Armenian–Azerbaijani war (1918–1920)

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Armenian–Azerbaijani war
Part of the Caucasus campaign of World War I, the southern front of the Russian Civil War and the Turkish–Armenian War
Date 30 March 1918 – 28 November 1920 (2 years, 7 months, 4 weeks and 1 day) Location The South Caucasus Result Inconclusive; Soviet invasion of Armenia and Azerbaijan and subsequent victory Sovietization of Armenia and Azerbaijan Territorial changes Disputes over Karabakh and Nakhchivan settled in favor of Soviet Azerbaijan Most of Zangezur gained by Soviet Armenia
Belligerents
Armenia Armenian militias	Azerbaijan Ottoman Empire Republic of Aras (1918–1919)	Russian SFSR Azerbaijani communists Armenian communists Turkish revolutionaries
Commanders and leaders
Andranik Ozanian Drastamat Kanayan Hamazasp Srvandztyan	Samedbey Mehmandarov Khosrov bey Sultanov Cevat Pasha Jafargulu Khan Nakhchivanski	Anatoliy Gekker Boris Kamkov Ivan Tyulenev Muzaffer Kılıç
Strength
60,000 (6,000 mobilized guards)	36,000 50,000 10,000	70,000 13,000

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History of Armenia
Prehistory Shulaveri–Shomu culture Kura–Araxes culture Legend of Hayk Trialeti–Vanadzor culture Armani Lchashen–Metsamor culture Hayasa-Azzi Arme–Shupria Mushki Urumu Nairi Confederation Urartu (Kingdom of Van) Etiuni
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History of Azerbaijan
Prehistory Stone Age  • Bronze Age  • Iron Age Shulaveri–Shomu culture c.6000–c.4000 BC Chalcolithic culture of Nakhchivan c.4945–c.3800 BC Leyla-Tepe culture c.4350–c.4000 BC Kura–Araxes culture c.3400–c.2000 BC Nakhchivan culture c.3000–c.2000 BC Talish–Mughan culture c.1400–c.700 BC Khojaly–Gadabay culture c.1300–c.700 BC
Antiquity Kingdom of Iškuza c.700 BC–c.590s BC Achaemenid Empire 550 BC–330 BC       • Satrapy of Media c.550 BC – 323 BC Seleucid Empire 312 BC – 63 BC Parthian Empire 247 BC – AD 224 Caucasian Albania c.200 BC – c.AD 800 Roman Empire 27 BC – AD 395
Early Middle Ages Sasanian Empire 224–651       • Satrapy of Albania c.252–636 Khazar Khaganate c.650–969 Rashidun Caliphate 632–661       • Islamic conquest 633–654       • Arran c.650–705 Umayyad Caliphate 661–750       • Arran c.650–705       • Emirate of Arminiya 705–884 Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258       • Emirate of Arminiya 705–884 Shirvanshahs 861–1538 Sajids 889–929 Shaddadids 951–1199 Sallarid dynasty 919–1062
High Middle Ages Seljuk Empire 1037–1194 Khwarazmian Empire 1077–1231 Eldiguzids 1135–1225 Mongol Empire 1206–1368 Ilkhanate 1256–1335 Chobanids 1335–1357 Timurid Empire 1370–1507 Qara Qoyunlu 1374–1468 Aq Qoyunlu 1378–1503
Early modern history Safavid Iran 1501–1736       • Safavid Shirvan 1501–1736       • Safavid Karabakh 1501–1747       • Chokhur-e Sa'd 1502–1736 Ottoman Empire 1299–1922       • Shirvan Eyalet [az] 1578–1607       • Ganja-Qarabagh Eyalet (I) [az] 1588–1606       • Revan Eyalet (I) [az] 1583–1604           • Nakhchivan Sanjak (I) [az] 1583–1604       • Ganja-Qarabagh Eyalet (II) [az] 1725–1735       • Revan Eyalet (II) [az] 1724–1736           • Nakhchivan Sanjak (II) [az] 1724–1736       • Tiflis Eyalet (II) [az] 1723–1735           • Kazak Sanjak (II) [az] 1723–1735 Afsharid Iran 1736–1796       • Division of Afsharid Empire 1747 Khanates of the Caucasus 1604–1844       • Elisu Sultanate 1604–1844       • Kazakh sultanate 1605–1801       • Djaro-Belokani c.1600s–c.1800s       • Shaki Khanate 1743–1819       • Ganja Khanate 1747–1805       • Talysh Khanate 1747–1828       • Nakhichevan Khanate 1747–1828       • Qutqashen Sultanate 1747–1841       • Baku Khanate 1747–1806       • Shamshadil sultanate 1747–1801       • Quba Khanate 1747–1806       • Karabakh Khanate 1748–1822           • Treaty of Kurakchay 1805       • Shirvan Khanate 1748–1820 Zand dynasty 1751–1794 Qajar Iran 1789–1925       • Fourth Russo-Persian War 1804–1813           • Treaty of Gulistan 1813       • Fifth Russo-Persian War 1826–1828           • Treaty of Turkmenchay 1828 Russian Empire 1721–1917       • Second Russo-Persian War 1722–1723       • Caucasus Viceroyalty 1801–1917           • Baku Governorate 1846–1920           • Erivan Governorate 1849–1917           • Zakatal okrug 1859–1918           • Elizavetpol Governorate 1867–1920       • Special Transcaucasian Committee 1917
Modern history Transcaucasian Commissariat 1917–1918       • March Days 1918 Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic 1918 Baku Commune 1918 Centrocaspian Dictatorship 1918 Republic of Aras 1918–1919 Mughan Soviet Republic 1919 Azerbaijan Democratic Republic 1918 - 1920       • Armenian–Azerbaijani War 1918–1920           • Battle of Baku 1918       • Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan 1920 Azerbaijan Socialist Soviet Republic 1920–1922       • Treaty of Kars 1921 Soviet Union 1922–1991       • Transcaucasian SFSR 1922–1936           • Azerbaijan SSR 1922–1936       • Azerbaijan SSR 1936–1991           • World War II 1941–1945           • Black January 1990       • Republic of Azerbaijan 1991
Contemporary history Republic of Azerbaijan 1991–present       • I Nagorno-Karabakh War 1988–1994           • Bishkek Protocol 1994       • II Nagorno-Karabakh War 2020           • Ceasefire Agreement 2020
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Historical regions Sakasene Utik Arran Cambysene Gardman Shirvan Maskut Mughan Balasagan Caspiane Paytakaran
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The Armenian-Azerbaijani war (1918–1920)^[a] was a conflict that took place in the South Caucasus in regions with a mixed Armenian-Azerbaijani population, broadly encompassing what are now modern-day Azerbaijan and Armenia. It began during the final months of World War I and ended with the establishment of Soviet rule.

