Falsification of the history of the Artsakh Meliqdoms by Azerbaijani historiography

addressing the envoy of the Russian court in July 1783, before his death,
said: “Do not let the possessor of these places, the Armenian nation,
lose hope” 15 . It is evident that only a person greatly dedicated to his
Homeland and gifted with a high sense of national selfconsciousness
could leave such a testament on his deathbed.
G. Mamedova, who with one stroke of the pen was trying to “Al-
banize” the fullblooded Armenian meliqs of Artsakh, had to know
this and numerous other such facts, not to mention the fact of her ad-
verting to them in her amateur text. To give an idea of her “profession-
al” preparedness it should be mentioned that the latter considers Lori
a district of “Albanian” Syunik 16 . The Azerbaijani pseudo-history con-
structor did not even bother herself to look at the map before writing
this nonsense or, which is more likely, relied on the readers’ ignorance.
The reason for G. Mamedova’s behavior is evident: since she could
not succeed in “Аlbanizing” Armenian Lori (a gavar of Gugark - the
province of Great Armenia 17 ) and the Armenian meliqs part of which
originated from there, she decided to “solve” the problem in a specific
way – including Lori in Syunik 18 . Well, such behavior is only worthy
of a sneer.
G. Mamedova’s next announcement that Meliq-Haykaz 19 of Ka-
shatagh was also “Albanian” is nothing but utter nonsense. Here the
Azerbaijani falsifier ignores the wellknown fact that the meliq’s name
itself – Haykaz, means Armenian (hay, haykazun) and clearly testi-
fies to his nationality. Besides, according to the famous Armenian
historian Arakel Davrizhetsi, whose work is known to G. Mamedova
as well, among the authorities that went to Iran’s Shah-Abbas I in 1603
to ask him to save them from the Ottoman despotism there also was
“from the Armenian nation... Meliq Haykaz from the country of
Kshtagh, from the village Khanatsakh” 20 .
Another unsubstantiated allegation of G. Mamedova that “Alban-
ian” Meliq-Haykaz also contributed to the cultural uplift of the “in-
comer” Armenians, building for them the Armenian school of the
monastery Syunyats Mets Anapat (Great Desert of Syunik) 21 , is just a
simple deception by which the falsifier unconsciously betrays herself.
First, it is unclear why someone “Albanian” would build an Armenian
school, especially for incomers. And then, an eulogy starting with the
line “Blessed Lord Jesus the Savior” has been preserved, which was
written by one of the first pupils of the same school, the renowned Ar-
menian poet Nerses Mokatsi and was devoted to the foundation and
founders of the monastery Syunyats Mets Anapat, where he writes
about Meliq-Haykaz:

The Persian king Shah Abas who dominated in the Eastern domain
Selected the regiment of the Aryans of Persia and came against Osman.
One of the selected was of Christian faith,
A mighty, brave, rival of many in front.
The king liked and praised him before the multitude,
Then revered with guileless love his valour.
Appointed him the prince of the land, rendering homage to him
And honoring him greatly called him his favorite
His father Hakhnazar named him
Haykazn in the likness of Haykazn Tigran... 22 :

