The Erivan Khanate is a feudal possession, which was founded in 1747 after the death of the ruler of Iran, Nadir Shah, in part of the Chukhur-Saad region. It was located in the territories of historical Eastern Armenia. The Khanate is currently divided between Armenia and Turkey.
Backstory
Erivan Khanate included the city of Erivan. This is how the name of the modern Armenian capital Yerevan sounded earlier. It is believed that the city was founded as early as 782 BC.
In modern times, it became the scene of devastating wars between the Ottomans and the Safavids. In 1604, Shah Abbas of Persia conquered Erivan from the Turks. He evicted all the inhabitants from the city, not paying attention to their religion. Christians, Jews and Muslims also had to leave. At the same time, most of the deportees were still Armenians. At the time of the eviction, their number was a quarter of a million people.
Rise
The actual capital of the Erivan Khanate was the city-fortress of Erivan, built in the 80s of the 16th century by the Ottomans. Afterafter the fall of the Safavid state, the Turks returned to the region. Russian Emperor Peter I recognized the protectorate of Turkey over the Khanate in accordance with an agreement between the two countries, concluded in 1724.
However, this territory was still a tasty morsel for many neighbors. Already in 1731, the Persian troops, commanded by Nadir Shah, regained these lands.
When the Safavid dynasty finally established itself in the region, the city became the center of one of the regions of this state. The first beglerbeg, that is, the governor, who represented the interests of the shah, was the commander Amirgune Khan. After the death of Nadir Shah, the position became hereditary.
Independence
When Nadir Shah was killed, there was internal unrest in Iran. The Zend dynasty was significantly weakened. At that time, the Erivan Khanate, as modern historians note, like most other khanates of Azerbaijan and Transcaucasia, entered a period of actual independence, only formally remaining under the rule of the Zends. This situation continued for approximately 50 years.
The rulers of that time belonged to the Turkic Qajar tribe, who settled in the region in the 15th century.
National Liberation
At the same time, local Armenians who live in the Erivan Khanate, from the very beginning of the 18th century, began to actively fight for national liberation. In this they were supported by the Georgian king - Vakhtang VI, as well as the majority of the inhabitants of Ganja.
The rebels actively participated in the armed struggle againstTurkish authorities supported Karabakh and Syunik in this. On the side of the Russian Empire, they took part in the Russian-Iranian wars, which lasted from 1804 to 1828 with a break of 13 years.
Russian-Persian wars
The Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates were at the center of these Russian-Persian wars. During the first, Russian troops besieged the Erivan fortress twice.
In 1804, General Pavel Dmitrievich Tsitsianov settled under its walls, who had already taken Ganja, subjugating the khanate of the same name. Under the fortress of Erivan, he managed to repel an attempt by the Persians to unblock the city, but then, due to a lack of forces and food, the general had to lift the siege.
In 1808, Field Marshal Ivan Vasilyevich Gudovich made another attempt to take the fortress. However, the assault was unsuccessful, and he had to withdraw troops to Georgia. Gudovich himself fell seriously ill, lost an eye, and left the Caucasus.
In 1813, between Persia and the Russian Empire, the Gulistan peace treaty was signed, according to which the khanate was recognized as the territory of Persia.
Renewal of conflict
In 1826, the second Russian-Persian war began. The very next year, the Erivan fortress was occupied by Field Marshal Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich. For this, he even received the title of Count of Erivan.
Paskevich initially offered Yermolov to invade the Erivan Khanate, but he did not dare. Relations between the generals were strained. The Stavka agreed on a campaign plan,designed by Yermolov. However, the emperor soon dismissed Yermolov, making Paskevich commander-in-chief. After that, Ivan Fedorovich immediately began to conquer Erivan.
He was constantly in touch with Nicholas I and the General Staff, but he still had to make many decisions on his own, since the dispatches from St. Petersburg were coming for more than a month.
Crossing the Araks, Paskevich occupied Nakhichevan. At Dzhevan-Bulan, he defeated the Persians. He advanced to Erivan, captured the Sardar-Abad fortress along the way, and then, after stubborn resistance, occupied the current capital of Armenia.
At the time of the assault on the fortress, the defense was led by Gassan Khan, who was the brother of the last ruler of the Erivan Khanate - Hussein Khan Qajar. He was in charge of fortifying the fortress. The Persians expelled most of the Armenians in advance, who could help the Russians.
During the assault, they tried to shoot back, but the effectiveness of this was low. The artillery turned out to be weak, besides, many Armenians were assigned to the cannons, who still formed the basis of the city's population. As a result, the cannonballs often hit the fortress itself.
Local residents asked Gassan to surrender the city, but he refused. At the same time, he simply did not have significant forces to defend Erivan.
For the capture of the fortress, Paskevich received the Order of St. George of the second degree. He managed to conquer two large regions of Transcaucasia in just three months. The fall of Erivan made a depressing impression on the Persians. They began to retreat, and as the Russian troops approachedgave up.
Turkmanchay Treaty
In 1828, a peace agreement was signed between Russia and Persia in the town of Turkmanchay near Tabriz. This agreement effectively ended the Russo-Persian War. Alexander Griboyedov participated in the development of the terms of just this agreement. From the Russian side it was signed by Paskevich, from the Persians by Prince Abbas Mirza.
Under the terms of the agreement, the accession of the Erivan Khanate to the Russian Empire was formalized. Persia also pledged not to interfere with the resettlement of Armenians in Russia. An indemnity of 20 million silver rubles was imposed on the Iranians.
Within the Russian Empire
The accession of the Erivan Khanate to Russia took place on February 10, 1828. Together with him, the Nakhichevan Khanate, also located on the territory of Eastern Armenia, also went into the possession of the empire.
After the annexation of the Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates, the Armenian region was formed. Armenians from Turkey and Iran were allowed to move into it. Favorable conditions were created for this. In fact, they returned to the lands of their ancestors. Some of them took advantage of this offer. With the patronage of tsarist officials, they crossed over to the territory of the formed region, starting to populate it.
After the annexation of the Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates to Russia, a stable situation was established in the region for a long time. Already by 1838, out of 165,000 local population, about half were Armenians. Moved hererepresentatives of this people not only from Iran and Turkey, but also from other regions of the Caucasus. However, the main source of the migration flow remained the Armenians, who moved from the territory of Turkey, where they were oppressed in every possible way.
The Armenian region did not last long. In 1840, it was abolished after the administrative reform carried out by Nicholas I.
