Şahbulağı

Shahbulag, known in Azerbaijani as Şahbulağı, is an eighteenth-century fortress near Aghdam built in 1751-1752 by Panah Ali Khan, the founder of the Karabakh Khanate, and named for a nearby spring. The stone citadel served for a time as an early residence of the khans before the capital moved to Shusha. During the decades when the site was under Armenian administration, a small museum operated inside the fortress displaying archaeological finds from the nearby ancient settlement of Tigranakert; those exhibits were relocated before the area returned to Azerbaijani control under the November 2020 ceasefire agreement. Since then, the Azerbaijani government has carried out a large-scale restoration of the complex, landscaping some twelve hectares of surrounding land and adding an administration building, ticket office, and parking area. The renovated site today combines the historic Shahbulag residence and the adjoining Shah Abbas mosque with new visitor facilities, including a restaurant, accommodation, event spaces, and exhibition pavilions.