Astghashen ( hy, Աստղաշեն) or Dashbulag ( hy, Դաշբուլաղ; az, Daşbulaq) is a village in the

Khojaly District Khojaly District ( az, Xocalı rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Kalbajar, Lachin, Shusha, Agdam and Khoj ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

. The village had an ethnic

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

-majority population in 1989. The village is famous for its unique star-shaped stones, which the village derives its name from. It was under the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' control of breakaway

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former ...

until the Azerbaijani takeover of the region in 2023.

Toponymy

The village was historically known as ''Karaghbyur'' ( hy, Քարաղբյուր). The name ''Astghashen'' means "village of stars", with the word ''Astgh'' ( hy, Աստղ) meaning "star" in

, referring to the famous star-shaped fossils of the village.

History

The village is known for its star-shaped fossils. The fossils originate from small marine animals that lived in the

Tethys Ocean The Tethys Ocean ( el, Τηθύς ''Tēthús''), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean that covered most of the Earth during much of the Mesozoic Era and early Cenozoic Era, located between the ancient continents ...

that covered the area millions of years ago. There are also many other types of fossils in the area. During the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

period, the village was a part of the Askeran District in the

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), DQMV, hy, Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Ինքնավար Մարզ, ԼՂԻՄ was an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its cap ...

of Azerbaijan SSR. The village has been administered by the

as a part of its

Askeran Province Askeran Province ( hy, Ասկերան) is a province of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, ''de jure'' part of the Khojaly District of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It is in the center of Artsakh, surrounding the capital, Stepanakert. It is not ...

since the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. After the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbai ...

, Artsakh launched the construction of a new settlement for

IDPs An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. A ...

close to Astghashen, on the road towards the neighboring village of Patara, for people displaced from the villages of Sghnakh, Jraghatsner, Madatashen and Moshkhmhat in the

Historical heritage sites

Historical heritage sites in and around the village include burial sites from the 2nd–1st millennia BCE, a 14th-century tomb about 4 km southwest of the village, St. George's Church ( hy, Սուրբ Գևորգ եկեղեցի, Surb Gevorg Yekeghetsi) built in 1898, with two 16th/17th-century khachkars, and a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

monument from 1930.

Economy and culture

The population is mainly engaged in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

and animal husbandry. As of 2015, the village has a municipal building, a secondary school, a house of culture, two shops, and a medical centre. The Astghashen Art School is also located in the village.

Demographics

The village had 520 inhabitants in 2005, and 507 inhabitants in 2015.

Gallery

Աստղաշենի Ս. Գևորգ եկեղեցի.jpg, St. George's Church in Astghashen Ս. Գևորգ եկեղեցու ներսը, Աստղաշեն.jpg, Inside St. George's Church Հայրենական_Մեծ_պատերազմում_գյուղի_զոհվածներին_նվիրված_հուշարձան.jpg, Monument to the victims of the Great Patriotic War (WWII) Raffikojian-astghashen WWII-1562.jpg, Closeup of monument to the victims of the Great Patriotic War (WWII) Գյուղապետարանը,_Աստղաշեն.jpg, Municipal building in Astghashen Գյուղի դպրոցի մուտքը, Աստղաշեն.jpg, School entrance Աստղաշենի հայտնի աստղաքարերը.jpg, The famous star-shaped fossils of the village

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar, Geography Populated places in Askeran Province Populated places in Khojaly District