Shushi fortress

The Shusha fortress, built in 1752 by Khan Panakh-Ali-bey, was of purely defensive importance, since the Karabakh Khanate needed impregnable protection, especially in the northern part of the plateau. It was there that the relief would play into the hands of the besiegers, not the defenders of the fortress. The fortress was built from a large fortress wall 2.5 kilometers long. The wall was almost insurmountable from the outside, as it began on high cliffs in the south-west of the plateau, and then climbed the steep and sometimes almost sheer slopes of the gorge. On other sides, the fortress was reliably protected by massive rocks.

Military equipment of the XVIII century simply could not cope with such a powerful fortification. Limestone walls have a height of 7-8 meters, besides, along the entire length of the wall, the fortress is reinforced by semicircular towers, hollow inside. Not without a secret exit from the fortress, which underground labyrinths could lead the besieged in the gorge Karin-tak. The fortress quickly overgrown with residential buildings, partially absorbing the inhabitants of the nearby village. Thus, on the basis of the fortress, the city of Shusha arose.

The fortress had three entrances to different parts of the world except the south. The northern gates were called Gandzak (later - Elizavetopol), the western - Yerevan, and the eastern - Amaras.