Martakert Province () was a de facto

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the

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 ...

, when it was ''de jure'' part of the

Republic of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a 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 Caspian Sea to the east, Russi ...

. The population was mainly Armenian. The province had 43 communities of which one was considered urban and 42 are rural. It is under control of Azerbaijan since 23 September 2023. Following 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 ...

, the district came under the control of the

self-proclaimed Self-proclaimed describes a legal title that is recognized by the declaring person but not necessarily by any recognized legal authority. It can be the status of a noble title or the status of a nation. The term is used informally for anyone declar ...

. However, following 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 ...

, Azerbaijan recaptured parts of the district and after September 2023 offensive they gained the full control of the region.

Settlements

Cultural sites

The Gandzasar monastery, the Yeghishe Arakyal Monastery and the 17th century Armenian monastery

Yerits Mankants Yerits Mankants Monastery () is a 17th-century Armenian monastery, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. The monastery is located in the mountains to the west of Maghavuz, southwest of Tonashen, and close to the fortress of Jraberd. ...

are located in the province. The Vankasar Monastery is just outside the town of

Martakert Martakert (, , also , ) or Aghdara ( ) is a town in the Aghdara District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, as the centre of its Martakert Province. The villa ...

. The archaeological site of

Tigranakert of Artsakh Tigranakert (, ''Arts'akhi Tigranakert''), also known as Tigranakert-Artsakh, is a ruined Armenian city dating back to the Hellenistic period, located in the Aghdam District of what is today Azerbaijan. It is one of several former cities in the ...

is also located in the province, thought to have been founded in the 2nd-1st century B.C, it has been undergoing excavation since 2005. Some of the walls of the city, with Hellenistic-style towers, as well as Armenian basilicas dating to fifth to seventh centuries have been uncovered.

Education infrastructure

In 2022, ''Armath Airborne engineering lab'' was launched in the province, it provides students 14 and above to create

UAVs An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...

. This was intended as a broader project focusing on regional security.

Settlements

Cultural sites

Education infrastructure

References

See also