The conflict took place against the backdrop of the Russian Civil War and the partition of the Ottoman Empire. Mutual territorial claims, made by the newly formed Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Republic of Armenia, led to their respective support for Azerbaijani and Armenian militias in the disputed territories. Armenia fought against Azerbaijani militias in the Erivan Governorate of the former Russian Empire, while Azerbaijan fought Armenian claims to the Karabakh region. The war was characterized by outbreaks of massacres and ethnic cleansing (such as the March Days, the September Days, the Shusha massacre, and more broadly, the Massacres of Azerbaijanis in Armenia), which changed the demographics of the region.

Hostilities broadly came to an end when the Soviet's 11th Army invaded and occupied both Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The ethnic conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis has deep historical roots, with mutual territorial claims emerging against the backdrop of religious and cultural differences between the two peoples.^[1]

The origins of the conflict date back to the 11th century when the Seljuks^[b] conquered the southern and eastern Caucasus, occupying fertile valleys and plains, while the Christian population was pushed into mountainous regions. As a result of multiple waves of invasions, the ethnographic map of the region became highly complex: in the mountainous areas, numerous Muslim settlements coexisted with Christian ones, while Christian settlements remained in the valley of the Aras River. A significant demographic shift occurred following the deportation of a substantial portion of the Armenian population to the central territority of the Safavid Empire in the early 17th century. The Turkic military-feudal aristocracy gained control over vast territories, where Armenian populations also remained. At the same time, economic factors contributed to tensions between settled and semi-nomadic or nomadic lifestyles. During the summer months, Muslim pastoralists moved their herds from the lowlands to mountain pastures, leading to conflicts with the local Armenian population.^[2][3]

However, the national, religious, social, and economic differences between Muslims and Armenians only took on antagonistic forms by the late 19th century. In the 18th and especially the 19th centuries, thousands of Armenians freed themselves from the dominance of the Azerbaijani aristocracy, leading to the emergence of an Armenian bourgeoisie that successfully competed with the old (Azerbaijani) elite, thereby threatening the pre-existing socio-economic order. Armenian magnates even established themselves in Baku, where, due to massive population influxes driven by the oil boom, Azerbaijanis became an ethnic minority.^[2][3]

One of the factors contributing to the hostile attitude towards Armenians in Russian Transcaucasia in the late 19th century was the underrepresentation of the Muslim population in local administrative bodies. Specifically, according to the 1870 reform, non-Christians were allocated no more than one-third of seats in municipal councils (reduced to no more than 20% in 1892). Although these measures were initially aimed at Jews, in Transcaucasia, they primarily affected Muslims.^[4] For example, in Baku, where Muslims were the predominant property owners, they constituted about 80% of the electorate.^[5]

Following the incorporation of Transcaucasia into the Russian Empire, the central government sought to establish cultural homogeneity in the region. Measures were taken to weaken the influence of the Muslim aristocracy by appointing primarily Christians—mostly Armenians—to administrative positions. However, from the 1880s onward, the imperial government reversed its policy and sought to undermine Armenian dominance in Transcaucasian cities by implementing an anti-Armenian policy reminiscent of antisemitism, encouraging Muslim claims to urban control in the Baku and Elizavetpol governorates, and in some cases even participating in anti-Armenian pogroms on the side of the Muslims.^[4][6]

This antagonism escalated into mutual ethnic massacres during the revolutionary events of 1905. The state administration did not intervene in the interethnic conflict and, in some cases, even fueled it to divert Transcaucasia from the revolutionary upheavals in Russia.^[3]

The Armenian-Tatar massacres of 1905–1906 had severe material and humanitarian consequences. However, this armed ethnic confrontation also contributed to the consolidation and strengthening of national consciousness among both ethnic communities involved. Armenian nationalist leaders considered these events a form of moral victory: the myth of Muslim invincibility was shattered in the minds of Armenians who had taken up arms for their defense. At the same time, increasing distrust towards Armenians, who traditionally dominated middle-class professions, stimulated the development of an Azerbaijani national bourgeoisie. This, in turn, led to the formation of a more progressive education system, the emergence of several Azerbaijani Turkic-language newspapers, and the establishment of cultural and charitable organizations.^[7][c]

