Behbud Khan Javanshir (; 24 July 1878 – 18 July 1921) was an Azerbaijani politician, diplomat, Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry.

Early life

Behbud Khan Javanshir was born on July 24th, 1878, in Azad Qaraqoyunlu village of Javanshir Uyezd of

Elisabethpol Governorate The Elizavetpol Governorate, also known after 1918 as the Ganja Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yelisavetpol (present-day Ganja). The area of the governorate s ...

. His father Azad Khan Javanshir was the great grandson of the founder of

Karabakh Khanate The Karabakh Khanate (also spelled Qarabagh; ; ) was a Khanates of the Caucasus, khanate under History of Iran, Iranian and later Russian Empire, Russian suzerainty, which controlled the historical region of Karabakh, now divided between modern ...

Panah Ali Khan Panah Ali Khan Javanshir (; ; 1693 – 1759 or 1763) was the founder and first ruler of the Karabakh Khanate under Persian suzerainty. Ancestry Panah Ali Khan was from the Sarijali branch of the Javanshir clan, who with their associate clan of ...

. From 1890 through 1898, he studied at ''Tiflis Realny School'' where he learned German. In 1902, Javanshir enrolled in

Freiberg University of Mining and Technology The Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (abbreviation: TU Bergakademie Freiberg, TUBAF) is a public Institute of technology, university of technology with 3,471 students in the city of Freiberg, Saxony, Freiberg, Saxony, Germany. The u ...

, graduating ''cum laude'' in 1906. He then moved to London where he learned English. Upon his return to

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 1907, Javanshir started working as a senior engineer in the

oil industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products ...

. According to archival documents, he was a member of the anti-government organization ''Difai'' along with Ahmad Bey Aghayev, Garay Bey Garaybeyov,

Mammad Hasan Hajinski Mammad Hasan Jafargulu oglu Hajinski (; March 3, 1875 – February 9, 1931) was an Azerbaijani architect and statesman. He also served as a Minister of Foreign Affairs (Azerbaijan), Minister for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic ( ...

, Isa Bey Ashurbeyov and Niftali Bey Behbudov. While travelling to Germany, Javanshir brought German wheat to

Karabakh Karabakh ( ; ) is a geographic region in southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and Aras. It is divided into three regions: Highland Kara ...

which was

acclimatized Acclimatization or acclimatisation ( also called acclimation or acclimatation) is the process in which an individual organism adjusts to a change in its environment (such as a change in altitude, temperature, humidity, photoperiod, or pH), a ...

by local farmers and is used today. He was also the first person to bring an automobile to Karabakh region at a time when roads were built. After March massacres of 1918, Javanshir was a member of Azerbaijani-Armenian reconciliation commission.

Political career

On June 17, 1918, Javanshir was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. On December 26, 1918, he was replaced by Khalil Bey Khasmammadov. Starting from October 6, 1918, as a deputy minister he was appointed

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

Minister of Trade and Industry. Javanshir also served in the

National Assembly of Azerbaijan The National Assembly (), also transliterated as Milli Mejlis, is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100 members were elected for five-year terms in single-seat co ...

. After establishment of Soviet rule in Azerbaijan, with the assistance of Azerbaijani communist leader

Nariman Narimanov Nariman Karbalayi Najaf oghlu Narimanov (, ; – 19 March 1925) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani Bolsheviks, Bolshevik revolutionary, writer, publicist, politician and statesman. For just over one year, beginning in May 1920, Narimanov headed th ...

, Javanshir was able to avoid imprisonment by the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

s and was assigned to work in Soviet oil fields in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. Due to his education in Germany, he was later assigned to represent the Soviet government first in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, then from the summer of 1921 in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(now

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Assassination

Javanshir was assassinated on July 18, 1921 in Constantinople, near

Pera Pera may refer to: Places * Pera (Beyoğlu), a district in Istanbul formerly called Pera, now called Beyoğlu ** Galata, a neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, often referred to as Pera in the past * Pêra (Caparica), a Portuguese locality in the district o ...

Palace Hotel. The assassination was carried out by an

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 around the ...

, Misak Torlakian, in retaliation for Javanshir's role in the massacre of Armenians in Baku. Torlakian was part of the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...

's "

Operation Nemesis Operation Nemesis () was a program of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation to assassinate both Ottoman Empire, Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian genocide and officials of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic most responsible for the massacre o ...

", and he was assisted by Ervand Fundukyan and (H)Arutiun (H)Arutunyan. A

Dashnak The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalist and socialist political party founded in 1890 in Tifl ...

officer who had known Javanshir from Baku recognized him. The plan was for Fundukyan and Arutunyan were to follow him, and Torlakian was to shoot him. Accompanied by his wife Tamara and brothers Jumshud and Surkhay, Javanshir was returning to the Pera Palace Hotel through the park after an evening at Tepebashi Theatre. Torlakian shot Javanshir with a

Mauser Mauser, originally the Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik, was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols was produced beginning in the 1870s for the German armed forces. In the late 19th and ...

pistol, once in the head and twice in the chest. Javanshir was later pronounced dead in the hospital. Torlakian was apprehended. Javanshir's wife Tamara wrote a Letter to the Editor of ''Tribune Libre'' in Constantinople describing the situation. ''The Orient Express'' by John Dos Passos (Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, New York, 1922), p. 18.

Court and sentencing

When questioned by the police, Torlakian said the assassination was justified because of the killing of

Armenians in Baku Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia. Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fo ...

. He was "sued" by the British Military Tribunal. Torlakian's defense attorneys and an Armenian neurologist who examined him in prison claimed he had

epileptic seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

s due to "the emotional crises to which he is subject" making him "not responsible for his actions". But a Turkish doctor claimed that he had neither epilepsy nor any mental disorders. In October 1921, the British tribunal issued a guilty verdict but ruled that Torlakian was not responsible for his actions due to his epilepsy. Torlakian left for

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, where he was released and left for the United States.

Early life

Political career

Assassination

Court and sentencing

See also

Notes

Further reading