Karabakh H K K W J R E : H M R Jamil HASANLI Doctor, Professor of History
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Karabakh H K K W J R E: H M R Jamil HASANLI Doctor, Professor of History 16 www.irs-az.com AFTER THE KAZAN MEETING OF THE PRESIDENTS OF RUSSIA, AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA, THE NUMBER OF STORIES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF NAGORNO KARABAKH ON THE PAGES OF VARIOUS MEDIA OUTLETS BEGAN TO INCREASE. IN MOST OF THEM, THE HISTORY OF NAGORNO KARABAKH BOTH IN THE SOVIET PERIOD AND IN THE PERIOD OF ITS BEING JOINTED TO THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY WAS SERIOUSLY DISTORTED. istortion, and at times crude preserved in Russian archives? D. Tsitsianov, who commanded Rus- falsification of the history of With the arrival of Russia in Kara- sian forces in the Caucasus, laid siege Dactual events by professional bakh in the early 19th century, a new to Ganja, Azerbaijan’s biggest city, in historians, causes deep regret. Who political situation emerged. The policy March 1803. Having overcome the profits from this reworking of real of Russia, directed toward the estab- stiff resistance of the population led events and the creation of invented lishment of a social-ethnic base in the by Javad-khan, Russian forces entered history in order to support present- form of Armenians, led to the strength- the city on 3 January 1804. day political circumstances, when ening of the Christian element in Kara- In order to strengthen his positions a factually correct history has been bakh. The disputes observed today in the Trans-Caucasus, Tsitsianov had scrupulously prepared by Russian have roots that reach precisely to to conquer the Karabakh, Shaki and officials and when the actual corre- those times. Having finally conquered Shirvan khanates, which were consid- spondence of the military and dip- Georgia in 1801, Russia moved toward ered the strongest in this region. Dur- lomatic services of Russia has been the borders of Azerbaijan. General P. ing the course of long negotiations, www.irs-az.com 17 Karabakh The seizure of the strategically vital Karabakh Khanate, in fact, meant the beginning of the complete subordi- nation of all the khanates of northern Azerbaijan. The mountainous part of the khanate enabled real control over all the western districts of Azerbaijan. Subsequent actions did not represent a major problem for Russia. At the same time, different khans consid- ered the historical fates of the people in their own way and could not create a single union. Justly assessing the im- portance of the joining of Karabakh to Russia, Prince P. D. Tsitsianov reported to the Russian emperor after the sign- The Shahbulag fortress, 18th century ing of the Kurakchay Treaty on 22 May 1805 that, given its geographic loca- Tsitsianov threatened these khanates, tional ties with third countries. More- tion, Karabakh serves as the gate to demanded that they consider the sad over, the Karabakh Khanate lost the Azerbaijan and brings Georgia closer experience of Ganja and, taking into right of independent communication to Baku, the seizure of which was consideration the military might of with the neighboring khanates. And planned for the fall. [2] Russia, accept its protection without the Karabakh khan was also required The Azerbaijani khans had a close offering resistance. In doing so, Tsit- to contribute 8,000 chervontsy (24,000 watch on the first Russian-Iranian war sianov understood perfectly well that Russian rubles) to the Russian treasury (1804-1813). While they desired the Iran had interests in the region and every year and pay for the expenses of victory of the southern neighbor, they therefore did not push events. More- his grandson who was held hostage were also afraid of it and never aban- over, he had to consider the strong in the residence of the commander doned hope that the results of the military potential of the Muslim khan- in chief in Tiflis. One of the most dif- war would enable them to enhance ates. ficult conditions of the treaty was an their own independence. The Russian Finding himself constantly “be- agreement on the deployment in the army, in turn, did not particularly trust tween the hammer and the anvil” Shusha fortress of 500 Russian soldiers the local Muslims. In 1806, when Iran (Russia in the north and Iran in the with cannons. attempted to attack Shusha, Major south), Ibrahim Khalil-khan, the ruler The only article of the Kurakchay Lisanevich, the chief of the fortress of Karabakh, decided to conclude Treaty that could be seen as favoring garrison, wary of the unexpected ac- “a solemn promise” with Russia, a Ibrahim Khalil-khan was the obliga- tions by the Karabakh khan, slaugh- treaty which in fact became the first tion by Russia