About Karabakh

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Karabakh is one of the ancient historical regions of Azerbaijan. The name Karabakh is a combination of the words “gara” (black, big) and “bagh” (garden, land). The word “Karabakh” as a name given by Azerbaijani people to their land first appeared in primary sources of the 7th century. In dealing with the subject of Karabakh, the first question to be answered is: where is this place and which areas of Azerbaijan does it cover? The answer to this question is especially relevant today for any understanding of the “Nagorno-Karabakh problem” created by the Armenian separatists. To answer this question we will refer first to Mirza Jamal Javanshir Garabaghli, the vizier of the Azerbaijani Karabakh khanate, who wrote in his book The History of Karabakh (1847):

"According to the ancient history books the borders of Karabakh region are as given below: the Araz River in the south, from Khudaferin Bridge to Sinig Bridge.

The eastern border of Karabakh is marked by the River Kura that flows into the River Araz in the village of Javad and runs into the Caspian Sea. The northern border is the River Goran that stretches from Yelizavetpol (Ganja province is meant) to the Kura river which splits and reaches the Araz at different points. In the west it is bordered by the Kushbek, Salvarti and Erikli mountains – the high Karabakh mountain range.”

A detailed description of Karabakh’s territories and borders during the first period of Russian occupation and colonialism is drafted on the following basis:

This information was written by an official directly involved in Russia’s governance of Karabakh, in other words, the information is based on official documents;

Further, this is not only grounded in reality and experience, it is also backed up by primary sources. It was not by whim that Mirza Jamal referred to history books to substantiate his position.

It is clear that the name “Karabakh” has long applied not just to the political-geographical area “Nagorno-Karabakh” but to the whole territory of Karabakh — its mountains and its plains. In other words, the name "Nagorno-Karabakh” is not a historical toponym, but is a name given to a part of Karabakh in the cause of separatism. Logic supports this argument: if mountainous (Nagorno) Karabakh exists, then plain and lowland Karabakh also exist. This is the reality: there are today both mountainous Karabakh and lowland Karabakh in Azerbaijan. In addition, both lowland and mountainous (Nagorno) Karabakh have been Azerbaijani homelands in all historical periods, home to the people who have the words “gara” and “bagh” in their lexicon. Hundreds of ancient and rare examples of folklore and musical treasures first appeared in Karabakh and are closely associated with this place.

Several generations of Azerbaijani archaeologists have studied and introduced to the world’s academics the Guruchay culture (Palaeolithic period), the Leylatepe culture (Eneolithic), the Kura – Araz culture (early Bronze Age), the Uzerliktepe culture (middle Bronze Age), the Khojaly-Gedebey culture (late Bronze and early Iron Ages), as well as hundreds of historical monuments of the ancient and medieval periods. International archaeology has long accepted these monuments as belonging to the history of the Azerbaijani people and these monuments have nothing to do with Armenian history.