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{{About||the Brazilian entertainer|Xuxa|the Persian folk singer|Shusha Guppy}}
{{Redirect|Shushi}}
{{Infobox settlement
|settlement_type    = Town
|official_name      = Shusha (Şuşa)<br/>Shushi (Շուշի)
|nickname           =
|motto              =
|image_skyline      = Shushi collection.jpg
|imagesize          = 300px
|image_caption      = Shusha landmarks, from top left:<div style="background:#fee8ab;">
<br/>[[Ghazanchetsots Cathedral]]&nbsp;• [[Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque]]<br/>[[Shusha fortress]]&nbsp;• National Gallery<br/>History Museum&nbsp;• Central park<br/>Shusha skyline&nbsp;• [[Natavan]] house</small>
|image_shield       = Shusha coa.jpg
|image_blank_emblem =
|blank_emblem_type  =
|blank_emblem_size  =
|pushpin_map        = Azerbaijan
|pushpin_mapsize    = 270
| map_type          = Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
| map_size          = 270
|map_caption        = Location of Shusha within [[Azerbaijan]] and the [[Nagorno-Karabakh Republic]]
|coordinates_region = {{xb|ABK}}
|subdivision_type   = Country
|subdivision_name   = Azerbaijan ([[de jure]])<br>Nagorno-Karabakh Republic<sup>1</sup> ([[de facto]])
|subdivision_type1  = [[Raion]]
|subdivision_name1  = [[Shusha (rayon)|Shusha Raion]]<sup>2</sup>
|subdivision_type2  = [[Province]]
|subdivision_name2  = [[Shushi (province)|Shushi Province]]<sup>3</sup>
|leader_title       = [[Mayor]]; Head of Shusha
|leader_name        = Karen Avagimyan;<br>[[Bayram Safarov]]<sup>4</sup>
|established_title  =
|established_date   =
|established_title2 =
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|area_land_km2      = 5.5
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|population_as_of   = 2010
|population_note    =
|population_footnotes = <ref>[http://census.stat-nkr.am/nkr/1-1.pdf Results of 2005 census of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic]</ref>
|population_total   =  4,100
|population_density_km2 = auto
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|latd=39 |latm=45.5 |latNS=N
|longd=46 |longm=44.9 |longEW=E
|elevation_m= |elevation_ft=
|elevation_max_m=1800 |elevation_max_ft=
|elevation_min_m=1400 |elevation_min_ft=
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|website            =
|footnotes = <sup>1</sup>[[List of states with limited recognition|Unrecognized country]]<br><sup>2</sup>According to Azerbaijan administrative division<br><sup>3</sup>According to NKR administrative division<br><sup>4</sup>Azeri administration functions [[government in exile|in exile]]<ref>[http://www.azembvienna.at/en/structure.htm] Embassy of Azerbaijan in Austria</ref>
}}
'''Shusha''' ({{lang-az|Şuşa}}), or '''Shushi''' ({{lang-hy|Շուշի}}), is a city in the [[Nagorno-Karabakh#International status|disputed]] region of [[Nagorno-Karabakh]] in the [[South Caucasus]]. It has been under the control of the self-proclaimed [[Nagorno-Karabakh Republic]] since [[Capture of Shusha|its capture]] in 1992 during the [[Nagorno-Karabakh War]]. However, it is a ''[[de jure]]'' part of the [[Republic of Azerbaijan]], with the status of an [[Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan|administrative division]] of the surrounding [[Shusha (rayon)|Shusha Rayon]]. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900&nbsp;ft) in the picturesque Karabakh mountains, Shusha was a popular mountain recreation resort in the [[Soviet Union|Soviet era]].

Historical manuscripts from the 15th century reveal a settlement named Shushi served as a town and an ancient fortress in the [[Armenia]]n principality of Varanda during the Middle Ages and through the 18th century, and had traditionally belonged to the Melik-Shahnazarian princely dynasty.<ref name="Bournoutian, George A 2001, page 133">Bournoutian, George A. ''Armenians and Russia, 1626–1796: A Documentary Record''. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2001, page 133, (Kekhva Chelebi's Report to the Collegium of [Russian] Foreign Affairs (17 December 1725)</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Цагарели А. А. Грамота и гругие исторические документы XVIII столетия, относяшиеся к Грузии, Том 1. СПб 1891, ц. 434–435. This book is available online from Google Books.</ref><ref name="iarex.ru">Армяно-русские отношения в XVIII веке. Т. IV. С. 212, as cited in О. Р. Айрапетов, Мирослав Йованович, М. А. Колеров, Брюс Меннинг, Пол Чейсти. Русский Сборник Исследования По Истории России. p. 13. Citation: «Совет мелика Адама, мелика Овсепа и мелика Есаи был един, но среди них раскольничал мелик Шахназар, который был мужем хитрым, маловерным и негодным к добрым делам, коварным и предающим братьев. В Карабах приходит некое племя Джваншир, словно бездомные скитальцы на земле, чинящее разбой и кочующее в шатрах, главарю которых имя было Панах-хан. Коварный во злых делах мелик Шахназар призвал его себе в помощь, по собственной воле подчинился ему и передал свою крепость». [http://www.iarex.ru/books/book30.pdf]</ref><ref name="Krunk Hayots Ashkharhi 1863. p. 14">Կռունկ Հայոց աշխարհին. 1863. № 8, էջ 622 (Krunk Hayots Ashkharhi. 1863. № 8. С. 622), as cited in О. Р. Айрапетов, Мирослав Йованович, М. А. Колеров, Брюс Меннинг, Пол Чейсти. Русский Сборник Исследования По Истории России. p. 14. Citation: «Шахназар, мелик Варанды, страшась союза между Меликом Чараберда Адамом и Меликом Гюлистана Овсепом, сам подружился с Панах-ханом, отдал ему свое поселение Шушинскую крепость, а также свою дочь в жены». [http://www.iarex.ru/books/book30.pdf]</ref> Armenian forces under [[Avan Yuzbashi]] defended Shushi from Ottoman forces in the 1720s and 1730s,<ref name="Bournoutian, George A 2001, pages 402-413"/> and Russian sources document it being conquered through deceit decades later.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> According to Islamic and Soviet sources, the town of Shusha was founded in 1752 by [[Panah Ali Khan]].<ref name="Islam, Volume 4 1954, p. 573">''The Encyclopaedia of Islam'', Volume 4, Parts 69–78, Brill, 1954, p. 573.</ref><ref name="Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary 1890–1907">{{cite book|last=Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary|title=Shusha|year=1890–1907|location=St Petersburg|url=https://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/%D0%AD%D0%A1%D0%91%D0%95/%D0%A8%D1%83%D1%88%D0%B0}}</ref><ref name="Great Soviet Encyclopedia 1969–1978">{{cite book|last=Great Soviet Encyclopedia|title=Shusha|year=1969–1978|location=Moscow|url=http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/bse/152508/%D0%A8%D1%83%D1%88%D0%B0}}</ref> From the mid-18th century to 1822 Shusha was the capital of the [[Karabakh Khanate]]. The town became one of the cultural centers of the [[South Caucasus]] after the [[Russian Empire|Russian]] conquest of the region in the first half of the 19th century. Over time, it became a city and a home to many Azerbaijani intellectuals, poets, writers and especially, musicians (e.g., the [[ashug]]s, [[mugham]] singers, [[kobuz]] players).<ref>"Azerbaijan" (2007) In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved February 3, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-44296</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Suny |first =Ronald|title=Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia|publisher=DIANE Publishing |year=1996 |page=108 |isbn=0788128132}}</ref>

