Delving into a former eastern outpost in Armenia throughout antiquity and during the Middle Ages, this history explores the fascinating, mountainous province of Artsakh. The region adopted Christianity very early on, profoundly marking its destiny and shaping the main features of its heritage in the architecture of cross-stone carving, the art of illumination, and the craft of carpet-making. Artsakh remained virtually independent until the mid-18th century, when Tatar Khan succeeded in establishing his sovereignty before being annexed to the Russian Empire at the very beginning of the 19th century. Presenting an intriguing synthesis of this region’s complex past, this narrative also captures the collapse of Tsarist Russia, the Soviet 1921 allocation of Karabagh to the shores of the Caspian Sea, and the Armenian people’s eventual proclamation of independence in 1991. This edition is written in English and French.Dickran Kouymjian is a professor emeritus at California State University – Fresno. Claude Mutafian is a mathematics teacher and a historian.