As noted by American historian Richard Hovannisian, in 1918, hostilities flared up again against the backdrop of strong pro-Russian orientations among Armenians and pro-Turkish tendencies among Azerbaijanis, who sought to restore Muslim hegemony in the region.^[9]

The fall of the Provisional Government in Petrograd as a result of the October Revolution triggered intense political struggles in Transcaucasia. Local Mensheviks argued that a socialist revolution was impossible in an agrarian country and that capitalist development had to be completed before transitioning to socialism. The Bolsheviks, on the other hand, sought to extend revolutionary transformations throughout the Russian Empire. During this period, national parties became increasingly active in Transcaucasia, including the Azerbaijani "Musavat" and the Armenian "Dashnaktsutyun."^[10]

In the struggle for power, a Transcaucasian government (Commissariat) was formed in Tiflis, comprising representatives from Georgian Mensheviks, Azerbaijani Musavatists, Armenian Dashnaks, and two Russian commissars.^[11] National organizations such as the Armenian and Georgian National Councils and the Central Transcaucasian Muslim Committee (National Committee) held significant influence, with their representatives participating in the Transcaucasian Commissariat and determining its policies.^[12] The commander-in-chief of the Caucasian front, General M. A. Przhevalsky, recognized the Transcaucasian Commissariat and urged military forces to comply with it.^[13]

The Transcaucasian Commissariat extended its authority over the entire region except for Baku, where Soviet power had been established peacefully in November 1917. Here, political struggles among Bolsheviks, Musavatists, Dashnaks, Socialist Revolutionaries, and Mensheviks prevented the formation of a unified governing body for several months.^[14]

By early 1918, two centers of political power had emerged in Transcaucasia, each rallying friendly or allied forces around them. The Baku industrial region, a stronghold of Soviet power in the region, was opposed by the traditional political center, Tiflis, where the Transcaucasian Commissariat was based.^[15] Meanwhile, large parts of the Baku and Elizavetpol governorates were in a state of lawlessness and anarchy.^[16] In Elizavetpol, power was effectively in the hands of the Muslim National Committee, while Nagorno-Karabakh was administered by an Armenian-Azerbaijani council. In Sharur-Nakhchivan, both Azerbaijani and Armenian committees were active in governance.^[17]

Realizing that the troops under its command had disintegrated and completely lost their combat effectiveness, the command of the Caucasus Army decided to immediately begin forming national units on a voluntary basis to salvage the situation at the front.^[18] On December 5 (18), 1917, an armistice was signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Caucasus Front, ceasing military operations. The next day, the Transcaucasian Commissariat decided to "demobilize the army if possible," create national military units, and establish a "special body to lead the struggle against the Bolsheviks." Parallel to the withdrawal of several Russian units from the front, the process of forming national armies, including the Georgian Army Corps and the Armenian Volunteer Corps, began. In December, at the suggestion of the Caucasus Front headquarters, the Muslimization of certain units, primarily the 219th Infantry Reserve Regiment in Yelizavetpol (Ganja), commenced. On December 18 (31), the Transcaucasian Commissariat announced the formation of a new army, which included the Muslim Corps. By order of General Przhevalsky, commander-in-chief of the Caucasus Front, the official creation of the Transcaucasian Muslim Corps began the next day.^[19]

News of the armistice with the Ottoman Empire led to a mass departure of soldiers from the front. The Transcaucasian Commissariat decided to disarm the units that had abandoned the front,^[19] which provoked an extremely negative reaction among soldiers unwilling to surrender their weapons. Arming the Muslim military unit was entrusted to the Muslim National Committee, which required a substantial amount of arms and ammunition. However, most military depots were located in Tiflis and Sarikamish, and Muslims were excluded from the distribution of weapons and military supplies.^[20] Consequently, Azerbaijani representatives were among the most consistent advocates for the complete disarmament of Russian soldiers returning from the front. This process began in Yelizavetpol in December 1917.^[21] Local influential figures used the First Tatar Regiment, commanded by Georgian officers, to seize the weapons of the 219th Reserve Regiment.^[22][23]] A significant portion of this regiment consisted of Armenians and Russians. These actions led to a loss of control over the situation in Yelizavetpol by the authorities and the local military commander.^[24][21]

In January 1918, local armed groups attacked Russian military personnel returning from the front at stations along the Tiflis-Bilajari railway line, including Dellar, Agstafa, Shamkhor, Akhtakala, and others, as well as in Khachmaz (on the Baku-Derbent railway line), in an attempt to seize their weapons.^[25] The largest and bloodiest clash occurred at Shamkhor station on January 22-25 (old calendar: 9-12), when Azerbaijani armed groups attacked, resulting in the deaths of nearly 2,000 Russian soldiers. During this clash, 2,000 Russians were killed and several thousand wounded. More than 30 cannons, 100 machine guns, and 12,000 rifles were seized. According to V.M. Mukhanov, the Shamkhor events signified the gradual descent of Transcaucasia into anarchy. Alongside these attacks on military trains, large-scale clashes between Azerbaijanis and Armenians erupted almost daily in the Iravan and Yelizavetpol governorates, with Azerbaijani and Armenian villages being set on fire for the first time.^[26][27][28]