The city was also a major center of Armenian cultural and economic life until the closing years of World War I.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chrysanthopoulos |first=Leonidas |title=Caucasus Chronicles: Nation-Building and Diplomacy in Armenia, 1993-1994 |publisher=Gomidas Institute |year=2002 |isbn=1-884630-05-7 |page=8}}</ref> Along with [[Tbilisi]]; it was one of the two main Armenian cities of the [[Transcaucasus]] and the center of a self-governing Armenian principality from medieval times through the 1750s.<ref>''Crossroads and Conflict: Security and Foreign Policy in the Caucasus and Central Asia'', By Gary K. Bertsch, Scott A. Jones, Cassady B. Craft, Routledge, 2000, ISBN 0-415-92274-7, p. 297</ref> It also had religious and strategic importance to the Armenians, housing the [[Ghazanchetsots Cathedral]], the church of [[Kanach Zham]], two other churches, a monastic convent, and serving (along with [[Lachin]] district to the west) as a land link to [[Armenia]].

Throughout modern history the city mainly fostered a mixed Armenian–Azerbaijani population. Following the [[Shusha massacre]] in 1920 by Azerbaijani forces and their Turkish supporters, the Armenian half of the population of the city was mostly killed or expelled, and the city reduced to a town with a dominant Azerbaijani population. After the [[capture of Shusha]] in 1992 by Armenian forces, its population diminished dramatically again and is now almost exclusively Armenian.

==History==
===Foundation===
[[File:Shushi-kanach-jam.jpeg|left|thumb|Holy Mother of God "Kanach Zham" church, established in 1818]]
[[File:Шушинский Ханский Дворец Дочери Хана.jpg|thumb|left|The palace of [[Khurshidbanu Natavan]], the daughter of the last ruler of [[Karabakh Khanate]], late 19th-early 20th centuries]]
Shusha as a settlement is first mentioned as Shushi in the Middle Ages, with the 15th century illuminated Armenian [[Gospel]] kept on display at Yerevan's [[Matenadaran]] (archival number 8211) being the earliest known artifact from the town. The Gospel was created in Shushi by the calligrapher Ter-Manuel in 1428.<ref>Boris Baratov. ''A Journey to Karabakh''. Moscow, 1998, pp. 32–33</ref><ref>Hravard Hakobian. Miniatures of [[Artsakh]] and [[Utik]] 13th–14th centuries. p. 25, Yerevan, 1989</ref><ref>Епископ Макар Бархутарянц, История Албании, том 1, Вагаршапат, 1902, с. 384 (на арм. яз); Bishop Makar Barkhudariants. History of Aghvank. Volume 1, Vagharshapat, 1902, p. 384</ref><ref>[[Bagrat Ulubabyan|Ulubabyan B. A.]] (1972), [http://lraber.asj-oa.am/3278/1/95.pdf The Principality of Lower Khachen from the 14th to the 15th centuries.], Historico-philological journal of Academy of Sciences of ArmSSR № 11. pp. 95–108, p. 105. (in [[Armenian language|Armenian]])</ref><ref>Khachikyan L. S., (1955), [http://serials.flib.sci.am/openreader/nyut_hay_jogh_patm_6/book/index.html#page/452/mode/2up Memorial records in Armenian manuscripts of 15 c., Part I (1401–1450)], Publish. of Academy of Sciences of ArmSSR, p. 384. (in [[Armenian language|Armenian]])</ref><ref>Bishop Makar Barkhudariants. Artsakh. Baku, Aror publishing house, 1895, Chapter - City of Shushi (Շուշի քաղաք)</ref>

According to several sources, a settlement called Shushi served as an ancient fortress in the [[Armenia]]n principality of Varanda, and had traditionally belonged to the Melik-Shahnazarian princely dynasty.<ref name="Bournoutian, George A 2001, page 133"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="iarex.ru"/><ref name="Krunk Hayots Ashkharhi 1863. p. 14"/> The town and fort of Shushi was mentioned as a linchpin of one of East Armenian military districts, called "syghnakhs", which played a key role in the Armenian commander [[Avan Yuzbashi]]'s campaign against Ottoman forces in the 1720s and 1730s, during the Turkish invasion of the Southern Caucasus.<ref name="Bournoutian, George A 2001, pages 402-413">Bournoutian, George A. Armenians and Russia, 1626-1796: A Documentary Record. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2001, Armenian Military Activities in Karabakh and Ghapan, pages 402-413</ref>

Kehva Chelebi, an Armenian patriot who maintained correspondence between the [[meliks]] of [[Nagorno Karabakh|Karabakh]] and the Russian authorities, in this report of 1725 mentions Shushi as a town and a fort:

{{Cquote| … ''The nearest Armenian stronghold … was Shushi. Shushi is four days' distance from Shemakhi. Armed Armenians under the command of Avan Yuzbashi guard it. After meeting with the Armenian leaders, including the Patriarch, they returned to Derbent via Shemakhi. Rocky mountains surround the town of Shushi. The number of the armed Armenians has not been determined. There are rumors that the Armenians have defeated the Turks in a number of skirmishes in Karabagh'' …<ref name="Bournoutian, George A 2001, page 133"/>}}

In his letter of 1769 to the Russian diplomat [[Petr Ivanovich Panin|Count P. Panin]], the Georgian king [[Erekle II]] documented that "there was an 'ancient' fortress which was conquered, through deceit, by one man from the Muslim Jevanshir tribe."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The same information about the 'ancient' fortress is confirmed by the Russian Field Marshal [[Alexander Suvorov]] in his letter to Prince [[Grigory Potemkin]].<ref>А. В. Суворов и русско-армянские отношения в 1770-1780-х годах. Ереван. Айастан. 1981</ref><ref>Bournoutian, George A. Armenians and Russia, 1626-1796: A Documentary Record. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2001, page 134, 269.</ref> Suvorov writes that the Armenian prince Melik Shahnazar of Varanda surrendered his fortress Shushikala to "certain Panah", whom he calls "chief of an unimportant part of nomadic Muslims living near the Karabakh borders."<ref>Alexander Suvorov's text says: "Мелик Шах-Назар может собрать войска близ 1000 человек; сей предатель своего отечества призвал Панахана, бывшего прежде начальником не знатной части кочующих магометан близ границ карабагских, отдал ему в руки свой крепкий замок Шушикала и учинился ему с его сигнагом покорным."А. В. Суворов и русско-армянские отношения в 1770-1780-х годах. Ереван. Айастан. 1981, letter to G. Potemkin of 15 February 1780. Web reference is here: http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVIII/1760-1780/Suvorov_arm/text.phtml?id=3016</ref> When discussing Karabakh and Shusha in the 18th century, the Russian diplomat and historian S. M. Bronevskiy (Russian: С. М. Броневский (1763-1830) implied in his ''Historical Notes'' that Shusha was a possession of the Melik-Shahnazarian clan.<ref>S.M.Bronesvskiy. [http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus9/Bronevskij/frametext32.htm Historical Notes...] St. Petersburg. 1996. Исторические выписки о сношениях России с Персиею, Грузиею и вообще с горскими народами, в Кавказе обитающими, со времён Ивана Васильевича доныне». СПб. 1996, секция "'''Карабаг'''". Bronesvskiy writes: "Мелик Шахназор призвал к себе на помощь владетеля кочующаго чавонширскаго народа Фона хана и здал ему крепость Шуши."</ref> Russian historian P. G. Butkov (Russian: П. Г. Бутков (1775-1857) confirms this.<ref>Материалы для новой истории Кавказа с 1722 по 1803 год П. Г. Буткова. СПб. 1869, ПРИЛОЖЕНИЕ М. к стр. 236 [http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/Butkov1/pril2.htm]</ref><ref>Also see Walker Christopher "The Armenian Presence in Mountainous Karabakh" in "Transcaucasian Boundaries" (SOAS/GRC Geopolitics) edited by John Wright, Richard Schofield, Suzanne Goldenberg, 1995 p. 93 ''"South of Khachen lay the small territory of Varanda, originally part of its southern neighbour, Dizak, and only given a separate identity in the early sixteenth century. The ruling family, confirmed in that capacity by Shah Abbas I, was that of the Melik Shahnazarians. In the territory of Varanda lies the modern town of Shushi (or Shusha)"''</ref>

