Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

There are numerous facts concerning the Christian heritage of the state of Caucasian Albania, the fundamental theological differences between the Alban and Armenian churches, as well as historical truths that Armenian historians have been unable to conceal even in their own sources.

These remarks were made by Ramil Agayev, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor and Head of the Atropatena-Albania (Caucasian) History Department at the A.A. Bakikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology of ANAS, at a scientific conference held at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) on the topic “Albanian Monuments in the Karabakh Territory of Azerbaijan: Historical Reality and Armenian Falsification.”

The scholar emphasized that historical chronicles, including the work of Musa Kalankatuklu, provide evidence that the Albanians adopted Christianity centuries before the Armenians. At the same time, he stressed that the churches belonged to fundamentally different doctrinal traditions. The scholar noted that attempts by Armenians to appropriate monuments in Karabakh and Nakhchivan solely through inscriptions and the alphabet contradict international scholarly principles: “Although a large part of the population adopted Islam after the fall of the Albanian state, the material heritage of the Albanians who preserved Christian traditions, as exemplified by the Principality of Khachen, differs fundamentally from Armenian monuments. Unlike Gregorian monuments, Albanian cross-stones and funerary monuments feature symbols of the Moon, Sun and birds, reflecting elements of ancient worldviews. It can be seen that the names inscribed on the majority of funerary monuments in the area belong not to Armenians, but directly to historical figures of Albanian origin.”

Translation by Gulhane Aghayeva, Department of Public Relations, Press, and Information, Presidium of ANAS.

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