Despite the fact that it was the middle of summer, it was as if the autumn wind was blowing everywhere, and the endless fields had turned yellow, dried up and turned into treasures. It was as if the seeds that were thrown into the ground in the spring did not want to grow and sprout. The water of mountain springs had also decreased. The mountains of Aghdam, covered with thick forests, always fascinated people at this time of the year. That year, full of savagery, there was no trace of that beauty. Fire rained down on Aghdam. The ignorant people who took embers from our hearths and water from our springs had eyes in our hearths and in our springs. Labor, blacksmithing, coal mining for bread money … Armenians fell in love with owning a city. The treachery and hatred of our 70-year-old “brothers” had dried up the ice springs of the snow-capped mountains. Aghdam, the eye of Karabakh, embraced tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in February 1988. Our beloved, beautiful Aghdam, which is always an eye-opener for the enemy with the patriotism and fighting spirit of its people! What did it know then that the greatest desire of the hated is to possess it …

The events of June-July 1993 in Ganja and Baku helped the Armenians to expand their offensive operations on the Karabakh front. As the first attack on Aghdam failed, the Armenians concentrated their forces in the direction of Aghdara. On June 17, Aghdara fell into enemy hands. After that, two Armenian army corps began operations in the direction of Agdam. The defense of Aghdam consisted mainly of the Azerbaijani National Army, which consisted mainly of volunteers and was smaller in number than the enemy. The 42-day battle ends with the occupation of Agdam. This was the third major loss around Nagorno-Karabakh after Lachin and Kalbajar. More than 6,000 citizens were killed during the battles for Aghdam.
Those days were written in the memory of our people as the days of the civil war, the occupation of our lands, as well as the days of salvation. Thus, our great leader Heydar Aliyev, who returned to power in June at the insistence of the people, with his political power and the help of the people tried to prevent the events in the country, the fratricidal war, as well as to convey the terror committed by Armenians. During his years as Chairman of the Supreme Majlis in Nakhchivan, foreign journalists were brought there by the Bridge of Hope built between Turkey and Azerbaijan by the order of the great leader, and the deeds of criminal Armenians were brought to the attention of the world community. The genius leader, who was gifted by God to the people of Azerbaijan, overcame this test. The prominent statesman protected the unity of the Azerbaijani society, did not allow it to be divided in terms of social inequality, regional factor, religious and national affiliation. Thus, the survival of the Azerbaijani statehood was ensured. Large-scale occupation of our lands was prevented.
Aghdam, which has a special place in our history and culture, is one of the largest cities in the Karabakh plain. Aghdam is a region of Azerbaijan under Armenian occupation, most of which is now the administrative center of Azerbaijan, including the city of Aghdam. Due to the occupation, only 10 villages in the region are under the control of Azerbaijan. Aghdam region was established on August 8, 1930. The relief of the region with an area of 1154 square km is mainly plain, partly mountainous. The region is located in the center of Karabakh, the ancient, charming land of Azerbaijan – in the north-eastern foothills of the Karabakh mountain range, west of the Kur-Araz lowland. The ancient historical monuments of Aghdam, which is considered to be the heart of beautiful Karabakh, have survived through the millennia. Archaeological excavations carried out in the region since the 1950s have revealed that it is one of the settlements of ancient people. During the archeological researches of the well-known archeologist Ideal Narimanov in the place called Uchoglantepe, it became clear that the first ancient people in the region were six or eight thousand years ago, ie in the Eneolithic period (covering IV-VI millennium BC, called “copper age”). lived and became acquainted with the ancient culture of agriculture and cattle breeding. During archeological excavations in Leylatapa and Uzerliktepe, which were ancient settlements in other areas of the region, the scientist discovered material and spiritual monuments of the Eneolithic and Middle Bronze Ages (first half of the second millennium BC) in pottery, metallurgy, jewelry and other fields. The grains and grapes found here prove once again that the local population lived a sedentary life and had a high agricultural culture. Archaeologists, based on the material and cultural remains found during their research in Uzerriktepe, note that this was the first urban settlement in the Caucasus and one of the richest monuments in the Caucasus. Near the village of Sarichoban in the mid-80s of the XX century, a magnificent mound of the Late Bronze and Iron Ages (covering the XIX-XIII centuries BC) is a very valuable historical monument. BC found in the mound. Material finds from the XII-XIII centuries indicate that this monument was the tomb of a rich man. This is the best visual evidence of the collapse of the primitive community structure and the emergence of social and labor inequality in Azerbaijan at that time. The city of Aghdam, its numerous historical monuments, cultural and architectural samples, which witnessed its ancient past, and the Bread Museum, the first in the former USSR and the second in the world, were savagely destroyed by the enemy. The Aghdam Equestrian Plant, the most important event in the history of the Karabakh breed in the twentieth century, was also subjected to Armenian aggression. After the occupation of the Aghdam region by the Armenian aggressors in 1993, the Karabakh horses, the national wealth of Azerbaijan and one of the foundations of our local gene pool, are living a life of displacement. Aghdam Equestrian Plant has been operating in Khamtorpag area of Agjabedi region since 1994.
