Georgia and the Khanates of South Caucasus in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century

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Appendix 2

Georgia and the Khanates of South Caucasus
in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century

The Russian and Ottoman occupation of the South Caucasus, following the fall of
the Safavids, albeit short, had transformed the century-long order established by that
Iranian dynasty. It had allowed the Georgian rulers, as well as the khans, begs and
soltans of the South Caucasus to form local power bases and to cooperate with ei-
ther the Russians or Ottomans, depending on their objectives. As noted,1 Nader Shah
tried to restore the Safavid administrative structure of the three former beglarbegis
(see map 4). He retained the governing families of some regions, but replaced others
with his loyal commanders (see below). The local population, however, did not always
welcome Nader’s choices which sparked a number of rebellions.2
    Following Nader’s assassination in 1747, the kings of eastern Georgia (Kartli and
Kakheti), as well as various tribal chiefs in the South Caucasus, took advantage of the
disorder in Iran, and formed ten khanates and a number of soltanates (see map 7).3
At the same time, several tribal leaders in Iran, among them Karim Khan Zand, Azad
Khan Afghan and Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar fought for supremacy; which, by
1762, ended with the recognition of Karim Khan’s authority.
    Between 1762 and 1797 King Erekle II of Kartli-Kakheti and the khans and soltans of
the South Caucasus, not only had to deal with the incursions on the part of their neigh-
bors, but also had to tread a fine line between the demands of Catherine the Great and
Aga Mohammad Khan Qajar’s rise in Iran.4

1 See Chapter 1.
2 In 1743, the Nader’s garrison at Qabr was slaughtered, forcing Nader to send troops to
  regain the town, Mohammad Kazem Marvi, ʿAlamara-ye Naderi, III (Tehran, 1990), 1038;
  Bakikhanov, 154.
3 See Chapter 1.
4 It is important to note, however, that despite the unfounded claims of some Azeri historians,
  there was no united anti-Iranian movement, nor any regional, ethnic, or national identity,
  or plans for an independent state. The short-lived efforts of King Erekle II, Ebrahim Khan of
  Qarabagh, and Fath ʿAli Khan of Qobbeh to establish total hegemony over the South Caucasus
  all ended in failure. Such assertions have become more common among Azeri historians
  after 1989; for example, see, Dzh. M. Mustafaev, Severnye khanstva Azerbaidzhana i Rossiia
  (Baku, 1989) and E. Babaev, Iz istorii giandzhinskogo khanstva (Baku, 2003). In fact, after
  Stalin’s failure to annex Iranian Azarbayjan in 1946, Soviet historians not only proclaimed
  that the khanates were never part of Iran and were independent entities, but began (and
  have continued to do so after 1991) to refer to Iranian Azarbayjan as south Azerbaijan, which

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1         Georgia

After regaining Tiflis in 1735, Nader was initially welcomed by a number of Georgian
princes, one of whom he named the vali of Georgia. Nader’s demands in cash and grain
during his Daghestan campaign and his 1743 campaign against the Ottomans, however,
resulted in a rebellion. In 1744, Nader decided to name Teimuraz II, from the Bagra-
tid princely family, as King of Kartli, while Teimuraz’s son, Erekle II, was named the
ruler of Kakheti. Both father and son had not only demonstrated their loyalty, but had
also performed great services to the Iranian monarch. Teimuraz had supported Nader
in his march on Tiflis and Erekle had headed a Georgian contingent in the Indian
campaign.5 Both father and son were also instrumental in subduing the 1743 rebellion.
Although prior to his death, Nader had renewed his demands for cash and grain from
Georgia, his successor. ʿAdel Shah, who was married to one of Teimuraz’s daughters
and who relied on the support of the Bagratids, rescinded the request. Between 1750
and 1797 Erekle II also controlled the Qazzaq region.6
   After the death of Teimuraz II, in 1762, Erekle II became the king of the united
Kartli and Kakheti kingdom. Erekle thus assumed control of all of eastern Georgia.
Soon after, he became a major force in the South Caucasus and cooperated with Karim
Khan Zand. He also allied with Ebrahim Khan of Qarabagh. The two then made the
khanate of Ganjeh subordinate to their will and extended their power to Yerevan.7 The
political conditions in the South Caucasus changed completely, however, following
Erekle’s 1783 treaty with Russia and the arrival of Russian troops in Tiflis.8

2         Ganjeh

The Safavids had entrusted the beglarbegi of Qarabagh, which included Ganjeh, to
the Ziyadoghlu Qajar tribe.9 Nader, after driving out the Ottomans in 1735, confirmed

    had been separated from north Azerbaijan, see V. Leviatov, Ocherki iz istorii Azerbaidzhana
    v XVIII veke (Baku, 1948). Such absurd notions are completely negated by Article III of the
    Golestan Treaty and Article I of the treaties between Russia and the khans of Qarabagh,
    Shakki and Shirvan; see Appendix 4.
5   M-F. Brosset, Histoire de la Géorgie, II/2 (St. Petersburg, 1857), 206–207.
6   Musəvi, docs. 27–39. Qazzaq became a bone of contention between Georgia and Ganjeh, see
    Chapters 1 and 2.
7   For details, see Allen, 196–205; Butkov, II, 70–80; Lang, 178.
8   See Chapter 1.
9   For a brief introduction of this tribe and its hereditary rule in Ganjeh and Qarabagh, see,
    J. Reid, “The Qajar Uymaq in the Safavid Period, 1500–1722,” Iranian Studies, XI (1978), 127–137;
    Mohammad Maʿsum b. Khwajegi Esfahani, Kholasat al-Seyr (Tehran, 1989), 319–325; AA, II,
    657. For a list of the governors, see Nasiri, 258–259.

