Khanate Period in Azerbaijan. Irevan, Shirvan and Talysh Khanates.
1.6. Irevan Khanate
Irevan (Revan) Khanate is a khanate located in the north of the Aras River. Its neighboring states are Turkey, Iran and Georgia, and the Ganja Karabakh and Nakhchivan khanates.
Irevan castle was one of the most important defensive places of the Irevan khanate. This castle was built in the early periods of the 16th century. There is some information about Irevan Castle in Evliya Çelebi's 'Travelbook'. According to the information written in the travelogue, Irevan Castle was built by the order of the Safavid ruler Shah Ismail. After Shah Ismail made the Irevan khanate subordinate to himself, he ordered his vizier named Revankulu Khan to build a castle there. This castle built was named Revan Castle in the name of Revankulu Khan. Over time, Revan castle changed and became Irevan.
Irevan Castle
He is appointed by the appointment of Nadir Shah, the ruler of the Iravan Khanate. Due to his heroism in the wars, he declared Hasanali Khan of the Qajars as the Khan of Irevan. However, the Iravan Khanate began to strengthen as an independent Khanate after the death of Nadir Shah. After the Irevan Khanate gained its independence, Georgian King II. He made an alliance with Irakli. He was able to maintain his borders in return for paying tribute to Georgia.
Although he did not want to pay this tribute after Hasanali Khan's brother, Hüseyin Khan, he was not successful. With the Qajars coming to power in Iran, the situation of the Irevan Khanate worsened. Both Georgia and the Iravan Khanate began to be disturbed by this situation. Thereupon, the Irevan Khan and the Karabakh Khan appealed to the Ottoman Empire to help Agha Muhammad Shah Qajar. However, since the Ottoman Empire had an agreement with Iran, it did not enter into an alliance against the Qajars.
By capturing Tbilisi, the Qajars saved Ganja and Iravan Khanate from being subject to Georgia. Thereupon, Georgian king II. Irakli also asked for help from Russia. The Russian state also considered sending the Russian army under the command of General Qudavic to the region and occupying both Georgia and the Azerbaijani khanates.
1.7. Shirvan Khanate
Shirvan Khanate covered a wide region from the Samur River in the north to the Kur River in the south. It shared the same borders with the Caspian Sea and Baku Khanate in the east, Sheki and Karabakh Khanate in the west, and Talysh Khanate in the south.
Shirvan Khanate had a very strong military power. The Khanate could gather an army of 10 thousand, sometimes 12 thousand men. Militarily, the khanate struggled for eight years against the unification policy of the Kuba khanate. Kuba Khan Fetali Khan made repeated expeditions against the Shirvan Khanate for this purpose, but retreated each time with losses.
While the Ottomans gave an ultimatum to the Russians in November 1722 and asked them to withdraw, they recognized Haji Dawud's dominance over Shirvan. Hadji Dawud became a vassal ruler like the Crimean khan. Later, according to the Treaty of Istanbul (June 24, 1724), which provided for the division of Iran's lands in the Caucasus between the Ottoman Empire and Russia, the Ottoman Empire took over Georgia, Ganja, Revan, Tabriz and Rumiye, as well as Shemahi along with the central part of Shirvan. The fact that the coastal part of Shirvan, along with Baku, remained in Russian hands divided Shirvan politically for the first time. It was conquered by Nadir Shah in 1734 and divided into two. As two local administrations, the city of Shamakhi has been exposed to constant turmoil.
1.8. Talysh (Lankaran) Khanate
The founder of the Khanate is Seyyid Abbas, a descendant of Safavids. Sayyid Abbas was one of the emirs who voluntarily obeyed Nadir Shah. After the death of Nadir Shah, Seyyid Abbas became the administrator of the region. Seyyid Abbas reigned in the Talysh Khanate for 20 years. After his death, Cemaleddin Mirza Bey, who became famous as Kara Khan, ascended to the throne of the Khanate in 1747. During the Kara Khan period, the Khanate consisted of permanent military units. The city of Lankaran is surrounded by fortress walls. The inn built many mosques, baths and markets, especially palaces. The population of the Khanate consisted of Turks and Talysh. There were also many nomadic Turkish groups in the region. Thus, the khan who seized power took some measures to increase the economic and political power of the khanate and made the city of Lankaran the center of the khanate.
After Kara Khan, Mir Mustafa Khan succeeded him. His period was spent in struggles with the Qajars and the Russians. Although Mir Mustafa Khan sought Russia's support against Agha Muhammad Shah, this did not yield good results for him. The Khanate was attacked by the Qajars in 1795 and 1797.
Mir Mustafa Khan could not avoid being under Russian rule since 1802. Later, he was disturbed by the invasive policies of the Russians. He took a stand for a long time. In the Treaty of Gulistan signed in 1813, the Talysh Khanate could not be prevented from coming under Russian rule. One year after the treaty, Khan passed away. Thereupon, his son Mir Hasan Khan became the head of the Talysh Khanate and took a stand against Russia. In 1826, the Russians ended the existence of the Khanate.
