Fuzuli ( ) is a city and the capital of the

Fuzuli District Fuzuli District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the south-west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Khojavend, Aghjabadi, Beylagan, Jabrayil, and the ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. The city had a population of 17,090 before its occupation by Armenian forces on 23 August 1993, during the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

, which resulted in the expulsion of the local Azerbaijani population and the city becoming a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

. However people are slowly starting to return. On 17 October 2020, Azerbaijani forces recaptured the city during the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

History

Archaeological excavations on the hill in the northern edge of the town, Garakopaktapa, uncovered artifacts from the 4th-3rd centuries BC, matching similar artifacts found throughout the

Armenian highlands The Armenian highlands (; also known as the Armenian upland, Armenian plateau, or Armenian tableland)Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: ...

. In the Middle Ages, the area belonged to the historical province of Artsakh in the Kingdom of Armenia. By the late medieval period, it formed part of the Armenian principality of Dizak. The nearby Kavakavank monastery was rebuilt by order of Melik Yegan of Dizak in 1724.

Russian rule

Fuzuli was known as ''Qarabulaq'' () until 1827 when it was renamed to ''Karyagino'' (), after . Initially, its only inhabitants were Russians of the spiritual

Molokan The Molokans ( rus, молокан, p=məlɐˈkan or , "dairy-eater") are a Russian Spiritual Christian sect that evolved from Eastern Orthodoxy in the East Slavic lands. Their traditions, especially dairy consumption during Christian fasts, ...

sect. In 1896, the population of the village was monoethnic, composed mostly of

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

. Over the years, the population expanded to include Turks,

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

, and a small number of

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

. The Turkic and Armenian populations of Fuzuli were primarily migrants from the city of

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

who came for the commercial opportunities of the region. The primary occupation of the village was agriculture with the exception of the small Armenian minority who were primarily shop owners and shoe-makers. It was administrated as part of Dzhebrail Uyezd during the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The city later became the administrative center of the ''uezd'' ("county"), with the latter being eponymously renamed Karyaginsky Uyezd ( pre-reform Russian: Карягинскій уѣздъ). According to the 1915 publication of the ''Caucasian Calendar'', Karyagino had a population of 400 in 1914, mostly

. The town was renamed to Füzuli in 1959. During the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

years, the city was the administrative centre of the Füzuli

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

Azerbaijan SSR The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...

. According to the 1979 census, 13,091 people lived in the city, of which 87% were Azerbaijanis and 7.4% were Russians and Ukrainians. Population rose to 17,090 in 1989.

Armenian occupation

During the

, the city was captured by Armenian forces on 23 August 1993. The city subsequently became a

after its capture by Armenian forces and the expulsion of its Azerbaijani population. Subsequently, it was made part of the

Hadrut Province Hadrut Province () was a province of the Republic of Artsakh. The provincial capital was Hadrut city. The last governor was Valery Gevorkian. The province was captured by the armed forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan during the 2020 Nagorno-Ka ...

of the breakaway

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

and was renamed Varanda (). In 2010, the town had a population of 99. It was named after the medieval Armenian melikdom of Varanda, which ruled over the area that later became Fuzuli.

Recapture by Azerbaijan

In the context of the

on October 17, 2020, the president of Azerbaijan,

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

stated that the Azerbaijani army had retaken control of the city. The next day, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence released a video from Fuzuli, showing Azerbaijani soldiers raising the Azerbaijani flag in the centre of the city. On 16 November, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited the city and hoisted the Azerbaijani flag on the territory of the former military base of the Armenian forces in Fuzuli.

Reconstruction

As part of a massive reconstruction project, a new highway is to be built to

via Fuzuli, according to President Aliyev who announced the plan to build during his 16 November 2020 visit to the ruins of the latter town. The process was started with immediate effect, press reports suggesting the new 101 km multi-lane

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

should be finished by mid-2022. On 5 January 2021, Azerbaijani president

, announced that an international airport was planned to be built near Fuzuli. Four days later, the plan for a Fuzuli-Shusha railway was also made public. Fuzuli International Airport was inaugurated on 26 October 2021 by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Notable people

* Ilyas Afandiyev — writer, Honored Artist of Azerbaijan SSR (1960), People's writer of the Azerbaijan SSR (1979). * Gara Garayev — National footballer, Azerbaijani Footballer of the Year (2014), currently playing for the domestic Premier League side FK Qarabağ

Gallery

Artcakh, Varanda (Fizuli), Bus stop, 2014.05.10 - panoramio (1).jpg, Old bus stop in Fuzuli Artcakh, Varanda (Fizuli), Former Тransport Index, 2014.05.10 - panoramio.jpg, Old transport index in Fuzuli Ilham Aliyev in Fuzuli city in 16 November 2020 (2).jpg, Ilham Aliyev raising the Azerbaijani flag in Fuzuli, 16 November 2020

References

External links

*
World Gazetteer: Azerbaijan
– World-Gazetteer.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuzuli Populated places in Fuzuli District Ghost towns in Azerbaijan Ruins in Azerbaijan Hadrut Province