Shahverdi Khan of Ganja
Shahverdi Khan of Ganja | |
|---|---|
| Khan of Ganja | |
| Reign | 1747 – 1768 |
| Successor | Muhammad Hasan Khan |
| Died | 1768 Ganja,Ganja Khanate |
| Noble family | Ziyadoghlu Qajar |
| Father | Kelb Ali Musahib-Ganjavi |
Shahverdi Khan Ziyadoghlu(died 1768) was the beylerbey ofKarabakhfrom 1740 to 1743 and firstkhan of Ganjafrom 1747 to 1760. He was from theZiyadoglubranch of theQajar clanwho ruled theBeylerbeylik of Karabakhas hereditary governors.[1][2]
Background[edit]
After the dethronement of theSafavidsin 1736 byNader Shah,the landed classes of Ganja and Karabakh gathered inMughanand decided to oppose the newshahand agreed to try to restore the Safavids to the throne. His father Ughurlu Khan was among them. When this news reached Nader Shah, he ordered all Muslim landowners of the region and their families deported toKhorasan(northeasternIran) as punishment. Ughurlu Khan's lands on the other hand were divided - theZangezurdistrict was given to thebeglarbeg(governor-general) ofTabriz;the autonomy of theArmenian Melikdomswas restored, andBorchalu,QazzaqandShamshadilwere given to theGeorgiankingTeimuraz II of Kakheti(r.1732–1762). Ughurlu Khan was thus only left withGanjaand its surroundings. Ughurlu was later killed in November 1738 during a campaign together with Nader's brotherEbrahimagainstQazikumukh.
Reign[edit]
Shahverdi became beylerbey in 1740, succeeding his father. However, he later supported Sam Mirza, a pretender who claimed to be son ofShah Soltan Husseinand was forced to seek exile inGeorgia[3]after facing an attack fromNasrullah Mirza,son of Nader.[4]Nader appointed histupchibashiHajji Khan fromÇemişgezekas new beylerbey. Soon after Nader's assassination in 1747 and the ensuing anarchy inIran,he defeated and killed his brother or uncle Muhammadrahim with help from Melik Atham of Jraberd.[5]He also defeated Hajji with help fromTeimuraz IIandHeraclius II,[6]to whom in return he pledged an annual tribute of 10.000tomans.[7]New contender for Iranian throne, Amir Aslan Khan Afshar, the governor ofAzerbaijansoon emerged in the region and attacked Ganja but was defeated nearBardain 1748 by Shahverdi Khan.
In ensuing years, his neighbor to the southPanah Ali Khangrew his power and took Zangezur - which was previously belonged to Shahverdi's ancestors - from Nader's brother. This caused a brief alliance between Ganja, theKhanate of Shakiand the remainingMelikdoms of Karabakh.As a result, Panah attacked Shahverdi in 1749 and subdued him, forcing Shahverdi's daughter Tuti to marry his sonIbrahim Khalilalongside 450tomansof tribute. According toMirza Adigozal bey,he also kept his sons (one of them being futureJavad Khan) as hostage inShahbulag.Under pressure from all directions, Shahverdi even appealedOttomansfor alliance in 1750, citing absence of a shah in Iran.[8]
In 1750 and 1752,Teimuraz II of KakhetiattackedGanjaand forced Panah Ali to retreat from area at the request of Shahverdi who sent his brother Reza Qoli as an envoy.[9]Heraclius then allied himself toHaji Chalabiof Shaki to raidDjaro-Belokani,only to be betrayed by the latter, who defeated the Georgian army. Using this opportunity, Panah Ali allied himself with Shahverdi Khan, Kazim Khan ofKaradagh,Hasan Ali Khan ofErivan,Heydarqoli Khan ofNakhchivanagainstHaji Chalabiof Shaki the same year and invitedHeraclius II of Georgiato their alliance. During the negotiations nearQızılqaya,the Georgian detachments, hiding in ambush, surrounded and captured five khans along with their retinue. Haji Chalabi, having learned about the conspiracy of Heraclius II, gathered an army and began to pursue Heraclius, attacked him and defeated him in the battle at the riverAghstafa,having freed all the captured khans. Haji Chelebi appointed his son Agha Kishi beg as ruler of newly conquered lands.
