Historian: Yerevan Tapabashi quarter is part of the historical and cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people

Laureate of the State Prize, Doctor of Philosophy in History, Associate Professor Guntekin Najafli

© APA | Laureate of the State Prize, Doctor of Philosophy in History, Associate Professor Guntekin Najafli

# 06 July 2022 21:16 (UTC +04:00)

"The Tapabashi quarter remains the only evidence of the cultural heritage of the Azerbaijanis, reflecting the history of the city of Iravan and the cultural heritage of the Azerbaijanis," Laureate of the State Prize, Doctor of Philosophy in History, Associate Professor Guntekin Najafli told APA.

Najafli noted that the main quarters of the historical city of Yerevan were the Old City (Shakhri), Demirbulag and Tapabashi, until the beginning of the 20th century, Azerbaijanis lived in these quarters. According to her, the Tapabashi quarter is located on a hill between the Zangi River and the Shahari quarter, so it was called the Tapabashi quarter: “The Tapabashi quarter was in the western part of the city. Numerous gardens shared with the Shahri Tapabashi quarter. In general, in the 18th century, in the first half of the 19th century - during the time of the khanates - Iravan was a city immersed in greenery. Also here, in the Tapabashi region, there was the Khan's garden, which belonged to the Iravan Khan Huseingul Khan.

The historian noted that on October 1, 1827, tsarist Russia occupied the Yerevan Khanate: “In March 1828, by decree of Nicholas I (1825-1855), an “Armenian region” was artificially created on the territory of the former Yerevan, Nakhichevan khanates and Ordubad district. Ivan Chopin, who at that time was a relative of the composer Chopin, is sent by Tsarist Russia to the newly formed province to conduct a cameral census. He is provided with a phaeton, in a word, with all the necessary means.

The main source for determining the size and ethnicity of the population of the Yerevan Khanate in the late 18th-early 19th centuries is the cameral census compiled by Chopin in 1829-1832. I. Chopin, who was in military service in the Caucasus for a long time, on behalf of the military judge of the Caucasus I.F Paskevich, compiled a census of the region and published it in 1852 under the title “Historical monument on the state of the Armenian region during the period of its annexation to the Russian Empire” [Chopin I .Historical monument about the state of the Armenian region in the era of accession to the Russian Empire. SPb., "In the printing house of the Imperial Academy of Sciences", 1852. - 1231c].

Ivan Chopin began to travel home to the city of Yerevan, and conducted a census of the population living here. Therefore, in the large-scale work of Ivan Chopin, the number and ethnic composition of the population of all quarters of the city were reflected. At that time, already tsarist Russia began to resettle Armenians from neighboring states - Iran and the Ottoman Empire to these territories. For this reason, the book reflects who lives in these quarters, including migrants. Quarters and monuments are described in the cameral census.

Guntekin Najafli noted that the most famous mosque of Iravan, Huseynali Khan (or the Blue Mosque), is located in the Tapabashi region: “Huseynali Khan is the Khan of Iravan, who was poisoned by Heraclius in 1783. The Haji Imamverdi Mosque was also located in Tapabashi. At present, the fate of this mosque is unknown, but information about it is given in Chopin's book. In Tapabashi caravanserais, baths, shops were located, it is also rich in architectural monuments. The houses of the influential people of Iravan were also located in Tapabashi, so there were many gardens in Tapabashi. In all this, Tapabashi differs from other quarters of Iravan. Of the 1,736 houses registered by Chopin, 792 were in the Old City (Shakhri), 622 were in Tapabashi, and 322 were in the Demirbulag quarter. It is interesting that at that time in the Tapabashi part of the city the house of sheikhulislam akhund, mullahs of Mohammed akhund, mollahs of Mohammedhuseyn ogly (60 years old) were registered.


Guntekin Najafli stressed that all the sources of that period, including the Armenian ones, reflect the fact that Armenians did not live in the historical part of the city of Yerevan. There were only a few shops of Armenian merchants in the city. Historical sources note that these Armenians opened their shops during the day and made purchases and sales, and in the evenings they closed their shops and went home out of town: the place is part of the historical and cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people. Ivan Chopin's book also proves that the population here was Azerbaijanis. At that time they were not called Azerbaijanis, but the Muslim population or Tatars. The census in the book of Ivan Chopin shows the number of Muslims, Christians living in the former period, recently resettled Armenians. Including other sources of that time, it is reflected that caravanserais, baths and shops in Tapabashi belonged to Muslim Turks, Tatars. Cameral descriptions of Ivan Chopin are very accurate in this respect. These monuments can be restored and restored on the basis of existing historical documents. All these monuments were connected with Azerbaijanis.”

The historian said that together with more than 100 well-known figures of science and society, they appealed to UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay in connection with the cultural genocide in the Tapabashi region of Iravan.

“UNESCO seeks to promote the identification, preservation and protection of cultural and natural heritage, which is of exceptional value to humanity throughout the world. World heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, regardless of the territory in which they are located. We ask UNESCO to assist in preventing the destruction of the system of mahallas historically belonging to Azerbaijanis and the monuments located in these mahallas in the Tapabashi part of the city of Yerevan, as well as in their special protection.

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THE OPERATION IS BEING PERFORMED