Martuni, Nagorno-Karabakh

Martuni (Armenian: Մարտունի) or Khojavend (Azerbaijani: Xocavənd (listen)ⓘ) is a town in Khojavend District of Azerbaijan and the administrative center of the district. After the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, it came under the de facto control of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh as the centre of its Martuni Province. The town returned to Azerbaijan's control after the 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh offensive.[2]

For other uses, see Martuni.

Martuni / Khojavend
Մարտունի / Xocavənd
Street
Street
Martuni / Khojavend is located in Azerbaijan
Martuni / Khojavend
Martuni / Khojavend
Martuni / Khojavend is located in Karabakh Economic Region
Martuni / Khojavend
Martuni / Khojavend
Coordinates: 39°47′43″N 47°06′47″E
Country Azerbaijan
DistrictKhojavend
Elevation
390 m (1,280 ft)
Population
 (2015)[1]
 • Total5,700
Time zoneUTC+4 (AZT)
Area code(+374) 478

Etymology

The name Martuni originates from the nom de guerre of Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary and official Alexander Miasnikian. The name Khojavend is of Persian origin.[3]

History

Excavations in the settlement have uncovered a number of tombs dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Martuni is also home to several ruined medieval churches and remains of settlements, and khachkars have also been preserved.[4]

Martuni was founded in the medieval period by local Armenians as a village named Khonashen (Armenian: Խոնաշեն), where shen means village and khona, depending on the source, allows different interpretations (namely, “village, dwelling” or “reservoir, well, spring”).[5] The old name of Khonashen originated from the nearby Khonashen river. Traditionally, the village belonged to the Melikdom of Varanda.[6] In 1925, the settlement was transformed into a city and renamed Martuni.[5]

During the Soviet period, Martuni was the capital of the Martuni District in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. The population of the town, grouped into kolkhozes, largely occupied itself with raising livestock, grape growing, wheat cultivation, and gardening.[4]

First Nagorno-Karabakh War

Martuni, and the district itself, became a frontline city during the latter stages of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. In early February 1992, Vazgen Sargsyan, then Defence Minister of Armenia, appointed Monte Melkonian as Chief of Headquarters and assigned him to lead the defense of Martuni and the surrounding regions.[7] On October 2, 1992, Armenian armed forces captured the region around Martuni. According to an Azerbaijani source, considerable damage was done to the infrastructure of 10 villages settled by Azerbaijanis in the region during the war.[8] Melkonian remained as regional commander until he was killed in combat in June 1993.[9]

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war

From the very first days of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war (started on 27 September 2020), Martuni was subjected to artillery shelling by the armed forces of Azerbaijan. This led to the disconnection of the city from electricity and gas supply. On 1 November, Azerbaijani aviation launched an airstrike on the city. The Armenian detachments managed to hold their positions in Martuni until the ceasefire was established.

On 15 November 2020, Russian peacekeeping contingent formed an observation post in the city.[10][11] On 13 February 2021, the specialists of the International Mine Action Center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation completed the clearance of the territory in the Martuni region.[12] On 1 March, a block-modular town was commissioned for the residence of military personnel of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.[13]

2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh

Following the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, the town came under control of Azerbaijani forces on 26 September 2023.[14] Azerbaijan's authorities reportedly dismantled a statue of Armenian militant Monte Melkonian.[15]

Historical and cultural heritage

The town has a house of culture commonly called "The Opera", and the Church of St. Nerses the Great, opened in 2004. The Russian 19th-century Gevorgavan Church is located near Martuni.[16]

Economy and culture

The population mainly works in different state institutions as well as with agriculture and animal husbandry. As of 2015, Martuni has a municipal building, a house of culture, two schools, a music school, two kindergartens, a youth centre, 36 commercial enterprises, two factories and a regional hospital. The community of Martuni includes the villages of Kajavan and Kakavadzor.[17]

Climate
Climate data for Martuni (Khojavend)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 5.5
(41.9)		 6.4
(43.5)		 10.1
(50.2)		 17.5
(63.5)		 21.7
(71.1)		 26.6
(79.9)		 29.8
(85.6)		 29.7
(85.5)		 24.8
(76.6)		 19.1
(66.4)		 12.6
(54.7)		 8.0
(46.4)		 17.7
(63.8)
Average low °C (°F) −1.7
(28.9)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 1.8
(35.2)		 7.6
(45.7)		 12.1
(53.8)		 16.4
(61.5)		 19.5
(67.1)		 18.4
(65.1)		 15.2
(59.4)		 10.2
(50.4)		 4.9
(40.8)		 0.6
(33.1)		 8.7
(47.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 20
(0.8)		 26
(1.0)		 36
(1.4)		 49
(1.9)		 68
(2.7)		 55
(2.2)		 23
(0.9)		 23
(0.9)		 28
(1.1)		 44
(1.7)		 31
(1.2)		 25
(1.0)		 428
(16.8)
Source: http://en.climate-data.org/location/21894/

