Talysh Khanate

Talysh Khanate خانات تالش(Persian)
Khanate UnderIraniansuzerainty
1747–1828
Talysh Khanate at its greatest extent (1826–1828)
Capital	Lankaran
Demonym	Talyshi
Government	Khanate
Khan
• 1747–1787	Qara Khan
• 1787–1814	Mir Mustafa Khan
• 1814–1828	Mir Hassan Khan
Historical era	Early modern period
• Established	1747
• Disestablished	1828
Preceded by Succeeded by Safavid Talish Namin Khanate Khanate of Karganrud Lankaran Uyezd
Today part of	Iran Azerbaijan

TheTalysh KhanateorTalish Khanate(Persian:خانات تالش,romanized:Khānāt-e Tālesh) was anIranian khanateofIranianorigin that was established inAfsharid Persiaand existed from the middle of the 18th century till the beginning of the 19th century, located in the south-west coast of theCaspian Sea.

It comprised the southeastern part of the modern-dayRepublic of Azerbaijanand the eastern tip of north-westernIran.The capital of the khanate was its chief city,Lankaran.As a result of the Persian defeat in theRusso-Persian War of 1826–1828,the khanate was dissolved and absorbed by theRussian Empire.

The uncertainty surrounding the history of Talysh Khanate is not due only to the paucity of sources, a further problem is the rarity of studies about it. Several studies and short surveys appeared in Russian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Persian. Regrettably, some of these studies are tenuous and contain erroneous and biased interpretations.

Historiography

Because of the paucity of primary sources, the study of the Talysh Khanate faces serious obstacles. The primary sources for the study of the Khanate are roughly divided into three groups:chronicles,documentary material,andtravel accounts.Many facts related to the history of the Khanate are scattered throughout various chronicles produced by local and Qajar historians.

The first Persian chronicle about the Talysh Khanate isJavāher Nāmeh-ye Lankarān(1869) (i.e.,The Jewel Book of Lankaran), written by Saeid-Ali ibn Kazem Beg Borādigāhi (1800–1872). There are two copies ofThe Jewel Book of Lankaran,and both are retained at theInstitute of Manuscripts of Azerbaijan.The second Persian chronicle isAkhbār Nāmeh(1882) (i.e.,The Chronicle), written by Mirza Ahmad ibn Mirza Khodāverdi, whose father served as thevizierfor the second and the third Khans of Talysh.

Another primary source that may be added to the chronicle-type sources is the Russian survey entitledThe History of the Talysh Khanate(1885) written byTeymur Bayramalibeyov(1863–1937).

A nonspecific but relevant chronicle which written in Persian isGulistan-i Iram(1845) (i.e.,The Heavenly Rose-Garden) fromAbbas-Qoli Aqa Bakikhanov(1794–1847). Although not dealing directly with the Talysh Khanate, it contains useful information on the region up to the year in which it was completed.

The major body of correspondence of the Khans of Talysh is preserved in Russian archives and has been published in various collections of documents. The most important of these collections is theActs collected by the Caucasian Archaeographic Commission(1866–1886).

Travelogues and reports by merchants, agents, and informers, are another type of primary source that is potentially useful for the study of the Talysh Khanate. Among this type of source, one may mention accounts written by two Poles in Russian service:Jan Potocki(1761–1815), andAleksander Chodźko(1804–1891). Another account relating to Talysh, is a report made byCamille Alphonse Trézel(1780–1860), a French officer who served underClaude-Matthieu Gardane(1766–1818),Napoleon's envoy to the Persian court.

Background

InSafavidera, the population ofSafavid Talishwas a mixture ofIranianandTurkic elements.Generally, theTalyshis,an ethnic group speaking the Iranian language ofTalysh,wereIndigenous peopleof the region.At the end of the 15th century, many Talysh leaders provided solid support to theSafavids,who rewarded them with honours and land. Theoretically, the local rulers were not hereditary lords.

Khansuvarov believed that Mir Abbas was the grandson of Seyyed Abbas. His father's name was Seyyed Yūsef, who succeeded his grandfather in religious affairs. Seyyed Yūsef was buried atYuxarı Nüvədivillage of Lankaran.

Administration

TheTalysh regioncomprised lands in the southwestern part of the currentRepublic of Azerbaijan,as well as some territories in modernIran.The exact definition of Talysh boundaries has varied over time. Present-day, Talysh is a mountainous region located betweenGilan provinceand theCaspian Seain the east andArdabil provincein the west. It is a narrow strip of land extending fromRudbarin the south toAstarain Iranian territory and on to the north ofLankaran District,located in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The northern half of Talysh is one of the seventeen provinces that were cut from Iranian territory as a result of the treaties ofGulistan(1813) andTurkmenchay(1828).

