In the mid-18th century a merchant crossing Shirvan would have found a strange picture: there were two towns called Shamakhi — Old Shamakhi at the foot of the mountains and New Shamakhi on the Aghsu plain. Each had its own khan, its own troops and its own tax collectors. Azerbaijani textbooks call this situation dual rule. How did two powers arise in one khanate — and why did dual rule appear in Ganja in a completely different way?
Dual ruleDefinition
The existence of two powers at the same time in one country (khanate).
The Shamakhi khanate: two towns, two powers
Shirvan covered the broad lands north-east of the Kura river; in the mid-18th century the Guba, Derbent, Baku and Shamakhi khanates arose there. The Shamakhi khanate held part of Shirvan and was one of the largest Azerbaijani khanates by area, but its borders shifted often because of wars. The town had suffered heavy blows during the century: in the 1730s Nadir Shah had moved the people of Shamakhi to a new town founded near Aghsu.
After Nadir Shah’s death (1747) an independent khanate arose in each town: in Old Shamakhi the brothers Muhammad Said Khan and Agasi Khan of the Sarkar dynasty took power, in New Shamakhi — Haji Muhammad Ali Khan. This dual rule harmed the khanate politically and economically: its forces were split, it could not resist neighbouring khans who attacked Shirvan, and the khans of the two towns also fought each other.
In 1763 Muhammad Said Khan defeated Haji Muhammad Ali Khan and took New Shamakhi. Dual rule thus came to an end, and a single Shamakhi khanate ruled by the Sarkar dynasty emerged. The new ruler tried to restore the ruined economy, silk-making included: Shirvan silk was the khanate’s chief wealth. The textbook places the end of dual rule in 1763; some historians date Haji Muhammad Ali Khan’s fall differently.
From dependence on Guba to Mustafa Khan
The united Shamakhi caught the eye of Fatali Khan of Guba: he wanted to make this town — almost at the centre of the northern lands and once the ancient capital of the Shirvanshahs — the capital of his future state. In 1767 Fatali Khan, together with Huseyn Khan of Shaki, partitioned the Shamakhi khanate, and in 1768 he joined it wholly to Guba (see «The Guba khanate: Fatali Khan's unification policy»). Deprived of power, the Shamakhi khans fought again and again to escape Guba’s rule and joined the Karabakh–Shaki coalition against Fatali Khan, but until 1789 — Fatali Khan’s death — the khanate stayed mostly within the Guba khanate.
In Shamakhi, independent again after Fatali Khan’s death, a struggle for power went on in 1789–1792. In 1792 Mustafa Khan came to power. Stability returned; despite the neighbouring khanates’ attempts to subdue it, Shamakhi kept its independence and again became one of the strongest Azerbaijani khanates. During Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar’s campaign into Shirvan, Mustafa Khan fortified Mount Fit and blocked the Qajar troops’ advance towards Derbent (see «The last attempt at unification: Agha Muhammad Shah Qajar»). At the end of 1805 Mustafa Khan was forced to sign a treaty with Russia.
The Ganja khanate: between neighbours
The Ganja khanate was founded by Shahverdi Khan of the Ziyadoghlu branch of the Qajar tribe; the Ziyadoghlus had already been beylerbeys of Karabakh under the Safavids. The khanate lay in a strategic position and was one of the centres of international trade. That is exactly why Ganja was a constant target of its neighbours: the Georgian king Erekle II marched on it many times, trying to make it dependent. Looking for support, Shahverdi Khan sent an envoy to the Ottoman state in 1752.
In the 1750s Ganja fell into dependence on the Karabakh khanate. In 1780 the khanate was partitioned between the Karabakh khanate and the Georgian kingdom and began to be governed by representatives appointed by both sides — this is how dual rule arose in Ganja (the textbook calls it a partition; some historians describe a joint occupation and administration). Paying taxes to two masters angered the people, and in 1783 an uprising in Ganja put an end to dual rule.
