Tugh ( az, Tuğ) or Togh ( hy, Տող) is a village in the Khojavend District of

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 th ...

, in the

disputed Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The village had a mixed Armenian-Azerbaijani population before the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

, the Azerbaijani inhabitants fled the fighting in 1991, and the

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 ...

population fled the village during 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 Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...

History

The village and the neighboring fortress of ''Ktish'' ( hy, Քթիշ), are first mentioned in the 9th century, as the capital of the Principality of Dizak. In 854,

Esayi Abu-Muse Esayi Abu-Musa ( or ; in Arabic sources: ''Isa ibn-Istifanus'') was an Armenian prince of southern Artsakh who ruled over a significant part of Arran (called Ałuankʻ in Armenian sources) in the mid-9th century and is considered the founder of th ...

, the Prince of Dizak, resisted an Abbasid army under the command of

Bugha al-Kabir Bugha al-Kabir (), also known as Bugha al-Turki (), was a 9th-century Khazar general who served the Abbasid Caliphate. He was of Khazar origin, and was acquired along with his sons as a military slave (''ghulam'') by al-Mu'tasim in 819/820.Gordo ...

at Ktish for more than a year.

Tovma Artsruni Tovma Artsruni ( hy, Թովմա Արծրունի; also known in English-language historiography as Thomas Artsruni; precise birth date and date of death unknown) was a ninth-century to tenth-century Armenian historian and author of the ''History o ...

and Anon, ''History of the House of Artruni'', Yerevan 1985, pp. 297–98. The 13th-century monastery of

Gtichavank Gtichavank ( hy, Գտչավանք; az, Ktişvəng or ) is a 13th-century Armenian Apostolic Christopher J. Walker. Armenia and Karabagh: The Struggle for Unity. — Minority Rights Group, 1991. — P. 78. monastery, located near the village of T ...

, and ruins of some churches including the 13th-century St. Stephen's Church are located near the village. The village church is named St. John's Church and was built in 1736. A few of the Yezanyan meliks are buried in the yard of St. John's Church. In 1737, Armenian prince ( ''melik'') Yegan built

Togh's Melikian Palace Togh's Melikian Palace ( hy, Տողի մելիքական ապարանք, Toghi Melikakan Aparank), also known as the Palace of Melik Yegan or the Palace of Dizak Meliks ( az, Dizaq məliklərinin sarayı) is an 18th-century palace, located in the ...

here. The principality would go on to survive until the last prince, Yesayi Melik-Avanian, was killed by

Ibrahim Khalil Khan Ibrahim Khalil khan Javanshir (1732–1806) was an Azerbaijani Turkic khan of the Karabakh Khanate from the Javanshir family, who succeeded his father Panah-Ali khan Javanshir as the ruler of the khanate. Early life He was born in c. 1732 in ...

in 1781, after a long-lasting resistance in the fortress of Ktish. The village was a part of the

Karabakh Khanate The Karabakh Khanate was a semi-independent Turkic peoples, Turkic Khanates of the Caucasus, Caucasian khanate on the territories of modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan established in about 1748 under Safavid dynasty, Iranian suzerainty in Karaba ...

until 1822 when it was annexed by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and became part of the Elisabethpol Governorate. In 1903, a hospital was built and three years later a village school was opened which has functioned as a middle school in the present-day. A new school was built in 1978, which was renovated for the first time in 2008 by the Armenia Fund. The village also has a house of culture, a movie theater and a library. During the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

period, the village was part of the Hadrut District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. During the

, in March 1988, Armenian armed militia detachments were formed to defend the village from Soviet and Azerbaijani attacks. The village came under Armenian control on 30 October 1991. As a result of the war, local Azerbaijani villagers were forced to flee and many settled in the

Beylagan District Beylagan District ( az, Beyləqan rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the centre of the country and belongs to the Central Aran Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Fuzuli, Aghjabadi, Zardab, Im ...

of Azerbaijan. After the

, the village was administrated as part of the Hadrut Province of the breakaway

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...

