ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Shekerbey Monuments

Azerbaijan (Country) / Northern Artsakh (Area) / Getabek (District) / Shekerbey (Village)

Location

The village is situated at the southern foot of a mountain (2,281 metres) of the same name, 9 kilometres north-west of the district centre. A stream, taking its source on the southern slope of the mountain and flowing through the village, bears the same name.

A record of 1890 reads, “Mounting the horses near the bridge, we left behind some newly-blossomed fields of millet and turned left, descending towards the gorge of the stream of Shakar Bey through the pass of a mountain chain rising on the left. This tributary flows from the southern part of the lofty mountain of Shakar Bey, which has large slopes. Near its source can be seen the village of Gargar...” (Yeghishe Charents Art and Literature Museum. Sargis Kamalian Fund, copy-book No. 1, VI-11, p. 25).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 286.

Historical Introduction
1633 y․

The earliest available record mentioning the toponym of Shakarbek dates back to 1633, when Priest Hovhannes, a famous scribe from Shatakh, created a Gospel in the village: “This splendid copy of the Holy Gospel was written by ... sinful priest Hovhannes from Shatakh Village of Ganja... in Shakarbek Village of Verin Zakam District in rather harsh and difficult times, when Shah Abbas reigned, under Bishop Barsegh the Paronter, His Holiness Movses Catholicos of the Holy See of Echmiatzin, who brought enlightenment to the Armenian land and consigned his soul to Christ this year, as well as Supreme Pontiff of Aghvank Hovhannes, who was treacherously captured by the Persians and taken to the shah (God knows what happened to him) in 1633 of the Armenian era.”

A historical village and scriptorium now reduced to a village site lying between Khachakap and Hartshangist Villages of Dashkesan District.
Colophons of the Armenian Manuscripts of the 17th century, vol. 2. Compiled by Hakobian, V., Hovhannissian, A. Yerevan, 1978, p. 531.
Also see “Ardzagank,” 1886, No. 12, p. 162.
Barkhutariants M., Artsakh, Baku, 1895, pp. 333-334.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 286.

18 c․

Sharing the fate of the adjacent villages, Shakarbek was stripped of its Armenian population in the ‘70s of the 18th century.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 286.

1870 y․

For about a hundred years, it remained derelict and served as a summer encampment for some cattle-breeding tribes. In the 1870s, it was inhabited by Turkish stock-breeders who started leading a sedentary mode of life there.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 286.

Monuments

Some cross-stones and the remnants of a village site, a church and a cemetery are preserved in the village and its neighbourhood. Its territory also retains the vestiges of some old walls.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 286.

Name	Year/Century	Etymology
Shakarbek

The available data regarding the local residents are as follows:

Dates	Total (Turks)	Notes	Source
1908	179		Caucasian Calendar for 1910, Tiflis, 1909, p. 419; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 286.
1914	355		Caucasian Calendar for 1915, Tiflis, 1914, p. 209; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 286.
1987	830		Soviet Azerbaijanian Encyclopedia, vol. 10, Baku, 1987, p. 498; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 286.