Battle of Ganja (1804)
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The Battle of Ganja, Siege of Ganja Fortress ( fa, نبرد گنجه) or Assault on Ganja (russian: Штурм Гянджи), was the result of a Russian offensive in the
South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
intended to conquer the
Ganja Khanate The Ganja Khanate ( fa, خانات گنجه, translit=Khānāt-e Ganjeh, az, گنجه خنليغى, translit=Gəncə xanlığı, ) was a semi-independent Khanates of the Caucasus, Caucasian khanate that was established in Afsharid dynasty, Afs ...
of
Qajar Iran Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
, which contributed to the escalation of the
Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) The 1804–1813 Russo-Persian War was one of the many wars between the Persian Empire and Imperial Russia, and began like many of their wars as a territorial dispute. The new Persian king, Fath Ali Shah Qajar, wanted to consolidate the northe ...
.


Prologue

After decision of
Tsar Paul Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her l ...
to annex
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
(December 1800) and, after Paul's assassination (11 March 1801), the activist policy followed by his successor,
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
, aimed at establishing Russian control over the khanates of the eastern Caucasus. In 1803, the newly appointed commander of Russian forces in the Caucasus, Paul Tsitsianov, attacked Ganja. After Mohammad Khan Qajar invasion of Tbilisi, which Javad Khan fought alongside Agha Muḥammad Khān, Tsitsianov wrote a letter to Javad Khan, demanding a voluntary surrender: Javad Khan answered: After this response, the Russian troops moved forward and opened gunfire. Javad Khan defended heroically and the siege lasted a month, Tsitsianov renewed demands to surrender for five times, but to no avail."I'll take the fortress and I will deliver thee to death," - he wrote and the stubborn Khan answered: "You'll find me dead on the fortress wall !", and both vowed to fulfil his promises. Finally, the 14th in January 1804, the Russian council of war decided to do: "Be the assault the next day".


Battle

Tsitsianov divided the Russian troops into two columns, one was entrusted to Major-General Portnyagin (Karabagh gate) and the other to Colonel Pavel Karyagin (Tbilisi Gate). Early morning (5.00 am), January 15, the column of Portnyagin, approached the Karabagh gate and pierced a hole in the ground before the wall, but as the defenders focused their main forces there Portnyagin left it aside and stormed the ramparts with ladders. The resistance he met was so great that the Russian troops resumed the attack twice, and twice were repulsed with considerable loss. Then Portniagin rushed himself at the head of the column and first went to the wall, followed by a Lieutenant of the regiment of the Narva that fell, struck by several bullets. Then Major Bartenev of Caucasus Grenadier Regiment fell and finally, it was Lieutenant Colonel Simanovich Grenadiers that managed to climb the stairs to the wall and help out Portnyagina. Meanwhile, the second column, led by Colonel Karyagin, ascended the wall from the gate of Tbilisi, and took possession of the main tower. The other two towers were taken one by one by major Lisanevich. Javad Khan, who did not want to seek safety in flight, took the gun and sword in hand and defended himself until he has been killed by captain Kalovski, who himself was immediately killed by the defenders. Khan's death brought confusion into the ranks of the defenders, but they still showed resistance and piled heavy stones. The city at this time was in terrible confusion. Crowds of the people, on horse and foot, rushed in disorder on the streets, vainly searching for the already deceased Khan. residents hid in their homes and barns, women filled the air with frantic cries. Meanwhile, Russian soldiers with bayonets cleared the street, entirely covered with dead bodies. By noon the battle began to subside, and broke again only for a moment when, according to Tstsianov, the soldiers came upon five hundred men, who have entrenched themselves in the
Juma mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...
. At first they offered to surrender, but when one
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
said that among them are some
Lezgins Lezgins or Leks ( lez, Лезгияр, Лекьер. lezgijar) are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native predominantly to southern Dagestan, a republic of Russia, and northeastern Azerbaijan. The Lezgin are predominantly Sunni Muslims and s ...
, it was the signal for the death of all defenders, because the hatred of Lezghins was so strong among the Russian troops.Владыкин М. Н. Путеводитель и собеседник в путешествии по Кавказу. — 2-е изд.. — М., 1885. — С. 261.Бабаев Э. Из истории Гянджинского ханства. — Б.: Нурлан, 2003. — С. 104. — 232 с. Tsitsianov deeply appreciated the effort of the soldiers in the capture of the fortress and wrote:"...this is proof of moral superiority of Russian Empire over Persians and that spirit of confidence in the victory, will feed and warm up the soldiers that I consider as my first purpose". The elder son of Javad Khan, Hossein Quli khan, was also killed during the battle, the rest of the khan's family was taken prisoner and years later (1812) were given permission to go to Iran via Baku. His younger son, Ughurlu, survived, went to Iran and later fought the Russian Empire when the Iranians attacked Ganja in the second Russo-Persian war. page 117


Massacre

Various
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
n and western historians have written on the dimensions of the massacre that took place after the fall of the city. Etemad ol saltane (an Iranian historian) states that the massacre that ensued after the battle continued for three days, Hedayat has a more accurate time of three hours,
Abbasgulu Bakikhanov Abbasgulu agha Bakikhanov ( az, Abbasqulu ağa Bakıxanov) (21 June 1794, Amirjan – 31 May 1847, Wadi Fatima, near Jeddah), Abbas Qoli Bakikhanov, or Abbas-Qoli ibn Mirza Mohammad (Taghi) Khan Badkubi was an Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az ...
mentions the massacre but does not give more information. It is estimated that about 1,500-3,000 men died.


