Ehsan Khan Kengerli ( az, إحسان خان کنگرلی), later known by his

Russified Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...

name of Ehsan Khan Nakhichevansky (russian: Эхсан Хан Нахичеванский, az, إحسان خان ناخچیوانسکی; 1789–1846) was the last ruler of the

Nakhichevan Khanate The Nakhichevan Khanate ( fa, خانات نخجوان, translit=Khānāt-e Nakhchevān; Azerbaijani:ناخچیوان خانلیغی,Naxçıvan xanlığı; hy, Նախիջեւանի խանութիւն, translit=Naxijewani xanowt'iwn) was a khanate ...

Biography

Ehsan Khan hailed from the Turkic tribe of Kengerli, and was the youngest son of Kelbali Khan, the ruler of the

, who was blinded by

Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar ( fa, آقا محمد خان قاجار, translit=Âqâ Mohammad Xân-e Qâjâr; 14 March 1742 – 17 June 1797), also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah (, ), was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, rul ...

. In his youth, Ehsan Khan was on Persian service and later took part in Ottoman–Persian War (1821–23). During the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828,

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 ...

appointed Ehsan Khan as commander of the fortress Abbasabad. After the Russians laid siege to the fortress, Ehsan Khan secretly arranged for the gates of the fortress to be opened to the Russian commander General

Ivan Paskevich Count Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Serene Prince of Warsaw (russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Паске́вич-Эриванский, светлейший князь Варшавский, tr. ; – ) was an Imperial Russian mi ...

. For his services, Ehsan was conferred the rank of colonel and appointed the ruler of the

. The khanate was formally abolished in 1828, but Ehsan Khan retained his influence in the region and was appointed the campaign

ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; Russian: атаман, uk, отаман) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military comman ...

of Transcaucasian Muslim troops. In 1831 he was decorated with 2nd class

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...

, and in 1837 he was conferred the rank of

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the Russian army. After the dissolution of the khanate, the khans of Nakhichevan took the Russified surname

Nakhchivanski Nakchivanski (, ), also spelled Naxcivanski and Nakhitchevansky, is a noble family of Azerbaijani origin with subsequent branches established in Russia and Iran. They have provided famous generals and military personnel, one of them - Huseyn Khan ...

, and the men of its family traditionally joined the Russian military service. Two sons of Ehsan khan - Ismail khan and Kalbali khan - were generals in the Russian army and were awarded orders of Saint-George IV degree for their actions in battle. A son of Kalbali khan, Huseyn Khan Nakhichevanski, was a prominent Russian military commander and

adjutant general An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of the Russian Emperor, and his nephews, Jamshid Khan and Kalbali, were generals in the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and Iranian armies respectively. His great great grandson

Jafargulu Khan Nakhchivanski Jafargulu Khan Nakhchivanski ( az, Cəfərqulu xan Naxçıvanski, russian: Джафаркули-хан Нахичеванский; 5 February 1859, Nakhchivan – 1929, Shusha) was a Russian Imperial officer and later an Azerbaijani statesman. He ...

initiated an

Azeri Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic people living mainly in Azerbaijan (Iran), northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republi ...

revolt, leading to the proclamation of the independence of the

Republic of Aras The Republic of Aras ( az, Araz Respublikası; also known as the Republic of Araks or the Araxi Republic) was a short-lived and unrecognized state in the South Caucasus, roughly corresponding with the territory that is now the Nakhchivan Autonomous ...

, composed of the former uyezds of Nakhchivan, Sharur-Daralagez and Surmali, with its capital in the city of Nakhchivan. His daughter

Gonchabegüm Nakhchivanski Gonchabegüm Nakhchivanski ( az, Qönçəbəyim Naxçıvanski; born 1827, Nakhchivan, Nakhchivan Khanate, - died ?, Russian Empire) Azerbaijani poetess. Daughter of the last Nakhichevan Khan Ehsan Khan Nakhichevansky. Life She was born in 182 ...

was a poetess.

References

{{Reflist People from Nakhchivan People of the Russo-Persian Wars 1789 births 1846 deaths Nakhchivanskis