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Ughurlu Khan Ziyadoghlu Qajar as the khan. However, after learning that the lat-
ter was the sole khan who had not supported his candidacy for shah at the Moghan
assembly,10 Nader decided to reduce the power of that tribe by dividing the Beglarbegi
of Qarabagh.11 He handed the Zangezur district to the beglarbegi of Tabriz and reaf-
firmed the autonomy of the five Armenian districts (see map 5).12 In addition, Nader
gave the districts of Borchalu, Qazzaq and Shams al-Din (see map 7) to King Teimuraz II
of Kartli.13 Thus, Ughurlu Khan ended up with only the town of Ganjeh and its sur-
rounding region.
    In the summer of 1737, Ebrahim Khan, the brother of Nader Shah, was named the
interim beglarbeg of Azarbayjan and the South Caucasus during Nader’s campaigns in
Afghanistan and India. In order to subdue the Daghestani tribesmen who continued to
raid Ganjeh and Georgia, Ebrahim Khan asked Ughurlu Khan and King Teimuraz II to
join him in a punitive expedition against Daghestan. Although the campaign was suc-
cessful in Daghestan, Surkhai Khan of the Qazi-Qomuq and his son Morteza-ʿAli would
not submit. A year later, in November 1738, Ebrahim Khan and Ughurlu Khan initiated
another campaign against Surkhai Khan. The two khans were defeated and Ughurlu
Khan died on the field of battle.14
    Shahverdi Khan Ziyadoghlu, the son of Ughurlu Khan, succeeded his father in 1740,
but his support of Sam Mirza, a pretender to the Iranian throne, forced him, in 1743, to
flee to Kartli and seek refuge with King Teimuraz II. Nader then appointed his tupchi-
bashi, Hajji Khan,15 as the governor of Ganjeh. Following Nader’s murder in 1747,
Shahverdi Khan, with the help of kings Teimuraz and Erekle II, returned to Ganjeh and
disposed of Hajji Khan. Surkhai Khan then promised to pay an annual tribute equal to
10,000 tomans to the Georgian monarchs.
    From 1747 until his death at the hand of one of his associates, Shahverdi Khan did
his best to keep the khanate from being invaded by his neighbors by paying tribute to
the Javanshirs of Qarabagh or to Georgia. In the meantime, in order to establish new
alliances, Shahverdi found spouses for some of his four sons and three daughters. His
eldest son, Mohammad Hasan Khan, married the sister of Surkhai Khan Qazi-Qomuq.
One of his daughters wed Ebrahim Khan of Qarabagh, and, after her death, another
of his daughters married Ebrahim. His youngest daughter married Hosein Khan of
Shakki and after his death became the wife of Mohammad Hasan Aqa, the eldest son

10		 Petrushevskii, Ocherki, 124; Nadir Shah, 170–173.
11		 Nersesov, 216–217.
12		 For details, see Appendix 1.
13		 As noted, the suzerainty over these districts continued to be a bone of contention be-
     tween Georgia and Ganjeh, see Chapter 2.
14		 Marvi, II, 675.
15		 Bakikhanov, 154.

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of Ebrahim Khan of Qarabagh. During Karim Khan Zand’s interregnum as the vakil in
Iran, Shahverdi’s brother, Reza Qoli, was taken as a hostage to Shiraz.16
   In 1768, Mohammad Hasan Khan, the eldest son of Shahverdi, became the new
khan of Ganjeh and continued to pay the tribute to Georgia and Qarabagh. In 1778,
internal problems in Ganjeh, as well as the squabbles among Shahverdi’s sons, brought
his son, Mohammad Khan to power. Shahverdi’s younger sons, Javad and Rahim fled;
the first sought refuge in Qarabagh and the second in Tiflis. Mohammad Khan blinded
Shahverdi’s brother, Reza Qoli, who, following the death of Karim Khan Zand in 1779,
had returned to Ganjeh.
   In 1780, taking advantage of the chaotic conditions in Ganjeh, Erekle II and Ebrahim
Khan of Qarabagh, agreed to divide the khanate. They seized the fortress of Ganjeh,
blinded Mohammad Khan, and appointed their own regents, Prince Kai-Khosrow
Andronikashvili and Hazrat Qoli Beg, to administer their respective sectors.
   However, in 1783, following Erekle’s treaty with Russia, Ebrahim cut his ties with
Georgia, and, with the assistance of a Daghestani tribe, managed to stage a popular
uprising, which brought a Ziyadoghlu family member to power in Ganjeh. Although
in 1785, Rahim Beg, with Erekle’s support, took control of Ganjeh for a short time, his
brother Javad, with Ebrahim’s support, became the last khan of Ganjeh in 1786.17 A year
later, Erekle, along with Burnashev’s troops planned to move on Ganjeh.18 However,
when Burnashev and his troops were instead sent to fight in the Russo-Turkish War
(1787–1792), Erekle, in 1789, was forced to make a deal with Fath-ʿAli Khan of Qobbeh
and return the Shams al-Din district to Ganjeh.19
   The rise of Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar once again transformed the political situ-
ation in the South Caucasus. Ebrahim Khan of Qarabagh and Erekle both refused to
recognize Aqa Mohammad Khan, but Javad Khan, in order to finally free himself from
his powerful neighbors, not only submitted to the new Iranian ruler, but also agreed to
guide his army to Tiflis in 1795. A year later, with the appearance of the Russian army
led by Valerian Zubov, Javad, once again found himself in a precarious position. He
not only asked forgiveness for his part in Aqa Mohammad’s Georgian campaign, but
in order to keep his khanate, he also submitted to Zubov.20 The Shams al-Din district
was once again removed from Ganjeh and given to Erekle. Aqa Mohammad Shah’s
untimely death saved Javad Khan from the wrath of the Shah.
   Following Erekle’s death and Prince Alexander’s flight to Iran, Javad Khan attempt-
ed to reassert his control over Shams al-Din. However, as noted, the arrival of General

16		   Tarikh-e Giti-Gosha, 114.
17		   For a detailed genealogical table of the khans of Ganjeh, see Akty, VI/2, 905–906.
18		   See Chapter 1.
19		   Bakikhanov, 170.
20		   Nersesov, 236–237; Karabag-name, 153, Petrushevskii, 124.