[[File:oudSjoesji.jpg|thumb|The Armenian quarters of Shusha - with the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour in the background- in the early 20th century, before their [[Shusha pogrom|destruction by Azerbaijani military units in 1920]]]]

Azerbaijani and some Armenian 19th century sources, including Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi, [[Mirza Adigozal bey]], [[Abbasgulu Bakikhanov]], Mirza Yusuf Nersesov and [[Raffi (novelist)|Raffi]], attest to the foundation of the town Shusha in 1750-1752 (according to other sources, 1756–1757) by [[Panah-Ali khan Javanshir]] (r. 1748-1763), the founder and the first ruler of the independent [[Karabakh Khanate]] (1748–1822), which comprised both Lowland and [[Nagorno-Karabakh|Highland Karabakh]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-129462/Azerbaijan Encyclopaedia Britannica Online: History of Azerbaijan]</ref><ref name="Atlas">[[Robert H. Hewsen|Hewsen, Robert H.]], ''Armenia: A Historical Atlas''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001, p. 155.</ref> The mid-18th century foundation is supported by [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]],<ref name="Islam, Volume 4 1954, p. 573"/> [[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]]<ref name="Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary 1890–1907"/> and [[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]].<ref name="Great Soviet Encyclopedia 1969–1978"/>

According to Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi (1773–1853), the author of the Persian-language text ''History of Karabakh'',<ref name="Bournoutian George A 1994, p. 72">Bournoutian George A. A History of Qarabagh: An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi's Tarikh-E Qarabagh. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 1994, p. 72. The original text by Mirza Jamal Javanshir calls the village "Shoshi."</ref> one of the most significant chronicles on the history of Karabakh in 18th-19th centuries, the Karabakh nobility assembled to discuss the danger of invasion from Iran and told Panah Ali Khan, "We must build among the impassable mountains such an inviolable and inaccessible fort, so that no strong enemy could take it." Melik Shahnazar of Varanda, who was the first of the Armenian ''meliks'' (dukes) to accept the suzerainty of Panah Ali Khan and who would remain his loyal supporter, suggested a location for the new fortress. Thus, Panahabad-Shusha was founded.

According to Mirza Jamal Javanshir, before Panah Ali khan constructed the fortress there were no buildings there and it was used as a cropland and pasture by the people of the nearby village of Shoshi.<ref name="Bournoutian George A 1994, p. 72"/><ref name="Mirza Jamal">{{ru icon}} [http://zerrspiegel.orientphil.uni-halle.de/t1154.html Mirza Jamal Javanshir Karabagi. The History of Karabakh].</ref> Panah khan resettled to Shusha the population of Shahbulag and some nearby villages, and built strong [[fortifications]].<ref name="Mirza Jamal"/>

Another account is presented by [[Raffi (novelist)|Raffi]], an Armenian novelist and historian, in his work ''The Princedoms of Khamsa'', who asserts that the place which Shusha was built on was desolate and uninhabited before Panah-Ali Khan's arrival. He states, "[Panah-Ali Khan and Melik-Shahnazar of Varanda] soon completed the construction (1762) [of the fortress] and moved the Armenian population of the nearby village of Shosh (Շոշ), called also Shoshi, or Shushi into the fortress.″<ref>[[Raffi (novelist)|Raffi]]. ''[http://www.armenianhouse.org/raffi/novels-ru/khamsa/meliks1_14.html The Princedoms of Khamsa]''.</ref>

The town was initially named Panahabad, after its founder.<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/079/682.htm Great Soviet Encyclopedia, "Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast", 3rd edition, Moscow, 1970]</ref><ref name="Bakikhanov">{{ru icon}} [http://vostlit.info/Texts/rus2/Bakihanov/frametext5.htm Abbas-gulu Aga Bakikhanov. Golestan-i Iram]</ref> During the rule of [[Ibrahim-Khalil khan Javanshir|Ibrahim-Khalil khan]] (r. 1763-1806), the son of Panah Ali khan, the town received its present name from a nearby Armenian village called ''Shushi'', also known as ''Shushikent'' ("village of Shushi") or ''Shosh''.<ref name="Atlas"/>

===Conflict with Persia===
[[File:Shushi-genplan.jpg|300px|thumb|19th-century map]]
Although Panah Ali khan has been in conflict with [[Nader Shah]], but the new ruler of Persia, [[Adil Shah]], issued a ''[[firman (decree)]]'' recognizing Panah Ali as the Khan of Karabakh.<ref name="adigozel">Mirza Adigozel-bek, Karabakh-name (1845), Baku, 1950, p. 54</ref> Less than a year after Shusha was founded, the Karabakh Khanate was attacked by Muhammed Hassan khan Qajar, one of the major claimants to the Iranian throne. During the [[Safavids|Safavid Empire]] Karabakh was for almost two centuries ruled by Ziyad-oglu family of the clan of [[Qajars]] (of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] origin),<ref>[[Encyclopædia Britannica]], [http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9062092 Qajar Dynasty], Online Academic Edition, 2007.</ref> and therefore, Muhammed Hassan khan considered Karabakh his hereditary estate.<ref name="Mirza Jamal"/><ref name="Bakikhanov"/><ref name="Adigezal">{{ru icon}} [http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus14/Karabag_name/text1.phtml?id=945 Mirza Adigezal bey. Karabakh-name]</ref><ref>[http://www.iranica.com/articles/v10f3/v10f372.html Encyclopedia Iranica. C. Edmund Bosworth. Ganja.]</ref>

Muhammed Hassan khan besieged Shusha (Panahabad at that time) but soon had to retreat, because of the attack on his khanate by his major opponent to the Iranian throne, [[Karim Khan|Kerim khan Zend]]. His retreat was so hasty that he even left his cannons under the walls of Shusha fortress. Panah Ali khan counterattacked the retreating troops of Muhammad Hassan khan and even briefly took [[Ardabil]] across the [[Aras River]] in [[Azerbaijan (Iran)|Iranian Azerbaijan]].