The Talysh Khanate was bordered by theGilan Khanatefrom the south,Ardabil Khanatefrom the southwest,Karadagh Khanatein the northwest,Javad Khanatefrom the north, and Salyan Sultanate from the north-east. Most of the eastern borders of the Khanate were bound to theCaspian Sea.

Talysh Khanate was divided into administrative districts. According to the Saeid-Ali's book, there were elevendistricts(Persian:محال,romanized:maḥāl) in the territory of the Khanate:Asalem(Persian:اسالم),Karganrud(Persian:کرگانرود), Astara(Persian:آستارا),Vilkij(Persian:ویلکیج),Zuvand(Persian:زووند),Chayichi-Lankaran(Persian:چایایچی-لنکران),Drigh(Persian:دریغ), Uluf(Persian:اُلوف), Dashtevand(Persian:دشتوند), Sefiddasht(Persian:سفید دشت),Ujarud(Persian:اُجارود).

However, the territory of the Khanate did not always remain stable but underwent significant changes under the influence of various events.

The largest territorial transformation in the Khanate took place during the Russo-Persian Wars. According to the treaties concluded between these states, all of Asalem, Karganrud and Vilkij districts and some parts of the Ujarud, Safidasht, Astara and Zuvand districts were given toQajar Iran.

History

Villages and cities of the Talysh khanate.

According to Mirza Ahmad Mirza oglu Khudaverdi, the founder of the Talysh Khanate, Seyyid Abbas,his ancestors were members of theSafavid dynasty,who had moved into the Talish region during the 1720s during a turbulent period in Iranian history. When Seyyid Abbas died in 1747 he was succeeded by his son Jamaladdin, often remembered asGara Khan(the 'Black King'), because of his dark skin. Because of his good service toNader Shah,Nader officially awarded him the hereditary title ofkhan.Gara Khan was pro-Russian in his foreign policy which upset the rulers of neighbouring khanates notablyHidayat KhanofGilan.In 1768 Hidayat Khan attacked the Talysh khanate. Seeking aid against the superior enemy, Gara Khan sent his brother Karbalayi Sultan to Fath Ali Khan, ruler of theQuba Khanateresulting in an alliance between Quba and Lankaran. By 1785 the territory of the Talysh khanate had formally become a dependency of that much strongerQuba Khanatetogether with certain otherAzerbaijani khanates.However, in 1789 following Fath Ali Khan's death, the Talysh Khanate regained its independence under Mir Mustafa, the son of Gara Khan who had himself died in 1786.

In 1794–5 the Persian ShahAgha Mohammad Khan Qajarcalled on the variouskhanates of the South Caucasusto form an alliance against theRussian Empireand mounted a military expedition against those who refused to join him. The Talysh khanate refused to do and was attacked in 1795. Mir Mustafa Khan's disparate army was not strong enough to resist and he sent his representatives to GeneralGudovichasking for Russian protection. However, the Russians took a long time to respond, only finally arriving in 1802 when the Talysh Khanate became a protectorate of the Russian Empire.

The khanate was to remain a pawn between the Persian and Russian empires over the subsequent two decades. In 1809 as a part of theRusso-Persian War (1804–1813),Iranian troops took the city ofLankaranand expelled the Russian-leaning khan. In 1812, with Napoleon was attacking Moscow, the Russians were also battling again in the Caucasus. After a brief siege led byPyotr Kotlyarevskyon January 1, 1813, 2,000 Russian troops managedto decisively takethe citadel of Lenkaran from the Persian army. There were heavy losses on both sides, but this strategic capture of Lankaran led inexorably to September 12, 1813Treaty of Gulistan.This forced defeatedPersiato cede many of the formerly independent khanates to Russia. In 1814 Mir Mustafa khan died and his son Mir Hassan Khan succeeded him but only in name.

With Russia busy in European wars, Persia attempted to reassert its hegemony in the area and to revert theTreaty of Gulistanand thus invaded the southCaucasus,starting the 1826-28 Russo-Persian war. In the campaign of 1826, Persia managed to regain all lost territories, but after the numerous defeats in the campaign of 1827, the war ended up with the even more humiliatingTreaty of Turkmenchaywhich permanently ceded the Talysh Khanate to Russia.

Yermolovtook over thekhanates of eastern Transcaucasiaone by one and deposed their khans:Shakiin 1819,Shirvanin 1820, andQara-Baghin 1822. Only Mir Hassan Khan of Talesh was allowed autonomy, Ermolov understanding him and his family to be implacably hostile to Iran. In fact, Mir Hassan threw the Russians out in the year that hostilities reopened, and a strong Iranian force came to help him. He retained control of the khanate, in the name of theShah,until he was forced to abandon it in 1828 by theTreaty of Turkmenchay.

