The successors of Nader Shah attempted to remove the privileges of the Karabakh princes. At the end of the 18th century, Karabakh was laid into ruin as the result of the war between various Turanian peoples and the Persian court. The Armenians of Karabakh then spinned their hopes on the great power of the north which was expanding constantly southward: Russia.
At the end of the 19th century, Russia finally conquered Karabakh and present day Azerbaijan. In the enormous and centralized Russian Empire, however, there was no longer a place for independent governments or principalities, and Karabakh was simply transformed into a province of the Russian Empire.
Karabakh has always played a significant role in the history of Armenia. The region, together with the Taurus Mountains and Sasoun, was the last anchorage of independence and self-governance in Armenia. While the rest of the Armenian people were under foreign rule and wore the chain of slavery, the self-ruling Armenians of Karabakh were able to keep the old Armenian characteristics alive, especially the warrior customs and the active and creative spirit of enterprise.
Military Aspects
During this period when Armenia had lost its independence, the Armenians, except in Karabakh, had no opportunity to build up their own Armenian forces and fight battles according to old Armenian discipline.
In Karabakh during the 18th century, the Armenian national hero Davit Beg fought with a force of 500 men against the Turks. The number of soldiers in this unit increased constantly and by the time Davit Beg had gathered all the Armenian princes under his command, it consisted of approximately 7,000 men. Davit Beg defetead the Turks, led by Sari Mustafa, in the historic battles at Kafan and Halidzor.
In foreign service, Armenians were prevalent among the Janissaries. As mentioned above, the Janissary forces consisted exclusively of Christian men which the Turks took by force from their families at a young age, as a form of tax, and educated them in the art of war. In reality it was these soldiers who constituted the foundation of power of the Ottoman Empire during several centuries. Among these Janissaries were many Armenian boys, although the majority of these were enlisted compulsorily amongst the Christian people in the Balkans. 40
Even in Egypt there were many Armenians amongst the Mameluke soldiers. We also know that this military organization, with the Janissaries as their model, later came to rule over Egypt. Among the Mameluke soldiers, whom Napoleon took with him from Egypt as his imperial guards, there were 20 Armenians, including Rustam, Shahin (who was a colonel), Mir David, Jean of -Shushi and Pierre Abressof who became the warrant officer of Prince Eugene de Beauharanais. 43
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