Editing Shusha (section)

== Etymology ==
Several historians believe Shusha derives from the [[Persian language#Early New Persian|New Persian]] ''Shīsha'' ("glass, vessel, bottle, flask").{{sfn|Everett-Heath|2018}}{{sfn|Chkeidze|2001|pages=486-490}} According to the ''Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names'', when Iranian ruler [[Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar]] approached the town with his army, he reportedly told the ruler of Karabakh [[Ibrahim Khalil Khan]]:

{{Blockquote|
God is pouring stones on thy head. Sit ye not then in thy fortress of glass.{{sfn|Everett-Heath|2018}}
}}

''Panahabad'' ("City of Panah"), Shusha's previous name, was a tribute to [[Panah Ali Khan]], the first ruler of the [[Karabakh Khanate]].{{sfn|Everett-Heath|2018}}

According to the ''[[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]]'', published in the final decades of the [[Russian Empire]], the town's name comes from the nearby village [[Shosh, Nagorno-Karabakh|Shushikent]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/brokgauz_efron/117414/Шуша |title=Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary |access-date=7 September 2021 |archive-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407170744/https://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/brokgauz_efron/117414/%D0%A8%D1%83%D1%88%D0%B0 |url-status=live }}</ref> (called ''Shosh'' in Armenian), which literally means "Shusha village" in the [[Azerbaijani language]]. Conversely, the Armenian historian [[Leo (historian)|Leo]] (1860–1932) considered it more likely that the village Shosh received its name from the fortress, which he considered the older settlement.<ref name="Shahen">{{cite book|last=Mkrtchyan|first=Shahen|url=https://artsakhlib.am/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Mkrtchyan-Shahen-Lernayin-Karabaghi-hushardzannery-1.pdf|title=Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի պատմա-ճարտարապետական հուշարձանները|date=1980|publisher=Hayastan publishing house|location=Yerevan|page=146|language=hy|trans-title=Historical-architectural monuments of Mountainous Karabakh|chapter=City of Shushi (Շուշի քաղաքը)|access-date=16 December 2020|archive-date=14 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714030926/https://artsakhlib.am/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Mkrtchyan-Shahen-Lernayin-Karabaghi-hushardzannery-1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to Armenian sources, the name Shusha most likely derives from the dialectal Armenian word ''shosh''/''shush'' (Armenian: շոշ/շուշ), meaning tree sprout or, figuratively, a high place, first applied either to the adjacent village [[Shosh, Nagorno-Karabakh|Shosh]] or to Shusha itself.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Danielyan|first=Samvel|date=19 February 2021|title=Շուշիի բոլոր անվանումները՝ հայերեն, թե օտարալեզու, հայկական են - Հայտարարում է բանասիրական գիտությունների թեկնածու Արտակ Վարդանյանը|trans-title=All of Shushi's names, Armenian or foreign-language, are Armenian - states Candidate of Philological Sciences Artak Vardanyan|url=https://www.aravot.am/2021/02/20/1172207/ |access-date=2021-03-26|website=www.aravot.am|language=hy|quote=The most reliable version of the etymology of the name of the fortified city of Shushi is that it came from the Artsakh dialect's shosh (tree sprout, high place, height)... The name of the village Shosh, not far from Shushi, obviously also comes from this.|archive-date=20 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220092050/https://www.aravot.am/2021/02/20/1172207/}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Vardanyan |first=Artak |date=2021-02-04 |title=ՀԱՅԱՀՈՒՆՉ ՈՒ ՀԱՅԱՇՈՒՆՉ ՇՈՒՇԻ |trans-title=Armenian-sounding and Armenian-breathing Shushi |url=http://language.sci.am/hy/news/hayahownch-ow-hayashownch-showshi.html |access-date=2022-06-26 |website=RA NAA Language Institute named after H. Acharyan |quote=The most reliable version of the etymology of the fortress city of Shushi... is the derivation of the place name from the word ''shosh'' ("tree branch", "high place", "height") of the Artsakh dialect. |archive-date=7 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807102242/http://language.sci.am/hy/news/hayahownch-ow-hayashownch-showshi.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The form ''Shusha'' can also be explained as the genitive form of ''shosh''/''shush'', as ''-a'' or ''-ay'' is a common declensional ending for placenames in pre-modern and dialectal Armenian.<ref name=":1" />

Besides the common Armenian name Shushi, the town has historically been referred to in Armenian by various names, including ''Shoshi/Shushva Berd'', ''Shoshi Sghnakh'', ''Shoshvaghala'', which all mean "Shosh/Shushi Fortress".<ref name=":32">{{Cite book |last1=Hakobyan |first1=T. Kh. |title=Hayastani ev harakitsʻ shrjanneri teghanunneri baṛaran |last2=Melik-Bakhshyan |first2=St. T. |last3=Barseghyan |first3=H. Kh. |publisher=Yerevan State University |year=1991 |volume=4 |pages=161 |language=hy |trans-title=Dictionary of toponymy of Armenia and adjacent territories |chapter=Shushi |chapter-url=http://www.nayiri.com/imagedDictionaryBrowser.jsp?dictionaryId=61&dt=HY_HY&pageNumber=3237 |access-date=16 December 2020 |archive-date=19 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119035807/http://www.nayiri.com/imagedDictionaryBrowser.jsp?dictionaryId=61&dt=HY_HY&pageNumber=3237 |url-status=live }}</ref>