After Mir Hasan Khan's death, his children came underAbbas Mirza's patronage, with Mir Kazem Khan becoming the governor of Vilkij, Astara, Ujarud, and Namin, forming the Namin Khanate. His rule, and that of his children, over those areas, lasted a century, ending with the fall of the Qajars.Persian Talish was also separated from the khanate, withFath 'Ali Shahwanting to limit the power of Mir Mostafa Khan. He divided the area into 5 pieces (Karganrud,Asalem,Talesh-Dulab, Shandarmin,Masal) and created what came to be known as the Khamsa of Talesh (Persian:خمسهٔ طوالش,romanized:Khamsa-yī Ṭavālesh).

In popular culture

The Talysh Khans proved a stimulating subject for famed Azeri poet-playwrightMirza Fath-Ali Akhundzadeh(1812–1878). A 1938 production of hisThe Adventures of the Vizier of the Lankaran's Khan(1851), starred the future president of Republic ofAzerbaijan,Heydar Aliyev,then just a teenager.

Rulers

No.	Name	Lifespan	Took office	Left Office	Ref.
1	Mir Jamal al-Din (Qara Khan)	1708 – June/July 1787	1747	June/July 1787
2	Mir-Mostafa Khan	1747 – 7 August 1814	June/July 1787	7 August 1814
3	Mir-Hasan Khan	1784 – 12 July 1832	August 1814	June 1828

Footnotes

Sources

• Aydın, Mustafa(2016)."TALİŞ HANLIĞI"[Talish Khanate].TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi(in Turkish). Vol. EK–2. Istanbul: TDV İslâm Araştırmaları Merkezi. pp. 583–584.ISBN978-975-3898-89-8.
• Bournoutian, George A.(2016).The 1820 Russian Survey of the Khanate of Shirvan: A Primary Source on the Demography and Economy of an Iranian Province prior to its Annexation by Russia.Cambridge: Gibb Memorial Trust.ISBN9781909724808.
• Jafarov, Mayis (Spring 2012)."Taliş Xanliqinda ticarət əlaqələri və pul dövriyyasi"[Trade ties and money turnover in Talish Khanate].TURAN(in Azerbaijani).4(14). Ankara: SAGE Publishing: 154–158 – viaCEEOL.{{cite journal}}:External link in|issue=(help)
• Khansuvarov, Razzaq (18 November 2011)."Yusiku Ocağı"[Monastery of Yusiku].Tolışon Sədo [Voice of Talishis](in Azerbaijani). No. 6. p. 3 – via talish.org.
• Muradov, Vidadi(2019)."Political and socio-economic history of Lankaran-Astara region of Azerbaijan (18th and early 20th centuries)".Azərbaycan Xalçaları [Azerbaijani Carpets].9(28–29). Baku: Azer-Ilme: 118–139.ISSN2304-330X.
• Poursafar Ghassabinejad, Ali (2010).خانات تالش[Talesh Khanate]. InHaddad-Adel, Gholam-Ali(ed.).Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam(in Persian). Vol. 14. Tehran:Encyclopaedia Islamica Foundation.ISBN978-600-447015-5.
• Shahvar, Soli[in Persian];Abramoff, Emil (2018). "The Khan, the Shah and the Tsar: The Khanate of Talesh between Iran and Russia". In Matthee, Rudi; Andreeva, Elena (eds.).Russians in Iran: Diplomacy and Power in the Qajar Era and Beyond.London:I.B. Tauris.pp. 24–48.ISBN978-1-78673-336-8.
• Swietochowski, Tadeusz(1985).Russian Azerbaijan, 1905–1920: The Shaping of a National Identity in a Muslim Community.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-26310-7.
• Tapper, Richard(1997).Frontier Nomads of Iran: A Political and Social History of the Shahsevan.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-58336-5.

Further reading

• Ahmadi, Hossein (2005).تالشان: از دوره صفویه تا پایان جنگ دوم ایران و روس[The Talishis: From the Safavid Period till the End of the Second Russian-Persian War] (in Persian) (2nd ed.). Tehran:Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.ISBN964-361-326-7.
• Baddeley, John F.(1908).The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus.London: Longmans, Green and Company.OCLC19250.
• Bakikhanov, Abbas Qoli Aqa(2009).The Heavenly Rose-Garden: A History of Shirvan and Daghestan.Translated byWillem Floor;Hasan Javadi. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers.ISBN978-1-933823-27-0.
• Gmelin, Samuel Gottlieb(2007).Travels Through Northern Persia, 1770–1774.Translated byWillem Floor.Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers.ISBN978-1-933823-15-7.
• Petrushevsky, I. P.(1949).Очерки по истории феодальных отношений в Азербайджане и Армении в XVI-начале XIX вв[Outline of the History of Feudal Relations in Azerbaijan and Armenia from the XVI to the Beginning of the XIX Centuries] (PhD) (in Russian). Leningrad:Leningrad State University.
• Quliyev, C. B.[in Azerbaijani],ed. (1986)."Талышское ханство"[Talish Khanate].Azerbaijani Soviet Encyclopedia(in Russian). Vol. IX. Baku:Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.p. 135.