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Lazarev and Russian troops convinced the soltans of Qazzaq and Shams al-Din to ac-
cept Russian suzerainty and allow Cossack units to be stationed on their territories.
The Russian incursion angered Javad Khan, who retaliated. On May 19, 1801, Lazarev
reported to Knorring that Javad Khan had invaded an Armenian village in Shams al-
Din but had been driven back by the local soltan and the Cossacks.21

3         Shakki

In 1551, during the reign of Shah Tahmasp I, Shakki had been incorporated into the
Safavid realm and was included in the province of Shirvan.22 However, Tahmasp pre-
ferred to entrust its rule to a local family.23 Shah ʿAbbas appointed Shahamir Khan
as the governor of Shakki.24 Following Shahamir Khan, various tribal command-
ers, either soltans, begs, or khans, acted as governors and were named the toyuldars
(fief-holders).25 In 1650 ʿAbbas Qoli Soltan is mentioned as the hakem of Shakki.26 By
the end of the century, Mirza Kamran and Allah Qoli Soltan are mentioned as the
hakems and in 1701 a certain Mohammad Khan Beg is listed.27 After Nader drove out
the Ottomans from the South Caucasus, he appointed first ʿAli-Mardan and then
Najaf Qoli to administer Shakki.28 However, the mismanagement of Nader’s appoin-
tees in Shakki resulted in a rebellion, led by Hajji Chelebi, in 1743. The rebels killed
Najaf Qoli and named Hajji Chelebi as their khan. Although Nader recognized an-
other local leader, Jaʿfar, as khan, his efforts to oust Hajji Chelebi from his stronghold
were unsuccessful.29
    Following Nader’s death, Hajji Chelebi, in 1747, allied with the Lezgis. His position
as khan of Shakki became undisputed, when he rebuffed an attack south of the Aras
River by one of the pretenders to the Iranian crown.30 Hajji Chelebi’s power began to
frighten the Georgian kings, Erekle I and Teimuraz II, who wished to extend their own

21		 NAG: fond: 2; opis: 1; delo: 5, f. 4.
22		 AA, I, 85, Ahmad b. Hosein Monshi Qomi, Kholasat al-tavarikh, I (Tehran, 2004), 347–349;
     Musəvi, doc. 7.
23		 Ibid., I, 152–153; Kerim Aga Fatekh (Karim Aqa Fateh), Kratkaia istoriia shekinskikh khanov
     (Baku, 1958), 138.
24		 AA, II, 886; Khuzani, Afzal al-Tavarikh, I, 373. See the farmans of Shah Safi and Shah
     ʿAbbas II, dated 1633 and 1643 respectively, Musəvi, docs. 3–4.
25		 For a list of the governors, see Nasiri, 279–280.
26		 Musəvi, doc. 6.
27		 Ibid., docs. 8–10.
28		 Ibid., docs. 11–12.
29		 Musəvi, doc. 13; see also Abdul-Latif-Effendi, Kratkaia storiia shekinskikh khanov (Baku,
     1926).
30		 Kratkaia storiia shekinskikh khanov, 9; Karabag-name, 173–174.

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254                                                                            Appendix 2

rule over a large part of the South Caucasus. They invited Ahmad Khan of Khoi, Panah
Khan of Qarabagh, Kazem Khan of Qaradagh and Shahverdi Khan of Ganjeh to unite
against Hajji Chelebi. Prior to the battle, however, the Georgian monarchs arrested the
khans, demanded their submission and the payment of tribute. Hajji Chelebi met the
Georgian kings near Shamkhor, defeated them and released the imprisoned khans.
A second Georgian campaign against Hajji Chelebi by the Alazani River, also ended
in defeat.31
    Hajji Chelebi died in 1755 and was followed by his son Aqa Kishi Beg. He contin-
ued his father’s policy of friendly relations with the neighboring khanates of Shirvan
and Qobbeh and fortified the town of Shakki, which lay on the lower slope of the left
bank of the Kish River. Aqa Kishi Beg married the daughter of Mohammad Khan, the
Qazi-Qomuq chief in Daghestan. Four years later, his father-in-law, in alliance with a
local notable, Soltan ʿAli of the Aresh mahal, lured his son-in-law to a meeting where he
was killed. The notables of the khanate whisked Hajji Chelebi’s grandson, Mohammad
Hosein, to safety in Shirvan. Several months later, in 1759, Mohammad Hosein re-
turned, drove out the Qazi-Qomuq and reestablished his family rule. He built a new
palace in Shakki and divided his domain into a number of mahals, with each mahal
administered by one of his nayebs. In 1772 major mud-slides forced the khan to move
his capital to the village of Nukha, which lay on higher ground, a short distance away.
Mohammad Hosein seems to have been killed by an uncle, named ʿAbdol-Qader, who
then governed the khanate from 1780 until 1783. He was overthrown by Mohammad
Hosein’s son, Mohammad Hasan, who had taken refuge in Qarabagh and drove out the
usurper with the help of the Lezgis from Jar. Although ʿAbdol-Qader fled to Shirvan,
he was seized and executed. Mohammad Hasan then asserted his family claim to
the khanate.32
    Following the Russo-Georgian treaty of 1783, Mohammad Hasan, in order to guar-
antee his future, established friendly ties with Erekle II and Russia. The strategy
backfired when Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar invaded the South Caucasus in 1795. He
ordered one of his commanders, Mostafa Khan Davalu Qajar, to seize Mohammad
Hasan, blind him and sent him to Tabriz. Although Mohammad Hasan’s brother,
Salim, swore allegiance to the Qajar ruler in 1795, he, like most of the khans in the
South Caucasus, accepted Russian suzerainty during Valerian Zubov’s invasion of the
region. Aqa Mohammad’s second invasion of the South Caucasus in 1797 forced Salim
to flee to Daghestan. Following the murder of the Shah, the blind Mohammad Hasan,
now freed from captivity, and Salim both returned to Shakki. Each tried to establish
power through their supporters. Salim was unsuccessful and fled to Qarabagh where,