The Transcaucasian Seim, the supreme legislative body representing the region's regime, convened on February 10 (23) and was forced to acknowledge the increasing interethnic clashes. However, attempts by commissions composed of representatives from various factions to reconcile the parties failed. According to V.M. Mukhanov, the situation in Transcaucasia was exacerbated by the involvement—both direct and indirect—of the main political parties. While the Musavatists sought to cultivate pro-Ottoman sentiments by exploiting ethnic and religious animosities, "Dashnak leaders did not prevent Armenian units from repressing local Muslims, justifying their actions by claiming that the latter obstructed the movement of military echelons, forcing Armenian units to fight along their path."^[29]

At that time, three armed factions coexisted in Baku: the Musavatists, the Dashnaks, and the Bolshevik Red Guard. Political confrontation intensified ethnic tensions, pushing the city to the brink of new ethnic violence.^[14]

As early as mid-1917, with signs of the revolutionary disintegration of the Russian army emerging, members of the Armenian national committees in Moscow and Petrograd sought to convince A.F. Kerensky of the necessity of maintaining stability on the Caucasus Front. To this end, they requested the transfer of thousands of Armenian military personnel from other fronts to the Caucasus. From the Armenian perspective, this move could be a decisive factor in ensuring that the territories captured in Anatolia remained under Russian control. Permission was granted.^[30] Shortly before the fall of the Provisional Government in October, Kerensky ordered the transfer of 35,000 Armenian soldiers to replace Russian units in the Caucasus. However, only a few thousand of them reached the front.^[31] The majority instead went to Baku, where, under the leadership of the Armenian Council, they contributed to the establishment of Bolshevik rule in 1918.^[30]

Both the Musavatists and the Bolsheviks understood that a military confrontation between them was only a matter of time. In March 1918, the Bolsheviks and Dashnaks in Baku initiated massacres against Azerbaijani Turks. These events, later known as the March Days or March Massacre, resulted in the deaths of over 10,000 Azerbaijanis. Although the Dashnaks initially declared neutrality, they soon joined the massacres against the Musavatists. The anti-Azerbaijani massacres that began in Baku quickly spread to other regions of the Baku Governorate.^[32] As a result of these events, the Musavatists' stronghold in Baku was significantly weakened, leading to the establishment of the Baku Commune by the Bolsheviks in alliance with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries.^[33][34]

In January 1918, the Russian army effectively abandoned the front. During this period, resistance against the Ottoman Third Army was carried out by scattered Armenian units in the region. Following the withdrawal of Russian forces, ethnic clashes between Turks (including Azerbaijanis), Kurds, and Armenians continued along the front. On January 30 (February 12), the Ottoman army declared that it had launched military operations to protect Muslims who had been subjected to massacres by Armenians.^[d] By March 24, Ottoman forces had reached the borders of 1914, thereby establishing control over the entirety of Eastern Anatolia. A significant number of Armenian civilians fled the region along with the retreating Armenian military units.^[35][36]

Under the terms of the additional Russia-Turkey treaty signed in Brest-Litovsk on March 3, Russian troops were required to immediately withdraw from the regions of Ardahan, Kars, and Batumi (the Kars and Batumi oblasts). Russia pledged not to interfere in the reorganization of these territories' political and legal status and to allow their populations to establish a new system in consultation with neighboring states, particularly Turkey. One of the key provisions of the treaty stipulated that all Armenian armed units within the designated area, which was planned to remain under the control of both Turkey and Russia, were to be disarmed by Soviet authorities. The signing of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty effectively nullified the Soviet Council of People's Commissars' decree on "Turkish Armenia," which had recognized the right of Anatolian Armenians to self-determination.^[37]

In accordance with the agreement, Ottoman forces captured Kars and Batumi and restored the borders of 1877. On April 22, under pressure from the Ottoman Empire, the Transcaucasian Sejm declared its independence from Russia.^[38] However, negotiations between the newly formed republic and the Ottoman Empire proved inconclusive, and on May 15, the Ottoman army launched a new offensive. The main target of the operation was the territory of the Erivan Governorate, leading to a new three-week-long war with Armenian forces.^[35] This crisis, along with the Georgians' agreement with Germany and the Azerbaijanis' alliance with the Ottoman Empire, resulted in the dissolution of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic and the subsequent emergence of three new nation-states.^[39]

Even before the collapse of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, Azerbaijani nationalists had undertaken a secret visit to Istanbul. Their objective was to secure the support of the Young Turk government for the declaration of a second Turkish state. The two sides reached an agreement on cooperation, particularly regarding Turkish military assistance in the formation of Azerbaijan's future armed forces, their financing, and local Turkish support for Ottoman military operations.^[40]

On June 4, the Ottoman Empire signed peace treaties in Batumi with each of the Transcaucasian republics. The terms were particularly severe for Armenia, which had been defeated in its war against Turkey. The newly established Republic of Armenia was granted less than half of the former Erivan Governorate, comprising the New Bayazid Uyezd, the eastern part of the Alexandropol Uyezd, and the cities of Erivan and Uchkilisa.^[41] Georgia, in turn, agreed to cede the Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki uyezds to the Ottoman Empire.^[42][43] Under the terms of the Ottoman-Azerbaijan agreement, the Ottoman Empire recognized Azerbaijan as a republic consisting of the Baku and Yelizavetpol Governorates, as well as the Ordubad district of Nakhchivan.^[44][45][42] Additionally, the Ottoman Empire pledged to assist Azerbaijan in establishing its authority over Baku and the mountainous regions of Karabakh.^[42]

