Shamkor :: ARTSAKH LOCATIONS

7 Monuments

Azerbaijan (Country) / Northern Artsakh (Area) / Shamkhor (District) / Shamkhor (City) / Shamkor (City Site)

Location

The ruins of this fortress town, boasting a remarkable history, lie on the left bank of the river Shamkor, about 10 to 12 kilometres east of Shamkhor City.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 515.

Foundation
595 — 629 yy․

The foundation of Shamkor is traditionally ascribed to Aghvank Catholicos Viro (595 to 629), who allegedly “...built five cities bearing Shata’s name...”

History of Armenia by Kirakos Gandzaketsy. Prepared for publication by Melik-Ohanjanian K. Yerevan, 1961, p. 195.
Also see Injijian, Gh. A Historical Research into Ancient Armenia. Venice, 1822, p. 532, in Armenian.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 515.

Historical Introduction

One of the most famous fortified towns in medieval Armenia and Transcaucasia, Shamkor was also a prospering centre of commerce. Its name was often used to refer to the entire region (“In the district of Shamkur,” “In the district of Shamkor,” etc.).

Colophons of the Armenian Manuscripts of the 17th century, vol. 3. Compiled by Hakobian, V. Yerevan, 1984, pp. 409, 740, 876, etc.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 515.

7 — 8 cc․

7th to 9th centuries. In the mid-7th century, Shamkor was occupied by the Arabs. At the end of the following century, it was reduced to ruins by the tribes of Sewordik from Utik: “He [i.e. Salman ibn Rabia al-Bahili] sent a mounted detachment to Shamkhor (Shamkur) and conquered it. It was an ancient city which enjoyed prosperity until its total devastation by the so-called Sewordik (Siyavardiyya), a people who had united their forces and strengthened themselves after Arab Governor Yazid ibn Maziad’s departure from Armenia.”

The ethnonym, meaning ‘Black Sons,’ was used with reference to a brand of Hungarian tribesmen who had settled in the valleys of the rivers Tavush and Dzegam. Foreign Sources about Armenia and the Armenians: Arabic Sources by Ibn-al-Asir, vol. 2. Translated from, the original into Armenian with a foreword and notes by Ter-Ghevondian, A. Yerevan, 1981, pp. 56, 370 (note 51).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 515.

7th to 9th centuries. An Arab historiographer writes the following in connection with the aforementioned events, “Shamkor, which is an ancient fortress town in Aghvank, is situated within eleven parsakhs of Gandzak (this distance can be covered in a single day). A thriving, populous city, it was annihilated by the Sanavardia (they manifested their occupation plans after Yezid ibn Usayid had left Armenia), led by War-Lord Salman ibn Rabia, who had also captured Partaw. Later, however, ... Mutasim’s mavla (?) Bugha, who had been appointed Governor General of Armenia, Shumshat and Azerbaijan in the year 240 of the Hijrah calendar (2 June 854 to 21 May 855), suppressed them and reconstructed the town, renaming it Al-Mutavakilia.” He also inhabited its territory with 300 Khazar families from Darband: “...arriving in Darband in spring, he moved three hundred of the local Khazar families to Shamkor...”

A unit of length equal to three miles. Arabic Sources on Armenia and the Adjacent Countries. Compiled by Nalbandian, H. Yerevan, 1965, p. 85. Yezid ibn Usayd was the Arab Governor of Armenia under Caliph Al-Mansur (754 to 775) (idem, p. 182, note 249).
A Brief History of Georgia by historian Juansher. Venice, 1884, p. 106.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 515.

8 c․

7th to 9th centuries. Under Aghvank Catholicos Michael (707 to 744), the monastery of Shamkor Castle hosted a church meeting: “...assembling all in the monastery of Berd in Šamkor he and the council unanimously cursed the house of Varazoy.”

Movses Dasxuranci: Appendix by Mkhitar Gosh. Yerevan, 1983, p. 204.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516:

890 y․

7th to 9th centuries. In the 890s, to put it more exactly, before the great earthquake of Dvin, Bagratid King Smbat I (890 to 914) extended the territories of his realm up to Toos (nowadays Tavush) and Shamkor in the north-east and turned the latter into a frontier fortification: “Thus, he expanded his state... whose borders reached the river Kur and the city of Tpkhis in the south; Hunarakert City, Utik District as well as Toos and Shamkor.”

