Nagorno-Karabakh

Nagorno-Karabakh (pronounced nə-GOR-noh kər-ə-BAHK, meaning "Upper Karabakh") is a region in present-day Azerbaijan, located in the southeastern part of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. It forms part of the larger Karabakh area, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and its landscape is mostly mountainous and forested.

From the end of the first Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994 until September 2023, most of the region was governed by ethnic Armenians under the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, also called the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). During this period, numerous peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group failed to resolve the region's disputed status. The majority-Armenian population variously sought either independence for Artsakh from both Armenia and Azerbaijan or unification with Armenia.

The region is often identified with the borders of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), which covered 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles), though its historical extent is larger, at about 8,223 square kilometers (3,175 square miles).

On September 27, 2020, the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War began with an Azerbaijani offensive into Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories. Azerbaijan made significant gains, recapturing all occupied territories around Nagorno-Karabakh and taking about one-third of the region itself, including the towns of Shusha and Hadrut. The war ended on November 10, 2020, with a trilateral ceasefire agreement among Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia. Under this deal, the remaining occupied territories around Nagorno-Karabakh were returned to Azerbaijani control, leaving the Republic of Artsakh as an isolated rump state connected to Armenia only by a narrow Russian-controlled corridor.

On September 19, 2023, after a months-long blockade, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. Artsakh's forces quickly collapsed, leading to an Azerbaijani victory. This resulted in the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh, the forced removal of nearly the entire Armenian population from the region, and the entry of Azerbaijani security forces into Stepanakert (called Khankendi by Azerbaijan), the former capital of Artsakh. On January 1, 2024, the Republic of Artsakh was formally dissolved, ending a millennia-old Armenian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh. Many political analysts and residents accused Azerbaijan of committing ethnic cleansing.

**Etymology**

The prefix "Nagorno-" comes from the Russian word *nagorny* (нагорный), meaning "highland." Azerbaijani names for the region use similar adjectives: *dağlıq* (mountainous) or *yuxarı* (upper). Armenian names do not include such words, but they appeared in the region's official Soviet-era name, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. Other languages also apply terms for "mountainous," "upper," or "highland"; for example, French uses *Haut-Karabakh*, meaning "Upper Karabakh."

In local languages, the names all translate to "mountainous Karabakh" or "mountainous black garden": - Armenian: Լեռնային Ղարաբաղ (*Leṙnayin Ġarabaġ*, pronounced [lɛrnɑˈjin ʁɑɾɑˈbɑʁ]) - Azerbaijani: Dağlıq Qarabağ (mountainous Karabakh, pronounced [dɑɣˈlɯɣ ɡɑˈɾɑbɑɣ]) or Yuxarı Qarabağ (upper Karabakh, pronounced [juxɑˈɾɯ ɡɑˈɾɑbɑɣ]) - Russian: Нагорный Карабах (*Nagorny Karabakh*, pronounced [nɐˈɡornɨj kərɐˈbax])

Armenians living in the area often call it Artsakh (Armenian: Արցախ), the name of the 10th province of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia. Urartian inscriptions from the 9th–7th centuries BC refer to the region as Urtekhini, while ancient Greek sources called it Orkhistene.

**History**

**Antiquity and Early Middle Ages**

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within lands once occupied by the Kura-Araxes culture, an archaeological group that lived between the Kura and Araxes rivers. The ancient population consisted of various local and migrant tribes, mostly non-Indo-European. According to the prevailing Western theory, these natives intermarried with Armenians who arrived after the region was incorporated into Armenia in the 2nd century BC (or possibly as early as the 4th). Other scholars suggest Armenians settled there as early as the 7th century BC.

Around 180 BC, Artsakh became one of the 15 provinces of the Armenian Kingdom and remained so until the 4th century. Although formally a province (*nahang*), it may have functioned as a principality, similar to the province of Syunik. Other theories hold that Artsakh was royal land belonging directly to the Armenian king. King Tigran the Great (who ruled from 95 to 55 BC) founded one of four cities named Tigranakert in Artsakh; its ruins, located 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Stepanakert, are studied by international scholars.

In 387 AD, after the partition of Armenia between the Roman Empire and Sassanid Persia, the provinces of Artsakh and Utik became part of the Sassanid satrapy of Caucasian Albania, which came under strong Armenian religious and cultural influence. At that time, the population of Artsakh and Utik consisted of Armenians and several Armenized tribes.

Armenian culture and civilization flourished in early medieval Nagorno-Karabakh. In the 5th century, the first Armenian school was opened in the region at Amaras Monastery, through the efforts of St. Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet. St. Mesrop was very active in the area.