Nagorno-Karabakh

Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenie: Արցախ, transliteratit: Arts’akh, pronouncit ɑɾˈtsʰɑχ, Azerbaijani: Dağlıq Qarabağ) is a landlockit region in the Sooth Caucasus, lying atween Lower Karabakh an Zangezur an coverin the sootheastren range o the Lesser Caucasus muntains. The region is maistly muntainous an forestit an haes an aurie o 4,400 square kilometres (1,700 sq mi).

For the republic, see Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

The borders o the umwhile Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

Maist o the region is governed bi the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, an unrecognized, de facto independent state establisht on the basis o the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast athin the Azerbaijan SSR o the Soviet Union. The territory is internaitionally recognized as pairt o Azerbaijan, although it haes no exercised pouer ower maist o the region syne 1991. Syne the end o the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994, representatives o the governments o Armenie an Azerbaijan hae been hauldin peace tauks mediatit bi the OSCE Minsk Group on the region's status.

Name

The wird Nagorno- is a Roushie attributive adjective, derived frae the adjective nagorny (нагорный), which means "highland". The Azerbaijani name o the region includes similar adjectives "dağlıq" (muntainous) or "yuxarı" (upper). Such wirds are no uised in Armenian name, but appeared in the offeecial name o the region durin the Soviet era as Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. Ither leids apply their awn wirdin for muntainous, upper, or hieland; for example, the offeecial name uised bi the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in Fraunce is Haut-Karabakh, meanin "Upper Karabakh".

The wird Karabakh is generally held tae oreeginate frae Turkic an Persian, an literally means "black garden".^[1][2] The name first appears in Georgian an Persian sources o the 13t an 14t centuries.^[2] Karabagh is an acceptable alternate spelling of Karabakh, and also denotes a kind of patterned rug originally produced in the area.^[3]

In an alternative theory proposed bi Bagrat Ulubabyan the name Karabakh haes a Turkic-Armenian oreegin, meanin "Greater Baghk" (Armenie: Մեծ Բաղք), a reference tae Ktish-Baghk (later: Dizak), ane o the principalities o Artsakh unner the rule o the Aranshahik dynasty, which held the throne o the Kinrick o Syunik in the 11t–13t centuries an crieed itsel the "Kinrick o Baghk".^[4]

The names for the region in the various local leids aw translate tae "muntainous Karabakh", or "muntainous black garden":

• Armenie: Լեռնային Ղարաբաղ, transliteratit Leṙnayin Ġarabaġ
• Azerbaijani: Dağlıq Qarabağ (muntainous Karabakh) or Yuxarı Qarabağ (upper Karabakh)
• Roushie: Нагорный Карабах, transliteratit Nagornyy Karabakh or Nagornyi Karabah

Nagorno-Karabakh is aften referred tae bi the Armenians livin in the aurie as Artsakh (Armenian: Արցախ), designatin the 10t province o the auncient Kinrick o Armenie. In Urartian inscriptions (9t–7t centuries BC), the name Urtekhini is uised for the region.^[5] Auncient Greek sources cawed the aurie Orkhistene.^[6]

References

1. The BBC World News. Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh, BBC News Online. Last updated October 3, 2007. Retrieved November 21, 2007.
2. (in Armenie) Ulubabyan, Bagrat. Karabagh (Ղարաբաղ). The Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia, vol. vii, Yerevan, Armenian SSR, 1981 p. 26
3. C. G. Ellis, "Oriental Carpets", 1988. p133.
4. Robert H. Hewsen, Armenia: a Historical Atlas. University of Chicago Press, 2001, pp. 119–120.
5. PanArmenian Network. Artsakh: From Ancient Time to 1918 Archived 2009-08-04 at the Wayback Machine. PanArmenian.net. June 9, 2003. Retrieved November 21, 2007.
6. Strabo (ed. H.C. Hamilton, Esq., W. Falconer, M.A.) . Geography. The Perseus Digital Library. 11.14.4. Retrieved November 21, 2007.

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