In June 1918, the Caucasian Islamic Army, composed of Ottoman and Azerbaijani Turks, was established. Its primary objective was to reclaim Baku, where the Baku Commune, led by Bolsheviks, had taken power following the March massacres. Simultaneously, the predominantly Armenian forces of the Baku Commune launched a military offensive westward, aiming to prevent the Caucasian Islamic Army from linking up with local Azerbaijani military units.^[46] The conflict culminated in the defeat of the Baku Commune's forces and the subsequent establishment of the Central Caspian Dictatorship following a coup in Baku.^[47] Despite the assistance provided by the British Dunsterforce to the defenders of Baku, the Caucasian Islamic Army captured the city in September 1918, exacting revenge for the March massacres.^[48]

During the summer and autumn of 1918, an Armenian-Azerbaijani war was already underway in the ethnically mixed regions of Transcaucasia. Meanwhile, Andranik Ozanyan, refusing to recognize the Ottoman-Armenian agreement, continued fighting Azerbaijani military units in Nakhchivan and Zangezur with his forces. At the same time, with the support of the Caucasian Islamic Army, Azerbaijan sought to establish its authority over the mountainous areas of Karabakh.

During this period, territorial disputes arose between the newly established republics. Azerbaijan laid claim not only to the Baku and Yelizavetpol Governorates but also to Muslim-populated areas of the Erivan Governorate, the Zagatala district, and several districts of the Tiflis Governorate, including Tiflis, Sighnaghi, Borchali, Akhalkalaki, and Akhaltsikhe. Armenians, in turn, asserted claims over the Erivan Governorate, the southern part of the Borchali Uyezd, the Akhalkalaki Uyezd of the Tiflis Governorate, the mountainous regions of the Yelizavetpol Governorate, Zangezur, Karabakh, and Gazakh. Additionally, Georgia and Azerbaijan disputed control over the Zagatala district and parts of the Tiflis Governorate, while Armenia and Georgia contested control over Borchali and Akhalkalaki. Following the Ottoman Empire’s defeat in World War I and the signing of the Armistice of Mudros, which led to the withdrawal of Ottoman forces from Transcaucasia, all three republics laid claim to Kars and Batumi.^[49]

The territorial dispute over the Borchali Uyezd escalated into a war between Georgia and Armenia. While territorial disagreements between Azerbaijan and Georgia did not result in open conflict, they persisted until Soviet rule was established in Transcaucasia.

At the same time, the Armenian population of Karabakh and Zangezur refused to recognize Azerbaijani authority, insisting on joining Armenia. However, the Armenian government was unable to provide significant support to these territories. Conversely, the Muslim-inhabited areas south of Erivan, receiving assistance and arms from the Ottoman Empire and Azerbaijan, refused to acknowledge the authority of the Armenian Republic. The clash of interests ultimately led to violent confrontations in the disputed territories.^[1]

The Yelizavetpol Governorate was established in 1868 and was situated to the east of the mountainous regions of the Erivan Governorate, neighboring the Tiflis and Baku governorates. The majority of its population consisted of Azerbaijanis and Armenians.^[e] While Armenians constituted the majority in the mountainous areas, Azerbaijanis were predominant in other parts of the governorate.^[2] Additionally, Azerbaijanis engaged in seasonal migrations, moving from the lowlands to the Armenian-populated highlands during certain times of the year.^[51]

During this period, the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict spread across the mountainous regions of the Yelizavetpol Governorate. These conflict zones can be categorized into three main areas:

• The southwestern mountainous region of the Kazakh Uyezd along Dilijan;
• The mountainous part of Karabakh, including a significant portion of the Shusha Uyezd, as well as the mountainous areas of the Yelizavetpol, Javad, and Jabrayil uyezds;
• The Zangezur Uyezd, which was separated from the mountainous part of Karabakh by Azerbaijani and Kurdish villages.

Following the dissolution of the Transcaucasian Federation, the mountainous part of the Kazakh Uyezd was incorporated into Armenia, while the Armenian-Azerbaijani confrontation in Nagorno-Karabakh and Zangezur persisted for another two years.^[52]

The ethnic boundary in Karabakh largely coincided with the physical-geographical division between the Lowland and Mountainous Karabakh, running along the western edge of the Mil-Karabakh steppe.^[53] At the same time, there were several Armenian villages in the Azerbaijani-populated Lowland Karabakh and Azerbaijani villages in the Armenian-populated mountainous regions of Karabakh.^[53] The largest city in Karabakh, Shusha, had distinct Azerbaijani and Armenian quarters. Due to the seasonal migrations of Azerbaijani nomads during the summer months, the ethnic boundary in the mountainous regions of Karabakh became blurred, forming a wide zone of mixed settlement.^[54]

Zangezur served as a strategic corridor connecting Eastern Transcaucasia, the Erivan Governorate, and Nakhchivan. In 1916, the region was home to 120,000 Muslims and 101,000 Armenians, excluding Azerbaijani pastoralists from the lowland areas of Karabakh, who seasonally migrated to Zangezur’s mountain pastures. Additionally, Azerbaijanis formed the majority in certain peripheral areas, such as the southeastern slopes near Qubadli. The Armenian side proposed administrative-territorial reforms in Transcaucasia. According to this plan, the peripheral areas of Zangezur, where the majority of the population consisted of Azerbaijani nomads, were to be separated from the main part of the uyezd.^[51] Consequently, after the departure of the nomadic population, the demographic composition of the uyezd would consist of 88,000 Armenians, 2,000 other Christians, and 46,000 Muslims.^[55]

Richard Hovannisian states that both Azerbaijanis and Armenians were determined in their territorial claims over these regions.^[56]

