Facts proving Tepebashi quarter's belonging to Azerbaijan - STATEMENT

Yerevan is an Azerbaijani city and there are irrefutable facts proving this, the Executive Director of the Institute of History of ANAS Jabi Bahramov, told Report.

"The core of the Tepebashi quarter was also laid during the construction of this city," he said.

He reminded that the foundation of this city was laid in 1509 based on the decree issued by Shah Ismail Khatai, the founder of the Azerbaijani Safavid state:

"It was a big city belonging to Azerbaijan and populated by Azerbaijanis from 1509 until May 29, 1918. On May 29, 1918, based on the illegal decision adopted by the Muslim National Council of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, 9,000 sq. km of territory was granted to Armenians. On that day, as a result of the decision of the Muslim National Council of ADR, Armenians legally took control of the city. These decisions are against all the international principles. They should have held a referendum and survey. It didn't happen, so the city and its surrounding 9 thousand square km territory fell under the control of Armenians. After that, in 1918-20, 57,000 Azerbaijanis (including in the city of Iravan) were killed in the territory of the Iravan Governorate. They were subjected to genocide. Thousands of Azerbaijanis left Iravan."

The historian said that the mosques of Yerevan city have minarets. The presence of mosques and minarets means this is a Muslim city, an Azerbaijani city.

According to him, from 1804 to 1828, during the Russian occupation, the Iravan khanate and its defenders were those who resisted the Russian invasion the most: "After the Armenians took control of the city, from May 30 until November 1920, they changed 11 names. After that, from November 1920 until 1935, they changed 11 names. They started to change the general view of the Azerbaijani city and Armenianized everything. In 1935, the name of the city was changed to Yerevan. However, all sources refer to Iravan. But as a whole, this is an Azerbaijani city, and its largest quarter was Tepebashi."

Jabi Bahramov said that Azerbaijani historians have both historical and legal documents:

"There are conventions adopted by UNESCO in 1954, 1970, 1973, and 1993, which clearly say that it is considered a crime if the national cultural heritage belonging to a people, an ethnic group, or a nation is destroyed or is subject to destruction in any country. Nevertheless, everything belonging to the Azerbaijani people was destroyed there. These are considered crimes of genocide. They resorted to so much falsification that they claim this city is 2,800 years old. It is a false claim. Those areas are the ancient land of Azerbaijan. It is the land where our ancestors settled. We, the Azerbaijanis, will return there."