History of the Armenian Nation by Catholicos Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsy. Yerevan, 1996, p. 164.
Also see Chamchiants, M. History of Armenia from the Creation of the World until 1784 A.D., vol. 2, Venice, 1785, p. 715.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516.

11 c․

11th to 13th centuries. In the 11th century, Shamkor fell under the sway of the Seljuk Turks, who devastated it.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516.

1139 y․

11th to 13th centuries. The participants of a church meeting held in the fort of Tavush in 1139 included “...Bishop Stepanos of Goghtan District and Shamkor City...”

Movses Dasxuranci: Appendix by Mkhitar Gosh. Yerevan, 1983, p. 351.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516.

1194 y․

11th to 13th centuries. In 1194 (or 1195 according to some Georgian sources), Atropatene’s Atabek Abu-Beker (1191 to 1210), who had invaded Shirvan, launched hostilities against the Georgian troops, led by Queen Thamara’s husband, David Soslan, in the neighbourhood of Shamkor. That decisive fighting ended in the former’s crushing defeat so that he hardly had a narrow escape from capture.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516.

1194 y․

11th to 13th centuries. Dwelling upon the battle of Shamkor in his Chronology, Priest Hovhannes writes, “In the year 1194, the troops of Thamara smashed the Turks in the vicinity of Shamkor.”

Brief Chronicles, vol. 1. Compiled by Hakobian, V. A. Yerevan, 1951, p. 25.
Also see Abrahamian, A. G., Historiography by Sage Hovhannes. Yerevan, 1956, p. 134, in Armenian. The battle of Shamkor is also traced back to 1203, although this is not substantiated by any facts (Veydenbaum, E. A Guide to Caucasia. Tiflis, 1888, p. 376, in Russian).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516.

13 c․

11th to 13th centuries. Early in the 13th century, the Armeno-Georgian united forces, led by the Zakarians, liberated Shamkor, which shifted into the reign of Blu Zachare’s son Vahram: “...conquering a great number of impregnable forts and districts, then under Persian rule, they also attacked and took Shamkor. Vahram, Aghbugh’s father and Vahram, Zakare and Ivane’s grandfather, established his domination there.”

History of Armenia by Kirakos Gandzaketsy. Prepared for publication by Melik-Ohanjanian K. Yerevan, 1961, p. 163.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516.

1214 — 1219 yy․

11th to 13th centuries. According to Vardan Areveltsy, Shamkor was liberated between 1214 and 1219: “In the year 663... Ivane the Great, distinguished for his valour, captured Charek and the territories in its neighbourhood. He also liberated Shamkor through the support of his relative Zakaria’s son Vahram...”

History by Vardan Vardapet. Venice, 1862, pp. 142-143.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516.

13 c․

11th to 13th centuries. The fact that Shamkor belonged to the Vahramians is also attested by some Georgian sources: “Shamkor (Shankor) was under the sway of Vahram (Varam) Gagetsy, a prudent man who had earned himself high repute at many battles...”

Melikset-Bek, L. M. Georgian Sources about Armenia and Armenians, vol. 2, Yerevan, 1936, p. 52. Blu Zakare’s son Vahram was also called ‘Gagetsy’ (i.e. ‘from Gag’) or ‘Gageli’ (in Georgian) due to the fact that his residence was in the castle of Gag.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516.

13 c․

11th to 13th centuries. Apparently, during the same period, i.e. between 1214 and 1219, Shamkor was the seat of the archbishop of the diocese of the same name: “...under the leadership and with the support of Archbishop Hovhannes Tuetsy, the spiritual guardian of Shamkor, Gardman, Yergevank, Terunakan, Tavush as well as other forts and territories under Prince Vahram’s dominion.”

History of Armenia by Kirakos Gandzaketsy. Prepared for publication by Melik-Ohanjanian K. Yerevan, 1961, p. 153.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516.