31		 Bakikhanov, 159–162.
32		 Ibid.

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as noted, he made contact with Tsitsianov and in 1805 returned to Shakki as the new
khan. Mohammad Hasan Khan fled to Qobbeh and then to Darband.33

4        Talesh

The region of Talesh, which borders the Iranian province of Gilan, was rarely involved
in the political affairs of the South Caucasus. A number of Taleshi chiefs were among
the early supporters of the Safavids and were appointed as the hakems in charge of
Astara (see map 20).34 It seems that later, the Kandarlu tribe assumed control of the
area. During the reign of Nader, Talesh, for some twenty years, was in the hands of a
local chief named Mir-ʿAbbas Beg. His eldest son Qara Beg followed him. During the
Zand period, Qara Beg, like many other local tribal chiefs, was taken as a hostage to
Shiraz and a certain Zohrab Beg from the Kandarlu tribe managed for a short time to
rule the region. His friendship with Hedayatollah Khan of Gilan, an enemy of Karim
Khan Zand, resulted in his fall. Karim Khan sent Qara Beg back to Talesh and gave him
the title of khan. Qara Khan soon extended his domain to once again include Astara.
Concerned with the rise of Qara Khan, Hedayatollah Khan called him and his son,
Mir-Mostafa Beg (the later Mir-Mostafa Khan), to his domain and kept them under
house arrest. He placed another son of Qara Khan, Mir-Askar Beg, as the governor of
Talesh. It is likely that after Aqa Mohammad killed Hedayatollah Khan, Qara Khan and
his son returned to their domain. According to Mirza Ahmad, Mir-Mostafa assumed
the title of khan (probably in the late 1780s) and although, at times, he had to submit
to Fath-ʿAli Khan of Qobbeh, he was reluctant to submit to Aqa Mohammad Khan
Qajar and tried to keep Talesh under his authority.35 Although Mir-Mostafa Khan at
first ignored Fath-ʿAli Shah’s messages to acknowledge his reign, he agreed to do so
when faced the threat of invasion. Nevertheless, he continued to correspond with
the Russian commanders in the South Caucasus and, after 1809, threw his lot in with
the Russians.36

33		 See Chapter 5.
34		 Qasem Beg Hayati Tabrizi, A Chronicle of Early Safavids (New Haven, 2018), 229–230. AA,
     I, 141; Afzal al-Tavarikh, II, 1003. For a list of governors, see, Nasiri, 149–150.
35		 For more details, see Mirza Ahmad Mirza Ahmad Lankarani. Akhbarnameh: Tarikh-e
     khanat-e Talesh dar zaman-e jangha-ye Rusiyeh ʿAlayhe-e Iran (Tehran, 2008).
36		 Donboli, 241, 285, 289, 297; See also Chapter 7. Bakikhanov, 192–193.

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256                                                                                 Appendix 2

5         Baku

During the Safavid period, Baku, which had been a part of the beglarbegi of Shirvan
(see map), had been governed by various tribal soltans.37 In the first quarter of the eigh-
teenth century, Dargah Qoli Beg, whose ancestors had immigrated from Mazandaran,
governed the region. During Peter’s campaign, Dargah Qoli submitted to Russia and
remained in charge until 1730, when he was removed by the Russian commandant for
collaborating with Iran. After that, he joined Nader as one of his commanders and after
the Russian departure was reinstated as governor of Baku. He was killed in 1739 during
the Iranian campaign in Jar and Taleh.38 His son, Mirza Mohammad Khan, succeeded
his father and also served Nader as one of his military officers. After Nader’s death,
Mirza Mohammad Khan, whose son, Mohammad Qoli Aqa, had married a daughter
of FathʿAli Khan of Qobbeh, became subordinate to his father-in-law and paid tribute.
Mirza Mohammad resigned in 1783 and went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. His grandson
Mirza Mohammad Khan II, who was still a young boy became the nominal governor
under the shadow of Fath-ʿAli Khan. After Fath-ʿAli Khan’s death in 1789, a struggle
ensued. The heirs of Fath-ʿAli Khan, Ahmad Khan and Sheikh-ʿAli Aqa, supported vari-
ous candidates, all of whom agreed to pay tribute to Qobbeh. Between 1791 and 1801,
Mohammad Qoli Aqa, Hosein Qoli Khan and Mirza Mohammad Khan II claimed the
governorship. The conflicts ended with the victory of Hosein Qoli Khan in 1801.

6         Shirvan

Although Shah Esmaʿil I campaigned in Shirvan, it was Shah Tahmasp I who, in
1538, ended the reign of the Shirvanshahs and placed his brother Alqas Mirza as the
governor.39 A document dated September 1550, indicates that Tahmasp made ʿAbdollah
Khan, the governor of Shirvan and Shakki.40 By the mid-seventeenth century, a certain
Khosrow Khan is mentioned as the beglarbegi.41 Shirvan was a major silk-producing
province and its main city, Shamakhi, became an important trade center. On August 15,
1721, the Sunnis in Shirvan, long oppressed by the Shiʿi, found a leader in Hajji Da‌ʾud,

37		 For the names of the governors, see Nasiri, 159–160.
38		 Bakikhanov, 135–136.
39		 For Shirvan during the Safavids, see Bakikhanov, 85–89; Hayati Tabrizi, 133–136, 163–179;
     236–260; Khorshah b. Qobad al-Hoseini, Tarikh-e Ilchi nezam-e Shah (Tehran, 2000),
     142–146, 203–205; Afzal al-Tavarikh, I, 372–373, 387–390, 434–458; II, 671–672; Bakikhanov,
     85–89; Rumlu, 143–370, 422–425; For a list of governors during the Safavid period, see
     Nasiri, 284–287.
40		 Musəvi, doc. 1.
41		 Ibid., doc 5.

