How Armenia looted & erased Azerbaijani heritage
In the early 1990s, Armenia invaded and ethnically cleansed approximately 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory with impunity. Three decades later, during the 44-day-war of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated large swathes of its territory from Armenia’s illegal and U.N.-condemned occupation. Armenia surrendered on November 10, 2020 and agreed to withdraw from three additional occupied districts of Azerbaijan.
Throughout 30 years of violent and barbaric occupation, Armenia decimated approximately 10,000 square kilometers of Azerbaijan’s territory. Entire Azerbaijani cities, towns and hundreds of villages — once home to 800,000 Azerbaijanis, who were all forcibly displaced — were looted and razed to the ground. All semblance of life was deliberately targeted — absolutely nothing was sacred.
Moved by deep-rooted and state-sponsored anti-Azerbaijani hatred and in an effort to remove any traces of Azerbaijani ethnicity and historical presence in the occupied territories, Armenia committed an unprecedented cultural genocide targeting all Azerbaijani cultural and religious heritage. More than 700 historical monuments, 22 museums (with 100,000 exhibits), 927 libraries (with 4.6 million books, including many rare manuscripts), 58 archeological sites, 26 fortresses and other objects of cultural heritage were destroyed, plundered or misappropriated by Armenia. Irreplaceable treasures were ripped and ravaged to literal shreds and dust. Items of Azerbaijani cultural heritage, plundered by Armenian troops from museums in the occupied territories, frequently ended up at auctions such as Sotheby’s. Save but a few rare exceptions, all of the once Azerbaijani-populated cities, towns, villages, and even streets throughout the entire occupied territories, were renamed after the occupation, and Armenianized.
Those areas left intact were “decorated” with stairs made from the demolished gravestones of over 900 destroyed Azerbaijani cemeteries, an inexorable tribute to the Nazi practice of repurposing Jewish gravestones to build roads.
Similarly, Armenia deliberately targeted and destroyed many mosques across the entire region. At least 65 mosques throughout both Qarabagh and East Zangezur were looted, desecrated and broken up. Many of them were turned into pigsties and cowsheds!
Since the liberation of its territories in 2020, Azerbaijan has launched there an unprecedented, multi-billion dollar reconstruction effort, building smart villages, airports, highways, railroads, power stations and other crucial infrastructure, restoring cultural and religious sites, as well as removing landmines, in order to ensure a safe and dignified return of hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced Azerbaijanis to their lands. Azerbaijan has offered Armenia to open all communications, achieve the delimitation and demarcation of the state border and sign a final peace treaty. We firmly believe that we can turn the South Caucasus into a region of peace, prosperity and harmonious coexistence.
Yet, it is also important to dredge through the debris of incomprehensible tragedy left in the wake of Armenia’s 30-year campaign of unbridled hatred, and work through the heavy burden of recording every detail, however vile. We have learned from the uttermost evil events of history, that if we do not remember, we cannot protect our future and prevent such atrocities. Below I have organized a compendium, with photographs and videos, of some of the religious and cultural sites that were subjected to the policy of erasure by Armenia during the three decades of brutal occupation. Most of the photos in this compendium are from the impressive collection of the Karabakh Center of the Karabakh Revival Fund. I am also grateful to the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan for their assistance.
Please note that it is a partial list as the work to identify and document all evidence of destroyed heritage sites continues, which, considering the unprecedented scale of the cultural destruction, will be a long and arduous process. Sadly, the massive contamination of the formerly occupied territories with hundreds of thousands of Armenian landmines makes the documentation process extraordinarily challenging and dangerous.
Some of the Azerbaijani mosques desecrated and destroyed by Armenia in Qarabagh and East Zangezur
Juma Mosque in Aghdam (1870)
Qiyasli Mosque in Aghdam (18th century)
Ashaghi Govhar Agha Mosque in Shusha (1874)
Saatli Mosque in Shusha (1883)
Chol Gala Mosque in Shusha (19th century)
Mardinli Mosque in Shusha (19th century). Destroyed and razed to the ground during the Armenian occupation in two stages.
