BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 21. The Center for the Analysis of International Relations and Multiculturalism held an event on the topic “The Legacy of Caucasian Albania in Azerbaijan’s history of statehood,” Trend’s correspondent reports from the event.
The event was attended by Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the Board of the Center for the Analysis of International Relations and Multiculturalism (AIR Center), Rizvan Huseynov, head of the department at the Institute of History and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences, director of the Center for the History of the Caucasus, and military expert; Farhad Mammadov, deputy chairman of the AIR Center’s board; as well as renowned historians, political scientists, and media representatives.
In his remarks, AIR Board Chairman Farid Shafiyev emphasized the importance of studying the legacy of Caucasian Albania from both academic and political perspectives. He noted that, from an academic standpoint, the history of Caucasian Albania debunks the fictitious notion of “Great Armenia” and its territorial claims. “Many states existed on the territory of Azerbaijan, and each of them left its mark on our statehood and our national identity. These issues should be thoroughly researched; work in this direction is underway, and books are being published. But experience shows that whenever a gap arises here, they take advantage of it.
There are various churches on our territory, and we preserve them, including the Armenian one. Recent events show that radicals in Armenia are found not only in the opposition but also within the state,” Shafiyev emphasized.
Rizvan Huseynov, director of the Caucasus Historical Center and a military expert, noted that until 1909, Armenians had never opened the doors of the Ganjasar Monastery.
He said that three churches in Karabakh are important to the entire Christian world:
“That is, there are three churches not only for Karabakh, not only for Caucasian Christianity, but for all Christians. One is Ganjasar, one is Khudaveng, and one is Amaras (Aghoghlan). Why? According to them,
the head of the prophet John is buried in Ganjasar. John the Evangelist played a major role in the coming of the Prophet Jesus and himself suffered a martyr’s death.
The second, of course, is Amaras - Aghoghlan. Saint Gregory is buried there. The young Gregory was the first Catholicos-Patriarch of Albania. The third is Khudaveng. Saint Thaddeus is also buried there. After the anti-terrorist measures, in the very first footage, we saw that the Armenians had dug up and removed all those bones, that is, the body of Saint Thaddeus. In essence, this is barbarism; we must emphasize this, and the entire Christian world must see it.” This is barbarism.
Farhad Mammadov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Center for the Analysis of International Relations and Multiculturalism, noted in his speech that the Armenian Church is the largest revanchist force in Armenian society.
“Revanchist sentiments in Armenian society and their institutional support stem precisely from this institution. I believe that our lawyers and historians must strengthen our position in this regard. It is no coincidence that our historian Ismayil Mammadov made the remarkable observation that in discussions with Armenians, the Armenians try to prove that everything belongs to them, while we try to prove that it belongs to us. This is because Azerbaijan has a rich history, while the Armenians have historians,” he emphasized.
Will be updated