In 1756 (or 1759) Shusha and the Karabakh Khanate underwent a new attack from Fatali khan Afshar, ruler of [[Urmia]]. With his 30,000 strong army Fatali khan also managed to gain support from the meliks (feudal vassals) of Jraberd and Talish (Gulistan), however melik Shahnazar of Varanda continued to support Panah Ali khan. Siege of Shusha lasted for six months and Fatali khan eventually had to retreat.

When Karīm Khan Zand took control of much of Iran, he forced Panāh Khan to come to [[Shiraz]] (Capital), where he died as a hostage.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Bournoutian |first=George| title=EBRAHÈM KHALÈL KHAN JAVANSHER |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Iranica | accessdate=2011-11-04|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ebrahim-kalil-khan-javansir}}</ref> Panah-Ali Khan's son Ibrahim-Khalil Khan was sent back to Karabakh as governor.<ref name="tapper114">{{cite book |last=[[Richard Tapper|Tapper]] |first=Richard|title=Frontier Nomads of Iran: A Political and Social History of the Shahsevan |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1997 |pages=114–115 |isbn=0-521-47340-3}}</ref> Under him Karabakh khanate became one of the strongest state formations and Shusha grew. According to travelers who visited Shusha at the end of 18th-early 19th centuries the town had about 2,000 houses and approximately 10,000 population.
[[File:Shushi fort.jpeg|thumb|left|Shusha fortress]]
In summer 1795 Shusha was subjected to a major attack by [[Mohammad Khan Qajar|Aga Muhammad khan Qajar]], son of Muhammad Hassan khan who attacked Shusha in 1752. Aga Muhammad khan Qajar's goal was to end with the feudal fragmentation and to restore the old Safavid State in Iran. For this purpose he also wanted to proclaim himself shah (king) of Iran. However, according to the Safavid tradition, shah had to take control over the whole of South Caucasus before his coronation. Therefore, Karabakh Khanate and its fortified capital Shusha, were the first and major obstacle to achieve these ends.

Aga Muhammad khan Qajar besieged Shusha with his 80,000-strong army. Ibrahim Khalil khan mobilized the population for a long-term defense. The number of militia in Shusha reached 15,000. Women fought together with men. The Armenian population of Karabakh also actively participated in this struggle against the invaders and fought side by side with the Muslim population, jointly organizing ambushes in the mountains and forests.

The siege lasted for 33 days. Not being able to capture Shusha, Aga Muhammad khan ceased the siege and advanced to Tiflis (present-day [[Tbilisi]]), which despite desperate resistance was occupied and exposed to unprecedented destruction.

In 1797 Agha Muhammad shah Qajar, who by that time has already managed to declare himself shah (albeit he did not succeed in conquering the Caucasus as the tradition required) decided to carry out a second attack on Karabakh.

Trying to avenge the previous humiliating defeat Qajar devastated the surrounding villages near Shusha. The population could not recover from the previous 1795 attack and also suffered from serious drought which lasted for three years. The artillery of the enemy also caused serious losses amongst the city defenders. Thus, in 1797 Aga Muhammed shah succeeded in seizing Shusha and Ibrahim Khalil khan had to flee to [[Dagestan]].

However, several days after the seizure of Shusha, Aga Muhammed shah was killed in mysterious circumstances by his bodyguards. The Iranian troops left and soon afterwards, Ibrahim Khalil khan returned to Shusha and restored his authority as khan of Karabakh.

===Shusha within the Russian Empire===
[[File:Ruins of the Govheraga Mosque, XVIII c..jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Ashaghi Govhar Agha Mosque]]]]
From the early 19th century, [[Russian Empire|Russian]] influence in the [[Caucasus]] began to rise. Following [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], many khanates accepted Russian protectorate. In 1805, a [[Kurekchay Treaty]] was signed between the [[Karabakh Khanate]] and the Russian Empire on the transfer of the Karabakh Khanate to Russia.

The Russian Empire consolidated its power in the Karabakh khanate following the [[Treaty of Gulistan]] in 1813 and [[Treaty of Turkmenchay]] of 1828, when following two Russo-Persian wars, namely the [[Russo-Persian War (1804-1813)]] and the [[Russo-Persian War (1826-1828)]], Iran recognized belonging of the Karabakh khanate along with many other khanates, to [[Russian Empire|Russia]].

The Karabakh khanate was eliminated in 1822. A survey prepared by the Russian imperial authorities in 1823, a year after and several years before the 1828 Armenian migration from Persia to the newly established Armenian Province, shows that all Armenians of Karabakh compactly resided in its highland portion, i.e., on the territory of the five traditional Armenian principalities, and constituted an absolute demographic majority on those lands. The survey's more than 260 pages recorded that the district of Khachen had twelve Armenian villages and no Tatar (Muslim) villages; Jalapert (Jraberd) had eight Armenian villages and no Tatar villages; Dizak had fourteen Armenian villages and one Tatar village; Gulistan had twelve Armenian and five Tatar villages; and Varanda had twenty-three Armenian villages and one Tatar village.<ref name="Tbilisi 1866">"Description of the Karabakh province prepared in 1823 according to the order of the governor in Georgia Yermolov by state advisor Mogilevsky and colonel Yermolov 2nd" (''"Opisaniye Karabakhskoy provincii sostavlennoye v 1823 g po rasporyazheniyu glavnoupravlyayushego v Gruzii Yermolova deystvitelnim statskim sovetnikom Mogilevskim i polkovnikom Yermolovim 2-m"'' in Russian), Tbilisi, 1866.</ref><ref name="Bournoutian, George A 1994, page 18">Bournoutian, George A. A History of Qarabagh: An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi's Tarikh-E Qarabagh. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 1994, page 18</ref>

[[File:Ghazanchetsots Double Rainbow.jpg|thumb|[[Ghazanchetsots Cathedral]] of 1887]]
During the [[Russo-Persian War (1826-1828)]] the citadel at Shusha held out for several months and never fell. After this Shusha ceased to be a capital of a khanate and instead became an administrative capital of first the Karabakh province (1822–1840), following Persia's ceding to Russia, and then of the Shusha district (''uyezd'') of the [[Elisabethpol Governorate]] (1840–1923). Shusha grew and developed, with successive waves of migrants moving to the city, particularly Armenians.<ref name="penny">[http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC02041456&id=lD97QrsCTIMC&pg=PA175&lpg=PA175&dq=Penny+cyclopaedia+karabagh ''The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge'']. 1833.</ref>

Beginning from the 1830s the town was divided into two parts: Turkic-speaking Muslims lived in the eastern lower quarters, while Armenian Christians settled in the relatively new western upper quarters of the town. The Muslim part of the town was divided into seventeen quarters. Each quarter had its own [[mosque]], [[Turkish bath]], water-spring and also a quarter representative, who would be elected among the elderlies (aksakals), and who would function as a sort of head of present-day municipality. The Armenian part of the town consisted of 12 quarters, five churches, town and district school and girls' seminary.

The population of the town primarily dealt with trade, horse-breeding, carpet-weaving and wine and vodka production. Shusha was also the biggest center of silk production in the Caucasus. Most of the Muslim population of the town and of Karabakh in general was engaged in sheep and horse-breeding and therefore, had a semi-nomadic lifestyle, spending wintertime in lowland Karabakh in wintering pastures and spring and summer in summering pastures in Shusha and other mountainous parts.

