Gulustan
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|---|---|
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  Gulustan | |
| Coordinates:40°21′30″N46°34′43″E / 40.35833°N 46.57861°E /40.35833; 46.57861 | |
| Country |  Azerbaijan |
| District | Goranboy |
| Municipality | Buzluq |
| Time zone | UTC+4 (AZT) |
Gülüstan orGulistan (Armenian:Գյուլիստան,romanized: Gyulistan; ultimately fromPersiangulistān 'rose garden') is a village in theGoranboy District ofAzerbaijan. It is a part of the municipality ofBuzluq.[1]
The village had an Armenian majority prior to theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War andOperation Ring.[2] The village is currently uninhabited since Operation Ring.
The village is located on an elongated hilltop in a forested area on the northern side of theMurov/Mrav mountain range, on the right bank of the Injachay (İncəçay) River.[3]
Between the 16th and the 18th century, thefortress of Gulistan (3 km from the village) was one of the seats (the other wasTalish) of the Principality of Gulistan ruled by the Armenian Melik Beglarian family, one of theFive Melikdoms of Karabakh.[4][5] A ruined church dating to 1659 and another newer church were located in the village.[3] A monastery calledSurb Amenakp’rkich’ (Holy Savior) was located in the vicinity of the village.[3]
Gülüstan is historically significant as the village near the site where theTreaty of Gulistan was signed between theRussian Empire andQajar Iran on 12 October 1813, concluding the nine-year-longRusso-Persian War. According to the agreement, Qajar Iran was forced to recognize Russian rule over territories north ofAras river (i.e. the present-day territory ofDagestan,Eastern Georgia, NorthernArmenia and most of present-dayAzerbaijan withoutTalysh) with the exception of the Khanates ofErivan andNakhchivan.[6]
In theSoviet times, the village was part of the Shaumian District, an administrative unit outside theNagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with an ethnic Armenian majority. Until 1992, the village was inhabited by ethnicArmenians, who fled when it was captured by Azerbaijani forces duringOperation Goranboy.[7] The Shaumian District was then incorporated into the Goranboy District.
On 3 March 1992, an Armenian transport helicopter Mi-26 carrying around 50 women and children from Gülüstan on board was shot down with aMANPADS rocket fired from Azerbaijan-controlled territory, killing 16 people.[8][9]
Notable natives of the village include Garegin Balayan (1912–1943, Hero of the Soviet Union)[10] andShahen Meghrian (1952–1993, NKR military commander of Shahumyan region).[11]
