Nadir Shah’s camp near Derbent, 1741. On the shah’s order a man from Shaki, a rope already round his neck, is being led to execution. Yet he tells the shah without fear that Malik Najaf, the ruler of Shaki, raises the shah’s taxes at will and turns the people against the shah. Nadir pardons him and even widens his powers, but tells his courtiers that this man will «do something» yet. The shah was right: two years later Haji Chalabi founded the first independent khanate in Azerbaijan.
The Shaki revolt and the first independent khanate
Nadir Shah’s endless wars and the arbitrariness of local rulers had exhausted the people (see «The Afsharid empire: Nadir Shah's policy and its fall»). In 1741 the people of Shaki complained about Malik Najaf, and Nadir, to calm them, made Haji Chalabi, who enjoyed great authority in Shaki, the district vakil. The struggle with Malik Najaf went on; when Haji Chalabi was summoned to the shah a second time, he understood that this time he would not escape execution, and refused to go. In 1743 he gathered his supporters, killed Malik Najaf, proclaimed himself khan and took power in Shaki.
At that time there were also risings in Derbent, Jar, Karabakh, Iravan and the south, and Nadir could not split his army. Expecting the shah’s campaign, Haji Chalabi moved the people of Shaki into the «Galasan-Gorasan» fortress («come and see»), stocked with food and ammunition. The people of Shaki held out for a long time; only in 1746, when food ran short in the fortress, did Haji Chalabi declare that he recognised Nadir’s authority, and the shah in turn made him vakil again. With Nadir’s murder in 1747 Shaki became fully independent — the first independent khanate in Azerbaijan. The Russian historian P. Butkov saw Haji Chalabi as a man who had risen from the people and come to power with their help.
VakilDefinition
In Nadir Shah’s time, an influential man who saw to a district’s affairs and spoke for its people.
Haji Chalabi Khan’s unification policy
After Nadir’s death Haji Chalabi strengthened his khanate’s independence and began a policy of uniting the Azerbaijani lands in a single state. The first step was to join the neighbouring Gabala, Gutgashen and Arash sultanates to the khanate. Then he marched on Tabriz, without success. In 1748, together with the khan of Shamakhi, he marched on Karabakh and besieged Bayat fortress, the first centre of the Karabakh khanate. This campaign, known as the «battle of Bayat», also failed and, on the contrary, raised the prestige of the Karabakh khanate (see «The Karabakh khanate: Panahali Khan and Ibrahimkhalil Khan»).
The struggle with Kartli-Kakheti and the «Kizilkaya treachery»
Taking advantage of the absence of a single Azerbaijani state, the Georgian king Erekle II often campaigned to seize the western lands of Azerbaijan, and the Shaki khanate was the main obstacle in his way. According to an 18th-century Georgian chronicle, in 1751 the kings Teimuraz and Erekle marched on Jar to defeat Haji Chalabi but, despite their larger army, suffered a heavy defeat. Realising he could not deal with Shaki alone, Erekle chose «divide and rule»: first he allied with Panahali Khan of Karabakh, and then the khans of Ganja, Karadagh, Iravan and Nakhchivan joined the alliance.
In 1752 the allies gathered for a council at a place called Kizilkaya near Ganja. But the Georgian king betrayed his allies: he surrounded the Azerbaijani khans who had come to the talks and took them prisoner. This event is known as the «Kizilkaya treachery». On hearing the news, Haji Chalabi Khan attacked the Georgian army in order to rescue the very khans who had allied against him; the cavalry he led inflicted a heavy defeat on the enemy, and the khans were freed. After this victory Haji Chalabi freed the Gazakh, Shamshadil and Borchaly districts and added them to his khanate, and that same year he also repulsed the Georgian king’s campaign on Jar-Balakan and took that region under his protection. His campaign against Shirvan in 1755, however, failed because Husaynali Khan of Guba helped Shamakhi.