===Early 20th century===
{{Main|Shusha pogrom|Armenian–Azerbaijani War}}
[[File:Karabakh-reconciliation-1918.jpg|thumb|250px|A photo taken in 1918 of the Karabakh reconciliation commission, composed of religious leaders and elders of both Armenian and Azerbaijani communities]]
[[File:Armenian boroughs of city of Shusha destroyed by Azerbaijani armed forces in 1920 with defiled cathedral of Holy Savior on background.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Armenian half of Shusha destroyed by Azerbaijani armed forces in 1920, with the defiled cathedral of the Holy Savior and Aguletsots church on the background]]
[[File:Ruins of Armenian part of Shusha after 1920 pogrom 2.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Ruins of the Armenian part of Shusha after the [[Shusha pogrom|1920 pogrom]] with the church of the Holy Mother of God "Kanach Zham" in the background]]
The beginning of the 20th century marked the first Armenian-Tartar clashes throughout [[Azerbaijan]]. This new phenomenon had two reasons. First, it was the result of increased tensions between the local Muslim population and Armenians, whose numbers increased throughout the 19th century as a result of Russian resettlement policies. Second, by the beginning of the 20th century peoples of the Caucasus, similar to other non-Russian peoples in the periphery of the Russian Empire began to seek cultural and territorial autonomy. That is why, in the beginning of the 20th century in Russia itself was a period of bourgeois and Bolshevik revolutions, in the peripheries these movements have acquired a character of the national liberation movement.

The initial clashes between ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijanis took place in [[Baku]] in February 1905. Soon, the [[Armenian–Tatar massacres 1905–07|conflict]] spilled over to other parts of the [[Caucasus]], and on August 5, 1905 first conflict between the Armenian and Azerbaijani inhabitants of Shusha took place. As a result of the mutual pogroms and killings, hundreds of people died and more than 200 houses were burned.<ref>Mkrtchyan, Shahen. ''Historical-Architectural Monuments of Nagorno Karabagh''. Yerevan, 1989, p. 341.</ref>

After [[World War I]] and subsequent collapse of the [[Russian Empire]], Karabakh was claimed by Azerbaijan to be part of the [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]], a decision hotly disputed by neighboring Armenia and by Karabakh's Armenian population, which claimed Karabakh as part of the [[First Republic of Armenia]]. After the defeat of [[Ottoman empire]] in the [[World War I]], Armenian forces under [[Andranik Ozanian]] defeated Azeri forces under [[Khosrov bey Sultanov]] in [[Lachin|Abdallyar]], and began heading down the [[Lachin corridor]] towards Shusha. Shortly before Andranik could arrive, [[United Kingdom|British]] troops under General W. M. Thomson encouraged him to retreat, as Armenian military activity may have an adverse effect on the region's status to be decided at the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|1919 Paris Peace Conference]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hovannisian|first=Richard|authorlink=Richard Hovannisian|title=The Republic of Armenia: Volume 1, The First Years, 1918–1919|year=1971|publisher=University of California Press|location=Los Angeles|page=89-90|isbn=0-520-01805-2|ref=harv}}</ref> Trusting Thomson, Andranik left, and the the British troops occupied Karabakh. The British command provisionally affirmed Sultanov (appointed by the Azerbaijani government) as the governor-general of Karabakh and [[Kapan|Zangezur]], pending final decision by the Paris Peace Conference.<ref>Tim Potier. Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia: A Legal Appraisal. ISBN 90-411-1477-7</ref><ref>Tadeusz Swietochowski. Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition. ISBN 0-231-07068-3</ref>

To make the local Armenians surrender to the Azerbaijani rule Sultanov employed most severe measures against them such as terror, blockade and famine.<ref>Mutafyan Claude (1994) "Karabagh in the twentieth century." In Chorbajyan Levon, Donabedian Patrick and Mutafian Claude (eds.) ''The Caucasian Knot: The History and geo-politics of Nagorno-Karabakh''. London: Zed Books, pp. 109–170.</ref><ref name=Croissant/><ref>Walker J. Christopher (ed.) (1991) ''Armenia and Karabakh: The Struggle for Unity''. London: Minority Rights Group.</ref>

In August 1919, the Karabakh National Council was forced to enter into a provisional treaty agreement with the Azerbaijani government, recognizing the authority of the Azerbaijan government until the issue of the mountainous part of Karabakh would be settled at the Paris Peace Conference. Despite signing the Agreement, the Azerbaijani government continuously violated the terms of the treaty, employing even more severe measures against the Armenian population{{Request quotation|date=January 2011}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Nagorno-Karabagh Crisis: A Blueprint for Resolution |work=[[Public International Law & Policy Group]] and the [[New England School of Law|New England]] [http://www.nesl.edu/center/RESEARCH.cfm Center for International Law & Policy] |date=June 2000 |page=3 |url=http://www.nesl.edu/center/pubs/nagorno.pdf|format=PDF}}</ref><ref>Mutafyan Claude (1994) Karabagh in the twentieth century. In Chorbajyan Levon, Donabedian Patrick and Mutafian Claude (eds.) The Caucasian knot: the history and geo-politics of Nagorno-Karabakh. London: Zed Books</ref> 
Ethnic conflict began to erupt in the region. According to Michael P. Croissant on 5 June 1919, [[Khaibalikend Massacre|600 Armenian inhabitants of the villages surrounding Shusha were killed by Azerbaijani and Kurdish irregulars]]. Sultanov claimed that those irregulars were not under his control.<ref name=Croissant>Michael P. Croissant. ''The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Causes and Implications''. ISBN 0-275-96241-5 p. 16</ref> The strife culminated with an Armenian uprising,<ref>Tim Potier. Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia: A Legal Appraisal</ref><ref>Benjamin Lieberman. ''Terrible Fate: Ethnic Cleansing in the Making of Modern Europe''. ISBN 1-56663-646-9</ref><ref>[http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/nagorny-karabakh/chronology.php Conciliation Resources. Nagorny Karabakh: Chronology]</ref> which was suppressed by the Azerbaijani army. In late March 1920 the Armenian half of the police forces was reported by a British journalist to have murdered the Azerbaijani half during the latter's traditional [[Nowruz|Novruz Bayram]] holiday celebtrations. The Armenian surprise attack was organised and coordinated by the forces of the Armenian Republic.<ref name="ReferenceB">Richard G. Hovannisian. ''The Republic of Armenia'', Vol. III: From London to Sèvres, February–August 1920</ref><ref>[http://books.google.nl/books?id=sZVN2MwWZVAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Azerbaijani+Turks:+Power+and+Identity+Under+Russian+Rule&hl=nl&ei=xNCvTvW1HsbpOcbu5YMC&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false ] Audrey L. Altstadt. ''Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity Under Russian Rule''. Hoover Press, 1992. ISBN 0-8179-9182-4, ISBN 978-0-8179-9182-1, p. 103</ref> Azerbaijani outrage for this surprise attack ultimately led to the [[Shusha pogrom (1920)|pogrom of March 1920]], in which between 500<ref>Thomas de Waal. ''Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War''. ISBN 0-8147-1944-9</ref> and 20,000 {{citation needed|date=October 2013}} of the Armenian population of Shusha was killed, and many forced to flee.