Effectively Haji Chalabi's vassal now, he joined the campaign led by Agha Kishi beg against Teimuraz in 1752, but didn't achieve any results. He later joined the campaign led by Haji andMuhammad II of TabasaranagainstKarabakh Khanatein 1754, forcing Panah Ali to return some territories to Shahverdi. In 1757,Muhammad Hasan Khanarrived in Karabakh to gather troops to fight againstKarim Khan Zand.Panah Ali refused to join his armies and battled against the Qajar troops. Muhammad Hasan Khan soon left for Iran and left his cannons in the area, which were later taken by Panah Ali.[10]Panah later accused Shahverdi of inviting Muhammad Hasan to region and sent his son Ibrahim against him, who managed to capture the city and send the khan toShusha.However, he soon faced another invasion from south, this time byFath-Ali Khan Afshar,Khan of Urmia,in 1759. Using the opportunity, Shahverdi fled from prison and submitted to him, who reinstalled him as khan in Ganja. Shahverdi managed to get support from Teimuraz again in 1761.[11]
He was assassinated by one of his subordinates in 1768. He was succeeded by his sonMuhammad Hasan Khanin 1768,[12][13]however some sources consider 1761 as his succession year.[14]
Family[edit]
He had several sons and daughters with his wives Sharafjahan Khanum and Gulgoncha (an Armenian):[15]
- Muhammad Khan(1738-1780)
- Tuti begüm (1740-1760) — married toIbrahim Khalilof Karabakh in 1749
- Muhammad Hasan Khan(1742-1792) — married to a sister of Surkhai Khan (1680-1748) ofQazikumukh
- Khurshid begüm (b. 1743) — married toIbrahim Khalilof Karabakh in 1761, mother ofMehdigulu Khan JavanshirandAghabeyim agha
- Khayrunnisa begüm — married to Huseyn Khan, a prince of Shaki and after his death toMammad Hasan agha Javanshir
- Rahim Khan
- Javad Khan(1749-1804)
References[edit]
- ^Russian embassies to the Georgian kings, 1589-1605. Volume 1.W. E. D. Allen, Sergeĭ Alekseevich Belokurov, Anthony Mango. Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate. 2010. p. 72.ISBN978-1-4094-3246-3.OCLC759159970.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: others (link) - ^Tapper, Richard (1997).Frontier nomads of Iran: a political and social history of the Shahsevan.New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. pp. 114–115.ISBN0-585-03973-9.OCLC42854663.
- ^Bournoutian 2021,p. 251..
- ^Babayev 2003,p. 11.
- ^Emïn, Joseph (1792).Life and Adventures of Emin Joseph Emin, 1726-1809.Baptist mission Press. p. 348.
- ^Bournoutian 2021,p. 251.
- ^Babayev 2003,p. 12.
- ^Perry, John R. (2015-05-14).Karim Khan Zand: A History of Iran, 1747-1779.University of Chicago Press. p. 211.ISBN978-0-226-66102-5.
- ^Babayev 2003,p. 15.
- ^Qarabaghi, Jamal Javanshir; Qarābāghī, Jamāl Javānshīr; Bournoutian, George A. (1994).A History of Qarabagh: An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi's Tarikh-e Qarabagh.Mazda Publishers. p. 73.ISBN978-1-56859-011-0.
- ^Babayev 2003,p. 19.
- ^Babayev 2003,p. 21.
- ^Bournoutian 2021,p. 252.
- ^Akopyan, Alexander V (Autumn 2008)."Ganja Coins of Georgian Types, AH 1200–1205"(PDF).Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society.197(Supplement: Caucasian Numismatics, Papers on the Coinage of Kartl-Kakheti (Eastern Georgia), 1744–1801): 47–52. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2013-12-11.
- ^Babayev 2003,p. 98.
Sources[edit]
- Bournoutian, George (2021).From the Kur to the Aras: A Military History of Russia's Move into the South Caucasus and the First Russo-Iranian War, 1801–1813.Brill.ISBN978-9004445154.
- Babayev, Elgun (2003).Из истории Гянджинского ханства[From the history of the Ganja Khanate](PDF)(in Russian).Baku:Nurlan.