Summer 1795. A great Qajar army stands below Shusha. On one side the fortress has a precipice, on the other sheer cliffs; behind the walls are Ibrahimkhalil Khan’s warriors and the townspeople. Thirty-three days later, unable to bear the shortage of food, the Qajar army lifts the siege and turns towards Tiflis. Who built this fortress, when, and why in these very mountains?
The founding: from beylerbeylik to khanate
In Safavid times the Karabakh beylerbeylik, with its centre at Ganja, became a khanate in the mid-18th century. It was founded by Panahali Khan (1748–1763), chief of the Javanshir tribe and once one of Nadir Shah’s commanders. The population was mainly made up of the Turkic tribes Javanshir, Iyirmidordlar, Otuzikilar, Kabirli, Bakharly and Kolany; a small number of Christian Albanians also lived in the khanate. At the Mughan assembly of 1736 the beylerbey and tribes of Karabakh had opposed Nadir’s election as shah, so Nadir exiled them to Khorasan and Afghanistan (see «The Afsharid empire: Nadir Shah's policy and its fall»). Once the khanate was founded, the tribes returned home, which added to its military and economic strength.
From Bayat to Shusha: fortresses and centralisation
Panahali Khan first set about protecting the khanate from attack: in 1748 work began on Bayat fortress in the Kabirli district. The khanate’s growth worried its neighbours, and the meliks, afraid of losing their estates, urged them to march on Karabakh. Haji Chalabi, khan of Shaki, together with the khan of Shamakhi and the meliks, besieged Bayat but could not take it (see «The Shaki khanate: Haji Chalabi and the struggle with Kartli-Kakheti»). The «battle of Bayat» strengthened Karabakh’s independence and raised its prestige. But Bayat was badly placed; first Shahbulag fortress was built near Aghdam and served as capital for only three or four years. Constant attacks forced Panahali Khan to look for a safer capital-fortress beyond the enemy’s reach: in 1752 the fortress of Shusha was founded among the mountains and named Panahabad after the khan.
After the battle of Bayat Panahali Khan enlarged his territory: Ganja, Iravan, Nakhchivan and Ardabil were made dependent on Karabakh (see «The western khanates: Iravan and Nakhchivan»). The five Christian Albanian melikdoms that resisted centralisation were also subdued: first the melik of Varanda accepted Panahali Khan’s rule, the melik of Khachin was defeated in the battle of Balligaya, and then the meliks of Dizak, Jraberd and Gulustan (Talysh) also accepted dependence. Even so, the meliks kept secret contacts with foreign powers, above all Russia.
The Khamsa meliksDefinition
The rulers of the five melikdoms (Khachin, Varanda, Dizak, Gulustan, Jraberd) inside the Karabakh khanate, dependent on the khan. Azerbaijani textbooks call them Christian Albanian meliks; in other literature they are also called Armenian meliks.
Outside threats and Ibrahimkhalil Khan
Karabakh also became a target for those fighting over the throne of Iran. In 1757 the army of Muhammad Hasan Khan Qajar reached a place called «Khatin arkhi», but turned back on hearing that his rival Karim Khan Zand had become active. In 1759 Fatali Khan Afshar, khan of Urmia, besieged Shusha; after a long siege Panahali Khan was forced to accept dependence, but soon accepted Karim Khan Zand’s offer of an alliance. In 1763 the allies took Urmia, and Karim Khan betrayed Panahali Khan and kept him in Shiraz (see «The rise of the khanates and the southern khanates»).
Panahali Khan’s son Ibrahimkhalil Khan (1763–1806) came to power. Encouraged by Russia’s victory over the Ottoman state in 1768–1774, the meliks secretly called on Russia to march on Karabakh, but Russia did not yet have the strength for it and the khan subdued the meliks again. Ibrahimkhalil Khan made the khans of Nakhchivan, Ganja and Tabriz dependent on him and in 1780–1781 beat off the campaigns of Fatali Khan of Guba (see «The Guba khanate: Fatali Khan's unification policy»). His vizier was the great poet Molla Panah Vagif. The Karabakh khanate became one of the strongest powers in the South Caucasus.
