Derbent, summer 1774. On the fortress walls the defence is led by a woman — Tuti Bike, wife of Fatali Khan of Guba. At the head of the Dagestani army besieging the fortress stands her own brother, Amir Hamza, ruler of Kaitag. A few days earlier Fatali Khan had been beaten on the Gavdushan plain and had retreated, wounded, to Salyan. How did the ruler who had united north-eastern Azerbaijan in one state end up in this position?
The founding and rise of the khanate
The Guba khanate was founded by Husaynali Khan; its centre was first Khudat, then Guba. After Nadir Shah’s death Husaynali Khan began to pursue an independent policy (see «The rise of the khanates and the southern khanates»). The khanate’s position was very favourable: mountains and many fortresses shielded it from attack, and the trade routes crossing it enlivened its economy. People from neighbouring regions ravaged by internal wars moved to Guba, which added to the khanate’s economic and military strength. So Husaynali Khan turned to an active foreign policy: in 1757 the economically and strategically important Salyan was joined to the Guba khanate.
Fatali Khan’s internal policy
Husaynali Khan was succeeded by his son Fatali Khan (1758–1789). A skilled diplomat who knew Russian, Persian and Turkic, he took two important measures to strengthen the khanate:
- Tax reform: district naibs were forbidden to collect taxes; every village headman (kadkhuda) had to hand the tax he collected from the peasants personally to the khan’s treasury or storehouse; some duties were performed only on the demand of the khan’s yasavuls. The measure ended the arbitrariness of local rulers and strengthened the treasury.
- Resettlement policy: many people moved from southern Azerbaijan were settled in and around Shabran; to strengthen the borders part of the warlike Shahsevan tribes of Mughan was moved to Guba; part of the population of Derbent was also moved to Guba’s lands. A larger population meant both more tax revenue and a bigger army.
YasavulDefinition
A court officer who delivered the khan’s orders and demanded that they be carried out.
The first stage of unification
Fatali Khan carried on the unification his father had begun. The Derbent khanate, of great strategic value, was small and weak, and its people, unhappy with a khan who took heavy taxes, asked Fatali Khan for help: in 1759 Derbent was joined to the Guba khanate. Baku, the main port of the Caspian, was rich but militarily weak; its people expected union with Guba to bring both protection and the growth of the crafts and trade that Fatali Khan patronised. Fatali Khan used «marriage diplomacy» to become related to the khan of Baku, and in 1767 Baku was joined as well. In official documents he was styled «ruler of Guba, Derbent, Baku and Salyan». With Salyan, Derbent and Baku the first stage was complete.
The second stage: Shamakhi, Javad and resistance
Now Fatali Khan wanted to make Shamakhi his capital: the city lay almost in the centre of the northern lands, had been the capital of the old Shirvanshah state, and holding it would later open the way to Karabakh, Shaki and the south. At first a peaceful deal was reached: Guba would protect Shamakhi from attack, and Shamakhi would pay an annual tribute. But the khan of Shamakhi, relying on Shaki, went back on it. Fatali Khan then came to terms with the khan of Shaki: in 1767 the Shamakhi khanate was divided between the two, and in 1768 Fatali Khan joined all of it to Guba. That same year the Javad khanate in Mughan voluntarily accepted Guba’s protection. This was the most successful attempt to unite the Azerbaijani lands in the second half of the 18th century; peasants, craftsmen and merchants welcomed it, while the great feudal lords feared losing their power.
Two alliances formed against the unification: one included the khans of Karabakh and Shaki and the former ruler of Shamakhi, later joined by the Georgian king Erekle II; the other was made up of Dagestani rulers. In 1774 Dagestani forces led by Amir Hamza, ruler of Kaitag, attacked Guba and defeated Fatali Khan on the Gavdushan plain near Khudat. The wounded khan retreated to Salyan, and the enemy besieged Derbent. Fatali Khan returned to the fortress by sea; Derbent held out for nine months. Seeing how hard it was to fight alone, Fatali Khan sent envoys to Catherine II. In 1775 Amir Hamza was beaten in battle with Russian troops, who entered Derbent. The Ottoman state protested, and Russia, unwilling to start a new war, withdrew its troops.
The southern campaign and the end of unification
Fatali Khan first hoped to win Karabakh by diplomacy, and in 1780–1781 he campaigned against it, without success (see «The Karabakh khanate: Panahali Khan and Ibrahimkhalil Khan»). One of his plans was to restore the borders of the former Safavid state: in 1784 he took Ardabil and Meshkin. Russia, which meant to conquer Azerbaijan in the future, demanded that Fatali Khan leave the southern lands. Not wishing to spoil relations with Russia, the khan withdrew. In 1789 Fatali Khan died; the Guba khanate weakened and the khanates he had united became independent again. After him Ahmad Khan (1789–1791) and Shaykhali Khan (1791–1806) ruled, and in 1806 Guba was occupied by Russia (see «The first Russo-Qajar war (1804–1813) and the Treaty of Gulistan»).
- 1757
Salyan is joined to the Guba khanate
- 1758
Fatali Khan comes to power in Guba
- 1759
Derbent is joined to the Guba khanate
- 1767
Baku is joined; Shamakhi is divided between Guba and Shaki
- 1768
All of Shamakhi is joined; Javad accepts Guba’s protection
- 1774
Battle of Gavdushan: Fatali Khan is defeated
- 1774–1775
The nine-month defence of Derbent
Tuti Bike led the defence.
- 1775
Russian troops defeat Amir Hamza and enter Derbent
After an Ottoman protest Russia withdrew its troops.
