Collection of Papers Relating to the Armenian District of Nakhijevan (1918-1920)

from the U.S. Department of State and the National Archives of Armenia

The district of Nakhijevan was a gavar (district) of the Vaspurakan province in ancient and medieval times. In its turn, the 8th province of Great Armenia, Vaspurakan had a territory of 40.870 sq km. It stretched from the distict of Rshtunik on the south-west of Van Lake to Goghtan and Nakhijevan districts, on the east. The district of Nakhijevan entered annals, written by the historians of the 5th century Movses Khorenatsi, Pavstos Buzand and others.¹  "Ashkharhatsuyts," i.e. the Geographic Atlas by Movses Khorenatsi and continued by his successor, geographer and mathematician of the 7th century Anania Shirakatsi evokes a particular interest in its capacity of a geographic source on our issue.²

One of the most prominent centers of Vaspurakan and Nakhijevan in particular, called Jugha, is mentioned in documents N 11, 19, 24, 29, 32, 35, 38, 42-43 under a modern name of Julfa. It had been a town on the left bank of Araxes, similarly referred in the "History of Armenia" by Movses Khorenatsi. It had been a centre of crafts since Ancient period. Trade in silk cloth, rugs, spices, jewellery and gems, weapons and wool, carried on with many countries of East and West flourished here.³ Jugha as a town of up to 40.000 residents, had eastern and western fortress walls, as well as lodgings on the right bank of Araxes, linked to a downtown by a big bridge. There were 7 churches, beautiful houses, caravansaries, inns and a covered market in the city. There was also an old Armenian cemetery with its famous 10.000 carved cross-stones (khachkars), that had been erected in the 10th-17th centuries as memorial steles on three hills to the south-west of the Jugha dwelling zone.

However, brutal raids of Tamerlane and Turkoman nomads in 14th-15th centuries; then subsequent wars between Ottoman Turkey and Persia caused a grievous exodus of the population from Jugha. In the most tragic year of 1604, by an order Shah Abbas I of Persia, all Jugha had been razed to the ground and burned. Its whole //-346  population along with 300.000 more Armenians from other parts of Arrmenia was forocibly relocated into Iran, suffering great losses. They would henceforth develop trade and economy of Iran. Nearly 20.000 of the indigenous inhabitants of Old Gugha were settled in Isfahan where they built their quarter and called it Nor (New) Jugha. On May 31, 1667, merchants of New Jugha had been the first in Russian history to conclude an agreement with the Russian court on business activities of the Armenian Trade Company of Isfahan. Its team of 40 negotiators had achieved a right of the transit trade between Europa and Asia, from Astrakhan up to Archangelsk. Later on, at the end of the 19th century nearly 500 persons could return home. The ruins of Old Jugha remain west of the 1919 Julfa - key railway and highway junction in 30 kilometers north-east of the district centre.

In December of 1989, later in 1998, 2002 and on December 10-14 of 2005 thugs of contemporary Azerbaijan by the sanctions of their criminal government had exploited bulldezers, then Army with artillery and savagely destroyed the old Armenian cemetery, a memorial under the auspices of UNESCO - the last groups of 3.700 khachkars and monuments, built in the 10th-17th centuries. Thus, they demolished and leveled the Armenian historical monument, striving to erase every evidence of the Armenian civilization at Nakhijevan.⁴

Nakhijevan (Nakhichevan) in its quality of national-administrative unit of the Modern History was included in Russia in accordance with the Turkmenchay Treaty of 1828. In common with the Erevan khanate (both established in 1747), it formed the Armenian Province (Oblast, from March 21, 1828). When this Province was abolished Nakhijevan together with Erevan had successively entered on April 10, 1840, into Georgia-Imeretia, and from December 14, 1846, into the Tiflis Governorate. However, the Russian Tsar Government had never subordinated it to the Caspian Province, Shemakha, to Baku or Elizavetpol Governorates. Moreover, when the Erevan Governorate had been created on June 9, 1849, it embraced the whole territory of the Armenian Province, i.e. Erevan and Nakhijevan, in common with the main portion of the Alexandropol uezd (district). During the next administrative reform of December 9, 1867, Nakhijevan uezd, combined with Sharur-Daralagyaz (Vayots Dzor), had remained a component of Erevan Governorate as usual. At a time of final legal definition of the inner borders in 1874, Nakhijevan was again recognized as one among seven Districts of the Erevan Governorate.⁵

As far as demography is concerned, after all previous devastations and an influx of alien tribes, in 1916 native Armenians made 41,2 per cent of the Nakhijevan population or 54.000 dwellers compared to 131.000 of the whole bulk.⁶ When we calculate //-347  population figures including Sharur, they are correspondingly equal to 83.000 and total 211.000.

