2025

Armenian historical settlements of Vardashen․ Zarap

Until 1918, the village of Zarap was one of the Armenian-populated villages of the Vardashen district (renamed Oghuz in 1989). It is located 12 km south of the district center, Vardashen.

During the visit of Bishop Makar Barkhutaryants in 1888, the village had 140 households with 759 Armenian residents. In 1908, the population of the village was 586, and in 1914, Zarap was entirely Armenian-populated with 610 inhabitants.

The Armenian population of the village was massacred in the summer of 1918 by invading Turkish forces and Musavatists. After 1918, the village was depopulated of Armenians. Later, Azerbaijanis settled in the village.

In the center of Zarap, there was a church named Saint Gevorg, which has not been preserved.

During the visit of monument expert Samvel Karapetyan in the 1980s, the remnants of an old village site, a cemetery, and the ruins of the Saint Hovhannes Church were preserved in the southwestern part of the village. The extensive cemetery located to the south of Zarap was Armenian, containing around 200 inscribed tombstones dating back to the 19th and 20th centuries.

This is the tombstone of the merchant Sargis Harutyunyan Musailyants from Zarap, 60 years old. Whoever meets, say – may the Lord have mercy on him. 1873.

Other inscriptions

This is the tombstone of a resident of the village of Nngi, Karabakh, the jeweler Grigor Seyranyants. Say – may the Lord have mercy on him. 1894.

This is the tombstone of Zarap resident Ter Azaria, son of Sakara, who died in 1901.

Currently, the village is called Zarrab 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.

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