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who, with the help of the Lezgi, as well as Ahmad Khan, the Usmi42 of the Qeytaq
and Surkhai Khan of the Qazi-Qomuq, laid siege to Shamakhi. On September 9, the
Sunnis opened the gates and the invaders massacred thousands of Shiʿis and seized a
large amount of goods belonging to Russian merchants.43 After that, the rebels placed
themselves under the protection of the Ottoman Sultan. The latter accepted their plea
and sent an envoy who presented the title of beg to Hajji Da‌ʾud and proclaimed him as
the governor of Shirvan.44
    The Russo-Ottoman treaty of 1724, gave most of Shirvan to the Ottomans. In 1734,
Nader retook Shirvan and appointed Mohammad Mehdi Khan, his zanburakchi-bashi,
as the beglarbegi.45 A year later, the local notables, spurred by Morad-ʿAli Soltan Ostajlu,
the governor of Darband, rebelled and killed Mohammad Mehdi Khan. Although
the intercession of Mohammad Qasem Beg, an influential notable from Shirvan and
Nader’s ishikaghasi-bashi (chamberlain) spared Shirvan from Nader’s wrath, Nader, in
1735, decided to move the population of Shamakhi to New Shamakhi (Aqsu), some
eighteen miles north of the Kur River.46 He appointed Sardar Khan Qaraqlu as the
governor. Soon after, Nader appointed Heydar Khan Afshar to rule over Shirvan and
Darband. In 1743, the population, led by Sam Mirza, the pretender to the throne, re-
belled and removed Heydar Khan.47
    In 1761 the citizens of Old Shamakhi, with Karim Khan’s permission, overthrew the
governor appointed by Nader and appointed their own candidate, Hajji Mohammad
ʿAli Khan, who governed the region until early 1763. After that, Shirvan fell into the
sphere of Fath-ʿAli Khan of Qobbeh, who appointed his own governors, including
Aghasi Beg and Askar Beg.48 Askar Beg and his followers from the Khanchoban tribe
moved back to Old Shamakhi and soon became powerful enough to take control of
New Shamakhi. Askar Beg’s family members, Aghasi and Mohammad Saʿid succeeded
in obtaining the title of khan from Karim Khan Zand. They controlled Shirvan until
1767, when a joint force from Qobbeh and Shakki took Old Shamakhi. Mohammad
Saʿid Khan, on the orders of Fath-ʿAli Khan of Qobbeh, was imprisoned in Darband,
while Aghasi Khan was blinded on the orders of Hosein Khan of Shakki. Fath-ʿAli Khan
of Qobbeh transferred the population of Old Shamakhi to Aqsu, while Old Shamakhi

42		 The Usmi was the title given to the chiefs of the Qeytaqs; for details, see W. Floor,
     “Who were the Shamkhal and the Usmi?” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen
     Gesellschaft, Vol. 160, no. 2 (2010), 366, 373.
43		 As noted, this gave Peter the Great the excuse to invade the region, see Chapter 1.
44		 Butkov, 8–9; 113–114; According to Solovev, some 500,000 rubles worth of goods, belonging
     to Russian merchants, was looted by the rebels, Solovev, XVIII, 37–38.
45		 SIRIO, LXXVI, doc. 147, Nadir Shah, 83–87.
46		 Nadir Shah, 87; Bakikhanov, 145.
47		 Nadir Shah, 239–241.
48		 Karim Khan’s plan to marry his eldest son, Abo l-Fath Aqa, to a daughter of Fath-ʿAli did
     not take place, Bakikhanov, 158.

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was handed to Shakki.49 The two victorious khans divided the mahals of Shirvan
among themselves. In 1774, however, the blind Aghasi Khan, with the help of Nosal
Khan Avar, who was an enemy of Qobbeh, managed to return to power. Aghasi Beg’s
son, Mostafa Khan, first submitted to Aqa Mohammad Khan in 1795, to Zubov in 1796
and to Tsitsianov in 1806.50

7         Nakhjavan

From the second half of the seventeenth century, the Safavids appointed members
of the Kangarlu tribe, a branch of the Ostajlu tribe, to govern the city of Nakhjavan.51
After Nader’s death, Nakhjavan became a separate khanate under Heydar Qoli Khan
Kangarlu. In 1762, Karim Khan Zand sent the next khan, Hajji Khan Kangarlu to
Shiraz.52 In 1768 the population petitioned Karim Khan to permit the Kangarlu tribe
to once again administer the khanate53 and for the next fifteen years several Kangarlu
khans governed the region one after another. Following Erekle’s treaty with Russia,
Kalb-ʿAli Khan Kangarlu, who had assumed the governorship in 1787, made overtures
to Russia. His actions angered Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar, who sent an army to the
khanate to seize the khan. He blinded Kalb-ʿAli and took him to Iran. Following Aqa
Mohammad Shah’s death, Kalb-ʿAli returned to Nakhjavan, made an alliance with
Mohammad Khan of Yerevan and spent most of his time in Yerevan. After 1809, the
khanate fell under the direct control of ʿAbbas Mirza, who appointed Ehsan Khan, the
son of Kalb-ʿAli and two Kangarlu chieftains, Lotf-ʿAli Soltan and Sheikh-ʿAli Beg to
guard the border forts located along the Aras River.54

8         Darband

After 1606 Safavid governors from among the tribal chiefs of Ostajlu, Rumlu, Shamlu
and others, who held the rank of soltan, governed Darband.55 During Peter’s cam-
paign, the deputy or nayeb of Darband, Emam Qoli Beg, surrendered the town to the

49		 Ibid., 163–164.
50		 See Chapters 1, 4 and 5.
51		 AA, II, 656; Afzal al-Tavarikh, I, 356. For a list of the governors, see Nasiri, 248–249; Musəvi,
     doc. 16.
52		 Tarikh-e Giti-Gosha, 114.
53		 Smirnov and Marr, doc. 8, have Jomada II, 1182 (1768).
54		 The 1808 Russian invasion of Yerevan and Nakhjavan necessitated this change, see
     Chapter 6. See also G. Bournoutian, Nakhjavan khanate, 18.
55		 For a list of governors, see Nasiri, 175–176.

