Karabakh Council

Government of the Republic of Artsakh
other Armenian national councils

The Karabakh Council was the unrecognised government over Mountainous Karabakh (Nagorno Karabakh) in eastern Armenia between 1918 and 1920. The council's body was elected by the assembly of Mountainous Karabakh—the representative body of the people of Nagorno Karabakh—on 27 July 1918. Initially it was called the People's Government of Karabakh, but in September 1918 it was renamed into the Karabakh Council. The Karabakh Council's control throughout 1918–1920 did not exceed the ethnic Armenian locales of Karabakh which were subordinate to them. The council's statehood related to the historical Artsakh province and the modern day self proclaimed Republic of Artsakh founded in 1991. Its capital was the city of Shushi (Shusha).

From 1918 until the Soviet takeover of the region in 1920, the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic both sought control over Nagorno Karabakh. Some authors claim that Nagorno Karabakh was not a part of Azerbaijan in 1918–1920 and that it was an independent entity affiliated the Republic of Armenia, however, Azerbaijani historians reject this idea and affirm the region was consistently a part of Azerbaijan. Following Armenia's signing of the Treaty of Batum and capitulation to the Ottoman Empire, Mountainous Karabakh was declared an independent political state by the convocation of the First Assembly of Armenians of Karabakh on 22 July 1918. By September 1918, Azerbaijani–Ottoman forces captured the city of Shushi, however, were unable to penetrate the countryside due to the efforts of local Armenians. Following the Armistice of Mudros on 30 October 1918, Ottoman forces were obligated to withdraw from the South Caucasus, including Shushi, after which their garrison was supplemented by the British. On 15 January 1919, the British governor of Baku, General Thomson appointed Khosrov bey Sultanov the "Governor General of Karabakh and Zangezur" within Azerbaijan, despite neither region being completely under Azerbaijani control. On 5 June 1919, due to the refusal of the Karabakh assembly to submit to Azerbaijani authority as prescribed by British command, 2,000 mounted Kurdish irregulars led by the Sultan bey Sultanov—the brother of Khosrov—looted several Armenian villages in the outskirts of Shushi including Khaibalikend, Krkejan, Pahliul, and Jamillu, as well as several remote hamlets resulting in the deaths of some 600 Armenians. As a result of the bloodshed, the Karabakh Council was compelled to sign a provisional accord with the Azerbaijani government on 22 August 1919, submitted to their rule pending their final status decided in the Paris Peace Conference. The signing ceremony was attended by members of the Karabakh Council, Bishop Vahan, Khosrov bey Sultanov, and other notable Armenian and Muslim officials. The agreement provided for Armenian cultural autonomy, the formation of a six member council of three Armenians and three Muslims, the continued existence for the 4 uezds which make up the Karabakh region, the limitation of Azerbaijani garrisons to the cities of Shushi and Khankend (Stepanakert). To support its forces in Shushi, the Azerbaijani army penetrated the Askeran pass, capturing the town of Askeran, and secured the road into Mountainous Karabakh. Azerbaijani forces were also successful in recapturing Armenian villages in the northern sector of the region known as Gyulistan or Shahumyan. Shortly after the Sovietization of Azerbaijan, the 11th Army of Soviet Russia entered Mountainous Karabakh, routing the forces of Armenia, thus permanently ending the existence of the Karabakh Council. According to Armenian American historian Richard G. Hovannisian, if the Republic of Armenia had incorporated Mountainous Karabakh they could recruit some 10,000 local Armenians for their army which desperately lacked manpower in its objective of expanding westward into Armenia's awarded territories.