1220 y․

11th to 13th centuries. The Mongol-Tartars’ raids reached Shamkor City in 1220. Penetrating into Aghvank via Derbend, they also invaded Georgia and reached Tiflis, spreading devastation on their way: “...Advancing rapidly towards the city of Tpkhis, they returned to Aghvank and approached Shamkor City.”

History of Armenia by Kirakos Gandzaketsy. Prepared for publication by Melik-Ohanjanian K. Yerevan, 1961, p. 202.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516.

1225 y․

11th to 13th centuries. In 1225 one of the commanders of War-Lord Charmaghan, Molar Nuin, who had taken the forts belonging to the Vahramians, laid siege to Shamkor: “One of his senior commanders named Molar Nuin sent a small number of troops, amounting to about a hundred, to the gates of Shamkor, where they stationed themselves, hindering free movement in the city.” With Vahram Gagetsy rejecting the local inhabitants’ request to support them (realizing that it would be simply impossible to resist the large enemy forces, he even forbade his son Aghbugha to do so), the Mongol-Tartars conquered and destroyed the city easily: “When Molar, the foreign invaders’ commander-in-chief, eventually joined them (by that time their number had greatly increased), they mounted an offensive against Shamkor. Its ramparts being built of wood and straw, they easily climbed over them and burst into the city, burning down its fortified walls at night. The following day, Molar Nuin ordered his troops to fill the immense pit that had appeared in the site of the ramparts with soil. Thus, the barbarians took possession of the city and put all its inhabitants to sword, setting the local buildings alight and appropriating what they found there.”

History of Armenia by Kirakos Gandzaketsy. Prepared for publication by Melik-Ohanjanian K. Yerevan, 1961, pp. 241-243.
Vardan Areveltsy, who traces the conquest of Shamkor back to 1225, writes the following about it, “...Shamkor was the first of the districts belonging to Great Prince Vahram that was taken by Molar Noyin through various tricks in the year 674” (History by Vardan Vardapet. Venice, 1862, p. 146).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 516.

15 c․

The available sources keep silence about Shamkor until the 15th century, when it fell under the domination of the Turkoman tribes of Ak-Koyunlu and Kara-Koyunlu.

Composed of the Turkish words of ‘agh,’ i.e. ‘white,’ and ‘koyun,’ i.e. ‘sheep,’ the ethnonym means ‘White Sheep.’ ‘Black Sheep’ in Turkish. Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, pp. 516-517.

16 — 17 cc․

Between the 16th and 17th centuries, it formed part of the Kizilbashi state.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 517.

1606 y․

In 1606 Persian Shah Abbas conquered Shamkor and “...perpetrated large-scale massacres there...”

Chamchiants, M. History of Armenia from the Creation of the World until 1784 A.D., vol. 3, Venice, 1786, p. 555.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 517.

18 c․

The18th century marked a heavy struggle between the Armenian meliks of Karabakh (Khamsa) and the local Persian rulers (it also involved the Georgian court and Caucasian mountaineers). In the aftermath of this, Shamkor shifted back and forth between different forces, periodically undergoing devastation and reconstruction, the local inhabitants being either slaughtered or taken captive.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 517.

1721 y․

In 1721 8,000 Lezghins, led by Surkhey Khan and Ali-Sultan, attacked Gandzak, but suffered defeat there and decided to invade Shamkor. After Gandzak’s Khan Oghurlu had turned to Georgian King Vakhtang for aid, the latter’s army units occupied Shamkor and advanced towards Gandzak, where they robbed the local population and captured many of them, taking advantage of the favourable opportunity.

Lalayan, Yer. Gandzak District. In: “Azgagrakan Handes,” vol. 5, Tiflis, 1899, No. 1, p. 216.
Also see Raffi. The Melikdoms of Khamsa: A Collection of Works, vol. 10, Yerevan, 1959, pp. 177, 179, in Armenian.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 517.

18 c․

The second half of the 18th century and, especially, the days of King Heracle II marked an even greater influx of Shamkor Armenians into Georgia in general and Tiflis in particular. Constituting a large number in the Georgian capital, they had their own quarter called Shamkoretsots (i.e. ‘Of Shamkor Inhabitants’), and their church named Sourb Astvatzatzin, or Karmir Avetaran (i.e. the Armenian equivalent for ‘Red Gospel’).

