Karakend

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Karakend, also known as Berdashen, is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. It sits about 656 meters above sea level and had about 1,606 residents in 2015. The village has Armenian and Azerbaijani names: Karakend (Azerbaijani) and Berdashen (Armenian).

During the Soviet era it was part of the Martuni District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. In the 1990s, fighting broke out in the area, and until 2023 it was controlled by the Armenian‑backed Artsakh authorities. After Azerbaijan’s 2023 offensive, the Armenian population left, and the village returned to Azerbaijani control.

Nearby historical sites include a 12th‑century khachkar, the 17th‑century church of Surb Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God), the 1676 Mets Nahatak chapel, and the Kusaberd fortress (also known as Aghjkaberd).

As of 2015, Karakend had a municipal building, a house of culture, a secondary school, a kindergarten, six shops, and a medical centre. The population was 1,498 in 2005 and 1,606 in 2015. A notable event in the area is the 1991 downing of a Mi-8 helicopter near the village, which killed 22 people.