not to interfere in the tered the entire family of Ibrahim legal document on the path to join- internal affairs of the khanate. Inter- Khalil-khan with the exception of one ing Karabakh to Russia. The treaty estingly, shortly after the treaty was son, Mehdi Guli-aga. This confirmed between the Karabakh Khanate and signed by a decree of Aleksandr I on the symbolic nature of the Karabakh the Russian Empire on the transition 8 July 1805, Ibrahim Khalil-khan was khan’s promotion to the rank of a lieu- of the khanate under the power of given the rank of general and from tenant general of the Russian forces. Russia was signed in the military en- that moment on, as a lieutenant gen- At the same time, having dealt with campment at Kurakchay on 14 May eral, he had to subordinate himself Ibrahim Khalil-khan, Russia did not 1805, so it went down in history as to the commander-in-chief of the change the status of his khanate. the “Kurakchay Treaty”. The document Russian forces in the Caucasus. The Mehdi Guli-aga, by order of Emperor consists of 11 articles and gives Russia treaty, being a diplomatic document, Aleksandr I of 10 September 1806, a one-sided primacy. From then on- testifies that the Karabakh Khanate was named ruler of Karabakh in place wards, the Karabakh Khanate rejected became a protectorate of Russia pre- of his father. [3] all attempts at independent interna- cisely as a Muslim state. [1] As a sign of Mehdi Guli-aga’s status 18 www.irs-az.com as the administrator of the khanate, Northern Azerbaijan, including Kara- (Lori-Pambak, Shamshadin, Zangazur, Emperor Aleksandr I presented him bakh, Nakhchivan and Irevan, became Kafan and Shoragel districts), the Gan- with a banner and sword set with pre- part of the Russian Empire. ja and Karabakh khanates were trans- cious stones. And just as in the Kurak- There were many interesting mo- ferred to Russia as well … According chay Treaty, so too in the emperor’s ap- ments in the process of joining the to the Turkmanchay Treaty (February pointment of Mehdi Guli-aga as ruler South Caucasus to Russia. A number 1828), which ended the second Rus- of Karabakh, there is reference to the of Armenian and Russian historians sian-Persian War (1826-1828), the Ye- Javanshir family as the rulers of Kara- and certain political circles have been revan and Nakhchivan khanates and bakh, both mountainous and lowland, claiming lately that Karabakh was Ordubad district passed to Russia. This and to the fact that all strata of the joined to Russia as an Armenian dis- completed the final unification of all population are subordinate to Mehdi trict. Certain contemporary Russian eastern Armenian lands to Russia.” [4] Guli-aga. The new khan was filled with and Armenian scholars insist that in In an effort to support their falsi- hatred of the Iranians and distrust for the course of the entire 18th century, fication of history, they cite the col- the Russians who had slaughtered his the Armenians of Karabakh made up lection of documents published by family, but in the end, the anti-Iranian 97 per cent of the region’s total popu- G. Yusefovich in Petersburg in 1869. attitudes came out on top. lation. A question arises: if this was re- [5] They do so even though they The victory over Napoleon led to a ally the case, why then wasn’t it an Ar- know perfectly well that neither the toughening of Russia’s eastern policy. menian state that arose in Karabakh in Gulustan nor the Turkmanchay trea- General A. Yermolov, who was ap- the mid-18th century but a Karabakh ties contain any reference to Arme- pointed governor of the Caucasus in khanate which was led by representa- nian lands. Nor is there a reference to 1816, did not trust the Muslim people, tives of the famous Turkic tribe of the Christian lands. There is only reference seeing them as a potential enemy. For Javanshirs? Indeed, there is no single to Muslim khanates and their unifica- this reason, he sought the opportu- precedent in history where three per tion with Russia. The vast majority of nity for the formal liquidation of the cent of the population could create a the population of the Irevan khanate khanates, which he thought could state on the backs of the other 97 per consisted of Muslims and this was re- become the nucleus of a movement cent. flected in Russian sources. In 1828, for for independence. Yermolov’s repre- However, a careful study of the in- example, when the “Armenian oblast” sentative in Northern Azerbaijan, an ternational legal documents of this pe- was created within the borders of Armenian General V. Madatov, actively riod raises some interesting questions the Irevan and Nakhchivan khanates, helped him in this. Slowly but steadily, concerning the form of the inclusion three-quarters of its population were they realized their plan.