.T. Kh. Hakobyan, St. T. Melik-Bakhshyan, H. Kh. Barseghyan ''«Երևան»'' (Yerevan). Dictionary of Toponymy of Armenia and Adjacent Territories. vol. v. Yerevan, Armenia: Yerevan State University Press, 2001, pp. 117. The village's Armenian population was displaced due to its capture by Azerbaijan on 9 October 2020, during the

. The Artsakh Human Rights Ombudsman stated that there were reports of two civilians that had been killed, with one of them having been beheaded.

Historical heritage sites

Historical heritage sites in and around the village include the fortress of '' Ktish'' ( hy, Քթիշ, also ''Ktishberd'', ) from between the 9th and 13th centuries, a 12th/13th-century

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

, the monastery of ''

'' ( hy, Գտչավանք) built between 1241 and 1246, a cemetery from between the 17th and 19th centuries, St. John's Church ( hy, Սուրբ Հովհաննես եկեղեցի, Surb Hovhannes Yekeghetsi) built in 1736,

( hy, Տողի մելիքական ապարանք, Toghi Melikakan Aparank) built in 1737, and St. Stephen's Church ( hy, Սուրբ Ստեփանոս եկեղեցի, Surb Stepanos Yekeghetsi) built in 1747.

Economy and culture

In 2015, the population was 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 to ...

and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

, and the village had a municipal building, a house of culture, a secondary school, a kindergarten, an art school, and a medical centre. The "Kataro" winery was opened by the Avetisyan family in 2010 in the village.

Demographics

According to the

Russian Empire Census The first general census of the population of the Russian Empire in 1897 ( pre-reform Russian: ) was the first and only nation-wide census performed in the Russian Empire (the Grand Duchy of Finland was excluded). It recorded demographic data as ...

in 1897, where the village was mentioned as ''Tug'' (), it had a population of 1,728 consisting of 1,482 Armenian Apostolics and 246

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

. The village had 857 men and 871 women. In 1921, the village had 1,589

inhabitants. In 1974, there were 1,228 inhabitants, and in 1987 there were 1,421 inhabitants. The Azerbaijani inhabitants of the village, as well as the inhabitants of the village of Salaketin in the Hadrut District, were forced to flee their homes as a result of Armenian armed formations' hostilities during the

. In 2005, the village had an Armenian-majority population of 679 inhabitants,Results of 2005 census of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
and in 2015 there were 756 inhabitants.

Gallery

Եկեղեցի «Սբ. Հովհաննես».jpg, 18th-century St. John's Church Տողի մելիքական ապարանք Palace of Melik Egan 2019.jpg, Buildings of

Եկեղեցի «Սբ. Ստեփանոս».jpg, 18th-century St. Stephen's Church Երկրորդ աշխարհամարտում զոհվածների հուշարձան Տող գյուղում.jpg, WWII monument Third Annual Artsakh wine festival (17092016).jpg, Third Annual Artsakh wine festival in the village Artcraft.jpg, Exhibition of artworks at the Artsakh wine festival in the village

Notable people

* Javad Malik-Yeganov - Azerbaijani

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Lankaran Lankaran ( az, Lənkəran, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a dis ...

* Aslan Mukhtarov - Azerbaijani scientist, recipient of the USSR State Prize.

Azerbaijani Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Azerbaijani Soviet Encyclopedia'' (in Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Sovet Ensiklopediyası, Cyrillic: Азәрбајҹан Совет Енсиклопедијасы) is a ten volume universal encyclopedia published in Baku, Azerbaijan from 1976 ...

. V. I. * Ayriev Armen Tevanovich - Armenian

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

* Vigen S. Grigoryan - Armenian battalion commander during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tugh Populated places in Khojavend District Populated places in Hadrut Province Nagorno-Karabakh Former Armenian inhabited settlements