Askeran

Medieval Armenian sources attest to a settlement in the locale called Mayraberd ({{Langx|hy|Մայրաբերդ|lit=mother fortress}}). The modern name Askeran ({{Langx|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}}

File:Askeran fortress. Askeran, Republic of Mountainous Karabakh (Artsakh). 03.JPG]]

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, 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 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}}

During the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813, the Russian encampment was near the fortress.{{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}} In 1810, peace talks between Russia and Iran were conducted at the fortress.{{sfn|Ekbal|2002}} Restoration works on the fortress began in 2018.{{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}} 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 period, the city was the administrative center of the Askeran District, which was a part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in the Azerbaijan SSR.

File:Askeran, February 1988.jpg]]

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 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.{{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}} The town was known as an Armenian stronghold during the war.Carney, James. "[https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,975278-3,00.html Former Soviet Union: Carnage in Karabakh]." 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." 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 the Armenian population.{{cite news |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}}

Historical heritage sites in and around Askeran include the 18th-century Askeran Fortress, the cave-shrine of Hatsut ({{langx|hy|Հացուտ}}), and the church of Surb Astvatsatsin ({{langx|hy|Սուրբ Աստվածածին}}, {{lit|Holy Mother of God}}) built in 2002.

The population is engaged in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry as well as in different state institutions and other private enterprises. The city is home to factories producing wine, brandy and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as architectural enterprises, secondary and musical schools, a house of culture, a municipal building, a kindergarten, and a hospital. The community of Askeran includes the village of Kyatuk.{{Cite web|url=https://artsakhlib.am/en/2018/06/06/%D5%BF%D5%A5%D5%B2%D5%A5%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%BF%D5%B8%D6%82-%D5%AC%D5%B2%D5%B0-%D5%BE%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%B9%D5%A1%D5%BF%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%AE%D6%84%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AB%D5%B6-%D5%B4%D5%AB%D5%A1%D5%BE%D5%B8/|title=Directory of socio-economic characteristics of NKR administrative-territorial units (2015)|author=Hakob Ghahramanyan}}

In the census of 1933, 222 people divided into 48 households were recorded in the village, all of whom were Armenians.{{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}} Until 2023, Askeran was mostly populated by ethnic Armenians.{{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 }} with around 700 inhabitants in 1970,{{Cite web|title=Степанакертский Горсовет (1970 г.)|website=Этно-Кавказ|url=http://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/stepanakert70.html}} 1,967 inhabitants in 2005[http://census.stat-nkr.am/nkr/1-5.pdf 2005 թվականի Արցախի Հանրապետության մարդահաշիվ] and 2,300 inhabitants in 2015.

Askeran has a temperate and mild Humid subtropical climate (Cfa) according to the Köppen climate classification.{{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}}

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|Jan precipitation mm = 37

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Ասկերանի մայրաբերդ2.JPG|Askeran Fortress

Askeran, Nagorno Karabakh (27673996583).jpg|Street in Askeran

Mayraberd, castle in Askeran, Artsakh, Armenia - panoramio (4).jpg|Walls of the Askeran Fortress

Askeran004.JPG|Street

Askeran037.JPG|St. Astvatsatsin Church (Church of the Holy Mother of God) in Askeran, opened in 2002

Mayraberd, castle in Askeran, Artsakh, Armenia - panoramio (11).jpg|Scenery

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

{{Reflist}}

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• {{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}}
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• {{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}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{GEOnet2|32FA88151EAF3774E0440003BA962ED3}}

{{Administrative divisions of Artsakh}}

{{Askeran Province}}

{{Khojaly District}}

{{Portal bar|Geography}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Askeran}}

Category:Cities and towns in Azerbaijan

Category:Populated places in Khojaly District