Mosque in the Village of Dondarli in Qubadli (1860)
Mosque in the Village of Merdinli in Fuzuli (19th century)
Mamar Mosque in Qubadli (18th century)
Zangilan Mosque (17th century)
Guney Mosque in the Village of Horadiz in Fuzuli (early 20th century)
Quzey Mosque in the Village of Horadiz in Fuzuli (1889)
Haji Alakbar Mosque in the City of Fuzuli (1889–1890)
Mosque in the Village of Dadali in Fuzuli (19th century)
Mosque in the Village of Qajar in Fuzuli (19th century)
Mosque in the Village of Qarakhanbayli in Fuzuli (19th century)
Giyas ad-Din Mosque in the Village of Garghabazar in Fuzuli (1684), damaged and used as a barn
Mosque in the Village of Gejagozlu in Fuzuli (19th century)
Mosque in the Village of Gochahmadli in Fuzuli (18th century)
Mosque in the Village of Boyahmadli in Aghdam (19th-early 20th century)
Mosque in the Village of Abdal in Aghdam (18th century)
Mosque in the Village of Gulably in Aghdam (19th century)
Mosque in the Village of Khidirli in Aghdam
First Mosque in the Village of Papravand in Aghdam (18th century)
Second Mosque in the Village of Papravand in Aghdam (18th century)
Mosque in the Village of Shikhbabali in Aghdam
Mosque in the Village of Yusifjanli in Aghdam
Mosque in the Village of Mirlar in Qubadli (18th century)
Mosque in the Village of Chelebiler in Jabrayil (16th century)
Mosque in the Village of Papy in Jabrayil (19th century)
Mosque in the Village of Suleymanli in Jabrayil (19th century)
Mosque in the Village of Dashkasan in Jabrayil
Mosque in the Town of Minjivan in Zangilan
Mosque in the Village of Babayli in Zangilan
Mosque in the Village of Genlik in Zangilan
Mosque in the Village of Gyrag Mushlan in Zangilan (19th century)
Mosque in the Village of Malatkeshin in Zangilan (19th century)
Mosque in the Village of Razdara in Zangilan
Mosque in the Village of Shafibayli in Zangilan
Mosque in the Village of Udgun in Zangilan
Mosque in the Village of Zangilan in Zangilan (19th century)
Mosque in the City of Zangilan (17th century)
Also, an Orthodox Church (est. 1894) in Khojavand was looted and destroyed
Some of the Azerbaijani cultural monuments looted and destroyed by Armenia in Qarabagh and East Zangezur
House and Museum of Uzeyir Hajibeyli (Azerbaijani composer and founder of opera in the Muslim world) in Shusha. Built in the 19th century.
Statue of Uzeyir Hajibeyli in Shusha
House (built in 18th century) of Khurshidbanu Natavan, Azerbaijani poetess and philanthropist, daughter of the last ruler of Karabakh Khanate, in Shusha
Haji Gulular Palace (built in 1849) in Shusha
Birth house and museum of Bulbul, famous Azerbaijani singer, in Shusha. Built in the 19h century.
Shusha Realni School. Built in 1881.
Caravanserai Compound of Safarov Brothers in Shusha. Built in the 18th century.
Mausoleum to Azerbaijani poet and statesman Mollah Panah Vagif (1717–1797) in Shusha
State Drama Theater in Aghdam
Statue of Khurshidbanu Natavan, Azerbaijani poetess and philanthropist, daughter of the last ruler of Karabakh Khanate, in Aghdam. Natavan’s statue was destroyed, her grave was vandalized and bones were removed.
Azerbaijani poet Samad Vurgun’s bust in Jabrayil
Azerbaijani poet Nizami’s bust in Zangilan
927 libraries with 4.6 million books were looted and destroyed
Bread Museum in Aghdam
Tomb of Ibrahim Khalil Khan of Qarabagh in Aghdam. Built in the 19th century.
Tomb of Sari Ashig, the 17th century great master of Azerbaijani literature, and his monument in Lachin
Khan Shushinski Mugham Music School in Aghdam
Farhad’s statue in Aghdam
Mamayi Spring (19th century) in Shusha
Monument to the heroes of the World War II in Fuzuli
Museum of Stone Statues in Zangilan
…Last but not least
Public restroom walls built in Qarabagh by Armenia, of license plates belonging to murdered and forcibly displaced Azerbaijani civilians