The First Republic of Armenia justified its claims over the mountainous areas of Yelizavetpol based on the Armenian majority population in those regions, as well as religious and cultural unity. Armenians argued that these mountainous areas were distinct from the Azerbaijani-inhabited lowlands. In their view, these territories formed Armenia’s natural defense, facilitating the protection of the Aras Valley and the Ararat region. They also contended that the exclusion of Karabakh’s mountainous areas from Armenia would compromise its territorial integrity. From a strategic standpoint, the loss of these highland regions would mean the removal of the last barrier between Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as Armenia’s isolation from Iran. Even after the region came under Azerbaijani control and its demographic composition changed, Armenians maintained that remnants of Armenian statehood persisted in Karabakh. They justified their claims by referring to the historical Armenian melikdoms of Karabakh, which had retained a degree of autonomy under the Safavid Empire.^[57]

On 30 March 1918, the Soviets, based on the unfounded report that the Muslim crew of the ship Evelina was armed and ready to revolt against the Soviets, disarmed the crew, which tried to resist.^[58] This led to three days fighting, resulting in the death of up to 12,000 Azerbaijanis.^[59][60][61]

At the same time the Baku Commune was involved in heavy fighting with the advancing Caucasian Ottoman Army in and around Ganja. The Ottoman Empire's Enver Pasha began to move forward with the newly established Army of Islam. Major battles occurred in Yevlakh and Agdash.^{[citation needed]}

British General Lionel Dunsterville ordered the evacuation of the city on 14 September, after six weeks of occupation, and withdrew to Iran;^[62] most of the Armenian population escaped with British forces. The Ottoman Army of Islam and its Azerbaijani allies, led by Nuri Pasha, entered Baku on 15 September and killed between 10,000 and 20,000 Armenians in retaliation for the March massacre of Muslims.^[63] The capital of the Azerbaijan was finally moved from Ganja to Baku. However, after the Armistice of Mudros between the United Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire on 30 October, Turkish troops were substituted by the Triple Entente. Headed by British Gen. W. Thomson, who had declared himself the military governor of Baku, 1,000 Commonwealth soldiers arrived in Baku on 17 November 1918. By Gen. Thomson's order, martial law was implemented in Baku.^{[citation needed]}

The Armenian government tried several times to seize Shusha militarily. In 1918, the Karabakh Council was declared in the region. However, throughout the summer of 1918 Armenians in the mountainous Karabag region, under the leadership of Andranik Ozanian, resisted the Ottoman 3rd Army.^[64] After the Armistice the Ottoman Empire began to withdraw its forces and Armenian forces under Andranik seized Nagorno-Karabakh.^[65] Armistice of Mudros brought Gen. Andranik the chance to create a base for further expansion eastward and form a strategic corridor extending into Nakhichevan.^[65]

In January 1919 Armenian troops advanced towards Shusha. They captured nine Azerbaijani villages on their way. Just before the Armistice of Mudros was signed, Andranik Ozanian was on the way from Zangezur to Shusha to take control of the main city of Karabakh. In January 1919, with Armenian troops advancing, the British military command asked Andranik back to Zangezur with the assurances that this conflict could be solved with the Paris Peace Conference. Andranik pulled back his units and the British command at Baku gave control to Khosrov bey Sultanov, a native of Karabakh and "ardent pan-Turkist", who was appointed the general-governor of Karabakh and ordered by the British to "squash any unrest in the region".^[66] Sultanov ordered attacks on Armenian villages the next day, increased the sizes of Azerbaijani garrisons in Shusha and Khankendi and drew up plans to destroy several Armenian villages to sever the link between Armenians in Karabakh and the region of Zangezur.^[67][68]

In response to a British border proposal^{[citation needed]} that would have assigned Nakhichevan to Armenia, Azerbaijanis of Nakhichevan revolted under the leadership of local landowner Jafargulu Khan Nakhichevanski in December 1918 and declared the independent Republic of Aras, with its capital in Nakhichevan.^[69] The republic, which was essentially subordinate to Azerbaijan, continued to exist until mid-June 1919, when Armenian troops led by Drastamat Kanayan advanced into it to gain control over the region. They managed to capture the city of Nakhichevan in June 1919 and destroy the Republic of Aras, but afterwards fought combined regular Azerbaijani and Ottoman troops, who reinstated Azerbaijani control over the city in July. On 10 August 1919, a ceasefire was signed.^[70]

An American Commission to Negotiate Peace telegram, speaking on the conflict, stated:

F. Tredwell Smith of the American Persian Relief Commission passed through here yesterday after varied experiences in Erivan and Nakhichevan and Tabriz and Urumia. When about August 25th he crossed the Tartar lines via Nakhichevan to Tabriz for the second time the atmosphere was completely changed, and a Britisher's life was no longer safe because the British had no troops, and Americans were also in danger. The Tartars opened battle on the Armenians in Nakhichevan on July 20th and after a three-day battle drove out the British along with the American relief workers and began a massacre of Armenian men, women and children, estimates of victims varying between 6,000 to 12,000.^[71]

Fighting resumed in March 1920 and continued until the Sovietization of Nakhichevan in 1920 by the 11th Red Army, now including former Azerbaijan Democratic Republic troops.^[70]

Following the controversial withdrawal of British forces from the Transcaucasus in mid-1919 and the subjugation of the Karabakh Council to Azerbaijan in August 1919, Dr. Khosrov bey Sultanov beseeched his government to help him "overcome 'the Armenian bandits' blocking the routes to the summer grazing lands and to convert his titular position as governor-general of Karabagh and Zangezur / Syunik into reality." His call for assistance was also prompted by the antagonizing reports of Muslim villages in Zangezur / Syunik being pillaged by irregular Armenian forces and its inhabitants fleeing into Azerbaijan as refugees. Accordingly, the Azerbaijani army began to plan its invasion of Zangezur with the strategic objective of reaching the rebelling Nakhichevan and Sharur-Daralagez uyezds and incorporating them into Azerbaijan.

