39°12′58″N45°24′38″E / 39.21611°N 45.41056°E /39.21611; 45.41056

Nakhichevanuezd Нахичеванский уезд
Uezd
Coat of arms
Location in the Erivan Governorate
Country	Russian Empire
Viceroyalty	Caucasus
Governorate	Erivan
Established	1840
Abolished	1929
Capital	Nakhichevan (present-dayNakhchivan)
Area
• Total	4,482.87 km2 (1,730.85 sq mi)
Population  (1916)
• Total	136,859
• Density	31/km2 (79/sq mi)
• Urban	10.71%
• Rural	89.29%

TheNakhichevanuezd^[a] was a county (uezd) of theErivan Governorate of theCaucasus Viceroyalty of theRussian Empire. It bordered the governorate'sSharur-Daralayaz uezd to the north, theZangezur uezd of theElizavetpol Governorate to the east, andIran to the south. Theuezd's administrative center was the city of Nakhichevan (present-dayNakhchivan).

The county was mostly mountainous and devoid of industry beyond salt plantations. Before theRussian Revolution it was home to more than 81,200Muslims^[b] who formed the majority of the population, and a significant minority of 54,200Armenians who would later be massacred or displaced during theArmenian–Azerbaijani war of 1918–1920.

Originally formed from theNakhichevan Khanate, the Nakhichevanuezd was part of theArmenian Oblast and later the governorate of Erivan. Shortly after theBolshevik coup, the district fell under the control of the invadingOttoman army (and was briefly annexed by theTreaty of Batum) until the latter'swithdrawal in late 1918—In the wake of the retreat, the district came under the control oflocal Muslims between 1919 and 1920, with brief periods ofArmenian control in the middle of each year, ending with region'stakeover by the11th Army ofSoviet Russia. Finally, the district was transformed into theNakhchivanexclave ofAzerbaijan and later partitioned withArmenia (forming parts of the latter'sSyunik andVayots Dzorprovinces) whilst part of theTranscaucasian SFSR.

The topography of theuezd was mainly mountainous with most of the lowland located along theAras river. The highest peaks of theuezd (Kambil at 11,188 feet (3,410 m); Damara-dag at 11,090 feet (3,380 m); andMount Kaputjukh at 12,855 feet (3,918 m)) were located along theKarabakh Range, which made up the eastern boundary with theElizavetpol Governorate. Kyuki-dag at 10,282 feet (3,134 m) rose from theSharur-Daralayaz uezd in the north. The lefttributaries of the Aras (the Nakhichevan-chay, Alinja-chay, and Gilan-chay) flowed through the territory of theuezd.^[1] The population of theuezd was primarily engaged in cattle breeding and gardening, especially in the Ordubad area. There were practically no industrial plants or factories, but there were however salt plantations which produced approximately 250,000 pounds of salt per annum.^[1]

The subcounties (uchastoks) of the Nakhichevanuezd in 1913 were as follows:^[2]

The Nakhichevan uezd, based in the city Nakhichevan,^[3] was originally one of the territorial administrative subunits of the Armenian Oblast in 1828–1840, created after its annexation into the Russian Empire in 1828 through theTreaty of Turkmenchay. The territory of theuezd roughly corresponded to the defunct Nakhichevan Khanate and was the site of large-scale Armenian repatriation from Iran, which was across theAras river to the south.^[4]

In 1844, the Caucasus Viceroyalty was reestablished, in which the Nakhichevanuezd briefly formed part of theTiflis Governorate before its transfer to the newly established Erivan Governorate in 1849. The new governorate in addition to Nakhichevan also included theuezds ofErivan,Alexandropol,Nor Bayazet andOrdubad, however, the latter was later abolished in 1868 and incorporated into the south of the Nakhichevan andZangezuruezds, the latter continuing to border Nakhichevan from the east. Not long after, further administrative reforms resulted in the separation of the northern part of the Nakhichevanuezd corresponding to the present-daySharur District of Azerbaijan and the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia to form the Sharur-Daralayazuezd in 1870—bordering Nakhichevan from the north.^[5]