According to the description of an Azerbaijani communist Ojahkuli Musaev:

{{quotation|... the ruthless destruction of defenceless women, children, old women, old men, etc has begun. Armenians were exposed to a mass slaughter. ... beautiful Armenian girls were raped, then shot. ... By the order of ... Khosrov-bek Sultanov; the pogroms proceeded for more than six days. Houses in the Armenian part have been partially demolished, plundered and reduced all to ashes, everyone led away women to submit to the wishes of executioner musavatists. During these historically artful forms of punishment, Khosrov-bek Sultanov, spoke about holy war (jihad) in his speeches to the Moslems, and called on them to finally finish the Armenians of the city of Shusha, not sparing women, children, etc.<ref>{{ru icon}} Институт Истории АН Армении, Главное архивное управление при СМ Республики Армения, Кафедра истории армянского народла Ереванского Государственного Университета. Нагорный Карабах в 1918-1923 гг. Сборник документов и материалов. Ереван, 1992. Документ №443: из письма члена компартии Азербайджана Оджахкули Мусаева правительству РСФСР. стр. 638-639 (Institute of History of the Academy of sciences of Armenia, the Main archival department at Ministerial council of Republic Armenia, Faculty of history of Armenian people of the Yerevan State University. Nagorny Karabakh per 1918–1923. Collection of documents and materials. Yerevan, 1992. The document №443: from the letter of a member of communist party of Azerbaijan Ojahkuli Musaev to the government of RSFSR. рр. 638–639)</ref>{{Verify source|date=October 2011}}}}

[[Nadezhda Mandelstam]] wrote about Shusha in the 1920s, "in this town, which formerly of course was healthy and with every amenity, the picture of catastrophe and massacres was terribly visual. ... They say after the massacres all the wells were full of dead bodies. ... We didn't see anyone in the streets on the mountain. Only in downtown—in the market-square, there were a lot of people, but there wasn't any Armenian among them; all were Muslims".<ref>{{ru icon}} Н. Я. Мандельштам. Книга третья. Париж, YMCA-Ргess, 1987, с.162–164.</ref>

===Soviet era and Karabakh war===
[[File:Shushi029.JPG|thumb|View from the town]]
In 1920, the Russian [[Red Army]] (the [[11th Army (Soviet Union)|11th Army]]) invaded Azerbaijan and then Armenia and put an end to the national de facto governments that existed in those two countries. Beginning from this period, conflict over control of Karabakh and its central town of Shusha, moved from the battlefield to the diplomatic sphere.

In order to attract Armenian public support,{{citation needed|date=January 2008}} the Bolsheviks promised to resolve the issue of the disputed territories, including Karabakh, in favor of Armenia. However, on July 5, 1921 the [[Caucasus Bureau]] (Kavburo) of the Communist Party adopted the following decision regarding the future status of Karabakh: "Proceeding from the necessity of national peace among Muslims and Armenians and of the economic ties between upper (mountainous) and lower Karabakh, of its permanent ties with Azerbaijan, mountainous Karabakh is to remain within AzSSR, receiving wide regional autonomy with the administrative center in Shusha, which is to be included in the autonomous region." As a result, Mountainous Karabakh Autonomous Region was established within the Azerbaijan SSR in 1923.
[[File:Shushi tank memorial-DCP 3043.JPG|thumb|A [[T-72]] tank standing as a memorial commemorating the [[Capture of Shusha]] by the Armenian forces]]
The decision favoring Azerbaijan was due to Stalin, who knew that by including the disputed and by then majority Armenian-populated region within the boundaries of Azerbaijan, it would ensure Moscow’s position as power broker.<ref>[http://www.usip.org/pubs/peaceworks/pwks25/chap1_25.html Nagorno-Karabakh Searching for a Solution, ''US Institute for Peace'' report]</ref><ref>[http://www.nupi.no/cgi-win/Russland/etnisk_b.exe?Ethnic Groups: Azerbaijanian, Centre for Russian Studies]</ref>

Khankendi (renamed [[Stepanakert]] after the Armenian communist leader [[Stepan Shaumyan]]), a small village that was previously known with its Armenian name of ''Vararakn'', became the new regional capital of the [[Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast]] and soon became its largest town.

The town remained half-ruined until the 1960s, when the town began to gradually revive due to its recreational potential. In 1977 Shusha was declared a reservation of Azerbaijan architecture and history and became one of the major resort-towns in the former USSR.

The Armenian quarter continued to lie in ruins until the beginning of the 1960s. In 1961, Baku's communist leadership finally passed a decision to clear away the ruins, even though many old buildings still could have been renovated. Three Armenian and one Russian churches were demolished and the town was built up with plain buildings typical of the Khrushchev era.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}

With the start of [[Nagorno-Karabakh War]] in 1988 Shusha became the most important Azeri stronghold in Karabakh, from where Azeri forces constantly shelled the capital Stepanakert. On May 9, 1992 the town [[Capture of Shusha|was captured]] by Armenian forces and the Azeri population fled. According to the [[Institute for War and Peace Reporting]], the city was looted and burnt by Armenians.<ref name="waal">Thomas de Waal, [http://www.iwpr.net/?p=crs&s=f&o=160877&apc_state=henicrs2002 "Shusha Armenians recall their bittersweet victory"], Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), May 10, 2002</ref> Today a large part of the town remains in ruins.

After the end of the war, the town was repopulated by Armenians, mostly refugees from Azerbaijan and other parts of Karabakh, as well as members of the Armenian diaspora. While the population of the town is barely half of the pre-war number, and the demographic of the town has changed from mostly Azeri to completely Armenian, a slow recovery can be seen. The [[Goris]]-[[Stepanakert]] Highway passes through the town, and is a transit and tourist destination for many. There are some hotels in the city, and reconstruction work continues, in particular, the [[Ghazanchetsots Cathedral]] recently finished going through the restoration process.

After the war, a T-72 tank commanded by the Karabakhi Armenian Gagik Avsharian was placed as a memorial. The tank had been hit during the town's capture, killing the driver and gun operator, but Avsharian was able to jump free from the hatch. The tank was restored and its number, 442, repainted in white on the side.<ref>de Waal, Thomas (2003, 2013). Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace And War. (10th Year anniversary edition, revised and updated) New York University Press, pp. 196-197</ref> 

==Cultural life==
[[File:Aram Manukian full body.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Aram Manukian]], founder of the [[First Republic of Armenia]], is believed to have been born in Shusha.<ref name="SAE">{{cite book|contribution=Մանուկյան Արամ [Manukian Aram]|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917201613/http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img513/6356/86j.png|title=[[Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia]]|volume=4|year=1978|publisher=Armenian Encyclopedia Publishing|location=Yerevan|page=254|language=hy}}</ref>]]

Because of historical specifics Shusha contains both Armenian and Azerbaijani cultural monuments, while the surrounding territories include also many ancient Armenian villages.<ref name="Central Asia p. 297">''Crossroads and Conflict: Security and Foreign Policy in the Caucasus and Central Asia'', by Gary K. Bertsch - 2000 - 316 pages, p. 297</ref>

Shusha is one of the Armenian religious<ref>''A Typographical Gazetteer'', by Henry Cotton - 2008 - p. 206</ref> and cultural centers<ref>''Looking toward Ararat: Armenia in Modern History'', by [[Ronald Grigor Suny]] - 1993 - 289 pages, p. 195]</ref> and predominately Armenian cities of Caucasus.<ref name="Central Asia p. 297"/> The [[Eastern Armenian]] version of four Gospels ([[Holy Bible]]) was completed in 1830 in Shusha, and then was published in [[Moscow]] for the first time.<ref>''An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge'', by Thomas Hartwell Horne, 1841, J. Whetham & Son, v.2, p. 51</ref>