In 1786 Javad Khan Ziyadoghlu (1786–1804) came to power. His wise policy strengthened the khanate’s independence: he sought to free the Azerbaijani lands of Gazakh and Borchali from Georgian influence. Silver coins called «abbasi» and «shahi» were struck in Ganja with the words «coin of Ganja» on them; the main coin was the abbasi. The National Museum of History of Azerbaijan keeps Javad Khan’s symbol of power — a bunchuk, a staff topped with a horse’s tail. In January 1804 Javad Khan died together with his sons defending the fortress of Ganja against Russian troops — the topic of the next section, on the Russian conquest.
- 1730s
Nadir Shah moves the people of Shamakhi to a new town near Aghsu
- 1747
Nadir’s death; khanates arise in Old and New Shamakhi and in Ganja
- 1750s
The Ganja khanate becomes dependent on Karabakh
- 1752
Shahverdi Khan sends an envoy to the Ottoman state
- 1763
Muhammad Said Khan takes New Shamakhi; a single Shamakhi khanate
- 1767
The Shamakhi khanate is divided between Guba and Shaki
- 1768
Shamakhi is joined wholly to the Guba khanate
- 1780
Ganja is partitioned between the Karabakh khanate and the Georgian kingdom
- 1783
An uprising in Ganja ends dual rule
- 1786
Javad Khan Ziyadoghlu comes to power
- 1792
Mustafa Khan becomes khan of Shamakhi
- 1795–1796
Mustafa Khan fortifies Mount Fit during Agha Muhammad Khan’s campaign
- 1804
Javad Khan dies defending the fortress of Ganja
- 1805
Mustafa Khan signs a treaty with Russia
| Ruler | Khanate | Period | Key fact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muhammad Said Khan and Agasi Khan | Shamakhi (Old Shamakhi) | mid-18th century – 1768 | Sarkar dynasty; Muhammad Said Khan took New Shamakhi and united the khanate in 1763 |
| Haji Muhammad Ali Khan | Shamakhi (New Shamakhi) | mid-18th century – 1763 | Ruled in Aghsu; defeated in 1763 |
| Mustafa Khan | Shamakhi | from 1792 | Strengthened the khanate; Mount Fit (during Agha Muhammad Khan’s campaign); treaty with Russia at the end of 1805 |
| Shahverdi Khan | Ganja | from 1747 | Founder of the Ziyadoghlu line; envoy to the Ottomans in 1752 |
| Javad Khan Ziyadoghlu | Ganja | 1786–1804 | Strengthened independence; fought for Gazakh and Borchali; killed in 1804 |
| Feature | Shamakhi khanate | Ganja khanate |
|---|---|---|
| Source of dual rule | Internal: two separate khans in two towns | External: partition between two neighbouring states |
| Sides | The Sarkars (Old Shamakhi) and Haji Muhammad Ali Khan (New Shamakhi) | Representatives of the Karabakh khanate and Kartli-Kakheti |
| Duration | mid-18th century – 1763 | 1780–1783 |
| How it ended | With Muhammad Said Khan’s military victory | With a popular uprising in Ganja |
| Later dependence | Part of the Guba khanate (1768–1789) | From 1786 Javad Khan strengthened independence |
| Common features | Arose after Nadir’s death; lay on trade routes; became a target of neighbours | In 1804–1805 both passed under Russian rule |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| Two separate khans in Old and New Shamakhi | Forces were split; the khanate grew weak against neighbours’ attacks |
| Muhammad Said Khan’s victory of 1763 | A single Shamakhi khanate emerged |
| Shamakhi’s central position and status as an ancient capital | Fatali Khan joined it to Guba (1767–1768) |
| Ganja’s strategic position and trade importance | Claims of Erekle II and the Karabakh khans; partition in 1780 |
| Taxes to two masters — popular anger | Uprising of 1783; Javad Khan in 1786 |
Interactive
Source: the rulers of two towns
After Nadir Shah’s death two rulers sat in two towns of Shirvan. In the old town two brothers of one family ruled together, while in the new town a khan who had taken the name «haji» after the pilgrimage to Mecca considered himself dependent on no one. Each collected taxes from his own villages and often raided his rival’s lands.
