“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2025
2025
One of the well-known Armenian settlements in Eastern Transcaucasia was the village of Hakobi Shen. Until 1918, this village was purely Armenian and was located about 20 km south of the regional center, Vardashen (Oguz since 1989). It was one of the large and flourishing settlements of the region at least since the Middle Ages.
In the late 19th century, Bishop Makar Barkhutaryants copied the inscription on the tombstone of Catholicos Aristakes of Aghvank, who was enthroned at Chalet monastery. He subsequently published this inscription in his book "The Land of Aghvank and Its Neighbors".
"May the Holy Cross intercede for Catholicos Aristakes."
The villagers successfully resisted the religious persecutions initiated by Haji Chalabi Khan of Shaki in the mid-18th century. Towards the end of that century, new Armenian settlers from Artsakh arrived in the village. Evidence of this is found in the tombstone of Avetis, from the village of Avetaranots in Varanda, which was discovered in the southern part of the village cemetery.
This is the tombstone of Avetis, a late dallaq,
the son of Sarkin, grandson of Gaspar of Avetaranots.
Whoever reads this, let him say:
May God have mercy on master Avetis.
In the year 1806.
At the time of Bishop Makar Barkhutaryants visit, the village had 155 households with a total Armenian population of 485 males and 440 females. In 1886, the village had 1126 inhabitants, and in 1914, 1357 Armenian inhabitants. The village churches, St. Minas and St. Gregory the Illuminator, have not survived. The St. Gregory the Illuminator church in the inner quarter was built at the expense of Harutyun Bek Silikyan, as evidenced by the inscription on his tombstone found in the village cemetery.
This is the tombstone of Harutyun,
from the village of Yagublu,
who constructed the Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator.
He passed away in 1898 at the age of 64.
The presence of two churches in the village proves that in the late 19th century it was a large settlement.
During the visit of the monumentalist Samvel Karapetyan, two cemeteries of the village were preserved: in the center and south of the village. In the village cemetery, he copied the tombstone of Athanas Tomasyan, a village elder of the early 20th century, with the following inscription.
This is the tombstone of Athanas Tomasyan, from Nemetapaki.
He lived for 68 years and ruled the village for 6 years.
The Tatars scattered us in 1905. In Yagublu, at the house of Kasapet Yetarants.
Stone houses of Armenians had also been preserved in the village. Currently, the village is called Yagublu and is inhabited by Azerbaijanis.
Bibliography
Barkhutaryants M., Land of Aghvank and its Neighbors: Artsakh, Yerevan, 1999.
Karapetyan S., The Armenian Lapidary Inscriptions of Aghvank Proper, Yerevan, 1997.