The city was also one of the leading centres of [[Culture of Azerbaijan|Azeri culture]].<ref>Mattew O'Brien. ''Uzeir Hajibeyov and His Role in the Development of Musical Life in Azerbaijan''. – Routledge, 2004. – С. 211. – ISBN 0-415-30219-6, 9780415302197 <blockquote>But later writers have preferred to emphasise the importance of Shusha, one of the leading centres of Azeri culture, as providing a 'creative cradle' for the young boy.</blockquote></ref> The town of Shusha is extremely popular with the musical traditions of [[Azerbaijani people]]. Shusha is home to one of the leading schools of [[mugham]], traditional Azerbaijani genre of vocal and instrumental arts. Shusha is particularly renowned for this art.<ref>''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', "Azerbaijan": [http://search.eb.com/eb/article-44296 Cultural life], Online Academic Edition, 2007.</ref>

Shusha is also well known for [[sileh]] rugs, floor coverings from the [[South Caucasus]]. Those from the Caucasus may have been woven in the vicinity of Shusha. A similar [[Eastern Anatolia]]n type usually shows a different range of colours.<ref>[[Encyclopædia Britannica]], "[http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9001272 sileh rug]", Online Academic Edition, 2007.</ref>

==Demographics==
[[File:Shusha armenian.jpg|left|thumb|upright|A Russian postcard showing an Armenian woman from Shusha]]
[[File:Azeri woman from Shusha in silk national garments.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Photograph from the 1900s by Constantin Zanis depicting an Azerbaijani girl from Shusha in silk national garments"<ref>[http://www.photomuseum.org.ge/zanis/06_en.htm The Georgian Museum of Photography]</ref>]]
{|class="infobox"
! style="background:#95B2C9; color:black"|<center>Year
! style="background:#95B2C9; color:black"|<center>Armenians
! style="background:#95B2C9; color:black"|<center>%
! style="background:#95B2C9; color:black"|<center>Azerbaijanis
! style="background:#95B2C9; color:black"|<center>%
! style="background:#95B2C9; color:black"|<center>Others
! style="background:#95B2C9; color:black"|<center>%
! style="background:#95B2C9; color:black"|<center>TOTAL
|-
| 1851<ref name="Caucasus Calendar"/>
|
|
|
|
|
|
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''15,194'''
|-
| 1886<ref name="ethno-kavkaz">{{ru icon}} [http://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/rnkarabax.html НАСЕЛЕНИЕ НАГОРНОГО КАРАБАХА]</ref>
| <center>15,188
| <center>56.7
| <center>11,595
| <center>43.3
| <center>23
| <center>0.1
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''26,806'''
|-
| 1897<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/emp_lan_97_uezd.php?reg=397 г. Шуша] Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г. '''Демоскоп Weekly'''</ref>
| <center>14,420
| <center>55.7
| <center>10,778
| <center>41.6
| <center>683
| <center>2.6
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''25,881'''
|-
| 1904<ref>{{ВТ-ЭСБЕ|Шуша}}</ref>
|
| <center>56.5
|
| <center>43.2
|
|
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''25,656'''
|-
| 1916<ref name="kalendar1917"/>
| <center>23,396
| <center>53.3
| <center>19,121
| <center>43.6
| <center>1,352
| <center>3.1
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''43,869'''
|-
| 1921
| <center>289
| <center>3.1
| <center>8,894
| <center>96.4
| <center>40
| <center>0.4
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''9,223'''
|-
| 1926<ref name="ethno-kavkaz"/>
| <center>93
| <center>1.8
| <center>4,900
| <center>96.4
| <center>111
| <center>2.2
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''5,104'''
|-
| 1939<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/shusha39.html ШУШИНСКИЙ РАЙОН (1939 г.)]</ref>
| <center>1,476
| <center>27.2
| <center>3,701
| <center>68.2
| <center>247
| <center>4.5
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''5,424'''
|-
| 1959<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/shusha59.html ШУШИНСКИЙ РАЙОН (1959 г.)]</ref>
| <center>1,428
| <center>23.3
| <center>4,453
| <center>72.8
| <center>236
| <center>3.9
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''6,117'''
|-
| 1970<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/shusha70.html ШУШИНСКИЙ РАЙОН (1970 г.)]</ref>
| <center>1,540
| <center>17.7
| <center>6,974
| <center>80.2
| <center>179
| <center>2.1
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''8,693'''
|-
| 1979<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/shusha79.html ШУШИНСКИЙ РАЙОН (1979 г.)]</ref>
| <center>1,409
| <center>13.1
| <center>9,216
| <center>85.5
| <center>159
| <center>1.5
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''10,784'''
|-
| 1989<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng89_reg2.php Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик, их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу]</ref>
|
| 
| 
| <center>98<ref name="Amirbayov"/>
| 
| 
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''15,039'''
|-
|-
| 2005<ref>[http://census.stat-nkr.am/nkr/1-1.pdf De facto and De Jure Population by Adminstative Territorial Distribution and Sex] Census in NKR, 2005. THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL SERVICE OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH REPUBLIC</ref>
| 
| <center>~100
| 
| 
| 
| 
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''3,105'''
|-
| 2009<ref name="stat2009">[http://stat-nkr.am/files/yearbooks/2003_2009/8_Nasl_31-49.pdf Statistical yearbook of NKR (2003-2009)]</ref>
| 
| <center>~100
| 
| 
| 
| 
| bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | <center>'''3,900'''
|-
|}

The highland portion of Karabakh, where Shusha was built, traditionally had an Armenian majority of the population. When discussing Karabakh and Shusha in the 18th century, the Russian diplomat and historian S. M. Bronevskiy indicated in his “Historical Notes” that Karabakh, which he said "''is located in [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Greater Armenia]]''" had as many as 30-40 thousand armed Armenian men in 1796.<ref>[http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus9/Bronevskij/frametext32.htm S. M. Bronesvskiy (С.М. Броневский), '''Historical Notes about the relations of Russia with Persia, Georgia and Caucasus Mountainous nations since the times of Ivan the Terrible''' (Исторические выписки о сношениях России с Персиею, Грузиею и вообще с горскими народами, в Кавказе обитающими, со времён Ивана Васильевича доныне), St. Petersburg, 1996, “Karabakh” section]</ref>

According to first Russian-held census of 1823 conducted by Russian officials Yermolov and Mogilevsky, in Shusha were 1,111 (72.5%) Muslim families and 421 (27.5%) Armenian families.<ref name="Tbilisi 1866"/> Seven years later, according to 1830 data, the number of Muslim families in Shusha decreased to 963 and the number of Armenian families increased to 762.<ref name="penny"/><ref>"Review of Russian possessions in Transcaucasus" (''"Obozreniye Rossiyskih vladeniy za Kavkazom"''), vol. III, St.-Petersburg, 1836, p. 308</ref>

[[George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle|George Keppel, the Earl of Albemarle]], who in 1824 on his way back to England from India arrived in Karabakh from Persia, wrote that “Sheesha contains two thousand houses: three parts of the inhabitants are Tartars, and the remainder Armenians”.<ref>George Thomas Keppel; earl of Albemarle. Personal Narrative of a Journey from India to England. ISBN 1-4021-9149-9.</ref>