Neighbouring khans watched this feud and set their eyes on the lands of Shirvan. At last one of the brothers gathered an army, defeated the ruler of the new town and united the two towns under one power. He set about restoring the ruined silk workshops. But a united Shirvan also attracted the attention of a strong neighbour to the north-east.
Source tasks
Problem
1) Name the khanate not named in the text, the term for the political situation described, and the year of unification.
2) Explain one political and one economic reason why this situation weakened the khanate.
3) Write two consequences of the events after unification that are not stated in the text.
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Solution
2) Political: forces were split and there was no common defence against neighbouring khans. Economic: two separate tax collections and mutual raids ruined the villages and the silk economy. Marks: both — 1; one — ½.
3) In 1767 the khans of Guba and Shaki divided Shamakhi, and in 1768 it was joined wholly to the Guba khanate; the Sarkar khans lost power and joined the Karabakh–Shaki coalition against Fatali Khan; thanks to the silk trade Shamakhi remained an important economic centre. Marks: two consequences — 1; one — ½; facts already in the text (the end of dual rule, restoring the silk workshops) earn nothing.
Exam-style tasks
Exam task: «similar to X, different from Y»
Problem
Choose the features of the Ganja khanate that it shares with the Shamakhi khanate but that distinguish it from the Baku khanate:
1. It arose in the mid-18th century
2. Its history included a period of dual rule
3. It lay on the Caspian coast
4. For a time it depended on the Guba khanate
5. It came under Russian rule before 1806
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Solution
Step 2: 3 — Ganja is not on the Caspian; 4 — Ganja never depended on Guba (Shamakhi and Baku did) — both drop out.
Step 3: 2 — Ganja (1780–1783) and Shamakhi (until 1763) had dual rule, Baku did not. 5 — Ganja was taken in 1804 and Shamakhi signed a treaty at the end of 1805 (both before 1806), while Baku was occupied in 1806.
Answer: 2, 5.
Exam task: chronology
Problem
Put the events in chronological order:
1. The end of dual rule in Ganja
2. The end of dual rule in Shamakhi
3. Mustafa Khan comes to power
4. Shamakhi is joined wholly to the Guba khanate
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Solution
Step 2: Order them: 1763 → 1768 → 1783 → 1792.
Trap: «the end of dual rule» appears twice — in Shamakhi in the 1760s, in Ganja in the 1780s.
Answer: 2, 4, 1, 3.
The Caspian khanates of Baku, Derbent and Lankaran, the free communities and the sultanates are in the next lesson: «The Baku, Derbent and Lankaran khanates; communities, sultanates and meliks».
Remember
- Dual rule means two powers at once in one khanate; in Shamakhi it had internal causes, in Ganja external ones.
- Muhammad Said Khan and Agasi Khan of the Sarkar dynasty ruled Old Shamakhi, Haji Muhammad Ali Khan ruled New Shamakhi; in 1763 Muhammad Said Khan united the khanate.
- In 1767–1768 Shamakhi was joined to the Guba khanate and stayed mostly within it until 1789; after the struggle of 1789–1792 Mustafa Khan came to power and the khanate grew strong again.
- The Ganja khanate was founded by Shahverdi Khan of the Ziyadoghlu line; in the 1750s Ganja depended on Karabakh, in 1780–1783 it was partitioned between the Karabakh khanate and the Georgian kingdom, and the uprising of 1783 ended dual rule.
- Javad Khan Ziyadoghlu (1786–1804) strengthened independence and sought to free Gazakh and Borchali from Georgian influence; abbasi and shahi coins marked «coin of Ganja» were struck in Ganja.