History of Nagorno-Karabakh

The history of Nagorno-Karabakh is the story of a mountainous South Caucasus region shaped by Armenian and Azerbaijani communities, imperial rule, competing national claims, and repeated conflict.

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Karabakh Khanate: A Turkic Muslim-ruled khanate established in the South Caucasus in the mid-18th century. Its changing population and sovereignty shaped later Armenian and Azerbaijani claims.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: A political and military conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh involving Armenia and Azerbaijan. This broader conflict encompasses the region's repeated wars and unresolved claims.
Robert Kocharyan: An Armenian politician who led Nagorno-Karabakh's de facto government before becoming Armenia's president. His career connected the region's wartime leadership with Armenian national politics.
Artsakh Republic: The unrecognized Armenian-led de facto state established in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991. Its institutions governed the region until Azerbaijan took control in 2023.
Territorial integrity: The principle that states have a right to preserve their borders and political independence. Azerbaijan invoked this principle to oppose Nagorno-Karabakh's separation.
Russian conquest of the Caucasus: The Russian Empire's expansion into the Caucasus during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Russian rule reorganized the region and altered its political and demographic landscape.
Sumgait pogrom: Anti-Armenian violence in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait in February 1988. The killings deepened fear and hostility as the Soviet-era dispute escalated.
Heydar Aliyev: An Azerbaijani politician who served as president from 1993 to 2003. His rule consolidated Azerbaijan's state position during the first war's aftermath.
Armenian-Azerbaijani relations: The political, economic, and social relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The dispute has dominated bilateral relations and obstructed normalization.
Self-determination: The principle that peoples may determine their political status and pursue their development. Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh invoked self-determination to justify separation from Azerbaijan.