Qutqashen Sultanate () also known as Qabala mahaly () was feudal state which existed from the middle to the end of 18th century in the north of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, in the territories covering the present day

Qabala Rayon Qabala District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country in the Shaki-Zagatala Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Oghuz, Shaki, Agdash, Goychay, Ismayilli, Quba, Qusar, ...

Historical background

Qabala was ancient capital of the

Caucasian Albania Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus, mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...

. Archeological evidence indicates that the city functioned as the capital of the Caucasian Albania as early as the 4th century BC. Ruins of the ancient town are in 15 km from regional center, allocated on the territory between Garachay and Jourluchay rivers. Qabala was located in the middle of the 2500 old

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

and was mentioned in works of

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 – ), better known in English as Pliny the Younger ( ), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and e ...

as "Kabalaka", Greek geographer

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

as "Khabala", Arabic historian

Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī () was a 9th-century West Asian historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and enjoyed great influence at the court of the caliph al-M ...

as "Khazar". In the 19th century, the

i historian Abbasgulu Bakikhanov mentioned in his book "Gulistani Irem" that Kbala or Khabala were in fact Qabala. In 60s B.C.,

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

troops attacked Caucasian Albania but did not succeed in capturing the Qabala territory. In 262, Caucasian Albania was occupied by

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

but preserved its political and economic status. In 464 AD, lost its independence due to years of invasions from the northern nomadic tribes and had to move its capital city to Partava (currently Barda in Azerbaijan). Qabala was occupied by

Shirvanshah The Shirvanshahs (Arabic/) were the rulers of Shirvan (in present-day Azerbaijan) from 861 to 1538. The first ruling line were the Yazidids, an originally Arab and later Persianized dynasty, who became known as the Kasranids (also referred t ...

Fariburz, Georgian tsar

David III of Tao David III Kuropalates (, ''Davit’ III Kurapalati'') or David III the Great (დავით III დიდი, ''Davit’ III Didi''), also known as David II, (c. 930s – 1000/1001) was a Georgia (country), Georgian prince of the Bagrationi, B ...

in 1120, Mongol khan Timurleng in 1386,

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

shah Tahmasib I in 1538, Persian

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

in 1734 but was able to preserve its culture and identity. After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, Azerbaijan split into independent khanates and sultanates and Qabala became a sultanate. It was also called Qabala Mahali. The sultanate is subordinate to the Shaki Khanate. As the sultanate was located on a small territory, it's independence did not last long. The new ruler Kalbalı Sultan has managed to remain in power for a while, taking advantage of the feuds between the Sheki and Arash feudal lords. However, he died in one of the feudal internecine wars. After that, the Gutqashen Sultanate was included in the Sheki Khanate as a district. The district was governed by naibs appointed by the Sheki khans and local Gutqashen sultans. After Azerbaijan was occupied by Russian Empire in 1813 it conducted administrative reforms and in 1841 Azerbaijani khanates were terminated and the territories were incorporated into

governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...

s. Qabala sultanate was abolished and area was added to Nukha uyezd of Elisabethpol Governorate. Due to archeological finds in Qabala, it was declared a National State Reserve in 1985.Victory of music in Qabala
/ref> Azerbaijani writer and Imperial Russian general Ismayil bek Kutkashensky was a descendant of Qutqashen Sultans.

Rulers of the sultanate

* Haji Safi Sultan * Kalbali Sultan, ruled until 1779 * Haji Nasrullah

Picture gallery

File:Transcaucasia XIX 01.png, Khanates of the Caucasus in the 18th and 19th centuries File:Габала-Азербайджан.jpeg, Entering Qabala File:Ancient Gabala00.jpg, Ancient Qabala fortress File:Ancient Gabala02.jpg, Archeological site of Qabala fortress File:Ancient Gabala03.jpg, Archaeological Excavations of Ancient Qabala - Glazed ceramic and ceramic pipe File:Ancient Gabala05.jpg, Archeological excavations File:Ancient Gabala09.jpg, Archeological excavations in Qabala File:Ancient Gabala10.jpg, Ceramic finds File:Gabala lake.jpg, Qabala lake

References

{{reflist 18th century in Azerbaijan Former sultanates Middle Eastern dynasties

Historical background

Rulers of the sultanate

Picture gallery

See also

References