Boarders: NKAO, Artsakh, the Melikdoms and Ketashen

 Note: I quote and thank my non-Armenian friend the following regarding the boarders of Nakorno Karabagh Autonomous Oblast / Artsakh before and after the war.

Artsakh / Nakorno Karabagh Before the War.

‘The bright yellow part is what used to be Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, which was administratively assigned to the Azerbaijani SSR but had an autonomous status.  The red line is the pre-2020 line of contact after the 1990s war.  You can see that a bit of NKAO east of Martuni (in the southeast of NKAO) was lost in that war, as well as a bit of territory northeast of Martakert (in the northeast of NKAO). 

That orangish part north of the line of contact was never part of NKAO, but it was claimed by the Artsakh Republic because it was heavily Armenian (but ethnically cleansed during the 1990s war).  It roughly corresponds to the pre-19th-century territory of the Armenian melik of Gulustan, which for some reason wasn't included in NKAO along with the other four Armenian melikdoms.

You can also see the Lachin corridor near Syunik, which was outside NKAO but was proposed to be given to Artsakh Republic and Armenia as part of a peace deal.  

Here is the situation after the 2020 war.

The parts of NKAO that were lost during the 2020 war are the blue bits to the north of Martakert and the blue part to the south that is inside the white line.  The blue part outside of the white line is the Azerbaijani territory between NKAO and the Araks River that was reconquered during the war.  The green parts are Azerbaijani territory that was given back according to the ceasefire.  The purple is the Russian-monitored Lachin corridor, which was given to Azerbaijan but Armenians are allowed passage to the territory remaining under Artsakh control, in orange.

The key NKAO cities that were lost in 2020 are Hadrut in the southeast and Shushi. I 'm not sure how much of NKAO was lost in 2020, but it looks to be 20-25%.  And it depends on whether you count the bits lost in the 1990s too. 

For years the only road connecting the Republic of Armenia to the Artsakh Republic was the road that went through Goris-Lachin-Shushi-Stepanakert.

A few years ago they opened the road from Vardenis to Martakert, which went by Dadivank Monastery. And I think they were planning a third road in the south.  Maybe that is through Meghri, which I think is the corridor that Azerbaijan and Russia and Turkey all want open?  The one that connects Nakhchivan to Azerbaijan through Syunik.

Historic five Armenian melikdoms.

Here is a map from Wikipedia of the five Armenian melikdoms, whose ability to remain mostly independent under Safavid rule led to them retaining a large Armenian population, which is why NKAO was created in the first place. You can see that Gyulistan was mostly left out of NKAO.

By the way Gyulistan is where the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran signed the famous 1813 treaty that ceded most of the South Caucasus to Russia.  I think it might have been at the former melik's fortress?  Not sure.”

And for a finale, we shall not forget Kedashen and what it symoolizes: