Nagorno-Karabakh area and population

Nagorno-Karabakh has a land area of ??4,400km? and a population of 172,124 (2020).

Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Da?l?q Qaraba?), located in the South Caucasus. Between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur, it contains the southeastern branch of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. The area is mostly mountainous and forested.

Nagorno-Karabakh and its administrative regions are divided into 7 provinces and 1 municipality. They are: Shahumian Province, Martakert Province, Askelan Province, Martuny Province, Hadrut Province, Shusha Province, Kazakh Province and Stepanakert City.

Nagorno-Karabakh is actually independent but is not recognized by any United Nations member state, including Armenia. It is only mutually recognized by three United Nations non-member states: Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Germany.

Historical evolution

The Kura-Aras culture existed in the area where Nagorno-Karabakh is located in ancient times, and was distributed between the Kura and Aras rivers. The population of the area at that time included a variety of indigenous and immigrant tribes, most of which were not Indo-European.

According to mainstream Western theories, these peoples were ruled by Armenia from about the 4th to 2nd centuries BC and intermarried with the Armenians who came here; other scholars believe that the Armenians came as early as AD They moved here in the 7th century BC.

Around 180 BC, Artsakh became one of the 15 provinces of the Kingdom of Armenia and remained so until the 4th century. Although Artsakh maintains the status of a province in name, it may actually form an autonomous principality - just like Syunik Province. Other theories maintain that Artsakh was a crown land belonging directly to the Armenian king.

The Armenian King Tigran the Great (reigned from 91 BC to 55 BC) established Tigranakt, one of the four cities named after him, in Artsakh. one. The ancient Tigranakt ruins are located 48 kilometers northeast of the current capital Stepanakert. There is a group of international scholars conducting research here.

Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Nagorno-Karabakh