Julfa, Azerbaijan (town)
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Examples of khachkars from Julfa which were destroyed. |
Julfa (
Azerbaijani:
Culfa;
Armenian: Ջուղա, translit. Jugha) is a town in
Nakhichevan, an autonomous republic of
Azerbaijan. It was part of the
Nakhichevan khanate, then
Armenian Oblast 1840-1847, then it was made part of the
Erevan Gubernia of the Russian Empire between 1847-1917, Araks Republic and the
Democratic Republic of Armenia between 1918 to 1920. The town was under the control by
Ottoman forces between 1918 and 1919. In 1920 Nakhichevan region became a part of the
Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic and in 1936, part of the
Azerbaijan SSR.
Julfa was a great trade center during the 17th-18th centuries. From 1605-1606 Shah Abbas I, the King of Persia forced the population to emmigrate to into
Persia, to an area near
Isfahan, where the Armenians of Julfa built a new town - New Julfa or New Jugha. Today New Julfa is a quarter in
Isfahan (city),
Iran. Remnants of the Armenian population of the old Julfa rebuilt the city after the atrocities of the Shah Abbas I. During the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over
Nagorno Karabakh, the remainder of the Armenian population which had been slowly emmigrating out during the Soviet era by forcefully deporting them from Nakhchivan, while the Azeri population was forcefully deported from Armenia. According to the Armenian side, it is estimated that there were 10,000 Armenian medieval
Khachkar's (carved stone Crosses), it is estimated that less than 3,000 remained recently due to the actions of the Azerbaijani authorities and that the destruction continued until the khachkars were completely gone[
1]. Azerbaijani government denies the allegations [
2], but IWPR has confirmed that the cemetery has been completely demolished[
3].
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Old Jugha page on Armeniapedia
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Destruction of Jugha khachkars by Azeri soldiers captured in photos and movie clips.
*
Regnum News Agency report. 