P. M. Muradian published the lapidary inscriptions of the church in his monograph entitled The Armenian Epigraphy of Georgia: Tbilisi (Yerevan, 1988, pp. 92-96, in Russian).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 517.

1762 y․

In retaliation for the atrocities that had marked the domination of Oghurlu Khan, in 1762 the inhabitants of Gandzak decided to slaughter the members of his family. His son Shahverdi Khan, however, escaped that fate and found refuge in Shamkor.

Lalayan, Yer. Gandzak District. In: “Azgagrakan Handes,” vol. 5, Tiflis, 1899, No. 1, pp. 228-229.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 517.

1788 y․

The unbearable tyranny of Karabakh’s Ibrahim Khan forced 500 Armenian families from Gyulistan to move to Gandzak Khanate and resettle in Shamkor in 1788.

Raffi. The Melikdoms of Khamsa: A Collection of Works, vol. 10, Yerevan, 1959, p. 251.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 517.

1804 y․

19th century. In 1804 Shamkor shifted into Russian domination, which was ratified by a Russo-Persian Treaty signed in Gyulistan on 12 October 1813.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 517.

1826 y․

Breaking this agreement, in 1826 Persian Prince Abbas Mirza invaded Karabakh with an army of 60,000, sieged Shushi and occupied Yelizavetpol. A Persian army unit of 10,000, led by distinguished Persian War-Lord Amir Khan and Abbas Mirza’s son Mahmed Mirza, moved to Tiflis via Ghazakh, but their advance was halted in the neighbourhood of Shamkor by a Russian detachment of 2,000, led by Armenian General V. G. Madatov. On 3 (15) September, the belligerents fought a decisive battle and the Russians won a brilliant victory, which paved the way for the liberation of Yelizavetpol several days later.

History of the Armenian Nation, vol. 5, Yerevan, 1974, pp. 141-142.
Parsamian, V. A. Historiographical Works. Yerevan, 1985, p. 111, in Armenian.
Lalayan, Yer. Gandzak District. In: “Azgagrakan Handes,” vol. 5, Tiflis, 1899, No. 1, p. 219.
Raffi. The Melikdoms of Khamsa: A Collection of Works, vol. 10, Yerevan, 1959, pp. 331, 352-355.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 517.

19 c․

Military Historian V. Potto describes this battle in the following way, “The battle of Shamkor, which was not heavy at all, did not last long, for a decisive attack put an end to it at once. The Persians offered such a weak resistance that it took the Russians only 27 fatalities to crush their forces, fivefold as strong as they themselves were. The enemy suffered really great losses: they confessed that the victims caused by that fatal battle exceeded 2,000, including the Guards Unit of the shah, that had been totally exterminated by the Russian cavalry. The entire territory, extending from Shamkor to Yelizavetpol for more than 30 versts was covered by their corpses. This is also attested by Paskevich (he happened to pass through the battle-field eight days after the fighting), who is beyond any suspicions of bias in favour of Madatov; nor could he be inclined to overestimate the significance of the victory won at Shamkor.” The aforementioned Armenian general himself confessed that the battle of Shamkor marked the happiest moments in his life. During the fight, the Russian forces included some detachments of Armenian volunteers led by Galust Manucharian, Asri Bahaterian and others.

Potto, V. The Caucasian War..., vol. 3, part 1, St. Petersburg, 1886, p. 145-146 (the Russian original reads, “Шамхорская битва длилась не долго и была не сложна. Она окончилась однимъ стремительнымъ ударомъ. Сопротивление неприятеля было такъ слабо, что блистательная победа, разгромъ въ пять разъ сильнейшаго врага,-стоили русскомъ войскамъ всего 27 человекъ, выбывшихъ изъ строя, въ то время, какъ потери неприятеля были громадны. По сознанию самихъ персиянъ, они потеряли въ этот фатальный для нихъ день свыше двухъ тысячъ человекъ одними убитыми. Шахская гвардия, участвовавшая въ деле, более не существовала,- она почти вся легла подъ ударами русской конницы. Пространство отъ Шамхора до Елизаветполя, на протяжении тридцати слишкомъ верстъ устлано было неприятельскими трупами. Объ этомъ свидетельствовалъ между прочимъ и самъ Паскевичъ, проезжавший, спустя восемь дней, через поле битвы, - а Паскевича никакъ нельзя заподозрить въ пристрастии къ Мадатову или въ желании преувеличить значение шамхорской победы).
Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia, vol. 8, Yerevan, 1982, pp. 443-444.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, pp. 517-518.