In 1783 Erekle II, king of Kartli-Kakheti, accepted Russian protection by the Treaty of Georgievsk. After that Erekle’s aggressive policy against the Azerbaijani lands grew, and the Russian threat to Karabakh and Ganja increased. When Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar marched north in 1795, Ibrahimkhalil Khan allied with Mir Mustafa Khan of Lankaran and had the Khudafarin bridge on the Araz destroyed; Shusha held out for 33 days and the Qajar army could not take it. During the second campaign in 1797 the khan left the fortress, was surrounded and could not get back, and the elders surrendered the town; that summer Agha Muhammad Shah was assassinated in Shusha. Ibrahimkhalil Khan then returned to Shusha, while Vagif was killed in the turmoil of 1797 (see «The last attempt at unification: Agha Muhammad Shah Qajar»).
In the early 19th century Russia set about conquering Karabakh too. Ibrahimkhalil Khan called a council of the beys; the beys rejected the demand to submit, but the khan trusted the promise that internal independence would be kept and met General Tsitsianov. On 14 May 1805 the Treaty of Kurakchay was signed near Ganja: the khan, his heirs and the whole population passed under Russian rule; the tsar confirmed the dynasty’s power, but every new khan had to be confirmed by the tsar. A year later Ibrahimkhalil Khan and his family were killed by Russian soldiers (see «The first Russo-Qajar war (1804–1813) and the Treaty of Gulistan»).
- 1748
Bayat fortress is built; the «battle of Bayat»
- 1752
The fortress of Shusha is founded
Named Panahabad after Panahali Khan.
- 1757
Muhammad Hasan Khan Qajar turns back at «Khatin arkhi»
- 1759
Fatali Khan Afshar besieges Shusha
- 1763
Panahali Khan is held in Shiraz; Ibrahimkhalil Khan comes to power
- 1780–1781
Fatali Khan’s failed campaigns against Karabakh
- 1783
Treaty of Georgievsk
Kartli-Kakheti accepted Russian protection.
- 1795
Siege of Shusha
The fortress held out for 33 days against Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar.
- 1797
Agha Muhammad Shah is killed in Shusha
- 14 May 1805
Treaty of Kurakchay
- 1806
Ibrahimkhalil Khan is killed by Russian soldiers
| Person | Date | Role in Karabakh’s history |
|---|---|---|
| Panahali Khan | 1748–1763 | Founder; the Bayat, Shahbulag and Shusha fortresses; subdued the meliks |
| Ibrahimkhalil Khan | 1763–1806 | Nakhchivan, Ganja and Tabriz made dependent; defence of Shusha; Treaty of Kurakchay |
| Molla Panah Vagif | killed 1797 | Ibrahimkhalil Khan’s vizier, a great poet |
| Fatali Khan Afshar | 1759 | Besieged Shusha and forced Panahali Khan into dependence |
| Karim Khan Zand | 1763 | Panahali Khan’s ally; then kept him in Shiraz |
| Agha Muhammad Shah Qajar | 1795, 1797 | Besieged Shusha twice; killed in Shusha in 1797 |
| Feature | Panahali Khan | Ibrahimkhalil Khan |
|---|---|---|
| Main work | Founded the khanate, built fortresses, subdued the meliks | Made the khanate one of the strongest in the South Caucasus |
| Main rivals | Haji Chalabi, Fatali Khan Afshar, Muhammad Hasan Khan Qajar | Fatali Khan of Guba, Erekle II, Agha Muhammad Khan, Russia |
| Dependent khanates | Ganja, Iravan, Nakhchivan, Ardabil | Nakhchivan, Ganja, Tabriz |
| End | Karim Khan Zand kept him in Shiraz | Killed by Russian soldiers a year after Kurakchay |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| Bayat’s poor position and constant attacks | The capital moved to Shahbulag, then to Shusha |
| Victory in the battle of Bayat | Ganja, Iravan, Nakhchivan and Ardabil became dependent on Karabakh |
| The meliks’ separatism and foreign contacts | The khan subdued the meliks by force (battle of Balligaya) |
| Treaty of Georgievsk (1783) | The threat from Erekle II and Russia to the Azerbaijani lands grew |
| Treaty of Kurakchay (1805) | Karabakh came under Russian rule and lost its independence |
Interactive
Source: the founding of Shusha
After constant raids the khan called his nobles to a council. He said that fortresses on the plain do not protect us; we must choose a place among the mountains so strong and impassable that even the mightiest enemy cannot besiege it. One side of the fortress must always stay open to the tribes in the mountains, and our link with the districts must never be cut for a moment.
