At the end of the eighteenth century, the Russian Empire used the political turmoil in the Qajar Empire as a pretext for strengthening its position in the Caucasus. Kovalenski was thus sent to the region in 1799 to get information about administrative issues. Later, General Lazarev, the Russian military General of Armenian origin, moved to Georgia with the Russian army, which resulted in the annexation of eastern Georgia to the Russian Empire under the terms of a decree issued by Tsar Alexander I dated 12 September 1801. Along with eastern Georgia, the Gazakh, Borchali, Shamshaddil, and Pambak regions of Azerbaijan were also annexed to the Russian Empire. This decree marked the start of the Russian Empire’s expansionist policy toward Azerbaijan.[1]

In February 1803, Sisianov, the Russian military General of Georgian origin, went to Tiflis with a further fifty thousand soldiers as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Empire’s military forces in the Caucasus. One of Sisianov’s assistants was Catholicos Hovhannes. Sisianov was different from previous generals because he had an aggressive character. He was sent with special instructions to strengthen the Russian Empire’s position in the Caucasus. These instructions included using Armenians’ power as much as possible during the expansion toward the Caucasus.[2]

Following the occupation of eastern Georgia, the Russian Empire set its sights on the Jar-Balakan region of Azerbaijan, which held a strategically important location. The Russian military also found a strong justification to advance into Azerbaijan through Jar-Balakan and occupy Dagestan. Thus, Prince Alexander, the son of the Georgian Tsar, went to Jar-Balakan to get assistance in fighting against the Russian Empire’s expansionist policy toward the Caucasus. In the spring of 1803, the Russian Empire’s military forces, under the command of General Gulyakov, therefore moved to Jar-Balakan. The battle on the Ganikh River ended in victory for General Gulyakov and the occupation of Jar-Balakan by the Russian Empire. Under the terms of the “Solemn Plight” (also called the “Oath Agreement”) of April 12, 1803, the Jar-Balakan region of Azerbaijan was annexed to the Russian Empire and sent a hostage to Tiflis as a sign of its good-will. The military bases of the Russian Empire were established in the region. Jar-Balakan paid tribute in silk to the Russian Empire, and internal regulation of the region was subjected to it.

General Sisianov’s next expansionist target was to occupy the Ganja Khanate, which was considered a key point for an incursion into Azerbaijan. The aggressive response by Javad Khan, the Khan of the Ganja Khanate, to threatening letters from General Sisianov demanding that the city surrender without resisting led to the Battle of Ganja between the Russian Empire’s military forces and the Ganja Khanate early in 1804. As a result of the Battle of Ganja on 2–3 January 1804, Javad Khan and his son Huseyngulu were killed and Ganja Khanate was annexed to the Russian Empire. The city’s name was changed to Yelizavetpol, and anyone who used the word “Ganja” had to pay one pound in silver as a penalty. The occupation of Azerbaijan territory by the Russian Empire significantly influenced its relations with the Ottoman and Qajar empires. All European countries, especially England, were looking for a chance to interfere to prevent the Russian Empire from expanding southwards, which was viewed as a direct threat to their interests in the Middle East. England thus urged the Qajar Empire to declare war on the Russian Empire in June 1804 because of its expansion toward the Caucasus. Meanwhile, the Russian Empire’s military forces began a march toward Azerbaijan under the command of General Sisianov. They began to attack Azerbaijan from three different directions: Tiflis, the North Caucasus, and the Caspian Sea. The occupation of Ganja Khanate and the tragic death of Javad Khan shocked other khanates in Azerbaijan and left them no alternative but to accept the suzerainty of Russian Empire. Thus, Karabakh Khanate (May 14, 1805), Shaki Khanate (May 21, 1805), and Shamakhi Khanate (December 25, 1805) were systematically annexed to the Russian Empire.[3]