Nakhijevan had encountered two Russian revolutions of 1917 in the same status of District. However, after the October revolution the Russian Caucasus Front of the World War I had begun to disintegrate in December of the same 1917. In January of 1918 the Ottoman troops violated the Erznka (Erznjan) Truce and took an offensive. When the Armenian National Council in Tiflis tried to arrange the national self-defense, Tatar and Kurdish inhabitants of the Governorate undertook a sabotage of this militant program. They demolished the railways, telephone and telegraph lines, plundered individuals on the roads, attacked Armenian villages ot only in Vayots Dzor (Sharur-Daralagyaz) and Nakhijevan, but even in the closest vicinity of Erevan. Besides, the Muslim National Council of Sharur and Elizavetpol carried out murderous raids to loot trains with weapons and with retreating Russian soldiers near Bash Norashen, Shahtakht,⁷ Elizavetpol. As a counteract, Armenians had raised their local squads of Militia.

 In February of 1918 the local Muslim leaders had invited the Armenian National Council of Nakhijevan to join it with Persia. After refusal they requested to proclaim independence of uezd. The Armenians' response did not change. Nevertheless, on February 22, 1918, the Muslim National Council had arranged a gathering in the main city and proclaimed this land "independent khanate."⁸ The Tatar ringleaders at Gandzak and Tiflis had made up their minds to the similar step only under the open pressure of Turkish official ultimatum, presented on May 26, 1918. And as far as the Ottoman Army actively struggled for a march onto Baku via Nakhijevan railway, the February resolution on an "independent khanate" evidently served Turkey. In March of 1918 the Muslim population had commenced a siege of all Armenian villages in the district; and embittered opposition lasted till the Treaty of Batum, signed on June 4, 1918. Conditions of the latter envisaged huge territorial augmentation of Turkey, including almost all Nakhijevan uezd without its Ordubad (ancient Vordvat) subdistrict. The latter had been reserved for artificially formed second "Azerbaijan" in eastern Transcaucasia. //-348  ...

Notes

1. Մովսէս Խորենացի, Պատմութիւն Հայոց։ Աշխատ. Մ.Աբեղեան, Ս.Հարութիւնեան։ Երևան, 1991, էջ 83, 112, 180, 296; Փաւստոս Բուզանդ, Հայոց Պատմութիւն։ Թարգմ. Ս.Մալխասյանց։ Երևան, 1987, էջ 267; Ս.Տ.Երեմյան, Հայաստանը ըստ «Աշխարհացոյց»-ի։ Երևան, 1963, էջ 72, 109-110: As Pavstos Buzand testifies, there were 18.000 houses in its centre at those times (էջ 267).

2. Է.Լ.Դանիելյան, Հայաստանի քաղաքական պատմությունը և Հայ Առաքելական եկեղեցին (VI-VII դդ.)։ Երևան, 2000, էջ 37; Ա.Մուշեղյան, Մովսես Խորենացու դարը։ Երևան, 2007, էջ 111, 124:

3. Մովսէս Խորենացի, նշվ.աշխ., էջ 83; Аракел Даврижеци, Книга историй. Пер. Л.А.Ханларян. М., 1973, с.52-53, 55, 73-78, 401; Հ.Քյուրտյան, Ջուղայեցի խօջայ Նազար եւ իւր գերդաստանը։ Բոստոն, 1943; Մ.Ա.Ավետիսյան, Նախիջևանի պատմության վավերագրեր (1889-1920թթ.)։ «Լրաբեր հասարակական գիտությունների», 1996, № 3, էջ 186; Ա.Ա.Այվազյան, Նախիիջևան։ Երևան, 1995, էջ 124, 127:

4. Թ.Խ.Հակբյան, Ս.Տ.Մելիք-Բախշյան, Հ.Խ.Բարսեղյան, Հայաստանի և հարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան, հատ.4: Երևան, 1998, էջ 427; The Annihilation of the Armenian Cemetery in Jugha. RAA Research on Armenian Architecture, Beirut, 2006.

5. Խ.Հ.Ավդալբեգյան, Հողային հարցը Արևելյան Հայաստանում (1801-1917թթ.)։ Երևան, 1959, էջ 6-10; Հայ ժողովրդի պատմություն, 8 հատ.։ Հատ.V, Երևան, 1974, էջ 13, 204-210, 219; Հատ.VI, 1981, էջ 15-16։

6. Նախիջևան-Շարուրը 1918-1921թթ.։ Փաստաթղթեր և նյութեր։ Խմբ. Վ.Ն.Ղազախեցյան։ «Բանբեր Հայաստանի արխիվների», Երևան, 1993, № 1-2, էջ 25 (following: Նախիջևան-Շարուրը); Ա.Ա.Այվազյան, նշվ.աշխ., էջ 7; Է.Ա.Զոհրաբյան, Ազգամիջյան կռիվները Երևանի նահանգում 1918թ.։ Երևան, 2000, էջ 77։

7. It's another outstanding historical centre of Nakhijevan: the Arkashat (Arshat) city had been founded in III century BC and served as a residence of Armenian kings. Tombs and cuneiforms of the Van kingdom (the 9th-7th cc. BC) had been also discovered on its territory. See: ².².²Ûí³½Û³Ý, Ýßí.³ßË., ¿ç 157-159:

8. Հ.Ռ.Սիմոնյան, Անդրանիկի ժամանակը, 2 գրքով, գիրք Բ։ Երևան, 1996, էջ 201; Է.Ա.Զոհրաբյան, Ազգամիջյան կռիվները Երևանի նահանգում, էջ 79:   //-348  ...