Nakhchivan khanate

Nakhchivan khanate ( _az. Naxçıvan xanlığı) was a feudal state that existed on the territory of the present-day Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

The khanate was ruled by the local Azeri-Turkic Kangarli dynasty and the population of the khanate was mostly Muslim (Azeri-Turkic and Kurdish). It was founded in 1747 by Haydar Quli Khan, who declared himself the ruler of Nakhchivan after the death of Nadir Shah Afshar, the ruler of Persia. During the rule of Panah khan of Karabakh khanate Nakhchivan was the dependency of Karabakh.

During Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813, Russian forces under general Gudovich briefly occupied Nakhchivan in 1808, but as a result of Treaty of Gulistan it passed into Persian hands. After the second Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828 and the Treaty of Turkmenchay, Nakhchivan khanate passed into Russian possession in 1828. The ruler of the khanate Ehsan khan supported Russia in the war against Persia and was conferred by the Russian authorities the rank of major-general of the Russian army and the title of campaign ataman of Kangarly militia.

With the onset of Russian rule, the tsarist authorities encouraged massive resettlement of Armenians from Persia and Turkey to Nakhchivan and other areas of the Caucasus. Special clauses of the Turkmenchay and Adrianople treaties allowed for this. According to Russian envoy to Persia Alexandr Griboyedov, the number of Armenian population resettled to Nakhchivan in 1828 exceeded all reasonable limits, and this resulted in tensions between the newcomers and local mainly Muslim population. Griboyedov requested Russian army commander count Ivan Paskevich to give orders on resettlement of some of the arriving people further to the region of Daralagoz to quiet the tensions.

Nakhchivan khanate was dissolved in 1828, its territory was merged with the territory of the Erivan khanate, which in 1840 was renamed the Erivan Governorate of the Russian Empire. Nakhchivan became the Nakhchivan uyezd of the province.

After dissolution of the khanate, khans of Nakhchivan remained the most influential power and de-facto rulers of the region. Nakhchivan khans became known in the Russian empire by the surname of Khan Nakhchivanski and the men of the family traditionally chose military service. Six Khans Nakhchivanski became generals in Russian tsarist, Soviet and Iranian armies. Sons of Ehsan khan Ismail khan and Kalbali khan were both awarded orders of Saint-George of IV degree for the services in battle and were generals in Russian army. Son of Kalbali khan Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski was a prominent Russian military commander and adjutant general of the Russian Emperor, and his nephews Jamshid and Kalbali were generals in Soviet and Iranian armies respectively.

Rulers [ [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Azerbaijan.html#Nakhichevan Azerbaijan ] ]

1747 - 1787 Haydar Quli Khan

1787 - 1823 Kalb` Ali Khan

1823 - 1828 Ehsan Khan

1828 - 1834 Karim Khan Kangarli

References

ee also

* Nakhchivan
* Republic of Aras
*Khanates of the Caucasus