- 1780–1781
Fatali Khan’s failed campaigns against Karabakh
- 1784
Ardabil and Meshkin are taken
At Russia’s demand Fatali Khan withdrew.
- 1789
Death of Fatali Khan; the united khanates break away
| Person | Date | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Husaynali Khan | until 1758 | Founder; moved the centre from Khudat to Guba, joined Salyan (1757) |
| Fatali Khan | 1758–1789 | Tax reform, resettlement, unification of the north-eastern lands |
| Tuti Bike | 1774–1775 | Fatali Khan’s wife; led the defence of Derbent |
| Amir Hamza | 1774–1775 | Ruler of Kaitag; won at Gavdushan, besieged Derbent |
| Erekle II | 1770s | King of Kartli-Kakheti; joined the alliance against Fatali Khan |
| Ahmad Khan, Shaykhali Khan | 1789–1791, 1791–1806 | Fatali Khan’s successors; the khanate weakened |
| Feature | Stage I | Stage II |
|---|---|---|
| Lands and years | Salyan (1757), Derbent (1759), Baku (1767) | Shamakhi (1767–1768), Javad (1768); campaigns against Karabakh (1780–1781), Ardabil (1784) |
| Method | Mostly peaceful: the people’s appeal, marriage diplomacy | Talks failed — partition and force of arms |
| Opponents | No serious resistance | Karabakh, Shaki, Erekle II, Dagestani rulers, Russia |
| Result | The core of the north-east was united | Widest extent, but Karabakh and the south were not held; broke up after 1789 |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| Tax reform and resettlement | Treasury and army grew stronger; local rulers’ arbitrariness ended |
| Unification threatened the great feudal lords’ power | The Karabakh–Shaki and Dagestani alliances formed |
| Defeat at Gavdushan (1774) | Derbent was besieged; Fatali Khan asked Russia for help |
| Ottoman protest (1775) | Russia withdrew its troops from Derbent |
| Fatali Khan’s death (1789) | The united khanates became independent again |
Interactive
Source: the defence of Derbent
On the plain near Khudat the united army of the mountaineers routed the khan’s forces. The wounded khan could not get back to the fortress and fell back to Salyan on the Kur. The victors approached Derbent and sent word into the city that the khan was dead and that they had brought his body with them.
But the khan’s wife did not believe them. She had the fortress gates shut, the cannon set out on the walls, and led the defenders herself. Some time later the khan entered the fortress by sea. The siege went on for months; only after a Russian detachment from the north had beaten the attackers was the country round Derbent set free.
Source tasks
Problem
1) Name the khan, his wife and the battle, none of which are named in the text, and give the year of the battle.
2) Explain one military and one political reason why the khan asked Russia for help.
3) Give two consequences of these events that are NOT stated in the text.
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Solution
2) Military: he could not fight the united Dagestani army alone, and Derbent had been besieged for months. Political: the neighbouring khans (Karabakh, Shaki) and Erekle II were also allied against him — he had no ally in the region. Marks: both — 1; one — ½.
3) Russian troops entered Derbent but withdrew after the Ottoman protest; Fatali Khan restored his power and went on with unification (campaigns against Karabakh 1780–1781, Ardabil 1784); Russia’s influence in the region grew. Marks: two consequences — 1; one — ½; lifting the siege is in the text and earns nothing.
Exam-type tasks
Exam task: grouping by stage
Problem
Group the lands: a) first stage; b) second stage.
1. Baku
2. Javad
3. Derbent
4. Shamakhi
5. Salyan
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Solution
Step 2: Shamakhi was joined by partition and force after talks broke down (1767–1768), and Javad after it (1768) — second stage.
Step 3: Baku and the division of Shamakhi share a year (1767) — check the method, not the year.
Answer: a — 1, 3, 5; b — 2, 4.
Exam task: «not related»
Problem
Which was NOT part of Fatali Khan’s internal policy?
A) forbidding district naibs to collect taxes
B) moving part of the Shahsevan tribes to Guba
C) exiling the Karabakh tribes to Khorasan
D) village headmen handing the tax personally to the khan’s treasury
E) settling newcomers from the south in Shabran
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Solution
Step 2: C also looks like resettlement, but it was Nadir Shah’s measure: he exiled to Khorasan and Afghanistan the Karabakh tribes that had opposed him at the Mughan assembly (1736).
Answer: C.
Contemporaries described Fatali Khan as a clever, brave, tireless and enterprising ruler; the travelling naturalist S. Gmelin noted that he allowed no discrimination between Muslim sects. Yet the unification failed because of the conditions of the age: the great feudal lords resisted, and the neighbouring states did not want a strong Azerbaijani state. The next lesson is «The Shaki khanate: Haji Chalabi and the struggle with Kartli-Kakheti».
Remember
- Husaynali Khan founded the Guba khanate; the centre moved from Khudat to Guba; Salyan was joined in 1757.
- Fatali Khan (1758–1789) reformed taxation (village headmen handed taxes personally to the treasury) and pursued resettlement (Shabran, the Shahsevans, people of Derbent).
- First stage: Salyan (1757), Derbent (1759), Baku (1767); second: Shamakhi (1767–1768), Javad (1768).
- In 1774 at Gavdushan Fatali Khan was beaten by Amir Hamza’s Dagestani forces; Derbent held out nine months under Tuti Bike; Russian troops came in 1775 and later withdrew.
- The 1780–1781 campaigns against Karabakh failed, Ardabil taken in 1784 was given up at Russia’s demand; with Fatali Khan’s death in 1789 the union fell apart.