The name “Karabakh” is thought to be derived from the words "black" and "garden," however other possible meanings are "big garden," "dense garden," "thick garden," "pleasant garden," and others. The word "black" in the name of the "Garagoyunlu" state also means "great," so “great garden” is another possibility.

On the territory of Karabakh are historical and cultural monuments dating back to the Khojaly-Gadabay Culture of the 2nd millennium BC. This area belonged to the Caucasian Albanian state from the 4th century BC to the beginning of the 8th century AD, to the Sajid, Salari, and Ravvadi states, the Seljuk Empire and then the Eldeniz (Atabeys) state in the 8th-12th centuries, to the Elkhanids (Hulakis), Garagoyunlu and Aghgoyunlu states in the 13th-15th centuries, to the Safavid state in 1501-1736, and to the Karabakh Khanate in 1748-1821.

Karabakh is one of the most ancient inhabited lands not only in Azerbaijan, but in the world in general. One of the oldest human settlements was discovered in the Azykh Cave located in this region; in 1968, the jawbone of the “Azykh man,” or Azykhantrop, who is believed to have lived 350-400 thousand years ago, was found here. It is even older than Gobustan’s petroglyphs!

There are dozens of historical monuments in Karabakh that are centuries-old relics. The Agoghlan Monastery, Khudavang Monastery, Amaras Monastery, Holy Elysee Temple Complex, and Ganjasar Monasteries belonging to the ancient Christian state of Caucasian Albania are considered to be gems of Caucasian Albanian-Turkic architecture. Among the dozens of tombs and mosques built here are the Ashagi and Yukhari Govharaga mosques, the tombs of Sheikh Yagub of the 12th century and the tombs of Sari Ashig of the 15th century. The Khudafarin Bridges over the Araz river, Shusha Fortress, the residences of the Karabakh khans, Khurshidbanu Natavan's house museum, Molla Panah Vagif's mausoleum and other buildings have a special place among the historical monuments of Azerbaijan. Many of these historical monuments have been destroyed or damaged for the sake of fictitious restoration work.

It is no coincidence that Karabakh is called a cradle of Azerbaijani culture which was home to many prominent writers, educators and cultural figures, including the poetess Natavan, daughter of the last Karabakh khan, Molla Panah Vagif, founder of the realism genre in Azerbaijani poetry and vizier of the Karabakh Khanate, the playwright, writer and politician Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev, and many others. The region’s pleasant air and the pure water of its springs have helped give Azerbaijan hundreds of other prominent personalities; it is a real miracle.

It is said that in Shusha even babies cry to the accompaniment of mugham. Many artists lived and worked in this city in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and among them, Shahsanam oglu Yusif, Mirza Huseyn, Hasanja, Garachi Asad, and others laid the foundations of the musical art of mugham. At that time, the tar player Ali Asgar, the kamancha player Garachi Hajibey, and the maghara player Gapanchi oglu Karim were especially famous. The first music school teaching mugham was also established in Shusha.

For centuries Karabakh was one of the major centres of Azerbaijani carpet weaving, a traditional art inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Having first gained popularity in Europe in the 14th century, today Karabakh carpets continue to grace museum collections around the world with their rich colours, floral elements, and images of animals and birds. While woven throughout the region, in the 19th century Shusha gained a particular reputation for its carpets, which were said to be the best in Caucasus and whose vibrant colours and dazzling designs adorned the city’s homes and public buildings. Besides being a major industry, in Karabakh carpets were a symbol of wealth and every girl was expected to be able to weave one.

The golden-brown, tall and agile Karabakh horses used to be found all over Karabakh. The famous Russian artist Vasily Vereshchagin wrote in 1870: "... the best horses I have ever seen in my life belong to Jafargulu khan in Shusha." Karabakh horses are famous all over the world. The stallion “Alyetmez,” belonging to the khan's daughter Natavan, was awarded at the All-Russian horse exhibition in 1867, and a horse nicknamed "Khan" was awarded at an exhibition in France that same year. The lavish performances of Karabakh horses can also be seen at regular events in honour of the Queen of the United Kingdom. The traditional game of chovgan, played on Karabakh horses, is included in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. At present, Karabakh horses are bred at the newly opened Equestrian Farm in Aghdam.

Besides the beautiful springs of Karabakh, the steep peaks, the Jidir plain, the underground and surface resources, the plane tree forest of Zangilan deserves a special mention. This natural plane tree forest located in the Basitchay basin is one of the largest plane tree forests in the world in terms of the physical size of the trees and the forest’s area. These plane trees were 250-300 years old and up to 50 metres high, but sadly many have been cut down since the region was occupied.