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Russians. In 1735 the Crimean Khan managed to appoint Ahmad Khan, the Usmi as
the chief of Darband. Nader replaced him with soltans from among the Ostajlu and
Qarachorlu tribes. Prior to Nader’s death, another trusted commander, Mohammad-
ʿAli Khan Qaraqlu governed Darband. After Nader’s death Mohammad Hasan, the son
of Emam Qoli Beg, returned to his ancestral home. In 1765, Darband, as noted, fell into
the hands of Fath-ʿAli Khan of Qobbeh. In 1799, Hasan Aqa, a son of Fath-ʿAli Khan, was
named the khan of Darband. After his death in 1802, his other brother, Sheikh-ʿAli of
Qobbeh, subjugated Darband to Qobbeh.

9        Qobbeh

The khans of Qobbeh belonged to the Qeytaq tribe, which had two branches: the
Majales and the Yengikend.56 As a result of a feud, the latter massacred the former
in the mid-1660s. The sole Majales survivor, a young boy named Hosein Khan, was
whisked away by Ideh Beg, a loyal retainer, first to the realm of the Shamkhal of Tarqu,
then to Saleyan, where he married the daughter of the local qazi and had a daughter.
After that, Hosein Khan sought refuge at the court of Shah Soleiman in Esfahan. There,
he became a Shiʿi, married a Qajar woman and had a son, named Ahmad. He seems to
have performed some important duties for the Shah, for, in the second half of 1680s,
he was made the governor of Saleyan and Qobbeh. He repaired the Khodad fort and
in 1688 he returned to the family seat at Bashli, expelling ʿAli-Soltan of the Yangikend
branch. The latter gathered a large army and forced Hosein Khan to return to the
Khodad fort, where he died soon after. When ʿAli-Soltan died in 1695, his son Amir
Hamzeh was named as khan by Shah Soltan Hosein. He governed for more than ten
years and after his death Ahmad Khan, a son of Hosein Khan, gathered his supporters,
captured Bashli and forced Amir Hamzeh to flee north.57 Although the feud between
the rival branches continued, Hosein’s son. Soltan Ahmad Khan, whose mother was
the abovementioned Qajar woman, ruled for a year and may have been overthrown by
the Qara-Qeytaq prior to Peter’s invasion. Soltan Ahmad’s grandson, Hosein-ʿAli Khan,
governed Qobbeh from 1722 until 1758. He moved his followers from Khodad to the fort
of Qudyal, which became the center of the khanate.58 In fact, Qobbeh, together with
Baku, were the only khanates, where the local families continued to govern during the
reign of Nader Shah.

56		 Nasiri mentions a Soleiman Beg and Ahur Soltan as governors from 1635 to 1637,
     Nasiri, 263.
57		 These khans are mentioned in a document dated Jomadi II, 1122 (1710), see F. Rostopovich
     (Iu. N. Marr, ed), Ukazi kubinskikh khanov (Tbilisi, 1937), docs 1–2.
58		 Ibid., doc. 3 (dated 1727).

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   In 1755, Hosein ʿAli sent his son, Fath-ʿAli, to seize Saleyan from Qarabagh. The khan-
ate of Qobbeh became a powerful entity during the thirty-two-year governorship of
Fath-ʿAli Khan (1758–1789). Fath-ʿAli Khan took over Darband and gave his sister in
marriage to Mohammad Khan of Baku. The control of the ports of Baku, Darband and
Saleyan with their Caspian trade, in salt and crude oil, brought wealth and prestige to
Fath-ʿAli Khan.59 He then set his eyes on Shirvan, which had suffered numerous inva-
sions from the Lezgi and Nader. Since Fath-ʿAli Khan’s attempts to conquer Shamakhi
were unsuccessful, he allied himself with Hosein Khan of Shakki and they partitioned
Shirvan. The various khans of Daghestan, which included the Shamkhal of Tarqu,
Mohammad Khan Qazi-Qomuq and the Usmi, Amir Hamzeh, concerned about the
rise of Fath-ʿAli Khan, joined the former khan of Shirvan, Aghasi Khan, and invaded
Shamakhi. Although Fath-ʿAli Khan, tried to receive help from Catherine the Great, she
did not wish to get involved in the disputes among the khans.
   Fath-ʿAli Khan continued to expand his power by bringing Javad Khan of Ganjeh
and Mohammad Hasan Khan of Shakki into his sphere of influence. He also placed
Mir-Mostafa Khan of Talesh, whom he had held in Qobbeh, as the governor of Talesh.
Soon after, he attacked Ardabil and brought those local tribal chiefs into his sphere. In
1779, Fath-ʿAli Khan, in order to extend his power, attempted an alliance with Ebrahim
Khan of Qarabagh, but was rebuffed by the latter. A year later, he, together with a large
Lezgi force, attacked Qarabagh, but aside from looting, did not accomplish his goal. In
1788, in order to destroy Ebrahim Khan, his main rival in the region, Fath-ʿAli sought
the alliance of Erekle II, who with the former wanted to divide the South Caucasus
into two zones. The death of Fath-ʿAli Khan, in 1789, ended Qobbeh’s ascendancy.60
His son Ahmad managed the khanate for two years61 and was replaced by his other
son, Sheikh-ʿAli Khan,62 who submitted to Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar, in 1795,
and Zubov, in 1796. Zubov appointed Hasan Aqa as the temporary governor.63 The
Russian annexation of eastern Georgia and the campaigns of Glazenap, Tsitsianov
and Gudovich in Darband, Baku and Qobbeh, impelled Sheikh-ʿAli to save his patri-
mony by aligning with Daghestani tribes and Iran.64 His periodic returns to Qobbeh
and his attacks against Russian posts continued to be a major concern for the Russian

