Dating back to the first millennium BCE, Nagorno-Karabakh (NK), known as Artsakh to Armenians, shares its history with Armenia and Armenians as well as with its magnificent mountains, shimmering lakes and waterfalls, ancient trees, and other flora, wild or sown by loving hands. Artsakh and its people, their arts and traditions, emerge through photos, conversations, and essays. Nagorno-Karabakh: Portrait of a Homeland introduces readers to the history, daily life, and creative arts of its people, highlighting their historical resilience. The people of this land withstood conflicts, adapted, recovered from oppression over centuries, and created a distinct culture, transforming adversity into growth. The book combines striking images by well-known photographers with articles by academics, other experts, and local voices—people with lived experience of the region. It also includes a 3,000-year Timeline and maps showing changing borders over time. The Armenian–Azerbaijani conflict, lasting over three decades, ended with the ethnic cleansing of the people of NK. This book thus ends by returning to issues of human rights and the erasure of culture, hoping to somehow instill hope and find ways of rebuilding where Armenians and Azeris, along with other peoples of the region, respect each other and their heritage.