On 3 March 1918, in accordance with theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk theRussian SFSR ceded theKars andBatumoblasts to theOttoman Empire who had been unreconciled with its loss of those territories (which they referred to asElviye-i Selase [tr]) since 1878. Despite the resistance of theTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republic which had initially rejected the Brest-Litovsk treaty, the OttomanThird Army was successful in occupying theoblasts, and going on to expand into the western districts of the Erivan and Tiflis governorates, including the Nakhichevan uezd. These additional territorial gains were confirmed through theTreaty of Batum with the individualSouth Caucasus republics.^[6]

As stipulated in theMudros Armistice, the Ottoman Empire was compelled to withdraw its armies from the Erivan and Tiflis governorates, thus withdrawing to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk boundaries. One of the commanders of the occupying army,Yukub Shevki, sponsored the creation of theRepublic of Aras in the occupied Erivan districts, providing it with moral support, weapons, and instructors.^[7]

Following the conclusion of the 2-weekArmeno-Georgian war, Armenia repositioned its forces to annex the Republic of Aras, however, their advance into the district was halted on 18 January 1919 by Captain F. E. Laughton who established a local British military governorship in the district. On 26 January 1919, the governorship was confirmed by the British military headquarters based in Tiflis (present-dayTbilisi) as a means to prevent ethnic clashes betweenArmenian soldiers and local Muslims of up to "ten thousand well-armed men".^[8]

The British sympathy to the Aras Republic was later reversed when Major-GeneralWilliam M. Thomson became the highest-ranking officer in the South Caucasus—believing thatPan-Turkism was influential in the region, especially in consideration of the presence ofAzerbaijani and Ottoman agentsSamed Bey and ColonelHalil Bey, respectively. Thomson believed that they were scheming to "forge a bridge between the Ottoman Empire and Azerbaijan and ultimately betweenNationalist Turkey andSoviet Russia." Following the British announcement of the dissolution of the governorship and the plans to annex the region to Armenia,Gevorg Varshamyan [hy] was selected to become the first governor of the district.^[9][10]

Armenia's formal annexation of Nakhichevan was officially declared on 3 May 1919, after which Armenian forces commanded byDrastamat Kanayan and accompanied by British representative General K. M. Davie advanced southward into the district along the railway. When the force had reached Davalu (present-dayArarat), Thomson ordered them to stop, believing that Armenia was encouraging the defiance of Zangezur in refusing to submit to British–Azerbaijani authority in a "severe breach of faith". The restriction Thomson had placed was later revoked after actingprime ministerAlexander Khatisian met him in Tiflis to assure him that the Armenians of Zangezur were acting independently of the Armenian government. On 13 May 1919, when Armenian forces had advanced to Bashnorashen (present-daySharur), Khatisian arrived in Nakhichevan and met the minister of war of the Aras Republic,Kalb Ali Khan Nakhichevansky [ru], after which the Aras Republic effectively capitulated.^[11]

Despite the apparent defeat of the Ottoman Empire, agents of theTurkish National Movement were reported to be fostering rebellion amongst the Muslims of Nakhichevan, eventually culminating in alarge-scale anti-Armenian uprising in July 1919. Fearing retaliation by theVolunteer Army, Azerbaijan did not openly intervene to assist the Nakhichevan rebels, however, on 14 July they provided covert assistance. On 20 July, a pogrom began against the Armenian inhabitants of the city of Nakhichevan—within a few days, the Armenian administration was completely ousted and its Armenian inhabitants expelled. As the uprising spread throughout the Nakhichevan uezd, Armenians in Jugha (present-dayGülüstan) were forced to escape across theAras river intoIran. Some 6,000 Armenians from Nakhichevan living in theArarat Valley managed to escape to Daralayaz, Nor Bayazet, and Zangezur (present-dayVayots Dzor,Gegharkunik andSyunik provinces, respectively).^[12] During the uprising, Halil Bey coordinated the destruction of 45 Armenian villages and the massacre of 10,000 of their inhabitants,^[13] including thedestruction of the large Armenian town of Agulis (present-dayYuxarı Əylis) and its 1,400 inhabitants.^[14] In late 1919, Samed Bey complained to the Azerbaijani government about the presence of Iranian agents trying to bring refugees from Nakhichevan into Iran.^[15]

