Ashan, Nagorno-Karabakh
Ashan or Heshan is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population until the Expulsion of [Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians|expulsion] of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan following the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.
History
During the Soviet period, the village was a part of the Martuni District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.
Historical heritage sites in and around the village include a 7th-century chapel, a 17th/18th-century village and cemetery, and the 19th-century church of Surb Astvatsatsin.
Economy and culture
The population is mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. As of 2015, the village has a municipal building, a house of culture, a secondary school, a kindergarten, and a medical centre.
Demographics
The village had 588 inhabitants in 2005, and 544 inhabitants in 2015.