Getashen

Getashen (Chaykend) was one of the Armenian villages of the Elizavetpol district in the Elizavetpol governorate. The inspector of the village school, F. I. Jeyranov, presented the history and ethnic composition of Chaykend in the second section of the 25th issue of the Collection of Materials for the Description of the Localities and Tribes of the Caucasus, published in 1898. The author noted that the name of the village, Chaykend, originates from its location near a river. The name of the village is composed of the words “river” (get) and “village” (kend), which translates to Getashen in Armenian.

F. I. Jeyranov received information about the village from Petros Ter-Akopov, a 90-year-old resident of Getashen. According to Ter-Akopov, during the capture of Ganja by General Tsitsianov of the Russian army, the inhabitants of Chaykend were living in Jraberd (Chra-pert) and were under the authority of the Khan of Shushi. Following the capture, 900 households from Jraberd, led by their governor Melik-Arushanov, relocated to Ganja, where they lived for 3–4 years. Due to extreme heat, 400 of these households resettled in the village of Voskanapat (Voski-Anapat, in short Sknapat). Another 100 families returned to Jraberd.

Those who settled in Voskanapat decided to return to Jraberd after 2–3 years. On their journey back, they encountered the vacant dugout houses of the village of Chaykend. Finding the area appealing, 206 households decided to settle there. During this time, the original inhabitants of Chaykend, along with their leader Melik Sargis Mnatsakanov, had taken refuge in Ganja. Only seven households from the original population eventually returned to Chaykend.

The author noted that, based on the monuments in the area, the village had existed for more than 250 years. During the period of Russian rule, the village gradually expanded due to the arrival of settlers from the Shushi, Javanshir, Jabrayil, and other districts of the Elizavetpol governorate.

According to the 1886 statistics, Chaykend had 437 households with a population of 2,627 Armenians, including 1,371 men and 1,256 women. Among the village leaders, Grigor Yepiskoposov’s name is mentioned.

Among the notable landmarks of Chaykend and its surroundings are the Avag Surb Nshan, also known as the Nahatak (Martyr) Chapel, as well as the monasteries of Duluz, Yeghnasar, Kusakal, Miji, Yeri, and Murtunisa Eghitsi. Of these, only the Yeghnasar and Yeri monasteries remained active; the others were abandoned.

As we can see, the testimonies of this non-Armenian but contemporary eyewitness affirm the indigenous presence of Armenians in the region.

The village of Getashen came under the control of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1991 as a result of the “Operation Ring.”

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