Shah's response

At the beginning of the battle, Javad khan sent a messenger to
Fath Ali Shah Fath-Ali Shah Qajar ( fa, فتحعلى‌شاه قاجار, Fatḥ-ʻAli Šâh Qâjâr; May 1769 – 24 October 1834) was the second Shah (king) of Qajar Iran. He reigned from 17 June 1797 until his death on 24 October 1834. His reign saw the irr ...
and asked reinforcement. Shah gathered a 30,000 strong force and sent them to Ganja, but the force did not reach the Ganja in time because of the coldness of January and also because
Hossein Khan Sardar Hossein Qoli Khan Sardar Qajar ( fa, حسین قلی خان سردار قاجار), better simply known as Hossein Khan Sardar () (born ca. 1742 – died 1831) was an Iranian statesman in Qajar Iran, who was the last governor of the Erivan Khanate ...
, the governor khan of the Erevan Khanate had rebelled against the Shah and only one letter carrier, Saied Bayk, reached the town in time.


Aftermath

Taking Ganja was an event of extraordinary importance because it was considered a fortress key to the northern provinces of Persia. Thereafter, Tsitsianov change the name of the city to Yelizavetpol, after empress consort Elizabeth Alexeievna, the wife of tsar
Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...
. Referring to the place by its old name became a crime punishable by a fine, the main mosque was turned into a church, and Russian law replaced Islamic law. However, as Swietochowski notes, the name never found acceptance amongst the
Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numer ...
, who continued to call the town Ganja. Javad Khan's surviving wives and relatives who had not escaped to Iran (as had most of his sons) were arrested. They were held as prisoners in the citadel until 1812, when they were freed by Tsitsianov's successor Philip Paulucci, who held the view that Javad Khan was a valiant man who died fighting to defend his interests. With Tsitianov's attack on Ganja, the Iranians saw a direct invasion of their country's territory. The issue was now no longer to impose tribute on the
Lezgins Lezgins or Leks ( lez, Лезгияр, Лекьер. lezgijar) are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native predominantly to southern Dagestan, a republic of Russia, and northeastern Azerbaijan. The Lezgin are predominantly Sunni Muslims and s ...
or about re-asserting Persian domination over Christian
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, which had happened several years before; now, the integrity of Shi'ite Iran itself had been violated by the invasion of the town of Ganja.


Immigration

Two years after the Russian occupation of Ganja, Ugurlu khan, the son of Javad khan, with the assistance of crown prince
Abbas Mirza Abbas Mirza ( fa, عباس میرزا; August 26, 1789October 25, 1833) was a Qajar crown prince of Iran. He developed a reputation as a military commander during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 and the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828, as ...
, moved many inhabitants of Ganja across the Iranian border, and the protection of 6,000 families of inhabitants of Ganja was entrusted to Pir-Gholi khan Qajar, who moved them to
Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
. Then in 1809, the Borchali and Ayrumlu tribes of Ganja moved to Nakhchivan, where they were renamed to Qarapapaq (Black hat in
Azeri language Azerbaijani () or Azeri (), also referred to as Azeri Turkic or Azeri Turkish, is a Turkic language from the Oghuz sub-branch spoken primarily by the Azerbaijani people, who live mainly in the Republic of Azerbaijan where the North Azerbaijan ...
), and finally after Nakhchivan was ceded to Russia, they went to
Solduz Naqadeh (; ; ), formerly known as Sulduz, is the main town of Naqadeh County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 72,975, in 18,320 families. Name Naqadeh is the current name of the town (and county). The for ...
(Naqadeh) in Iranian West Azerbaijan Province. Other main places of Qarapapaq residence are the provinces of
Ardahan Ardahan (, ka, არტაანი, tr, hy, Արդահան, translit=Ardahan Russian: Ардаган) is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border. It is the capital of Ardahan Province. History Ancient and medieval Ardahan ...
(around Lake Çıldır),
Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...
and
Iğdır Iğdır ( Turkish ; ku, Îdir or ; hy, Իգդիր, Igdir, also ) is the capital of Iğdır Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. History Iğdır went by the Armenian name of Tsolakert during the Middle Ages. s.v. "Igdir," Armenia ...
in Turkey.


Notes

a. Iranian historians like Donbuli, blames the Armenians of Ganja and Nasib beg Shams-od-dinlu for the fall of the fortress and accuse the Armenians for opening the gate for capturing the tower .


See also

*
Ganja Fortress , image = Ganja fortress.jpg , caption = The preserved part of the fortress, built in the XVI century in "New Ganja" , former_names = , building_type = Fortress , architectural_style = Architectural school ...


References


Sources

* *


External links


THE SIEGE AND ASSAULT of Fortress Ganja
{{coord missing, Azerbaijan Ganja 1804 Ganja 1804 1804 in the Russian Empire Ganja 1804 1804 in Iran History of Ganja, Azerbaijan November 1803 events December 1803 events January 1804 events