A survey prepared by the Russian imperial authorities in 1823 shows that all Armenians of Karabakh compactly resided in its highland portion, i.e. on the territory of the five traditional Armenian principalities, and constituted an absolute demographic majority on those lands. The survey's more than 260 pages recorded that the five districts had 57 Armenian villages and seven Tatar villages.<ref name="Bournoutian, George A 1994, page 18"/><ref>"Description of the Karabakh province prepared in 1823 according to the order of the governor in Georgia Yermolov by state advisor Mogilevsky and colonel Yermolov 2nd," as quoted above</ref>

The 19th century also brought some alterations to the ethnic demographics of the region. Following the invasions from Iran (Persia), Russo-Persian wars and subjection of Karabakh khanate to Russia, many Muslim families emigrated to Iran while many Armenians moved to Shusha.<ref name="penny"/>

In 1851, the population of Shusha was 15,194 people,<ref name="Caucasus Calendar">{{ru icon}} Caucasian Calendar (Кавказский Календарь), 1853, p. 128</ref> in 1886 – 30,000,<ref>{{ru icon}} Caucasian Calendar (Кавказский Календарь), 1886, p. 319</ref> in 1910 – 39,413<ref>"Review of the Yelizavetpol goubernia as of 1910" (''"Obzor Yelizavetpolskoy goubernii za 1910 g."'' in Rissian) Tbilisi, 1912 p. 141</ref> and in 1916 – 43,869, of which 23,396 (53%) were Armenians, and 19,121 (44%) were Tatars (Azerbaijanis?).<ref name="kalendar1917">{{ru icon}} Caucasian Calendar (Кавказский Календарь), 1917, p. 190</ref>

By the end of the 1880s the percentage of Muslim population living in the Shusha district (part of earlier Karabakh province) decreased even further and constituted only 41.5%, while the percentage of the Armenian population living in the same district increased to 58.2% in 1886.

By the second half of the 19th century Shusha had become the largest town in the Karabakh region and the second largest town in the Caucasus after Tbilisi.{{citation needed|date=April 2009}} However, after the [[Shusha pogrom (1920)|pogrom against the Armenian population]] in 1920 and the burning of the town, Shusha was reduced to a small provincial town of some 10,000 people. Armenians did not begin to return until after [[World War II]]. It was not until the 1960s that the Armenian quarter began to be rebuilt.

According to the last population census in 1989, the town of Shusha had a population of 17,000 and Shusha district had a population of 23,000. 91.7% of population of Shusha district and 98% of Shusha town were Azerbaijani.<ref name="Amirbayov">Amirbayov, Elchin. "Shusha's Pivotal Role in a Nagorno-Karabagh Settlement" in Dr. Brenda Shaffer (ed.), Policy Brief Number 6, Cambridge, MA: Caspian Studies Program, Harvard University, December 2001, [http://bcsia.ksg.harvard.edu/publication.cfm?program=CORE&ctype=paper&item_id=124].</ref>

Following the Armenian capture of Shusha in 1992, the ethnic Azerbaijani population of the town fled and the present population consists of roughly 3,000 Armenians,<ref name="waal"/> mainly refugees from other parts of Azerbaijan and some immigrants from [[Armenia]] and the [[Armenian Diaspora|Diaspora]]. As a result of the war, there are no Azerbaijanis living in the Shusha region today.<ref name="Amirbayov"/>

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==Economy and tourism==
[[File:Road leading to Shushi.JPG|thumb|Shusha as seen from the road approaching it]]
There have been efforts to revive the city's post-war economy by the Shushi Revival Fund,<ref>http://www.shushi.org/en/index.php</ref> the [[ArmeniaFund]], and by the local government. Investment in tourism has led to the opening of the Shoushi Hotel, the Avan Shushi Plaza Hotel and the Shushi Grand Hotel. A tourist information office has also opened,<ref>http://www.shushi.org/prog_proj_new.php</ref> the first in the Republic of Mountainous Karabakh. The two remaining Armenian churches have been renovated, and schools, museums and the Naregatsi Arts Institute have opened.

===Museum to the History of Shusha===
Located in the detached house of the mid-19th century, in the centre of the historical quarter,the museum to the history of Shusha is the collection of artifacts illustrating the centuries-old past of the ancient city-fortress, including the rich archaeological material of Hellenistic period that has changed the former ideas that Shusha was founded in the 18th century.

The collection of the museum contains many ethnographic materials, including the goods of local masters. Household articles of the 19th century illustrate the life of Shusha inhabitants. The collection of photos and reproductions, arranged on the stands of the museum halls, make the cultural life of the city of that period very tangible. Other materials illustrate the desolation of Shusha in 1920.

A special stand is devoted to the military operation on the takeover of Shusha on 9 May 1992. Here, the diorama of the battle is located, which creates the history of fights in the smallest details.
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==Twin towns – Sister cities==
*[[Gyöngyös]], [[Hungary]]<ref>[http://en.apa.az/news/192611 A Joint Declaration was signed on fraternization of Gyöngyös city at the foot of the Mátra, the highest mountain range in Hungary, with the occupied Shusha town of Azerbaijan. ]</ref> (between Hungarian and Azerbaijani sides only)
*[[Bourg-lès-Valence]], [[France]] (since October 2014, between French and Armenian sides only)

==See also==
{{Commons category|Shusha (town)}}
{{Wikisource1911Enc}}
* [[Battle of Shusha]]
* [[Nagorno-Karabakh]]
* [[List of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh#Shusha|List of Armenians from Shusha]]
* [[List of Azerbaijanis from Nagorno-Karabakh|List of Azerbaijanis from Shusha]]

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==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{wikivoyage|Shushi}}
* [http://www.shoushi.am Shoushi Foundation]
* [http://www.shoushi.nk.am/am/shoushi/shoushi.php Shushi portal]
* [http://shusha.aznet.org/ Shusha: from A to Z]
* [http://www.karabakhfoundation.org/pages/history-and-culture/karabakh-region/districts-of-karabakh/shusha/ Historical neighborhoods of Shusha]
* [http://www.travel-images.com/az-shusha.html Shusha] by Travel-images.com
* [http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Rediscovering_Armenia_Guidebook-_Shushi_Region Armenian Guidebook Chapter on Shushi]
* [http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Shushi_Town Armeniapedia entry on Shushi]
* [http://randbild.photoshelter.com/gallery/Shushi-The-Twentieth-Spring/G0000.6aUitqt6d4/ "The Twentieth Spring"] – A photo essay on Shushi 20 years after it was taken over by Armenian forces (randbild | 2011)
* [http://www.livejournal.com/users/kunstkamera/112795.html Shusha – the town of the dead. Photo-report.]
* {{GEOnet2|32FA8814F87C3774E0440003BA962ED3}}
* [http://www.shoushisummercamp.org/ Shoushi Summer Camp]
{{World Heritage Sites in Azerbaijan}}
{{Administrative divisions of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic}}
{{Coord|39|45.5|N|46|44.9|E|region:AZ_type:city|display=title}}

[[Category:Populated places in Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Populated places in Nagorno-Karabakh]]
[[Category:Districts of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Shusha| ]]
[[Category:Elisabethpol Governorate]]