The battle of Shamkor was to prove of immense importance in the course of the second Russo-Persian war. It marked the beginning of a series of victories won by the former, who conquered the khanates of Yerevan and Nakhijevan. Under the treaty of Turkmenchay from that time onwards, the border between the two states was to run along the river Arax.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 518.

19 c․

By the ‘90s of the 19th century, Shamkor had already been reduced to ruins.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 518.

1918 y․

Shamkor in January 1918. In January 1918 in connivance with the representatives of some Western states and, particularly, Tiflis’ American Consul Adam Smith, the Georgian Menshevik leaders of the Transcaucasian Commissariat, i.e. N. Ramishvili, Yev. Gegechkori and A. Chkhenkeli, committed a massacre of the Russian soldiers returning home from the Caucasian Front of World War I. Disarming them under the plea of allocating their weapons to the national army units, the commander of the armoured train sent to Shamkor, i.e. Abkhazava, the National Muslim Committee and the so-called Wild Division (its leaders included Aslan Bey Safikyurdski, Prince Maghalov, Khududan Bey Khasmamedov and others) slaughtered more than 1,000 of them, appropriating over 12 cannons, 15,000 guns and 70 machine-guns.

As attested by the 7th volume of the History of the Armenian Nation published by the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (vol. 7, Yerevan, 1967, pp. 23-24, in Armenian), the slaughter of the Russian soldiers was perpetrated between 7 and 20 January 1918. According to the Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia (vol. 8, Yerevan, 1982, p. 443), it was committed on 9 to 12 January. For more details about that carnage, see The Great Socialist October Revolution and the Victory of the Soviet Authorities in Armenia. A Collection of Documents and Materials. Yerevan, 1960, pp. 167-168, 170-173.
Melikian, H. S. The October Revolution and the Caucasian Army. Yerevan, 1970, pp. 551-555, in Armenian.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 518.

The present-day city of Shamkor, which comprises the former village of Annino, dates from the first years of the Soviet rule. It is situaed on the motorway of Tiflis-Yevlakh, about 10 to 12 kilometres west of the town site. Having served as the centre of the district of the same name since 1930.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 518.

1944 y․

It was granted municipal status in 1944.

Dictionary of Toponymy of Armenia and Adjacent Territories, vol. 4, Yerevan, 1998, p. 71; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 518.

Population
19 c․

Information regarding the number of the local population in the 19th century can be found mainly in some Russian sources. However, it is hardly exhaustive to give a clear picture of their ethnic make-up.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 518.

1809 y․

The city had 600 families in 1809.

Collected Acts of the Caucasian Archaeological Commission, vol. 4, Tiflis, 1870, p. 491.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 518.

1850 y․

It had 581 residents in the early 1850s.

Caucasian Calendar for 1852, Tiflis, 1851, p. 93.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 518.

At the turn of the century, its ruins comprised merely several Muslim houses.

Barkhutariants, M. Artsakh. Baku, 1895, p. 56.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 518.

1976 y․

Shamkor, that comprised 20,000 inhabitants in 1976.

Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia, vol. 8, Yerevan, 1982, p. 443.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 518.

1988 y․

It had an Armenian population of over 2,000 before the deportation of 1988. They had a secondary school and a district newspaper. Most of the former residents of Shamkor took up living in the Republic of Armenia.

Karapetian, S. Abandoned Armenian Settlements in Azerbaijan (1988 to 1991). In: “Hayreniki Dzayn,” No. 3, 9 February 1993, p. 4.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 518.