Another version proposes that the name comes from the Turkic words kevli ('river mouths') and jar ("gorge, ravine"), and that the settlement was called Keblajar before purportedly morphing to Kalbajar.

[6] In ancient times, the territory where modern-day Kalbajar is located was part of the county (gavar’) of Tsar of the Artsakh province within the Kingdom of Armenia.

[4] Archaeological evidence uncovered in 1924 by Soviet archaeologist and scholar of the Caucasus Yevgenia Pchelina attests to the existence of an Armenian settlement in the area during the Middle Ages.

[9] In the mid-19th century, the area was settled by Kurds, and the settlement's name was distorted from Kar(a)vachar to Kyarvajar or Kyalbajar.

[2] Civilians reported being forced to flee through mountains still covered in snow, resulting in hundreds freezing to death.

[12] Human Rights Watch findings concluded that during the Kalbajar offensive Armenian forces committed numerous violations of the rules of war, including forcible exodus of civilian population, indiscriminate fire and hostage-taking.

[13] Following the war, the city and surrounding territory were absorbed into the breakaway Republic of Artsakh becoming the centre of its Shahumyan Province and was renamed K’arvachar’.

It was reported that some residents were burning their own homes, schools and forests and were cutting fruit trees and downing power lines prior to the handover.

[27] Historical heritage sites in and around the town include a petroglyph, a medieval oil mill, a khachkar from 916, and tombstones from between the 13th and 17th centuries.