Askeran

Askeran (Ասկերան or, Մայրաբերդ; Əsgəran) is a town in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan. Prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive, it was de facto in the Republic of Artsakh as the administrative centre of its Askeran Province. It is located on the left bank of the Karkar River (Qarqarçay), approximately 7 mi northeast of the regional capital, Stepanakert.

Etymology
Medieval Armenian sources attest to a settlement in the locale called Mayraberd (Մայրաբերդ). The modern name Askeran (Ասկերան) refers to the settlement's historic use from the beginning of the 18th-century as an arsenal for various military powers.

History
Askeran originally belonged to the historic territory of Dizak before becoming part of the Armenian Melikdom of Varanda in the first half of the 16th-century. The Askeran fortress protected the eastern frontier of Varanda from the semi-autonomous Karabakh Khanate, which was under the suzerainty of Iran. The Askeran Fortress was built upon the foundations of the medieval Armenian village and fortress known as Mayraberd. In 1752, the melik (prince) of Varanda, Shahnazar II, made an alliance with the Karabakh khan Panah Ali Khan, who expanded the fortress to its current state. In July 1795, the Askeran fortress was captured by the forces of the Qajar shah (king) Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar ((r. 1789 – 1797)), who attempted to restore Iranian rule in the southeastern Caucasus.

During the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813, the Russian encampment was near the fortress. In 1810, peace talks between Russia and Iran were conducted at the fortress. Restoration works on the fortress began in 2018. The fortress is situated in the southern part of the town.

In the Russian Empire, Askeran was part of the Shusha Uyezd in the Elisabethpol Governorate. During the Soviet period, the city was the administrative center of the Askeran District, which was a part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in the Azerbaijan SSR.



Askeran was the site of one of the starting points of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 1988, the Askeran clash. On 22 February 1988, a crowd of angry Azerbaijanis marched from Agdam in the direction of Stepanakert and clashed with police and local Armenians in Askeran, ending in the death of two Azerbaijanis and injuries on both sides. The town was known as an Armenian stronghold during the war. In 1991, it became the center of the Askeran Province of the Republic of Artsakh following the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Askeran came under Azerbaijani control on 24 September 2023, after the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and the flight of the Armenian population.

Historical heritage sites
Historical heritage sites in and around Askeran include the 18th-century Askeran Fortress, the cave-shrine of Hatsut (Հացուտ), and the church of Surb Astvatsatsin (Սուրբ Աստվածածին, lit. 'Holy Mother of God') built in 2002.

Economy and culture
The population is engaged in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry as well as in different state institutions and other private enterprises. The city is home to factories producing wine, brandy and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as architectural enterprises, secondary and musical schools, a house of culture, a municipal building, a kindergarten, and a hospital. The community of Askeran includes the village of Kyatuk.

Demographics
In the census of 1933, 222 people divided into 48 households were recorded in the village, all of whom were Armenians. Until 2023, Askeran was mostly populated by ethnic Armenians. with around 700 inhabitants in 1970, 1,967 inhabitants in 2005 and 2,300 inhabitants in 2015.

Climate
Askeran has a temperate and mild Humid subtropical climate (Cfa) according to the Köppen climate classification.