After a search a broad plateau was chosen, bounded on one side by a precipice and on the other by sheer cliffs. Walls were raised there, the khan’s family and nobles moved in, and markets and quarters were laid out. The new fortress was named after the khan.
Source tasks
Problem
1) Name the khan and the fortress, neither of which is named in the text; give the year it was founded and its second name.
2) Explain one military and one political reason for moving the capital.
3) Give two consequences of founding the new fortress that are NOT stated in the text.
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Solution
2) Military: Bayat and Shahbulag were badly placed and could not stand the constant attacks of neighbouring khans and the meliks. Political: the khanate’s independence and central power had to be strengthened and the meliks and districts kept under control. Marks: both — 1; one — ½.
3) Shusha became one of Azerbaijan’s political and economic centres; the fortress withstood Agha Muhammad Khan’s 33-day siege in 1795; the Karabakh khanate became one of the strongest powers in the South Caucasus. Marks: two consequences — 1; one — ½; raising the walls is in the text and earns nothing.
Exam-type tasks
Exam task: chronology
Problem
Put the events in chronological order:
1. The 33-day defence of Shusha
2. The battle of Bayat
3. The Treaty of Kurakchay
4. Fatali Khan Afshar besieges Shusha
5. The Treaty of Georgievsk
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Solution
Step 2: Ibrahimkhalil Khan’s time: 5 (1783), 1 (1795), 3 (1805).
Step 3: Check: the fortress besieged in event 4 was founded in 1752, so it comes after Bayat.
Answer: 2, 4, 5, 1, 3.
Exam task: «not related»
Problem
Which does NOT belong to Panahali Khan’s activity?
A) Building Bayat fortress
B) Defeating the melik of Khachin at Balligaya
C) Signing the Treaty of Kurakchay
D) Founding the fortress of Shusha
E) Allying with Karim Khan Zand
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Solution
Step 2: The Treaty of Kurakchay was signed in 1805 by his son Ibrahimkhalil Khan.
Answer: C.
Next lesson: «The western khanates: Iravan and Nakhchivan» — the Iravan and Nakhchivan khanates, which depended on Karabakh under Panahali Khan.
Remember
- The Karabakh khanate was founded by Panahali Khan (1748–1763), chief of the Javanshir tribe; most of its people belonged to Turkic tribes.
- Capitals: Bayat (1748) → Shahbulag → Shusha–Panahabad (1752); Haji Chalabi’s failure at Bayat in 1748 raised the khanate’s prestige.
- Panahali Khan subdued the five melikdoms and made Ganja, Iravan, Nakhchivan and Ardabil dependent; in 1759 he accepted dependence on Fatali Khan Afshar, and in 1763 Karim Khan kept him in Shiraz.
- Under Ibrahimkhalil Khan (1763–1806) the vizier was Molla Panah Vagif; the khanate kept Nakhchivan, Ganja and Tabriz dependent and beat off Guba’s campaigns in 1780–1781.
- 1783 — the Treaty of Georgievsk; 1795 — Shusha held out for 33 days; 1797 — Agha Muhammad Shah was killed in Shusha; 14 May 1805 — by the Treaty of Kurakchay Karabakh came under Russian rule.