59		 He his farmans granting toyuls to his officials ibid., doc. 4–7 (dated 1761–1774).
60		 Bakikhanov, 177–190; Butkov, I, 249–253, II, 19–21, 70–74; Dubrovin, II, 160. For more de-
     tails on his life, see Iskender-bek Gadzhinskii, “Zhizn Fet-Ali-khana Kubinskogo,” Kavkaz
     (48–50, 1847).
61		 Rostopovich, docs. 8–9.
62		 Ibid., docs. 10–11. Sheikh-ʿAli was born in 1778 from an Armenian mother. For the genea-
     logical details of the khans of Qobbeh, see Akty, VI/2, 907–908.
63		 Ibid., doc. 12.
64		 The Russians appointed Mohammad Qoli Beg to administer the province, see ibid., docs,
     14–15.

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command in Tiflis until 1811.65 After 1813 the commandants of Qobbeh controlled the
former khanate.66

10        Qarabagh

The Safavids had appointed members of the Ziyadoghlu Qajar tribe as the hakems
of Qarabagh.67 According to Eskandar Beg, the Javanshir family was not among the
seven major Qezelbash tribes and their subordinate clans. Rather, they belonged to the
second category, the gholam amirs, who were referred to as soltans. A certain Nouruz
Soltan is mentioned as the chief of the Javanshir tribe of the Otuziki confederation.68
The Tarikh-e Rowzat-al-Safa Naseri states that the lineage of the later Qarabaghi gover-
nors was from members of the Sarijalu tribe who had become chiefs of the Javanshir
tribe.69 The Javanshir tribe established primacy over the Otuziki and Kebirlu oymaq
(tribal federation) and took control of the Qarabagh lowlands. The highlands of
Qarabagh, as noted, were under the control of five Armenian meliks.70 The fall of the
Safavids split the beglarbegi of Ganjeh-Qarabagh into two separate regions dominated
by local clans. The Javanshir tribe, led by Panah Khan, rose to prominence and served
Nader. When Nader decided to forcibly remove some of the Qarabaghi tribes—which
formed the power base of the Javanshir tribe—to Khorasan, Panah Khan refused and
hid in a district bordering Shakki. His son, Ebrahim Aqa, together with the Javanshir
tribe, was forcibly sent to Khorasan.71
    After Nader’s death, Panah Khan returned to his base in Qarabagh. He man-
aged to bring back the Otuziki and Kebirlu tribes72 into his fold. His son, Ebrahim
Aqa and his tribe returned from Khorasan, and, with the exception of the khamseh
(the five Armenian melikdoms), the Javanshir tribe led by Panah Khan, took control
of Qarabagh. At this time, ʿAdel Shah Afshar, who sought a strong ally in the South
Caucasus, sent an envoy, who brought a sword and the title of khan. After that, Panah
Khan constructed the fort of Bayat and had to face the actions of his neighbor, Hajji
Chelebi of Shakki. The latter had given refuge to some clans from among the Otuziki
tribe who feared the rise and total control of Panah Khan over them. As noted, in order

65		 Ibid., docs. 16–26; see also Donboli, 368.
66		 Ibid., docs. 27–29.
67		 For a list of governors, see Nasiri, 258–259; Musəvi, doc. 17.
68		 For more details on the Javanshir tribe in the Safavid period, see Afzal al-Tavarikh, I, 55–
     56, 337, 357, 416–417, 518, 542, II, 547, 617, 1003; AA, II,108, 857, 1089.
69		 Hedayat, IX, 296–297.
70		 See Appendix 1.
71		 Tarikh-e Safi, 161–163.
72		 He married the daughter of Sahl-ʿAli Beg, the chief of the Otuziki tribe.

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to check Hajji Chelebi’s ambitions, Panah Khan, at times, tried to unite with Georgia,
but was unsuccessful.
    In 1752, Panah Khan built the Shah-Bulagh fort in the Tarnavut district, at the foot
of a mountain and transferred his tribe there. This move brought him close to the
mountainous region of the Armenian meliks of Dizak, Varanda, Khachen, Chraberd
and Golestan. Except for Varanda, whose melik became an ally of Panah Khan, all the
others meliks were subdued and their population had to pay taxes to the Javanshir
khan.73 In the meantime, he also built the Panahabad fort in Shushi, which was located
on a cliff, and moved the notables, officials and tribal chiefs there. The formidable fort
at Shushi defied several sieges and became the center of Javanshir rule. Panah Khan
even minted a silver coin called the Pananabadi, which remained in use in parts of the
South Caucasus and Iran until the early 19th century. In 1762, with the arrival of Karim
Khan’s army at the Aras River, Panah Khan submitted and together with a number of
other khans, was taken to Shiraz, where he died.74
    Panah Khan’s son, Ebrahim Khan,75 governed Qarabagh with the approval of Karim
Khan Zand, and made marriage alliances with neighboring khanates. Following Karim
Khan’s death in 1779, Ebrahim Khan and Erekle II, split the khanate of Ganjeh in
1780 and ruled it for three years. The alliance also brought Shakki and Yerevan into
their sphere of influence. Ebrahim Khan’s main rival, however, was Fath-ʿAli Khan
of Qobbeh, who, until his death in 1789, checked Ebrahim’s ambitions in the region.
Erekle’s treaty with Russia not only soured Ebrahim’s friendship with Georgia, but also
prompted him to open a dialogue with Russia. Catherine who did not wish to get in-
volved in the rivalry among the khans, did not respond.
    The withdrawal of the Russian troops from Tiflis due to the Russo-Turkish War of
1787–1792 coincided with Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar’s rise in Iran. In order to restore
Iranian hegemony over the border provinces, Aqa Mohammad sent threatening let-
ters to the khans who had made contacts with Russia. Some of the khans asked the
Ottomans for help and received presents and assurances. The 1792 treaty with Russia
ended that hope and the khans had two choices: submit to Aqa Mohammad, who had
now defeated most of his rivals in Iran, or resist. Ebrahim Khan, relying on his great fort
at Shushi, which had survived sieges from Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar and Fath-ʿAli
Khan Afshar, did not submit. He destroyed the Khoda-Afarin Bridge and took refuge
in the fort. In 1795 Aqa Mohammad laid siege to Shushi, but after a month he gave up

