 2005<ref>[http://census.stat-nkr.am/nkr/1-5.pdf 2005 թվականի Արցախի Հանրապետության մարդահաշիվ]</ref> and in 2015 the town was estimated to have 2,300 inhabitants in 2015.<ref name="2015population"/>
== Climate ==
Askeran has a temperate and mild [[Humid subtropical climate]] (Cfa) according to the [[Köppen climate classification]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://en.climate-data.org/asia/azerbaijan/askeran/askeran-21908/|website=en.climate-data.org|title= Askeran|access-date= 8 October 2023}}</ref>
{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Askeran
|single line = Y
|metric first = Y
|Jan record high C =
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|Jan high C = 4.9
|Feb high C = 5.9
|Mar high C = 10
|Apr high C = 14.3
|May high C = 19
|Jun high C = 23.7
|Jul high C = 27
|Aug high C = 27.3
|Sep high C = 21.9
|Oct high C = 16.4
|Nov high C = 10.5
|Dec high C = 6.6
|year high C=
|Jan low C = -6.5
|Feb low C = -5.1
|Mar low C = -1
|Apr low C = 3.9
|May low C = 9.3
|Jun low C = 13.4
|Jul low C = 16.3
|Aug low C = 16.5
|Sep low C = 12.7
|Oct low C = 7.5
|Nov low C = 0.5
|Dec low C = -4.9
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|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 37
|Feb precipitation mm = 53
|Mar precipitation mm = 93
|Apr precipitation mm = 107
|May precipitation mm = 121
|Jun precipitation mm = 79
|Jul precipitation mm = 32
|Aug precipitation mm = 35
|Sep precipitation mm = 80
|Oct precipitation mm = 81
|Nov precipitation mm = 55
|Dec precipitation mm = 37
|year precipitation mm =
|source 1 = https://en.climate-data.org/asia/azerbaijan/askeran/askeran-21908/
|date=October, 2023
}}
== Gallery ==
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Askeran Marzadasht 26.06.2011.jpg|Askeran City Stadium
District court in Askeran.jpg|District court in Askeran
File:Raffikojian-askeran-3405.jpg|View of Askeran from road leading up to Kyatuk
</gallery>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Sources ==
* {{cite book |last1=Behrooz |first1=Maziar |authorlink=Maziar Behrooz |title=Iran at War: Interactions with the Modern World and the Struggle with Imperial Russia |date=2023 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TnevEAAAQBAJ |isbn=978-0-7556-3737-9}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bournoutian |first1=George |authorlink = George Bournoutian |title=A History of Qarabagh: An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi's Tarikh-e Qarabagh |date=1994 |publisher=Mazda Publishers |isbn=978-1-56859-011-0}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bournoutian |first1=George |title=Prelude to War: The Russian Siege and Storming of the Fortress of Ganjeh, 1803–4 |date=2016a |pages=107–124 |journal=Iranian Studies |issue=1 |volume=50 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |doi=10.1080/00210862.2016.1159779 |s2cid=163302882}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bournoutian |first1=George |title=The 1820 Russian Survey of the Khanate of Shirvan: A Primary Source on the Demography and Economy of an Iranian Province prior to its Annexation by Russia |date=2016b |publisher=Gibb Memorial Trust |isbn=978-1-909724-80-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bournoutian |first1=George |title=From the Kur to the Aras: A Military History of Russia's Move into the South Caucasus and the First Russo-Iranian War, 1801–1813 |date=2021 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] | isbn=978-90-04-44515-4}}
* {{cite encyclopedia | title = ʿAskarān | last = Ekbal | first = Kamran | url = https://iranicaonline.org/articles/askaran | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica | year = 2002 }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Hakobyan |first1=T. Kh. |title=Հայաստանի և հարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան |last2=Melik-Bakhshyan |first2=St. T. |last3=Barseghyan |first3=H. Kh. |publisher=Yerevan State University Publishing House |volume=V |location= Armenia | year= 1986 |page= 336 |language=hy |trans-title=Dictionary of Toponymy of Armenia and Adjacent Territories |chapter= Ասկերան |trans-chapter=Askaran |chapter-url= http://nayiri.com/imagedDictionaryBrowser.jsp?dictionaryId=61&dt=HY_HY&query=%D5%A1%D5%BD%D5%AF%D5%A5%D5%BC%D5%A1%D5%B6}}
* {{Cambridge History of Iran|volume=7|last=Hambly|first=Gavin R. G.|chapter=Iran during the reigns of Fath 'Alī Shāh and Muhammad Shāh|pages=144–173}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Hewsen |first=Robert H. |authorlink=Robert H. Hewsen|date=1972 |title=The Meliks of Eastern Armenia: A Preliminary Study |url=https://archive.org/details/1972-hewsen-the-meliks-of-eastern-armenia-i/ |journal=[[Revue des Études Arméniennes]] |series=Nouvelle série |volume=IX |pages=285–329}}
* {{Cite book|author-last= Mkrtchyan|author-first= Shahen|title= Historical and Architectural Monuments of Nagorno-Karabakh| author-link=:hy:Շահեն Մկրտչյան |date= 1988|location= Yerevan|publisher= Parberakan|pages= 161–162|url= https://armeniansite.ru/books/Mkrtchan%20-%20Istoriko-arhitektyrnue%20pamatniki%20NKR_1989.pdf|isbn= 5-540-00402-7|editor-last= Ulubabyan|editor-first= Bagrat|editor-link= Bagrat Ulubabyan}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Askeran}}
* {{GEOnet2|32FA88151EAF3774E0440003BA962ED3}}
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{{Khojaly District}}
{{Portal bar|Geography}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Askeran}}
[[Category:Cities and towns in Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Populated places in Askeran Province]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in the Republic of Artsakh]]
[[Category:Populated places in Khojaly District]]