Karabakh Karabakh as independent A ydin A SLA N OV khanate PhD in History (1747–1805) AT THE TIME OF THE SafaVID STATE, THE ENTIRE TERRITORY OF AZERbaIJAN was MADE UP OF FOUR BEYLERBEYDO- MS: SHIRVAN, KARabakH (OR GANJA), CHUKHURsaaD (OR IRAVAN) AND AZERbaIJAN (OR TabRIZ) (RAHMANI A. A. AZERbaIJAN IN THE LATE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURIES (1590-1700). BAKU, 1981, PP. 87-89). At the time of the Safavid state, the entire territory of Azerbaijan was made up of four beylerbey- doms: Shirvan, Karabakh (or Ganja), Chukhursaad (or Iravan) and Azer- baijan (or Tabriz) (Rahmani A. A. Azerbaijan in the late 16th and 17th centuries (1590–1700). Baku, 1981, pp. 87–89). These regions were headed by the shah’s gover- nors-general who were called bey- lerbeys. The first beylerbey of Kara- bakh was Shahverdi-Sultan from the Ziyad-oglu clan of the Azer- baijani Gajar tribe, who was ap- Gara Beyuk khanum’s Castle. Second half of the 18th century pointed by Shah Tahmasib I in the 18 www.irs-az.com Azerbaijan in the mid-18th century (formation of khanates) 1540s. The nobility of the tribe was Ziyad-oglu, leaving him with Ganja was one of the most significant granted pastures and land plots in and a county, which he and his heirs ones, emerged on the lands be- Karabakh (A collection of articles owned until 1804 (A collection of tween the Kura and the Araz. Most on the history of Azerbaijan, edi- articles…, p. 250). of its population was made up of tion 1, Baku, 1949, p. 250). The In 1747, Nadir-shah was killed as the Azerbaijani tribes of Otuziki, power of the Karabakh beylerbey a result of a conspiracy. His empire Javanshir and Kabirli, who were “in- covered a vast territory – from the split up into independent feudal digenous ilats of the Karabakh vilayet” Georgian border near “Sinig Korpu” possessions. “Before Persian troops and inhabited lowland areas. These Bridge (currently “Red Bridge”) to withdrew from this region, indepen- tribes were forcibly resettled to Kho- Khudafarin Bridge on the Araz River dent rulers emerged in every province” rasan under Nadir-shah (Mirza Ad- (Mirza Adigozal-bey, Karabakh- (A. K. Bakikhanov, Gulistan-i Iram, igozal-bey, ibid., p. 47). After his nameh, Baku, 1950, p. 47). The Baku, 1991, p. 154). death, they returned to Karabakh, descendants of Shahverdi-Sultan Thus, sovereign feudal state en- “and everyone who arrived in their were Karabakh beylerbeys with a tities – 20 khanates – emerged in former camp started to live quietly” khan’s title until 1736 when Nadir- Azerbaijan. (Mirza Jamal Javanshir, The Histo- shah took Karabakh proper from The Karabakh khanate, which ry of Karabakh, Baku, 1959, p. 67). www.irs-az.com 19 Karabakh Panahali Khan’s Shahbulag Castle. Shahbulag Village. 18th century The founder of the Karabakh vanshir and Gazakh (G. Abdullayev, achen, Varanda, Talish (or Gulistan), khanate was Panah Ali-bey Javan- Azerbaijan in the 18th century Dizak and Jeraberd, which totally shir (1747–1763) from the Sarijali oy- and its mutual relations with Rus- depended on Karabakh khans and mag of the Javanshir tribe, who “was sia, Baku, 1965, p. 91). He served did not play an independent role one of the most significant statesmen Nadir for some time, but “fearing for in history. There were five melik- of Azerbaijan in the 18th century” (I. P. his life”, he fled Khorasan to Kara- doms, which is why they were called Petrushevskiy, The Khanates of bakh together with a group of his “khamsa” (“five” in Arabic). Azerbaijan and the Emergence supporters and close circle in 1738. The meliks of Karabakh were as- of Russian Orientation. News of There, he took charge of armed de- similated Albanians. It is not without the Academy of Sciences of the tachments that fought Iranian op- reason that not a single surname Azerbaijan SSR (department of pression (Mirza Jamal Javanshir, of Karabakh meliks hailed from Ar- general science), edition 2, 1946, ibid., pp. 66–67). menian families. Moreover, they No 5, p. 100). The future Karabakh In the mountainous part of the had Muslim names. These were lo- khan was the leader of the Otuziki Karabakh khanate, there were small cal feudal rulers whose ancestors tribe and emir of 20,000 courts of Ja- feudal entities – melikdoms: Kh- were Armenianized after the Al- 20 www.irs-az.com banian Church was placed under the Khachen region were the major Hasan-Jalalyan, A Brief History of the jurisdiction of the Armenian feudal rulers Hasan-Jalalyans. Hav- the Agvan Country (1702–1722) , Church in the 8th century on or- ing built the Gandzasar monastery in Baku, 1989). ders from Arab Caliph Abd al-Malik 1240, they took secular and spiritual The Varanda, Talish and Jeraberd (Z.M.Bunyadov, Essays, Volume power in this region, keeping both up