Khudat () is a town in the

Caspian Caspian can refer to: *The Caspian Sea *The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea *The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea *The Caspian languages spoken in northern Iran and southeastern Azerbaij ...

lowlands located in the northern section 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 ...

. It is a part of the

Khachmaz District Khachmaz District (; ) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the northeast of the country and belongs to the Guba-Khachmaz Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Qusar, Quba, Shabran, and the Russian Repub ...

. It has a population of 14,442. Khudat's time of historical significance took place in the 18th century, as the provincial capital of the

Quba Quba () is a city and the administrative centre of the Quba District (Azerbaijan), Quba District of Azerbaijan. The city lies on the north-eastern slopes of Mount Shahdagh, Shahdag mountain, at an altitude of 600 metres above sea level, on the ...

khanate under the rule of the

Qajars The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's ''Majlis'', conveni ...

. During this time, Hussein-khan, a native of the region, had spent time in Persia and adopted

Shia Islam Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

, creating favor in the eyes of the Shah, who granted him rule over both the Quba and Salyan khanates. Hussein-khan returned to the region and established his capital in Khudat. This period lasted until 1747, when Persian ruler

Nadir 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 ...

was assassinated. Hussein-Ali, great-great-grandson of Hussein-khan, decided to try to turn the Quba khanate into an independent country and moved his capital to Quba due to the better natural defenses it offered to Khudat. The city subsequently fell out of importance in Azerbaijan and has become a location for launching excursions into the popular beaches and resorts of the

Nabran Nabran is a municipality located in the Khachmaz region which is located in Khachmaz Rayon of Azerbaijan, close to the Russia-Azerbaijan border. It has a population of 1,313. The municipality consists of the following villages Nabran, Dalğalı, ...

area.

References

* Populated places in Khachmaz District {{Khachmaz-geo-stub