Togh's Melikian Palace
Togh's Melikian Palace (), also known as the Palace of Melik Yegan or the Palace of Dizak Meliks (), located in the central part of the Tuğ village in the Khojavend district of Azerbaijan. According to the inscription found on the palace, the structure was built in the early 1700s by Melik Yegan, one of the various Armenian Meliks of Dizak. Prior to the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war, the property was maintained by a descendant of Melik Yegan, Alexander Yeganyan. History. The artistic and architectural features of the buildings included in the complex, as well as epigraphic  samples show that different parts of it were built at different times. According to Mkrtchyan, who studied the monument, the first floor of the main palace building was built in the 20s and 30s of the 18th century, and the second floor in the early 19th century. It is written in the book placed on the portal on the entrance door of the reception room: What is mentioned in the book is also confirmed in the Persian, Turkish and Armenian language sources of that time. The inscription on the tombstone of Malik Yegan reads : Architecture. Located in the center of  the Togh village, the complex measures 38 x 13.24 meters and has a rectangular shape. On the north and south-east sides of the palace, the remains of thick walls protruding from the perimeter of the castle walls remain. Despite minor changes, the royal palace has almost survived to its original appearance. The guest and living rooms of the palace are grouped in three directions. Some of the rooms open directly into the courtyard of the palace. On the first floor of the north-eastern part of the palace there are two rooms, above them, on the second floor there  is a large hall with a balcony. The rooms on the first floor are reminiscent of arched houses. Each of the rooms on the first floor has a window. Window and door spaces are stone framed; There are steam and niches in the interiors of the rooms. Undoubtedly, these rooms are the oldest buildings of the palace. On the west side of the rectangular courtyard there is a building with a facade covered with well-hewn stones and a balcony with columns. With the exception of the East Wall, the other three walls of this building are deaf and a  continuation of the castle walls. The columnar balcony also had an additional functional feature; The balcony, which was higher than the courtyard and connected to the courtyard by a stone staircase, became a stage during palace events. The fireplaces and deep niches in the rooms on the first floor indicate that the building is civil. Although the main entrance is on the west side of the building, the stone stairs descending from the balcony on the second floor connect it with the palace courtyard. The largest hall of the palace building is located to the right of the parade stairs , on the south–north axis. The hall has three doors. The main door is on the west wall and the other two doors are on the east. The palace's living room is located above the parade stairs and is the tallest of all the buildings. From the balcony of the room there is a beautiful view of all the surrounding areas. There is an organic connection between the parade entrance, the living room and the long hall, and therefore the palace is considered one of the most beautiful examples of civil architecture of its time. The palace, located in  the center of Togh, occupies a kind of connecting position between the civil and religious buildings of the village. The rooms on the second floor were built later and are reminiscent of Togh's traditional houses in terms of layout. Similar features of the second floor with the older part of the palace are wide window frames, wide and multi-column balconies. During the construction of the palace complex, white and yellowish limestone from the stone quarry in the Fuzuli region, as well as well-cut gray basalt stones were used. Malik Yegan's two-storey reception room is located  in the southern part of the palace, 25 meters from the castle walls. The room has survived to its original appearance. The reception room is small, has a balcony and a double front. The reception room is distinguished by the skillful implementation of wall masonry, and in this regard, the construction of arches attracts special attention. The entrance tympanum is built of well-hewn stones and has an inscription. The first floor of the reception room is completely underground and connects the palace with the garrison via an underground passage. The second floor of the reception room is located at  ground level. In the 19th century, city-type living rooms with balconies on three sides were built above the reception room.