but in 1762 Fatali Khan of Urmia attacked
Qarabagh. Panah Khan sent his son Ibrahim as security to
Fatali Khan.At this time Karim Khan Zand had reinforced
his position and began to fight Fatali Khan of Urmia. In this struggle
Panah Khan was an ally of Karim Khan Zand and managed to escape
from dependency on the Urmia Khanate. Karim Khan Zand tricked Panah
Khan into going to Shiraz and power in the khanate passed to Ibrahim Khan (1763-1806).
During Ibrahim Khan’s time Shusha became a strong centre of power. At that time there were five vassal states
(
melikliks) in Qarabagh (Varanda, Chilabord, Khachin, Dizaq and Gulustan). Ibrahim Khan subordinated
Malik Shahnazar, feudal lord of Varanda, and Ulubabi, feudal lord, of Khachin. The Dizaq, Chilabord and
Talish feudal lords continued their divisive action. Russia, which was trying to enter the region, began to help
the feudal lords as part of its plan to create ‘Christian states’ here. In a skilful display of great statesmanship
Ibrahim Khan assembled the separatist lords in Shusha and showed documentary evidence to prove that they
had betrayed the Qarabagh Khanate. The anti-Qarabagh forces’ plan for a ‘crusade’ with Russia at their head
came to nought because of the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-91. Agha Mahammad Shah Qajar (1795-97), son
of Mahammadhasan Khan, mentioned above, continued his father’s policy. On the one hand he won the battle
for central power, on the other he tried to take control of Shusha as the main strategic target in the battle for
the South Caucasus. In 1795 Agha Mahammad Qajar laid siege to Shusha and began, as it were, to put diplo-
matic pressure on Ibrahim Khan. The following couplet was sent to the khan: ‘Stones rain down from the cat-
apult of fate and like a fool you seek refuge inside walls of glass.’ (This was a play on the name Shusha, as it
means “glass” in Azerbaijani.) Shusha was also written Shisha and Shushe. Ibrahim Khan charged the
Khanate’s vizier, the famous Azerbaijani poet Molla Panah Vaqif (1717-97), with replying to the poetic letter.
He replied to Qajar with the couplet, ‘If my protector is the one that I know, he will protect the glass in the
bosom of the stone.’ Mirza Adigozalbay writes: ‘Agha Mahammad Shah glanced at the reply to the letter. He
was beside himself with rage. He gave the order to fire fireballs and cannonballs.’ Shusha was able to ward off
the attack. Agha Mahammad Qajar lifted the siege of Shusha, set out for Tiflis (Tbilisi) and captured it. The
fact that Shusha withstood the siege for 33 days and, unlike Tiflis, did not surrender shows the strong political
will and unity of the Qarabagh Khanate and its centre, the city of Shusha. In the next attack in 1797 Agha Ma-
hammad Qajar managed to capture Shusha. This was the first occupation in the history of Shusha. How was
Shusha, which had resisted every attack so far, occupied? According to Mirza Jamal Javanshir, on the eve of
Agha Mahammad Shah’s attack, there were shortages in Shusha. The situation only worsened with the Qajar
attack. ‘Left with no other option (Ibrahim Khan) together with his wives and children, relatives, families of
well-known nobles and faithful retainers left the fortress and headed for Jar and Tala in order to wait up there
and, if Dagestan, Georgia and other provinces would come to their aid, to lay in supplies and prepare for war.
Otherwise, they would go to Dagestan to the home of their relative, Avar ruler Umma Khan, that he might
protect them from Agha Mahammad Khan.’ In these circumstances Agha Mahammad Shah Qajar was able
to enter Shusha. At that time the city of Shusha practically became the centre of the Qajar state. However, a
short time later Qajar was assassinated. Suddenly, this totally unexpected event caused a political crisis. In a
short time Ibrahim Khan managed to restore his authority in Shusha. Russia’s policy of occupation in the
South Caucasus in 1801 opened the way to annex Eastern Georgia and several Azerbaijani lands (Borchali,
Qazakh and Shamsadil). Azerbaijan’s Jar-Balakan Community (1803) and Ganja Khanate (1804) were occu-
pied. Russia’s commander-in-chief in the Caucasus, P.D. Sisianov (1802-06), began a fight for the Qarabagh
Khanate. On 14 May 1805 the sides signed the Kurakchay Treaty. The treaty consisted of a preamble and 11
articles. The preamble of the treaty said that Ibrahim Khan of Shusha and Qarabagh was a subject of the
Russian Empire and the following articles set out the terms. The responsibilities of Ibrahim Khan were set out
in Articles 1, 4, 6, 8 and 9 of the Kurakchay Treaty and those of the Russian emperor in Articles 2, 3, 5 and 7.
Russia clearly received the Qarabagh Khanate as an independent state and Ibrahim Khan and his descendants
were confirmed as the sole masters of the khanate. One of the most important points is that Ibrahim Khan was
named in all the articles as Ibrahim Khan of Shusha and Qarabagh. Another important point is that a guar-
antee was given by the emperor to keep the Qarabagh Khanate intact. The 10th clause in the treaty said that
the treaty was concluded in perpetuity and as a result should not be changed. The Kurakchay Treaty did not
say a word about the Qarabagh feudal lords or any Armenian claim to the khanate. In this way the Kurakchay
11