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Revision as of 08:19, 29 March 2004 by Wik (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Artsakh) is an autonomous enclave of Azerbaijan, occupied by Armenia. The majority of the population is Armenian.
The region's area is 1,699 square miles, and as of 1990 it had a population of 192,000. The population is currenly mainly Armenian (76%), with some Russian, and Kurdish minorities. The capital is Xankendi (Stepanakert), and the only other major city is Shusha.
One of the historical parts of Alwania (Caucasian Albania). In 95 BC was conquered by Tigranes II, the king of Armenia. In early 4th century AD Alwanians managed to rewin Artsakh, and eventually in 387 AD it became a part of Alwania again. Since 8th century Albania smallered and existed only in Artsakh as a principality of Khachen.
In the early 17th century, it passed to Persia, which allowed local autonomy, and in the mid-18th century the Karabakh khanate was formed. Karabakh passed to the Russians by the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813. In 1822 the Karabakh khanate was dissolved and the area became a Russian province. The Nagorno-Karabakh (Mountain-Karabakh) Autonomous Region was established in 1923. The autonomous status of the region was abolished by decision of the Parliament of Azerbaijan in 1989.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the region became the centre of a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as Armenian nationalists demanded the inclusion of the region in Armenia. An unofficial cease-fire was reached in 1994 through Russian negotiation. Nagorno-Karabakh's parliament declared the region independent in 1991, which is not recognized by any state in the world except Armenia.