The newly conquered castle town was called "Panahabad fortress" named after Panah Ali Khan who together with Melik Shahnazar[1] was the founder of the fort.

[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The area where the Shusha fortress was built is a mountainous plateau in the form of amphitheater from the west with numerous hills and rifts.

[10] Panah Ali khan who founded the Karabakh Khanate with the support of Armenian Melik Shahnazar[11] in 1747 decided to build a fortress which would help him to control this large country extending from The Aras River to Lake Sevan, from The Tartar River to Meghri, Tatev and Sisian and including the areas of Karabakh, Zangezur and Bargushad.

[18] The 19th-century Karabakh historians stated that fortress, stone houses, mosque, bath and bazaar was built in accord with Panah Ali Khan's instructions.

[21] Later, however, the relatives of Panah Khan advised him to choose a safer place for the construction of a new fort and thus he decided to build Shusha fortress.

[20] Ahmad bey Javanshir noted that "The eternally impassable, inaccessible place chosen for construction of the fort would not allow even the strongest enemy to besiege it".

[22] The construction of a new fortress required such a location that one of its sides would be open to be in contact with elats as well as would provide Panah Ali Khan with a chance to get in touch with mahals under his control.

[26] The ravines allow natural water to flow out of the fortress, so it reduces the possibility of flooding to zero in Shusha, where the rainy and foggy weather is characteristic.

G. Keppel, the famous English traveler who visited Karabakh in the 19th century, noted the successful strategic location of the Shusha plateau.

He writes: "The natural superior position – the location in the almost inaccessible peak of the high hill – caused the need for human defense to play a less important role in the city.

"[31] Count Platon Zubov who described Shusha fortress at the top of the Caucasus Mountains also stated its natural strategic advantage.

"[35] One of the advantages of the site chosen for the construction of the fortress was the good observation and control of all the surrounding areas, which prevented a sudden attack of the enemy.

P. Zubov writes: "It is possible to observe the villages, which are scattered along the valley and located on the farthest side from the perspective of Shusha plateau, beautiful vineyards and mountains covered with forests.

A. Caspari who was speaking about the natural impregnability of Shusha fortress also noted that the cliffs which rise to the top, especially in the north-eastern part of the city.

A. Alasgarzadeh and E. Shukurzadeh, who edited and published the "Karabakhname" (the important historical source to investigate the history of Karabakh Khanate), note that it is doubtful the date of the foundation of Shusha fortress was given as 1170 according to Islamic calendar.

[44] E. Avalov notes that Molla Panah Vagif, the poet and vizier of the Karabakh khan, personally supervised the construction of Shusha fortress.

"[46] The area in which Shusha fortress was built is a mountainous plateau in the form of amphitheater from the west with numerous hills and rifts.

[30] According to "Qafqaz" newspaper, the main reason for choosing such a unique place was related to the strategic importance that the complex mountainous area had.

[47] At the beginning of the 18th century, on the eve of the formation of Khanates of the Caucasus, large centers of the traditional school of architecture such as Nakhchivan, Ganja, Shamakhi, were in the period of decline.

This statement was confirmed by the historian Yakhov Zakharyants who took part in the defense of Shusha fortress in the late 18th century: "At 6.00 a.m., after the soldiers gathered in Dovteleb, the fire was opened by artillery placed in all the sides.

[58] At the beginning of the 19th century (under the complicated historical conditions), Shusha fortress continued to play the role of an important defense system.

"[59] Using the 10-day peace treaty, the besieged city "rebuilt the fortress walls in such a way that it could easily repel the attacks of numerous Persian warriors.

[61] During the reconstruction and strengthening process of the fortress in the 19th century, its original appearance was partially changed, and new defensive towers were added to the fort.

[62] The towers of the northern walls of the Shusha fortress, seen in the background in Vasily Vereshchagin's painting "The End of Dramatic Play", have a prismatic shape, not a circle as in all the previous plans of the city.

"[63] E. Avalov notes that all the defensive buildings of the Karabakh khanate built in the 18th century – Shahbulag, Shusha and Askeran fortresses – have round towers.

[65] For example, in the 25th issue of the "Qafqaz" newspaper published in 1871, it was written: "According to Abix's barometric measurements, the northeastern part of the city where the Aghoghlan and Elisabethpol gates are located is 3,886 feet tall, and the southwestern part known as "Shusha Rock" and Irevan Gate are located is 4,705 feet tall.

[45] A similar attitude to the artistic significance of defense systems is characteristic of the architecture (in terms of fortresses) of Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Armenia, Georgia, Central Asia and Ancient Russia.

[70] The masonry woven from white and black stones in the shape of a checkerboard and a fir effectively surrounds the arched entrance of the castle.

According to Ahmad bey Javanshir, the cave connected the castle with Shusha fortress by a secret underground road.

[80] General information about the appearance of inner part of the fortress was introduced by Vasily Vereshchagin's painting "The End of Dramatic Play" in 1865.