Under Haji Chalabi the Shaki khanate was the strongest political power in Azerbaijan and stopped the Georgian kings from seizing the north-western lands. Haji Chalabi was among the first Azerbaijani khans to keep diplomatic ties with the Ottoman state; he built a mosque, a madrasa and other public buildings in Shaki and put the tax system in order. Yet rivalry among the khans, foreign interference and economic weakness kept his plans for unification from coming true as well.
After Haji Chalabi: a time of decline
Haji Chalabi was succeeded by his son Aghakishi Khan, but he was murdered in a plot and a struggle for power began in the khanate. First Haji Chalabi’s grandson Huseyn Khan came to power, helped by the local people and by Fatali Khan of Guba. Huseyn Khan, who wrote poetry under the pen name «Mushtag», was Fatali Khan’s ally for a while: in 1767 they divided the Shamakhi khanate, but in 1768 Fatali Khan defeated Huseyn Khan and joined the other half of Shamakhi to Guba as well (see «The Guba khanate: Fatali Khan's unification policy»). Under Muhammad Hasan Khan, who came to power in the 1780s, a special «Qanunname» (law code) was adopted: it regulated taxes, feudal relations and the rights and duties of the social estates. At the end of the 18th century Salim Khan came to power.
Power struggles and wars with neighbouring khanates weakened the Shaki khanate. Even so, Shaki kept its sphere of influence: the Gabala and Gutgashen sultanates were directly subject to it, and the Arash sultanate was abolished in 1795 and joined to Shaki as a district. In 1805 the Shaki khanate was forced to accept Russian protection, and in 1819 it was abolished. The khanate’s most famous monument is the Palace of the Shaki Khans with its shebeke windows; its date is disputed: tradition gives 1762 and Huseyn Khan, while a number of researchers date the palace to the end of the 18th century, the time of Muhammad Hasan Khan (see «Culture in the khanate era»).
- 1741
Haji Chalabi is made vakil of Shaki
- 1743
Haji Chalabi's revolt and the Shaki Khanate
Malik Najaf was killed and Haji Chalabi proclaimed himself khan.
- 1746
Famine in Galasan-Gorasan; Haji Chalabi recognises Nadir
- 1747
Nadir’s death; Shaki becomes fully independent
- 1748
Battle of Bayat: the armies of Shaki and Shamakhi fail to take Bayat fortress
- 1751
Teimuraz and Erekle’s campaign on Jar ends in defeat
- 1752
The «Kizilkaya treachery»; Haji Chalabi frees the khans
Gazakh, Shamshadil and Borchaly were added to Shaki.
- 1755
Haji Chalabi’s failed campaign against Shirvan
- 1767
Huseyn Khan and Fatali Khan divide Shamakhi
- 1768
Fatali Khan defeats Huseyn Khan
- 1780s
Muhammad Hasan Khan’s «Qanunname»
- 1795
The Arash sultanate is abolished and joined to Shaki
- 1819
The Shaki khanate is abolished
| Khan | Years | Main events |
|---|---|---|
| Haji Chalabi Khan | 1743–1755 | Revolt, first independent khanate; sultanates joined; Bayat (1748), Kizilkaya (1752) |
| Aghakishi Khan | 1755–1759 | Murdered in a plot; the struggle for power began |
| Huseyn Khan (Mushtag) | 1759–1780 | Divided Shamakhi with Fatali Khan (1767), defeated (1768) |
| Muhammad Hasan Khan | 1783–1795, 1797–1805 | «Qanunname»: taxes and the estates’ rights regulated |
| Salim Khan | 1795–1797, 1805–1806 | One of the last independent rulers; Russian protection in 1805 |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| Malik Najaf’s arbitrariness and higher taxes | The Shaki revolt of 1743; Haji Chalabi proclaimed khan |
| The Georgian kings’ defeat at Jar in 1751 | Erekle II gathered the khans into an alliance against Shaki |
| Haji Chalabi’s victory at Kizilkaya (1752) | Gazakh, Shamshadil and Borchaly freed; Jar-Balakan came under Shaki’s protection |
| The khan of Guba helps Shamakhi (1755) | Haji Chalabi’s campaign against Shirvan failed |
| Power struggles, wars with neighbours | The khanate weakened by the end of the 18th century |
| Feature | Haji Chalabi (Shaki) | Fatali Khan (Guba) |
|---|---|---|
| Rise to power | Through revolt against Nadir (1743) | Inherited from his father Husaynali Khan (1758) |
| Main foreign rival | Kartli-Kakheti (Erekle II) | Dagestani rulers (Amir Hamza) |
| Ties with great powers | Diplomatic ties with the Ottoman state | Asked Russia for help (1774–1775) |
| In common | Unification policy | Unification policy |
Interactive
Source: the Kizilkaya affair
To fight together against the khan of Shaki, the Georgian kings invited the neighbouring khans to a council at a rocky place near Ganja. The khans trusted them and came with few men. But during the talks the Georgian army surrounded their tents and took the khans prisoner.
