Azykh

Azykh (Azerbaijani: Azıx) or Azokh (Armenian: Ազոխ) is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan and is situated on the small river Ishkhanchay (Azerbaijani: İşxançay; Armenian: Իշխանագետ), near the Azykh Cave. From 1992 to 2020 the village was de facto in the Hadrut Province of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population prior to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989.[1]

"Azokh" redirects here. For the cave in Azykh, see Azykh Cave.
Azykh

Ազոխ  • Azokh
Azıx
A view of the village
Azykh
Coordinates: 39°37′14″N 46°58′42″E
Country Azerbaijan
DistrictKhojavend
Elevation
686 m (2,251 ft)
Population
 (2005)
 • Total795
Time zoneUTC+5 (AZT)

Etymology

According to Shahen Mkrtchyan, the Armenian name of the village comes from the Armenian word, azokh which means unripe grapes. The Azerbaijani name for the village is believed to derive from Old Turkic, meaning bear den.[2]

History
Entrance to the Azykh Cave

Azokh was first mentioned in the fifth century during Vardan Mamikonian's rebellion against the Sasanian Empire in 451 AD, and also during the Mongol invasion of Armenia in the 13th century. Azokh was part of the Principality of Dizak from the 10th century, and the Karabakh Khanate from the early 18th century until its dissolution in the early 19th century. In the same time, Armenian migrants from Karadag, Iran settled in the village.[3]

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the village was captured by the Armenian forces in 1993.

On 9 November 2020, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev announced that the village was under Azerbaijani control.[4] Subsequently, it was reported that Azerbaijani forces had decapitated an 82-year-old Armenian Yuri Asryan, who refused to leave the village on 20 October as the Azerbaijani forces approached.[5][6]

References
  1. Андрей Зубов. "Андрей Зубов. Карабах: Мир и Война". drugoivzgliad.com.
  2. "Azərbaycan toponimlərinin ensiklopedik lüğəti" ("Энциклопедический словарь азербайджанских топонимов" в 2-х томах). — 2007. — Баку: "Şərq-Qərb" ("Восток-Запад"), 2007. — С. Том 1.
  3. "Encyclopedia of Azerbaijani toponyms" (PDF).
  4. "Daha 23 kənd işğaldan azad edildi". report.az (in Azerbaijani). 9 November 2020.
  5. Two men beheaded in videos from Nagorno-Karabakh war identified. The Guardian. 15 December 2020
  6. Zwei Zivilisten in Bergkarabach enthauptet – mutmaßlich durch aserbaidschanische Soldaten. DER SPIEGEL. 15 December 2020


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