Today, about 143,000 IDPs from Agdam have settled in 875 settlements in 59 regions of Azerbaijan. Today, there is development and progress in a part of Aghdam, which was liberated from enemy occupation with the coming to power of our great leader – five to ten meters from the enemy. Houses destroyed by heavy shells fired by the enemy in the April fighting were rebuilt under the care of the head of state and handed over to residents. The presence of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, in those areas during the April fighting caused the residents to be tied to their lands with stronger wires and to look to the future with greater hope. The visit of the head of state to the frontline and: “Today we know very well that the Armenian state was established in the historical lands of Azerbaijan. Iravan khanate, Zangazur, Goycha district are our historical lands. We Azerbaijanis must return to those lands and we will return. We must restore our territorial integrity. Nagorno-Karabakh has always been the land of Azerbaijan. It has always been so, it is so today and it will be so tomorrow. Simply, as a result of the events of the early 1990s, our lands were temporarily occupied. But we will restore our sovereignty. The Azerbaijani flag will be raised in all occupied territories, including Shusha and Khankendi. This is our goal. We are moving towards this goal, and we must create a stronger army to achieve this goal, “he said, adding to our confidence in victory.
Although I was not born and raised in Aghdam, I spent 4 years of my life in the village of Chamenli in this region. I met the proud people of Aghdam there. And with them, every morning I watched the fog of high-rise buildings exploding with dynamite and historical monuments being vandalized. Every summer I have seen the rising flames of our burnt lands. The fog of destroyed monuments and burnt lands has been expressed for years. Aghdam, known as the gateway to the Caucasus, returned to Hiroshima in the Caucasus due to Armenian vandalism. For many years, the people of Aghdam have been looking at their homeland with longing and heartache. This ignites the flame of anger and revenge in the hearts of everyone who has Azerbaijani blood in their veins. Every soldier in the trenches is ready to put an end to this longing at any moment. Those who were forcibly expelled from their native lands are sure that the Azerbaijani soldier is waiting for the moment, as in the April battles. In just four days, every soldier of our army, who tore down the fortifications built by the enemy for 24 years and liberated the Lalatapa and Talysh heights and 11,000 territories in one night in the direction of Nakhchivan, is Samad bey Mehmandarov, Polad Hashimov and Mubariz Ibrahimov. Every citizen of Agdam is confident that under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, our occupied lands will be liberated, and the tricolor flag of our country, which is growing stronger day by day, will be hoisted in these places. Our army, which brings weapons to the friendly shadow and death to the enemy, will soon give our people the most glorious Victory Day in history. The fact that our army heroically repulsed the enemy’s attempts to repel the enemy’s attacks in the battles on our state border in the coming days, and that our people have been ready to go to war at any moment in support of our army, has proved this once again.

Ramiya AKBAROVA