The
Ganja khanateKhanate or Chanat is a Turco-Mongolian-originated word used to describe a political entity ruled by a Khan. In modern Turkish the word used is hanlık, and in modern Azeri of the republic of Azerbaijan, xanlıq. In Mongolian the word khanlig is used, as in "Khereidiin Khanlig" meaning the Khanate of...
was a Muslim
principalityA principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
mostly under the dominion of Persia that existed in the territory of
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan , formally the Republic of Azerbaijan , is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south...
in 1747-1805. The principality was ruled by the dynasty of Ziadogly (Ziyadkhanov), which had ruled
GanjaGanja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city. It was named Elizavetpol in the Russian Empire, and Kirovabad in the USSR.-Foundation of the city and its etymology:...
as governors under Nadir Shah and was of Qajar extraction. Shakhverdi khan (1740-1761) became the
khanKhan is an originally Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, first used by medieval Altaic-speaking nomadic tribes living to the north of China and the center of Rumelia Kailar yoruks are mentioned as yorukkhans in Ottoman arvhives...
of Ganja in 1747.
In 1781-84, Ganja was ruled by the Karabakh khan Ibrahim-Khalil khan Javanshir.
The
Ganja khanateKhanate or Chanat is a Turco-Mongolian-originated word used to describe a political entity ruled by a Khan. In modern Turkish the word used is hanlık, and in modern Azeri of the republic of Azerbaijan, xanlıq. In Mongolian the word khanlig is used, as in "Khereidiin Khanlig" meaning the Khanate of...
was a Muslim
principalityA principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
mostly under the dominion of Persia that existed in the territory of
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan , formally the Republic of Azerbaijan , is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south...
in 1747-1805. The principality was ruled by the dynasty of Ziadogly (Ziyadkhanov), which had ruled
GanjaGanja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city. It was named Elizavetpol in the Russian Empire, and Kirovabad in the USSR.-Foundation of the city and its etymology:...
as governors under Nadir Shah and was of Qajar extraction. Shakhverdi khan (1740-1761) became the
khanKhan is an originally Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, first used by medieval Altaic-speaking nomadic tribes living to the north of China and the center of Rumelia Kailar yoruks are mentioned as yorukkhans in Ottoman arvhives...
of Ganja in 1747.
In 1781-84, Ganja was ruled by the Karabakh khan Ibrahim-Khalil khan Javanshir. During the government of
Javad KhanJavad khan Ziyad oghlu Qajar a member of the royal Qajar family, the khan of Ganja khanate. During the first Russo-Persian War , Ganja was considered by Russians as a town of foremost importance. General Pavel Tsitsianov approached Javad khan several times asking him to submit to Russian rule,...
(1785-1804), Ganja khanate became grew in economic and political importance and it carried out an independent foreign policy, sometimes contrary to the Persian one. The khans had their own mint in Ganja.
During the first
Russo-Persian War (1804-1813)The 1804-1813 Russo-Persian War, one of the many wars between the Persian Empire and Imperial Russia, began like many wars as a territorial dispute. The Persian king, Fath Ali Shah Qajar, wanted to consolidate the northernmost reaches of his Qajar dynasty by securing land near the Caspian Sea's...
Ganja was considered by
RussiansThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
as a town of foremost importance. General
Pavel TsitsianovPavel Dmitriyevich Tsitsianov was the Georgian Imperial Russian military commander and infantry general from 1804. A member of the noble Georgian family Tsitsishvili , Tsitsianov participated in suppression of the Kościuszko Uprising and in the Russo-Persian War . In 1802 he became the head of the...
several times approached Javad khan asking him to submit to Russian rule, but each time was refused. On November 20 1803, the Russian army moved from Tiflis and in December, Tsitsianov started the siege preparations. After heavy
artilleryArtillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
bombardment, on January 3 1804 at 5 o'clock in the morning, Tsitsianov gave the order to attack the fortress. After fierce fighting the Russians were able to capture the fortress. Javad khan was killed, together with his sons. According to a major study of the military events in the Caucasus by John F. Baddeley:
Ganja was renamed Elizavetpol in honour of Alexander's wife Elizaveta. In 1805 the imperial government officially abolished the khanate and the military district of Elizavetpol was created.
Rulers
- Ziyad oghlu Qajar dynasty -
1747 -1761 Shah Wardi Khan
1761 -1781 Muhammad Hasan Khan
- Jawanshir dynasty -
1781 -1784 Ibrahim Khalil Khan
- Ziyad oghlu Qajar dynasty -
1784 - 1786 Hajji Beg
1786 -3 Jan 1804 Javad Khan