It’s quite obvious that the Armenian meliq who was dedicated to his
Homeland and whom the poet compares to Haykazn Tigran, opened a
school for his compatriots. This is the unpleasant reality for G. Mamedova.
As to O. Efendiev’s unsubstantiated allegation that according to his
observation the Meliqdoms of Artsakh did not have boundaries 23 , this
is nothing but self-deception or a result of not knowing the topic of his
own “composition”. In order to get acquainted with the boundaries of
the Meliqdoms of Artsakh, O. Efendiev and those thinking like him
should get acquainted with the work “Truthful story” by the Armenian
historian Mirza Yusuf Nersesov (Hovsep Nersisyants) the translation
of which into Azerbaijani was included in the book “Гарабагнамелер”
(Garabagnameler) 24 published in Baku in 1991. In one of the chapters
of the work, namely “Khamsa mahals of Gharabagh and the origin
of their meliqs” there is detailed information on the boundaries of
the Meliqdoms of Artsakh 25 . Chapter eight of the same work which
is entitled “About the historical past of the Armenian kingdom, the
mahals of Khamsa and Zangezur, the origination and linage of the
local meliqs and khans” starts like this: “The land of Gharabagh is
one of the Armenian territories” 26 . It is said clearly and precisely...
This issue was absolutely rightly presented this way also by Abbas-
Kuli-agha Bakikhanov, who wrote in his work “Gyulistan-Iram”
(“Heavenly flower garden”): “Judging from various circumstances
and the information given by historians it can be assumed that the
right bank of Kur up to the place of confluence with Arax comprised a
part of Armenia” 27 . In another place of the same work we read: “Panah
khan, gaining more power day by day, subjected to his power the Ar-
menian meliqs” 28 . In fact, for the employees of the Institute of History
of NAS of Azerbaijan named after A. Bakihanov his famous work is
«unknown».
Now let us see what the Caucasian Tatar historians (considered
by present Azerbaijanis to be theirs) write about the Meliqdoms of
Artsakh. In his work “The history of Gharabagh”, which by the way
was written by order of Colonel Shamirkhan Meliq-Beglaryan 29 , a rep-
resentative of the Gyulistan meliq family, Mirza Jamal Jevanshir, the
vizier of Gharabagh 30 khanate, writes: “During the reign of the Safavid
kings of Iran the Gharabagh vilayet 31 , the ilats (nomadic tribes – A. M.),
the mahals of Armenian Khamsa 32 comprised of the mahals of Dizak,
Varanda, Khachen, Chilaberd (Jraberd – A. M.) and Talish, were sub-
ject to the beklarbek of Gyanja (Gandzak – A.M.)” 33 . Another Muslim
writer, Mirza Adigyozal-bek, in his work, “Gharabaghnameh”,
writes that Nadir Shah releases the meliqs of Khamsa from the rule of
Ziadoghli khans of Gandzak and takes them under his rule 34 . In fact,
the Tatar historian informs about the formation of the autonomous
Armenian principality by Nadir Shah, independent of the Gandzak
beklarbek’s governance. This fact is quite rightly presented this way
in the academic volume “История Азербайджана” (The History of
Azerbaijan) published in 1958 by the Institute of History of Azerbaijani
SSR as follows: “The Armenian Meliqs of Gharabagh – of Varanda,
Jraberd, Gyulistan, Dizak and Khachen – were ordered not to obey the
beklarbek of Gyanja” 35 . And finally, it should be mentioned that the
other Tatar historian, Ahmed-bek Jevanshir in his work, “On the po-
litical situation of the Gharabagh Khanate in 1747-1805”, clearly
mentions about the Meliqoms of Artsakh: “the meliqs of Armenian
Khamsa” 36 . Thus, all the historians of «the Gharabagh Khanate» unani-
mously present the Meliqdoms of Artsakh as Armenian principalities.
It turns out that G. Mamedova, O. Efendiev, F. Mamedova and
other contemporary Azerbaijani pseudo-history constructors deliber-
ately “forget” about these testimonies. The facts stated above put in a
laughable situation the Azerbaijani falsifiers that have lost the feeling
of time and space and testify to the loss of memory of the historians
of that country. How is it that several decades ago the Azerbaijani his-
torians (even titular academicians) knew nothing about the so-called
____________________
(15) Армяно-русские отношения в XVIII веке, т. IV, с. 250.
(16) Мамедова Г., op. cit., p. 76-77.
(18) Syunik was the 9th provinces of Great Armenia, according to
“Ashkharatsuyts” (Ibid., p. 109).
(19) Мамедова Г., op. cit., p. 77.
(21) Мамедова Г., op. cit., p. 77.
(23) Эфендиев О., op. cit., p. 87.
(24) Qаrаbаgnаm l r (книга составлена и подготовлена к печати Н. Ахун-
довым), II kitab. Baki, 1991, s. 5–92.
(25) The Armenian translation see... 2000, 39-44: About the Meliqdoms of Artsakh see
also Магалян А., Арцахские меликства и возникновение Карабахского
ханства, «Русский сборник», том VIII, Москва, 2010, с. 9.
(27) Бакиханов А., Гюлистан-Ирам, Баку, 1926, с. 8.
(28) Ibid., p. 128.
(30) Its Russian form is “Karabakh”.
(31) The word vilayet originated from Arabic wilāya(t) 'government,
administrative district' (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/
english/vilayet).
(32) Five Principalities.
(33) Мирза Джамал Джеваншир Карабагский, История Карабага, Баку,
1959, с. 65. In the Russian translation: «армянские магалы Хамсе» (p. 65),
in the Azerbaijani translation: «ерм ни Х мс маhаллары» (с. 13).
(34) Мирза Адигезаль-бек, Карабаг-наме, Баку, 1950, с. 48.
(35) История Азербайджана, т. I, Баку, изд. АН Азерб. ССР, 1958, с. 319.
(36) Ахмед-бек Джаваншир, О политическом существовании Карабахско-
го ханства (с 1747 по 1805 год), Баку, 1961, с. 70. In the Russian version:
«армянских Хамсемеликов» (p. 70), in the Azerbaijani translation: «ерм
ни х мс м ликл ринд н» (с. 19).