melikdoms emerged on the territory 1, Baku, 1999, chapter 3, § 2). For to the 19th century.” (P. T. Arutyunyan. of Karabakh only in the 17th century this reason, all surnames beginning The liberation movement of the and Dizak – in the early 18th century. from ”melik” are Albanian, while Armenian people in the first quar- They were formed by descendants their bearers are Albanians some ter of the 18th century. M., 1954, p. of noble Albanian families who mi- of whom Armenianized and most 60). Being a direct descendant of grated here. For example, concern- of whom converted to Islam and the Caucasian Albanians, the ruler ing the Varanda melikdom, Mirza joined the Azerbaijani people. Such of the Khachen principality, Hasan Adigozal-bey recorded that the rul- family names are Melik-Yeganov, Jalal, was regarded not only as “an ers of Varanda were “Melik-Shahn- Melik-Pashayev, Melik-Aslanov, Me- autocratic prince of princes, ruler of azarli – noble people of the Goyja lik-Shahnazarov and others. Such a Khachen” and “the prince of Khachen (Goycha) area which they fled, arrived metamorphosis also happened to and Aran”, but also “great ruler of Al- in Karabakh and became intoxicated some Georgian and Armenian fami- bania” and “ king of Albania”. with their melik rule in the Varanda Asgaran Castle, 18th century ly names: Orbeli and Bagratov. Melik The Albanian roots of the Kh- mahal” (Mirza Adigozal-bey, ibid., is a term of Arabic origin and initially achen meliks are also proved by the p. 57). In the middle of the 18th cen- implied “king”. fact that not a single source men- tury, power in Varanda was seized Among these melikdoms, only tions the population of Khachen as by Melik Shahnazar who killed his one, Khachen, had historical roots Armenian. The “Khachen Armenians” brother, a legitimate melik (A. R. on the land of Karabakh. In the 13th themselves always call themselves Ioannisyan, Russia and the Arme- century, a representative of the Mi- “Agvans” in historical documents nian liberation movement in the hranid family, Hasan Jalal, restored (i.e. Albanians). This is evidenced by 1780s, Yerevan, 1947, p. 16). the power of the Artsakh-Khachen their message to Peter I in 1722, as Concerning the Talish (Gulistan) principality in a region of ancient well as by the work of the catholi- melikdom, they note: “According Albania (I.A.Orbeli, Hasan-Jalal – cos of the Gandzasar Monastery, to popular legend, the founder the Prince of Khachen, Selected Yesai Hasan-Jalalyan, who called of the Gulistan melikdom – the Works, Yerevan, 1963, p. 146). the land where his ancestors lived Melik-Beklaryans – was a certain According to the Armenian his- “Agvan” and his work –“A Brief His- ‘Gara-yuzbashi’ Abov who moved torian, P. Arutyunyan: “The rulers of tory of the Agvan Country” (Yesai from the Udin village of Nizh to the www.irs-az.com 21 Karabakh (short for Jeraberd) on the Tartar River. Having chosen Jermykh Castle as their sanctuary, they took over the Chila- burd area (Jeraberd) and became its independent rulers where they gained fame” (Mirza Adigozal-bey, ibid., pp. 57–58). The source says that the forefa- ther of the Dizak melik “was melik- Yegan, the son of Gukas (Movses)- vardapet. According to a number of sources, the family of melik-Yegan moved to Karabakh in the early 18th century: according to some informa- tion, they moved to Dizak from Persia and according to other sources, from Lori (Georgia) ” (P. T. Arutyunyan, ibid., p. 61). Mirza Adigozal-bey wrote more clearly about the Dizak mahal: “The meliks of this mahal were called Melik- Yegans. These were refugees from Lori. They received the title of meliks under Flag. Symbol of power of Karabakh khans Nadir-shah and according to his de- cree, took the throne of the melikdom” village of Talish together with his bey, ibid., p. 58). Therefore, the th (Mirza Adigozal-bey, ibid., p. 57). people in the early 17 century” Talish melikdom is also often called By the middle of the 18th centu- (P.T.Arutyunyan, ibid., p. 60). The Gulistan in sources. ry, the Karabakh meliks enjoyed the village of Nizh (Gabala District) still Concerning the Jeraberd melik, rights of feudal rulers. They had their exists in Azerbaijan. Its residents – P. T. Arutyunyan noted in his work own armed detachments. However, one of the 26 Albanian tribes – are that “the forefather of the rulers of the their power did not go beyond the Udins who maintain their language, Charaberd melikdom was the son of melikdom. They were all vassals of Christian religion and material and melik-Israel, melik-Yesai, who killed the the Karabakh khan. spiritual culture (G. D. Javadov, R. Syuni khan and moved to Karabakh The title “melik” was characteris- A. Huseynov, A historical-eth- together with his subjects in 1678.