Demographics

According to the census of 1933, 1028 people lived in the village, divided into 120 households, all of whom were Armenians.[18] The town has an ethnic Armenian-majority population, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989.[19] It had a population of 5,700 as of 2015.[1]

Historical ethnic composition of Martuni (town)
Ethnic group 1939[20] 1970[21] 1979[22] 2005[23]
Number % Number % Number % Number %
Armenian1,70189.23,12067.03,58865.34,86399.7
Azerbaijani522.71,48231.81,86233.900.0
Russian1367.1440.9410.780.2
Ukrainian70.430.110.010.0
Other100.550.250.160.1
TOTAL1,906100.04,654100.05,497100.04,878100.0
  • Church of St. Nerses the Great in Martuni, opened in 2004
    Church of St. Nerses the Great in Martuni, opened in 2004
  • A street in Martuni
    A street in Martuni
  • A memorial in Martuni
    A memorial in Martuni
  • Martuni Museum
    Martuni Museum
  • Martuni House of Culture ("The Opera")
    Martuni House of Culture ("The Opera")
  • Municipal building
    Municipal building

References
  1. "Figures" (PDF). stat-nkr.am. 2015.
  2. Vega, Joan Cabasés (27 September 2023). "L'èxode d'un país que muda la pell". El Punt Avui (in Catalan). Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  3. Arsène Saparov (2017-09-01). "Contested spaces: the use of place-names and symbolic landscape in the politics of identity and legitimacy in Azerbaijan". Central Asian Survey. 36 (4): 534–554. doi:10.1080/02634937.2017.1350139. S2CID 149221754.
  4. (in Armenian) Anon. «Մարտունի» (Martuni). Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. vol. vii. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1981, p. 352.
  5. Поспелов Е. М. [in Russian] (1998). Географические названия мира: Топонимический словарь: Свыше 5 000 единиц. М.: «Русские словари». Отв. ред. Р. А. Агеева. p. 262. ISBN 5-89216-029-7.
  6. Hakobyan, Tadevos Kh.; Melik-Bakhshyan, Stepan T.; Barseghyan, Hovhannes Kh. (1991). "Մարտունի [Martuni]". Հայաստանի և հարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան [Dictionary of Toponyms of Armenia and Adjacent Territories] (in Armenian). Vol. 3. Yerevan State University Press. p. 743. OCLC 926872712.
  7. See Markar Melkonian (2005). My Brother's Road: An American's Fateful Journey to Armenia. New York: I.B. Tauris, pp. 207ff. ISBN 1-85043-635-5.
  8. "25 years pass since occupation of Khojavend region".
  9. Melkonian 2005, p. 264.
  10. Обстановка в районе проведения миротворческой операции (по состоянию на 15 ноября 2020 г.)
  11. "Район проведения миротворческой операции (по состоянию на 18 ноября 2020 г.)". Archived from the original on 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  12. Специалисты Международного противоминного центра Минобороны России завершили работы по разминированию территории в районе н.п. Мартуни
  13. "Еще четыре новых блочно-модульных городка возведены специалистами МТО для российских миротворцев в Нагорном Карабахе". Archived from the original on 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  14. https://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/society/3803026.html
  15. https://news.az/news/monument-to-armenian-terrorist-in-azerbaijans-khojavend-dismantled-photo
  16. Kiesling, Brady; Kojian, Raffi (2019). Rediscovering Armenia: An in-depth inventory of villages and monuments in Armenia and Artsakh (3rd ed.). Armeniapedia Publishing.
  17. Hakob Ghahramanyan. "Directory of socio-economic characteristics of NKR administrative-territorial units (2015)".
  18. Azerbaijan SSR Department of National Economic Accounting (1933). Административное деление АССР [Administrative division of the ASSR] (in Russian). Baku: AzUNKHU Publishing House. p. 109. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021.
  19. Андрей Зубов. "Андрей Зубов. Карабах: Мир и Война". drugoivzgliad.com.
  20. Ethno-Caucasus, Этнодемография Кавказа: Мартунинский район (1939 г.)
  21. Ethno-Caucasus, Этнодемография Кавказа: Мартунинский район (1970 г.)
  22. Ethno-Caucasus, Этнодемография Кавказа: Мартунинский район (1979 г.)
  23. "Национальный состав населения самопровозглашённой Нагорно-Карабахской Республики по переписи 2005 года". Population statistics of Eastern Europe & former USSR.
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