The Erivan Khanate is a feudal estate, 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. Currently, the khanate is divided between Armenia and Turkey.
Background
The Erivan Khanate included the city of Erivan. This is exactly the name of the modern Armenian capital Yerevan. It is believed that the city was founded in 782 BC.
In modern times, it became an arena in which devastating wars unfolded between the Ottomans and Safavids. In 1604, Erivan won the Persian Shah Abbas from the Turks . He evicted from the city all the inhabitants, not paying attention to their religion. It was necessary for Christians, Jews and Muslims to leave. However, most of the deportees were still Armenians. At the time of the eviction, their number was a quarter of a million people.
Occurrence
The actual capital of the Erivan Khanate was the fortified city of Erivan, built by the Ottomans in the 80s of the 16th century. After the fall of the Safavid state, the Turks returned to the region. The Russian emperor Peter I recognized the protectorate of Turkey over the Khanate in accordance with the 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 runaway, that is, the governor, representing the interests of the Shah, was the commander Amirgune Khan. After the death of Nadir Shah, the post became hereditary.
Independence
When Nadir Shah was killed, internal unrest arose in Iran. The Zend dynasty was significantly weakened. At that time, the Erivan Khanate, as modern historians have noted, like most other khanates of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus, entered a period of actual independence, only formally remaining under the rule of the Zends. This situation persisted for approximately 50 years.
The rulers of that time belonged to the Turkic tribe of the Khajars, who settled in the region in the 15th century.
National exemption
At the same time, local Armenians who live in the Erivan Khanate, from the very beginning of the 18th century, began to wage an active struggle 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 against the Turkish authorities, supported in this Karabakh and Syunik. 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 fortress of Erivan twice.
In 1804, General Pavel Dmitrievich Tsitsianov, who had already taken Ganja, subjugating the eponymous Khanate, was located under its walls. Under the fortress of Erivan, he managed to repulse the Persian attempt to unblock the city, but then, due to lack of strength and food, the general had to lift the siege.
In 1808, another attempt to take the fortress was made by Field Marshal Ivan Vasilievich Gudovich. However, the assault was unsuccessful, and he had to withdraw troops to Georgia. Gudovich himself fell seriously ill, lost his eyes, and left the Caucasus.
In 1813, the Gulistan Peace Treaty was signed between Persia and the Russian Empire, according to which the khanate was recognized as the territory of Persia.
Resumption of conflict
In 1826, the second Russian-Persian war began. The very next year, the fortress of Erivan was occupied by Field Marshal Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich. For this, he even received the title of Count of Erivan.
Paskevich initially proposed that Yermolov invade the Erivan Khanate, but he did not dare. Relations between the commanders were strained. The headquarters agreed on a campaign plan developed by Yermolov. However, soon the emperor dismissed Yermolov, making Paskevich commander in chief. After this, Ivan Fedorovich began to immediately 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 dispatches from Petersburg lasted more than a month.
Crossing Araks, Paskevich occupied Nakhichevan. When Dzhevan-Bulan defeated the Persians. He advanced to Erivani, captured the fortress of Sardar-Abad along the way, and then, after stubborn resistance, occupied the present 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 Kadzhar. He was in charge of the fortification. The Persians sent in advance most of the Armenians 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, in addition, many Armenians were assigned to the cannons, which nonetheless formed the basis of the population of the city. As a result, often the nucleus fell into the fortress itself.
Locals asked Gassan to surrender the city, but he refused. At the same time, he simply did not have significant forces to protect Erivan.
For taking 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 Erivani made a depressing impression on the Persians. They began to retreat, and at the approach of the Russian troops surrendered.
Turkmanchay Treaty
In 1828, a peace agreement was signed between Russia and Persia in the town of Turkmanchay near Tabriz. This agreement actually ended the Russian-Persian war. Alexander Griboedov participated in the development of the conditions of this agreement. On the Russian side it was signed by Paskevich, from the Persians - Prince Abbas Mirza.
Under the terms of the agreement, the accession of the Erivan Khanate to the Russian Empire was officially formalized. Persia also pledged not to impede the resettlement of Armenians in Russia. Iranians were imposed a contribution of 20 million rubles in silver.
As part of the Russian Empire
The Erivan Khanate joined Russia on February 10, 1828. Together with him, the Nakhichevan Khanate, also located on the territory of Eastern Armenia, also took over the empire.
After the annexation of the Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates, the Armenian region was formed. It was allowed to move Armenians from Turkey and Iran. 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 moved to the territory of the educated region, starting to populate it.
After the accession to Russia of the Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates in the region, a stable situation was established for a long time. By 1838, of the 165 thousand local Armenians, there were about half. Representatives of this people moved here not only from Iran and Turkey, but also from other regions of Zakazkazkaz. However, the main source of the migratory flow remained the Armenians who moved from the territory of Turkey, where they were oppressed in every way.
The Armenian region did not last long. In 1840, it was abolished after an administrative reform carried out by Nicholas I.