73		   Melik Hatam and Melik Hovsep of Golestan were forced to seek refuge in Ganjeh, Tarikh-e
       Safi, 221; Melik Esayi of Dizak was murdered by Panah Khan, ibid., 219. Melik Majnun
       (Mejlum) of Jraberd joined Aqa Mohammad Khan during his siege of Shushi and later
       sought refuge in Ganjeh. He was killed during Ebrahim Khan’s attack on Ganjeh, ibid., 238.
74		   For a detailed account of Panah Khan’s rise and rule; see Javanshir, 45–83, Karabag-name,
       155–182, Nersesov, 216–229.
75		   Also known as Ebrahim Khalil Khan.

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and moved on Ganjeh and then toward Tiflis. Aqa Mohammad Khan returned to the
region in 1797 to punish the khans who had submitted to Russia in 1796 during Zubov’s
campaign. This time Ebrahim fled to his relative, Umma Khan Avar. Aqa Mohammad’s
murder in Shushi in 1797 restored the Javanshir governors. At first Ebrahim’s nephew
Mohammad Beg took over Shushi, but very soon Ebrahim Khan returned to assume
control of the khanate.
   Meanwhile, Ebrahim Khan had reacted harshly to the contacts of the Armenian
meliks with Catherine the Great and Gregory Potemkin.76 He imprisoned some and
confiscated their property. He also killed Catholicos Hovhannes X Hasan-Jalaleants of
Gandzasar77 and forced meliks Abov, Jamshid and Pridon to flee to Georgia.78 The swift
accession of Aqa Mohammad Shah’s nephew, Baba Khan, as Fath-ʿAli Shah, prompted
the khans to make friendly gestures to the new Qajar ruler. Ebrahim not only sent the
body of Aqa Mohammad to Tehran, but his daughter also became a wife of the new
Shah, while his son Abo’l-Fath Aqa was sent as a hostage to Tehran. In exchange the
Shah sent him a khalʿat, a sword and confirmed him as the khan of Qarabagh.79

11       Yerevan

During the Irano-Ottomans wars of the sixteenth century, the Ottoman governor,
Ferhat Pasha, had constructed a fortress in 1582–83. After taking Yerevan from the
Ottomans, Shah ʿAbbas appointed Amir Guney Khan Qajar. His family members and
various Qajar chiefs governed the region. Yerevan was the headquarters of the beglar-
begi of Chukhur-e Saʿd and served as the gateway to Tabriz and Tiflis (see map).80 In
1679 an earthquake destroyed the fort, but it was rebuilt soon after. The Ottomans oc-
cupied Yerevan in 1723 and for the next twelve years Ottoman pashas, ruled the re-
gion from the fortress of Yerevan. In order to pacify the large Armenian population,
the Ottomans were instrumental in appointing Abraham of Crete as the Catholicos.
After expelling the Ottomans, Nader again entrusted it to Qajar governors and the
Armenians and the Holy See of Ejmiatsin were rewarded for their loyalty.81

76		 RGADA, fond 15, opis 1, delo: 197, f. 48 and AVPRI, fond 100, delo 464, ff. 144–148.
77		 For details, see Raffi, Khamsayi melikutiwnnerê (1600–1827): niwter Hayots nor patmutean
     hamar (Tiflis, 1895), 18–28; S. Hasan-Jalaleants, “Patmutiwn Aghuanits Ashkhari,” trans.
     K. Ketendjian as Archbishop Sergius Hasan-Jalaliants, A History of the Land of Artsakh
     [Karabagh and Ganje, 1722–1827] (Costa Mesa 2013), 222.
78		 Nersesov, 251. See also Chapter 2.
79		 See Chapters 5 and 6.
80		 Afzal al-Tavarikh, I, 356–357, AA, II, 656. For a list of governors, see Nasiri, 170–173.
81		 Simeon of Erevan, Jambr, G. Bournoutian, trans. (Costa Mesa, 2009), 356–358.

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    After Nader’s death, Qajars ruled what became, for the most part, a khanate.
Following the Russo-Georgian treaty of 1783, Mohammad Khan Qajar of Yerevan, like
some other governors of the South Caucasus, tried to establish contact with Russia.
Aqa Mohammad Khan, during his invasion of 1795, ordered the arrest of Mohammad
Khan and replaced him with his own brother, ʿAli Qoli Khan. Mohammad Khan’s
Qajar lineage saved him from the same fate that befell Kalb-ʿAli Khan of Nakhjavan.
Instead of being blinded, he was kept under house arrest. Following the murder of
Aqa Mohammad, Fath-ʿAli Shah, who needed allies, reinstated Mohammad Khan to
his post. The Russian annexation of Georgia prompted Mohammad Khan to seek an
agreement with Russia. His numerous contacts with Tsitsianov, convinced the latter to
attack Yerevan, but when the Shah’s army arrived outside Yerevan, the khan swore al-
legiance to the Shah. The Shah replaced Mohammad Khan with Pir Qoli Khan, Mehdi
Qoli Khan, Ahmad Khan of Maragheh and, in 1807, with Hosein Qoli Khan Qajar, who
faithfully and capably administered the khanate until 1827.82
82		 Bournoutian, Khanate of Erevan, 9, 15, 97–107. See also Chapters 2, 3, 4.

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