On 3 November 1919, the Azerbaijani army, supplemented by auxiliary Kurdish cavalry launched a full-scale attack into the Armenian-controlled section of Zangezur / Syunik, successful in briefly occupying some bordering Armenian villages before being decisively defeated and forced out by the local Armenians, led by partisan commanders Colonel Shahmazian and Garegin Nzhdeh. A notable historian on the topic, Hovannisian, describes the conflict:^[72]

Preliminary skirmishes involving the Kurdo-Tatar partisans of Haji-Samlu were followed by a general Azerbaijani offensive at dawn on November 4. Under cover of a dense fog, the advancing regiments flanked the Armenian forward trenches and captured the first line of defense. By the next afternoon Bayandur, Khnadsakh, Korindzor, and Tegh had fallen, Khoznavar was in flames, and Azerbaijani artillery was bombarding the heights (Kechel-dagh) overlooking Goris. At nightfall Azerbaijani crescent-shaped fires burned on these heights. Elsewhere, Muslim bands from Sharur-Nakhichevan invested Nors-Mazra and other villages near Sisian, and two Turkish-officered platoons cut across the rugged Zangezur mountains from Ordubad into the Muslim stronghold of Okhchichai. Throughout Zangezur the imperiled Muslim population took heart in anticipation of liberation by the Azerbaijani army.

Such hopes were cut short, however, by the counterattack Shahmazian mounted on November 6 after concentrating all available units on the Goris front. Artillerymen ... made direct hits on the Azerbaijani positions on Kechel-dagh, which was recaptured by Armenian companies ... The Kurdish irregulars were the first to break ranks and scatter into the mountains around Minkend, while the Azerbaijani regulars withdrew toward Tegh and the vale of Zabukh. Having gained the initiative, the Armenians charged the Azerbaijani lines, decimating Edigarov's cavalry regiment in cross fire, reportedly inflicting several hundred casualties on the infantry, capturing 100,000 rounds of ammunition and six machine guns near Khoznavar, and putting two cannons and more than twenty machine guns out of commission. By November 9 the Azerbaijani army was retreating in disarray toward Zabukh and the northern mountainous bypaths to Karabagh. Within a week after the invasion began, the Armenians of Zangezur were celebrating an impressive victory.

The largest escalation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict occurred in mid-March 1920 during the botched Karabakh uprising culminating in the massacre and expulsion of Shushi's majority Armenian population.^{[73][74][75][76]} Through 1918–1919, the area of Mountainous Karabakh was under the de facto administration of the local Armenian Karabakh Council, which was supported by the region's overwhelmingly Armenian population. During this period, Azerbaijan several times attempted to assert its authority over the region, backed by the British governor of Baku, Lieutenant General Thomson, who appointed Dr. Khosrov bey Sultanov as governor-general of Karabakh and Zangezur with the intention of annexing the Karabakh Council into Azerbaijan.^[77] In 1919, under threat of extermination (demonstrated by the Khaibalikend Massacre), the Karabakh Council was forced to sign an agreement to provisionally recognize and submit to Azerbaijani jurisdiction until its status was decided at the Paris Peace Conference.^[78]

Ending early 1920, the Paris Peace Conference was inconclusive in the resolution of the Transcaucasian territorial disputes, therefore, the Armenia, by this time in a much stronger position to assert itself, took it upon themselves to emancipate the Armenians of Karabakh from their callous Azerbaijani governor. Subversive preparations began for a staged uprising in the region of the Karabakh Council, timed to coincide with Azerbaijani Novruz celebrations. The uprising due to its poor coordination was unsuccessful in ousting the Azerbaijani garrisons from Shushi and neighboring Khankend, resulting in a pogrom in Shusha, in which Azerbaijani soldiers and residents burned and looted half of the city, murdering, raping and expelling its erstwhile majority Armenian inhabitants.

After the occurrence of the uprising, the forces of Garegin Nzhdeh and Dro Kanayan were ordered by the Armenian government to assist the Karabakh rebels, at the same time, Azerbaijan moved most of its army westward to crush the Armenian resistance and cut off any reinforcements, despite the threat of the approaching 11th Red Army of Bolshevik Russia from the north.^[79] By Azerbaijan's Sovietization barely a month after the uprising began, Azerbaijani forces were able to maintain control over the central cities of Karabakh, Shusha and Khankend, whilst its immediate surroundings were in the control of local partisans supplemented by Armenian army reinforcements.^[80] Since Dro had been explicitly ordered by the Armenian Government not to engage the Red Army, he was unable to execute the attack to capture Shusha, whose Azerbaijani defenders had been supplanted by the Red Army. The situation persisted until the overwhelming Bolshevik army drove out the Armenian army detachments from the region, after which the fears of the Armenians of Karabakh were alleviated by virtue of returning to the stability of Russian control.^[81]

