Haterk () or Hasanriz () is a village in the

Aghdara District Mardakert District (, ; ) was an administrative unit within the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. History The district was formed on 8 August 1930, as the ''Jrabert district''. It was r ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, in the region of

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

. 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 around the ...

-majority population until the

exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh following the

2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh Between 19 and 20 September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive against the political status of Nagorno-Karabakh, self-declared breakaway state of Republic of Artsakh, Artsakh, a move seen as a violation of the 2020 Nago ...

History

After the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, Iberia (theme), Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army ...

in 1071, the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...

conquered most of the remnants of

Bagratid Armenia Bagratid Armenia was an independent Armenian state established by Ashot I of the Bagratuni dynasty in the early 880s following nearly two centuries of foreign domination of Greater Armenia under Arab Umayyad and Abbasid rule. With each of t ...

, which had been largely annexed by the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

in the 11th century. The Syunik, Khachen (Artsakh) and

Tashir Tashir () is a town and urban municipal community located in Lori Province at the north of Armenia. It is located north of the provincial centre Vanadzor and north of the capital Yerevan. As per the January 2023 official estimate, the populatio ...

principalities remained unconquered however. The Syunik and Khachen principalities had close ties, their royal families intermarried, and their respective principalities functioned as refuges and bastions for each other during times of need. During the end of the 12th century, Seljuk power declined, and forces of the Georgian-Armenian Zakarian princes moved southwards and established

Zakarid Armenia Zakarid Armenia () alternatively known as the Zakarid Period, describes a historical period in the Middle Ages during which the Armenian vassals of the Kingdom of Georgia were ruled by the Zakarid-Mkhargrzeli dynasty. The city of Ani was the cap ...

. During this period, the Armenian principalities of the region consisted of the three branches of

Khachen The Principality of Khachen ( Modern Armenian: ) was a medieval Armenian principality on the territory of historical Artsakh (present-day Karabakh).''Abū-Dulaf Misʻar Ibn Muhalhil's Travels in Iran (circa A.D. 950)'', ed. and trans. Vladim ...

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

, Haterk and

Khokhanaberd Khokhanaberd (, ), also known as Khanabert () and Tarkhanaberd (), is a 9th-century mountaintop fortress near the village of Vank, Nagorno-Karabakh, Vank, in the Political status of Nagorno-Karabakh, disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, in the K ...

(with their spiritual center at Gandzasar) along with the Khaghbakian family in northern Syunik (

Vayots Dzor Vayots Dzor (, ) is a province (''marz'') of Armenia. It lies at the southeastern end of the country, bordering the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan to the west and the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan to the east. It covers an area of . With a p ...

). The Armenian princes of Haterk (Upper Khachen) were established on the left bank of the Tartar River, with their spiritual center being at

Dadivank Dadivank () or Khutavank (Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, ''Petit fûté Arménie''. Paris: Nouvelles éditions de l'Université, 2005, p. 203.) is an Armenian Apostolic monastery in the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan. It was built be ...

, the principal church of which was established by Arzu-Khatun, the wife of Vakhtang of Haterk. Prince Hasan of Haterk left an inscription at Dadivank in 1182. The leading family among the three Khachen princes was the one from Haterk. Vakhtang of Haterk contributed in 1191 to the building of the Nor Getik monastery (present day

Goshavank Goshavank (; meaning "Monastery of Gosh"; previously known as Nor Getik) is a 12–13th-century Armenian monastery located in the village of Gosh, Armenia, Gosh in the Tavush Province of Armenia. The monastery which has remained in relatively goo ...

in northeastern Armenia). In the 15th century, Artsakh was subjugated by the Turkmen tribes of

Qara Qoyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu (, ; ), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, English Black Sheep, Turkmen tribal federation tha ...

and

Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...

, and Haterk was destroyed. Its inhabitants founded the modern village close to the original settlement in the 16th century. In 1603, the Persians established a protectorate over the

Melikdoms of Karabakh The Five Melikdoms of Karabakh, also known as Khamsa Melikdoms (), were Armenians, Armenian feudal entities on the territory of modern Nagorno-Karabakh and neighboring lands, from the dissolution of the Principality of Khachen in the 15th centu ...

and sponsored the establishment of a local khanate in 1750. During the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

period, Haterk was a part of the Mardakert District in the

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) was an Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union, autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its capital was the city of Stepanakert. The majori ...

of the

Azerbaijan SSR The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...

. Haterk came under the control of Armenian forces during the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

and subsequently became part of the

Martakert Province Martakert Province () was a de facto province of the Republic of Artsakh, when it was ''de jure'' part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The population was mainly Armenian. The province had 43 communities of which one was considered urban and 42 a ...

of the

. 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 occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

, 157

displaced people Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of perse ...

settled in the village.

Historical heritage sites

Haterk can be divided into three historical parts, ''Shen'' or ''Pap'' – the village center, ''Kyok'' and ''Mtghaser''. There are several historical and cultural heritage sites in and around Haterk, including the ruined St. Nshan Church (), the chapel of ''Astghablur'' () and an

oil mill An oil mill is a grinding mill designed to crush or bruise oil-bearing seeds, such as linseed or peanuts, or other oil-rich vegetable material, such as olives or the fruit of the oil palm, which can then be pressed to extract vegetable oils, whi ...

from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the monastery of ''Mesis'' (), the ruined village of ''Khotorashen'' (), a chapel-tomb and

khachkar A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosette (design), rosettes ...

s from between the 12th and 13th centuries, a 19th/20th-century fortress, and the 19th-century church of ''Surb Astvatsatsin'' (, ) in the center of Haterk, the only one of the three churches in Haterk that still stands.

Economy and culture

The population is mainly engaged in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

. As of 2015, the village has a municipal building, a house of culture, a medical centre, a secondary school, a kindergarten, and 19 shops. The village hosts a yearly Zhingyalov hats festival since 2018.

Demographics

Haterk had 1,531 inhabitants in 2005, and 1,638 inhabitants in 2015. The population of the village was estimated to be 1,800 inhabitants in 2021. In March 2025, 166 people were resettled in the village by Azerbaijan.https://report.az/en/amp/domestic-politics/azerbaijan-relocates-75-more-residents-to-hasanriz-village-of-aghdara/

History

Historical heritage sites

Economy and culture

Demographics

Gallery

References

External links