Hadrut is located in the Hadrut-Gozluchay valley, not far from Mount Argunesh. It is home to ancient cultural monuments, although the exact time of the settlement’s foundation is unknown. The name of the settlement was first mentioned in Ottoman sources in 1727 as the village of Hadrut in Dizag district. In tsarist times Hadrut village was a part of Jabrail district of Elizavetpol province. In 1923, Hadrut village was included in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijan SSR, and in 1930 it was chosen as the administrative centre of the newly created Dizag district. In 1939 this district was named Hadrut district after the name of its centre. In 1963, Hadrut was given the status of an urban-type settlement. According to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan No. 279-XII of 26 November 1991, NKAO (Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast) was abolished and Khojavand district was formed on the basis of Martuni and Hadrut districts. On 2 October 1992, during the First Karabakh War, Armenian armed forces occupied Hadrut.
       
As a result of the occupation of the Hadrut district by the Armenian armed forces, Azerbaijan suffered severe damage. 2,239 Azerbaijanis, who had lived in this territory since ancient times, were displaced from their native places. As a result of military aggression, 679 square kilometres of the most fertile lands of our republic (Hadrut district) were occupied. The Hadrut district occupied by Armenia included 1 settlement, 41 villages, 31 village councils, more than 1000 industrial and agricultural objects, 12 pre-school institutions, 28 general educational institutions, 1 vocational school, 1 school with seven-year education, 11 culture houses, 22 clubs, a radio reception room, 30 shops of everyday goods, 40 retail trade centres, 23 savings banks, 8644 shops with industrial goods, 63 retail trade enterprises, 150 trucks, 82 harvesters, 84 telephone exchanges, 16 post-telephone stations, 8 football fields, 45 volleyball fields, an outpatient clinic for 1388 places, 1 boarding house for 485 places, 1 sanatorium for 250 places, a rest house for 275 places, a sanatorium-epidemiological centre.  The occupation also affected – 110 km motorway, 20 bridges, 5000 km of water, 3000 km of power lines, distilleries, grape processing plants, local industrial complexes, agro-industrial association, agricultural repair station, communications, motor transport, catering enterprises, service workshops, etc.

Armenian aggressors seized local radio stations. Museums, museum values and exhibits were all looted.  22 thousand hectares of forest, valuable and rare 100-year-old trees, important and healing water sources (Ganjasar spring), ancient architectural monuments, all this was ruthlessly destroyed.
     
In the territory of Khojavand district, near the village of Salakhetin (in the Guruchay valley) there is the 1.5-million-year-old Azykh cave, as well as the ancient Taghlar cave. “Ritish” fortress of 5th-7th centuries is in Tug village, “Argunesh” fortress on the slope of Argunesh mountain, “Rzagulu Bey” tomb of 13th century near Dudukchu village, “Ashigli Gosha” dome near Hodjavand village, “Alban” temple (1241) in Boyuk Taghlar village, historical temple of 10th century called “Girmizi” in Tug village, monuments of architecture and art, etc. As an example of cultural and religious monuments of the region destroyed as a result of Armenian aggression – Albanian church of the 5th century 5 kilometres away from Tug village, Albanian cemeteries of the 1st-5th centuries, Demirov and Daghdagan hearths in Salakhetin village, Chichim hearth located on the territory of Khojavand village, which was registered on the territory of Garadaghli village and Albanian cemeteries belonging to the 3rd-6th centuries, Bahramli pier near Amirallar village (in the area of the former Bahramli village), Seid Rza dome located in Mughanli village, El pier on the territory of Garadaghli village and several other valuable material architectural monuments.
       
Deposits on the territory of Hadrut were seized by aggressors and after extraction were taken to Armenia. These are precious, rare minerals such as granite, pyrite, galena, gold, molybdenum, feldspar, construction materials, and others. The territory of Hadrut district as a whole has been subjected to environmental terrorism. Our caves with ancient history have turned into warehouses of Armenian weapons. Rare trees and natural forests listed in the “Red Book” in the area were destroyed by Armenian bandits. As a result of the aggression, the inhabitants of the district, displaced from their native places, temporarily settled in other 40 districts and towns of the republic.
     
As a result of the successful counter-offensive operation of the Azerbaijani Army, which began on 27 September 2020, the defence and fortification lines built by the enemy on our lands were destroyed. From the beginning of October, the Azerbaijani Army was advancing on the southern front, but then moved in an unexpected direction for the enemy – to Hadrut. The liberation of Hadrut was the operation that decided the fate of the war. Due to the liberation of Hadrut the special forces of the Azerbaijani Army started moving towards Shusha from this very direction.
      
Heavy artillery battles started on 7 October 2020, and on 9 October Azerbaijani troops succeeded in taking control of strategically important villages and heights near the settlement. Thus, the settlement of Hadrut was liberated from occupation on 9 October. In terms of military-strategic significance, the liberation of Hadrut determined the fate of the 44-day war.
     
Today, as in all territories of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation, great reconstruction works are being carried out in Hadrut settlement of Khojavand district. Our settlements and villages, which were completely destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth during the Armenian occupation, are being rebuilt and life is returning to these lands.

Recommended literature:

1. Məmmədov, Nazim Rəhbər oğlu. Azərbaycan Respublikasının Hadrut rayonunun tarixi : XX əsrin 20-90-cı illəri / N. R. Məmmədov ; AMEA A.A. Bakıxanov adına Tarix İnstitutu. - Bakı : Avropa nəşriyyatı, 2016. - 604 s.
2. Qasımlı, Musa Cəfər oğlu. Azərbaycan Respublikasının tarixi : 1991-2021: 2 cilddə / M. C. Qasımlı ; elmi red. İ. X. Zeynalov ; Bakı Dövlət Universiteti. - ISBN 978-9952-546-20-0. II cild: 2003-2021. - Bakı : BDU nəşriyyatı, 2021. - 520 s.
3. Tərabiki, Əhməd Abdo. Dəmir yumruq - Qarabağ müharibəsi 2020-ci il. /Ə. A.Tərabiki. - Bakı: [s.n.], 2021. - 315 s.
4. 44 gün anbaan... : rəsmi xronika / tərt. F. Cəfərli. - II nəşr. - Bakı : TEAS Press, 2022. - 648 s.