Askeran fortress ( Azeri Əsgəran qalası , armenian Ասկերանի բերդ ), also Mayraberd ( armenian Մայրաբերդ ) is a fortress near the southern outskirts of Askeran in Nagorno-Karabakh . According to the administrative-territorial division of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic , which actually controls the fortress, it is located in the Askeran region of NKR , according to the administrative-territorial division of Azerbaijan - in the Khojaly district of Azerbaijan .
| Fortress | |
| Askeran fortress | |
|---|---|
| azerb. Əsgəran qalası , arm. Ասկերանի բերդ | |
 Askeran fortress. year 2009. | |
| A country | Nagorno-Karabakh Republic [1] / Azerbaijan [1] |
| Area | Askeran [2] / Khojaly [3] |
| Founder | Panah khan |
| Established | |
Description
The fortress is located on the southern outskirts of Askeran on both banks of the Karkar River on the road to Agdam in a wooded area. It is located 16-17 km northeast of Stepanakert . May also be referred to as Askaran, Askatran, Asketran.
The thickness of the walls of the fortress is 2 m, height - 9 m. On the walls are round towers built of small pebbles and crushed limestone in a mortar. The towers served as observation posts. There were narrow corridors on the walls that served as communication between the towers. [4] The impregnable fortress was made by double walls and landscape: it is located among the mountains in the gorge.
To this day, the protective walls stretching along the mountain slope, the entrance and the towers are quite well preserved.
In the Middle Ages, this place was a fortress and an Armenian village called Mayraberd ( Armenian Մայրաբերդ ). [four]
In the XVIII century, on the initiative of Panah Khan , a powerful fortress fortified with double walls was built here to protect the approaches to Shusha .
In June 1805, during the Russo-Persian war, more than 40,000 Persian army advancing on Shusha passed through the fortress. At the initiative of General Tsitsianov , Armenian volunteer groups were formed in Karabakh. One of these units, led by Melik Vani and Hakob Yuzbashi Atabekyan, took part in the battle near the walls of the fortress. The detachment of Colonel Karyagin , consisting of 400 soldiers, who was traveling to Shusha, was surrounded on a hill in the village of Khramort . Volunteers led the Russian detachment from the encirclement to the north to the villages of Kusapat and Mohratah . The memorial plaque erected by the residents of Khramort perpetuated the memory of Russian and Armenian soldiers who fell during the defense of Shusha and Askeran in June – July 1805. [four]
In 1918 - 1920, there was a garrison defending the Karkar Valley under the command of Colonel Badalkkhian. [4] The fortress was destroyed by the Musavatists during the storming of the city in 1920 .
Now the fortress is in good condition thanks to the restoration carried out in 2002 .
General view of Askeran fortress
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 According to the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan , the territory controlled by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is part of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is an unrecognized state , most of which is not controlled by Azerbaijan.
- ↑ According to the administrative-territorial division of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
- ↑ According to the administrative-territorial division of Azerbaijan
- ↑ 1 2 2 Petrosyan G. L., Arakelyan N. A. .. - Yerevan: “Hayastan”, 1988. - 360 p. - 25,000 copies. - ISBN 5-540-00402-7 .