Ashan or Heshan is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population until the exodus of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh following the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.

History

During the Soviet period, the village was a part of the Martuni District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.

Historical heritage sites

Historical heritage sites in and around the village include a 7th-century chapel, a 17th/18th-century village and cemetery, and the 19th-century church of Surb Astvatsatsin (, lit. 'Holy Mother of God').

Economy and culture

The population is mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. As of 2015, the village has a municipal building, a house of culture, a secondary school, a kindergarten, and a medical centre.

Demographics

The village had 588 inhabitants in 2005, and 544 inhabitants in 2015.