Early in 1806, the Russian Empire’s military forces, under the command of General Sisianov, surrounded the fortress of Baku. During a meeting in February 1806 with Huseyngulu Khan, the Khan of the Baku Khanate, Sisianov was killed by Huseyngulu Khan’s nephew. After Sisianov’s death, all the khanates in Azerbaijan rebelled against the Russian Empire.[4] Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire blocked the Straits with warships due to Russia’s destructive activities in the Caucasus and the Balkans, which led to tension between the two sides. Although everything was in accordance with the agreement of 1798 between the Ottoman and Russian empires, as a result of the intervention of England and France, war broke out in October 1806 between the Ottoman and Russian empires.[5]

However, the Russian Empire did not give up on its intention of occupying Azerbaijan, even though it was fighting on two different fronts against the Ottoman and Qajar empires. Meanwhile, there were local rebellions by the khanates in Azerbaijan against the Russian Empire, which were later suppressed ruthlessly. On June 12, 1806, Ibrahimkhalil Khan, the Khan of the Karabakh Khanate, was killed in Khankendi, together with 17 members of his family. This action led to a rebellion in Shaki Khanate by Salim Khan, which managed to destroy the Russian Empire’s garrison near the Shaki Khanate. However, the Shaki Khanate rebellion was also suppressed by the Russian Empire’s military forces, and Salim Khan escaped to the Qajar Empire. As a result, the Russian Empire occupied the cities of Ganja, Shusha, Shamakhi, Iravan, Nakhchivan, Guba, Darband, Baku, Rasht, and Anzali until 1811.[6]

After the occupation of the Lankaran (Talysh) Khanate by the Russian Empire in December 1812, the Qajar Empire admitted defeat. On October 24, 1813, a peace treaty between the Russian and Qajar empires was signed in Gulistan, a village in Karabakh. As a result of the Treaty of Gulistan, the historical territory of Azerbaijan was divided into two parts: the north (except Iravan and Nakhchivan) was annexed to the Russian Empire, and the south remained in the Qajar Empire. This Treaty concluded the first part of the division of Azerbaijan’s territory between the Russian and Qajar empires.

The Treaty of Gulistan consisted of 11 Articles. Articles II and III defined the borders between the parties. The Qajar Empire recognized the suzerainty of the Russian Empire over northern Azerbaijan (except Iravan and Nakhchivan khanates), including Ganja, Karabakh, Shaki, Shirvan, Guba, Baku, and Lankaran khanates, along with southern Dagestan and eastern Georgia. According to Article V, the Russian Empire held an exclusive right to have warships on the Caspian Sea. Articles VIII, IX, and X dealt with trade and customs issues. It is noteworthy that when the Tsar was about to sign the official documents of the Treaty of Gulistan, it became clear that there was a mistake in the text of the Treaty since Karabakh and Ganja khanates were not mentioned among the territories that were to be handed over to the Russian Empire under the terms of the Treaty of Gulistan. Therefore, in January 1814, the Treaty documents were sent back to the Qajar Empire and were ratified only on July 28, 1818.[7]

[1] Azərbaycan tarixi, Vol. 4, (2007), p. 6.

[2] BOA, HH. Nr. 6677-A. See also: Bakıxanov, Gülüstani-İrəm, p. 192.

[3] Umudlu, Vidadi, Şimali Azərbaycanın çar Rusiyası tərəfindən işğalı və müstəmləkəçilik əleyhinə mübarizə (1801–1828) (Bakı: Elm, 2004), pp. 39–62.

[4] Bakıxanov, Gülüstani-İrəm, p. 195.

[5] Uçarol, Siyasi Tarih (1789–1994), pp. 96–98.

[6] BOA, HH. Nr .6677-A. See also: Qarabaği, “Tarixi-Safi,” pp. 50–51.

[7] “Rusiya və İran arasında Gülüstan müqaviləsi,” in Mahmudov and Şükürov (eds.), Azərbaycan beynəlxalq münasibətlər və diplomatiya tarixi (1639–1828), pp. 432–443. See also: Bakıxanov, Gülüstani-İrəm, p. 203.