Some months after theSovietization of Azerbaijan on 18 June 1920, Armenia issued an ultimatum to the rebels of Zangibasar (present-dayMasis) some 15 kilometers southwest of Yerevan to submit to Armenian rule. Not expecting that the ultimatum would be answered, the Armenian army launched an offensive to recapture the rebelling districts on 19 June. In the fight for Zangibasar, Lieutenant Aram Kajaznuni, the son of thefirst prime minister of Armenia was killed, however, the Armenians won the battle on 21 June,^[16] with the local Muslims consisting mainly of Tatars^[c] fleeing to Aralikh (present-dayAralık) in the neighbouringSurmalu uezd to avoid retribution. After the battle, volunteer detachments consisting of Armenian refugees from theAresh andNukhauezds of Azerbaijan looted the abandoned homes.^[18]

The militarists in the Armenian government were strengthened by the success in Zangibasar, hence, they prepared to move against the rebels of Vedibasar (present-day southernArarat Province) and Nakhichevan;^[19] the advance into the former began on 11 July and by the next day, Armenian forces had captured the district and reached the boundary of the Erivan and Sharur-Daralayazuezds at the mountain pass known asVolchi vorota (Russian:Волчьи ворота,lit. 'Wolf gate') and the local Muslims fled into Sharur. On 14 July, the Armenian advance continued throughVolchi vorota into the Sharur district, capturing it 2 days later whilst the locals fled across the Aras river into Iran.^[20] Before the Armenians could advance into the Nakhchevanuezd proper, the national council (Azerbaijani:milli şura) of Nakhichevan appealed for peace, however, the negotiations only served in delaying Armenia's advance, after whichŞahtaxtı some 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of the city of Nakhichevan was captured. By this time, the11th Army of Soviet Russia (which had previously invaded Azerbaijan) occupied southern Nakhichevan with the aim of linking withKemalist Turkey. Colonel V. Tarkhov, the commander of the "united troops of Soviet Russia and Red Turkey in Nakhichevan", addressed the Armenians in Shahtaght, proclaiming Soviet control over the rest of the district, thus putting an end to the Armenian campaign.^[21]

During theTurkish–Armenian War beginning in September 1920, Armenia for the third time in six years was invaded by Turkish forces; this time under the command of GeneralKâzım Karabekir. The outcome of the war was Armenia's formal loss of Nakhichevan as the district became an autonomous protectorate ofSoviet Azerbaijan, as confirmed by the treaties ofKars andMoscow in 1921.^[22] The Nakhichevanuezd was combined with the Sharur subdistrict of the Sharur-Daralayazuezd and organized into theNakhichevan ASSR.^[23] The south-easternmost parts of theuezd,Karchevan and part of theZaritap Municipality (part of the Syunik and Vayots Dzor provinces, respectively), were transferred toSoviet Armenia in 1929–1934 whilst within the Transcaucasian SFSR.^[3]

According to theRussian Empire Census, the Nakhichevanuezd had a population of 100,771 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 52,984 men and 47,787 women. The majority of the population indicated Tatar^[d] to be their mother tongue, with a significantArmenian speaking minority:^[26]

According to the 1917 publication ofKavkazskiy kalendar, the Nakhichevanuezd had a population of 136,859 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 74,081 men and 62,778 women, 133,343 of whom were the permanent population, and 3,516 were temporary residents:^[27]

According to the 1897 census, there were 67 settlements in the Nakhichevanuezd with a population over 500 inhabitants. The religious composition of the settlements was as follows:^[29]

• Jamalova Nigar. Armenia’s plans on the Nakhchivan territory and the countermeasures of the Azerbaijan government (1918-1920). "Azərbaycan Tarixşünaslığı" jurnalı / Journal of "Azerbaijan Historiography". 2024/6.

• Historical geography of Azerbaijan
• History of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic
• Uezds of Erivan Governorate

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