ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Yankhli 4 Monuments

Azerbaijan (Country) / Northern Artsakh (Area) / Touz (District) / Yankhli (Village)

Location

Yankhli, i.e. the historical city of Khaghkhagh, is located on the left bank of the river Zakam, 17 kilometres south-east of the district centre, at an altitude of 600 to 650 metres above sea level.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 547.

Historical Introduction

One of the oldest villages in the region, it used to serve as a winter residence for the Armenian Arshakids (66 to 428), the following quotations attesting to it: “Then he and his brother... made their way to Armenia. Anak presented himself to King Khosrov at the winter quarters in Khalkhal...” “…opposite the city of Khaghkhagh, which is the winter residence of Aghvank kings located near the border with Georgia…” “…Khal.khal. was in the land of the Albanians.”

The Conversion of Armenia to Christianity. A Retelling of Agathangelos’ History. By Valerie Goekjian Zahirsky. New York, 2001, p. 7.
History of the Armenian Nation by Ghazar Parpetsy. Tpghis, 1904, p. 65.
Elishe-. History of Vardan and the Armenian War. Translation and Commentary by Robert W. Thomson. London, 1982, p. 127.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 547.

Records with references to Khaghkhagh can also be found in some Georgian sources, one of which states, “And he crossed the border of Armenia (Somkhit), his destination being the city of Khaghkhagh (Khilkhala), that served as a winter residence for the Armenian kings.”

Melikset-Bek, L. M. Georgian Sources about Armenia and Armenians, vol. 1, Yerevan, 1934, p. 163.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 548.

450 y․

In 450 the Armenian troops, led by Commander Vardan Mamikonian, won victory over the Persians in a battle fought near Khaghkhagh.

History of the Armenian Nation by Ghazar Parpetsy. Tpghis, 1904, p. 66.
Chamchiants, M. History of Armenia from the Creation of the World until 1784 A.D., vol. 2, Venice, 1785, p. 57.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 548.

Interestingly enough, ‘Khilkhina,’ which is a slightly distorted version of the village’s historical name, survived until the 20th century.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 548.

19 y․

In the late 19th century, the village belonged to Turkish landowners Allahyar-Bey, Mehrali-Bey and Adil-Bey Zulghadarov.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 93, list 1, file 388, pp. 9-10.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 548.

Monuments

In 1890 Sargis Kamalian wrote the following about the village’s monuments of antiquity, “…You could see vestiges of different monuments throughout the territory beginning with the northern foot of Mount Tulklu. At present this area, known by the name of Shehar (‘town’) both among the local Armenians and Turks, belongs to the Zulghadarovs. Among the ancient monuments, a mosque and a bridge can be distinguished. The latter, built by Mama Mirza, has 3 huge arches and some broad-surfaced pillars... There are doors on either side of its middle pier. The bridge, however, is in a dilapidated state and does not function; that is why, the dwellings are located far below it…The Zulghadarovs have magnificent residences surrounded by platans and poplars. This village is called Khennalu or Khelkhana.”
The aforementioned bridge was built of brick, except for its main parts where finely-dressed basalt was used. During our visit to the village in 1980, only its piers were preserved on both banks of the river Zakam.

S. Kamalian Fund, copy-book No. 1, VI-11, p. 35. An anonymous article entitled Studies of the History of Azerbaijan contains a photo of the standing bridge (“Izvestya Akademii Nauk Azerbaijanskoy SSR,” 1946, No. 5, p. 95).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 548.

1890 y․

Bishop Makar, who visited Yankhli in the early 1890s, confirms that once a village existed there: “…The deep valley is surrounded by Mounts Enkuzut (Ghozlu) in the east, and Mamrut (Mamertlu) in the south, as if lying within a natural enclosure along both banks of the river. It abounds in vestiges of different monuments of late antiquity, such as heaps of stones, broken fragments of old, rough vessels, remnants of lime and brick walls as well as huge barrels found in some underground ditches. The bricks are thicker, longer and wider than usual, i.e. 31 square centimetres. Some earthenware tubes used to provide the former village with spring water from time immemorial. This is proved by the ruins of the long, rough pipeline, once extending in the west of its present-day site and destroyed by ZulkatarovHamitBey. Regretfully, the traces of the church have disappeared altogether.”

Barkhutariants, M. Artsakh. Baku, 1895, p. 57.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, pp. 548-549.

Name	Year/Century	Etymology
Khaghkhagh
Khilkhina

Population:

Dates	Total (Turks)	Notes	Source
1914	4458		Caucasian Calendar for 1915, Tiflis, 1914, p. 197; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 548.
1981	66		Soviet Azerbaijanian Encyclopedia, vol. 5, Baku, 1981, p. 187; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 548.