When the news reached Shaki, the khan at once gathered his horsemen and rode swiftly towards Ganja. Riding day and night, the horsemen fell on the Georgian camp by surprise. The Georgian army was heavily defeated and fled, and the captive khans were freed and returned to their lands.
Source tasks
Problem
1) Which event is described? Give its year and the name of the khan of Shaki who rescued the khans.
2) Explain one political and one military reason why the Georgian kings gathered the khans into an alliance against Shaki.
3) Give two consequences of the event that are NOT stated in the text.
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Solution
2) Political: the Shaki khanate was the main obstacle to Erekle II’s plans to seize the western lands of Azerbaijan. Military: beaten at Jar in 1751, the kings understood they could not defeat Shaki alone. Marks: both — 1; one — ½.
3) Haji Chalabi freed Gazakh, Shamshadil and Borchaly and added them to his khanate; he took Jar-Balakan under his protection; Shaki became the strongest power in Azerbaijan and the Georgian advance was stopped. Marks: two consequences — 1; one — ½; freeing the khans is in the text and earns nothing.
Exam-type tasks
Exam task: chronology
Problem
Put the events in chronological order:
1. The «Kizilkaya treachery»
2. Haji Chalabi recognises Nadir’s authority
3. The battle of Bayat
4. Haji Chalabi is made vakil
5. The campaign against Shirvan
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Solution
Step 2: Order the rest: 3 (1748), 1 (1752), 5 (1755).
Step 3: Check: Bayat (late 1740s) is before Kizilkaya (early 1750s).
Answer: 4, 2, 3, 1, 5.
Exam task: matching cause and result
Problem
Match each cause with its result:
1. The Georgian kings’ defeat at Jar (1751)
2. Haji Chalabi’s victory at Kizilkaya (1752)
3. The khan of Guba helps Shamakhi (1755)
a. Haji Chalabi’s campaign against Shirvan failed
b. Gazakh, Shamshadil and Borchaly were added to Shaki
c. Erekle II formed an alliance of khans against Shaki
d. The Shamakhi khanate was divided
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Solution
Step 2: «d» is spare: Shamakhi was divided in 1767, under Huseyn Khan.
Answer: 1-c, 2-b, 3-a.
Next lesson: «The Karabakh khanate: Panahali Khan and Ibrahimkhalil Khan» — there Haji Chalabi’s failed march on Bayat will appear as a turning point in the history of the Karabakh khanate.
Remember
- In 1743 Haji Chalabi killed Malik Najaf and proclaimed himself khan; Shaki became the first independent khanate in Azerbaijan.
- Haji Chalabi joined the Gabala, Gutgashen and Arash sultanates, but his Tabriz campaign and the battle of Bayat (1748) failed.
- In 1752, at the «Kizilkaya treachery», Haji Chalabi freed the khans captured by Erekle II, then added Gazakh, Shamshadil and Borchaly to his khanate.
- After Haji Chalabi strife began: Huseyn Khan (Mushtag) divided Shamakhi with Fatali Khan in 1767, Muhammad Hasan Khan adopted the «Qanunname», then Salim Khan came to power.
- Internal strife and wars with neighbours weakened the khanate; in 1805 Shaki accepted Russian protection and in 1819 it was abolished.