On 5 April 1920, skirmishes began along the Armenian–Azerbaijani border as the governor and commander of Kazakh (Qazax) increased security forces in the region, expecting that the Armenian army would create a diversion to relieve pressure on Karabakh. Azerbaijani forces occupied the heights above the villages of Tatlu (Tatlı) and Paravakar, prompting Armenian residents to dislodge the Azerbaijanis and sparking the 2-week border battles that saw Azerbaijan capture Kalacha (Berdavan) and Kotkend (Koti) while attacking Tasalu, Dvegh (Dovegh), Koshkotan (Voskevan), and Barana (Noyemberyan) on 7 April. While a cease-fire was negotiated on 9 April, the Azerbaijani army subsequently invaded Tatlu and Lalakend, burning the Armenian villages of Badakend (Ələsgərli) and Chardakhlu (Çardaqlı) on the Azerbaijani side of the border. Azerbaijani Prime Minister Fatali Khan Khoyski accused Armenia of violating the truce by attacking the Azerbaijani settlements of Upper Askipara and Lower Askipara, Salakhli, and 6 other Azerbaijani settlements on April 12. Tensions along the border were ultimately relieved on 18 April when officials from Dilijan and Kazakh agreed on an 11-point ceasefire agreement that included the repatriation of all displaced residents and the restoration of the former boundary.^[82]

In early April 1920, Republic of Azerbaijan was in a very troubled condition. In the west the Armenians still controlled large parts of territory claimed by Azerbaijan; in the east, local Azerbaijani communists were rebelling against the government; and to the north the Russian Red Army was steadily moving southward, having defeated Denikin's White Russian forces.^{[citation needed]}

On 27 April 1920, the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic received notice that the Soviet Army was about to cross the northern border and invade Azerbaijan. Faced with such a difficult situation, the government officially surrendered to the Soviets, but many generals and local Azerbaijani militias kept resisting the advance of Soviet forces and it took a while for the Soviets to stabilize the newly proclaimed Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, headed by leading Azerbaijani Bolshevik Nariman Narimanov.^{[citation needed]}

While the Azerbaijani government and army were in chaos, the Armenian army and local Armenian militias used the opportunity to assert their control over parts of Azerbaijani territory, invading Shusha, Khankendi, and other important cities. By the end of April, Armenian forces were controlling most of western Azerbaijan, including all of Karabakh and surrounding areas. Other occupied areas included all of Nakhichevan and much of the Kazakh-Shamshadin district. In the meantime, Armenian communists attempted a coup in Armenia, but ultimately failed.^{[citation needed]}

In 1920–21, the only solution to this dispute could come either by military victory—as basically happened in Anatolia, Zangezur and Nakhichevan—or by the imposition from above of a new structure by an imperial power. After the British failed to impose a settlement, the imperial arbiters turned out to be the Bolsheviks, whose 11th Army conquered Karabakh in May 1920. On 5 July 1921, the Bolsheviks' Caucasian Committee, the Kavbiuro, under the chairmanship of Joseph Stalin decided that the mountainous part of Karabakh would remain under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. In July 1923, the Nagorny (or Mountainous) Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO) was established within Azerbaijan, with borders that gave it an overwhelming Armenian majority of 94% of the total inhabitants.^{[citation needed]}

In late November there was yet another Soviet-backed communist uprising in Armenia. On 28 November, blaming Armenia for the invasions of Şərur on 20 November 1920 and Karabakh the following day, the 11th Red Army under the command of Gen. Anatoliy Gekker, crossed the demarcation line between First Republic of Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan. The second Soviet-Armenian war lasted only a week.^{[citation needed]}

On 4 December 1920, when the Red Army entered Yerevan, the government of the First Republic of Armenia effectively surrendered. On 5 December, the Armenian Revolutionary Committee (Revkom), made up of mostly Armenians from Azerbaijan, also entered the city. Finally, on 6 December, Felix Dzerzhinsky's dreaded secret police, the Cheka, entered Yerevan, thus effectively ending all existence of the First Republic of Armenia.^[83]

The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was then proclaimed, under the leadership of Gevork Atarbekyan. On 18 February 1921, a national revolt against Bolsheviks started. Gen. Garegin Nzhdeh, commander Garo Sasouni and the last Prime Minister of independent Armenia Simon Vratsyan took the lead of the anti-Bolshevik rebellion and forced out the Bolsheviks from Yerevan and other places. By April, the Red Army reconquered most part of Armenia. However, Atarbekyan was dismissed and Aleksandr Miasnikyan, an Armenian high-ranking Red Army commander, replaced him.^{[citation needed]} Garegin Nzhdeh left the Zangezur mountains after the Sovietization of Armenia was finalized in July 1921, leaving Azerbaijani-populated villages cleansed of their population.^[84] Persuaded by Soviet leadership, Zangezur had already been ceded by Azerbaijan to Armenia in November 1920 as a "symbol of friendship".^[85]

The violence in Transcaucasia was finally settled in a friendship treaty between Turkey and the Soviet Union. The peace Treaty of Kars was signed in Kars by representatives of the Russian SFSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Armenian SSR, Georgian SSR and Turkey. Turkey had another agreement, the "Treaty on Friendship and Brotherhood", also called the Treaty of Moscow, signed on 16 March 1921 with Soviet Russia.^{[citation needed]}

By this treaty, Nakhichevan was granted the status of an autonomous region under Azerbaijan's protectorate, on the condition that the rights for protectorate would never be transferred to a third state. Turkey and Russia became guarantors of Nakhichevan's status. Turkey agreed to return Alexandropol to Armenia and Batumi to Georgia.^{[citation needed]}

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Armenian-Azerbaijani War.

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