Habib bey Haji Yusif oglu Salimov ( az, Həbib bəy Səlimov Hacı Yusif oğlu; February 8, 1881 - December 30, 1920) was the first

Chief of General Staff of Azerbaijani Armed Forces The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan Republic ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Silahlı Qüvvələri Baş Qərargahı) is the military staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration ...

of the

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic), or simply as Azerbaijan in Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920,''Bulletin d'Information de l'Azerbaidjan'', No. I, September 1, 1919, pp. 6–7''125 H.C.Debs.'', 58., February 24, 1920, p. 1467. Caucasian Az ...

Early life

Salimov was born and completed school in Erivan (

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

) where his father worked as a judge of the

Erivan Governorate The Erivan Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its centеr in Erivan (present-day Yerevan). Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometеrs, roughly corresponding to what is now most of central A ...

. On August 12, 1900 he volunteered to serve in the 39th division of the 156th

Elisabethpol Ganja (; az, Gəncə ) is Azerbaijan's third largest city, with a population of around 335,600.Azərbaycan Respublikası. — 2. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və inzibati rayonları. — 2.4. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və ...

regiment of the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

's Caucasus corps. After completing his studies at a military school in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, Salimov served in the 3rd Caucasus battalion in Julfa and was a part of a reconnaissance mission in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. As a second lieutenant of the 5th Caucasus battalion, he was conferred with the

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

of 4th degree and on August 9, 1912 he was promoted to

Stabskapitän ''Stabskapitän'' (en: Staff captain), in the cavalry also ''Stabsrittmeister'' (en: "Staff riding master" or "Staff cavalry master"), or ''Kapitänleutnant'' (en: Captain lieutenant), was a historic military rank in the Prussian Army. In refer ...

. In the midst of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Salimov was conferred with Order of Saint Stanislaus of the 3rd degree for "excellence in the activities against the enemy".

Service in Azerbaijani Army

He graduated from

Imperial Nicholas Military Academy The General Staff Academy () was a Russian military academy, established in 1832 in St.Petersburg. It was first known as the Imperial Military Academy (Императорская военная академия), then in 1855 it was renamed Nichola ...

of the Russian Empire on March 4, 1918. After the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Colonel Salimov returned to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

and was appointed Chief of Documentation Department of the Azerbaijani Army. In mid-1918, Salimov's professionalism was noticed by General

Nuri Pasha Nuri Killigil, also known as Nuri Pasha (1889–1949) was an Ottoman general in the Ottoman Army (1861–1922), Ottoman Army. He was the half-brother of Ottoman Minister of War, Enver Pasha. Military career Libya Infantry Machine-Gun Ca ...

of Army of Islam, who appointed him Chief of Staff of the Azerbaijani corps. Salimov was subsequently charged with leading the Azerbaijani units towards

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

along the

Ganja Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: �aːɲd� ...

-Baku Railway. Having liberated terminals at Nəvai, Atbulaq and

Ələt Ələt (also, Älät, Aliat, Aljat, Aliaty, Alyat, Alyat-Pristan’, Alyati-Pristan’, Alyaty, and Alyaty-Pristan’) is a settlement and municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 12,765. The municipality consists of the settleme ...

by August 1, 1918, he marched towards Baku. For his service in the liberation of Baku on September 15, 1918 Habib Bey Salimov was promoted to

General Major 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 ...

on February 23, 1919 by Minister of Defense

Samad bey Mehmandarov Samad bey Sadykh bey oghlu Mehmandarov ( az, Səməd bəy Sadıx bəy oğlu Mehmandarov; October 16, 1855 – February 12, 1931) was an Azerbaijani General of the Artillery in the Imperial Russian Army and served as Minister of Defense o ...

according to Order No. 30. Salimov was the second high-ranking general of newly established Azerbaijani Army after Mammad Bey Shulkevich. During the Armenian uprising in

Karabakh Karabakh ( az, Qarabağ ; hy, Ղարաբաղ, Ġarabaġ ) is a geographic region in present-day southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura (Caspia ...

on March 22, 1920 led by

Dashnak The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian ...

s Dali Kazar (Kazarov) and

Drastamat Kanayan Drastamat Kanayan (; 31 May 1884 8 March 1956), better known as Dro (Դրօ), was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. He briefly served as Defence Minister of the First Republic ...

, Salimov was charged to lead a 20 thousand-strong expedition to put down the rebellion. The force led by Salimov included the 3rd Ganja, 5th Baku, 1st Javanshir, 4th Quba and 8th Agdam regiments. Azerbaijani counterattack started on April 3 and after 12 days of fighting, control over Karabakh was restored by Azerbaijani forces. Dali Kazar was killed and General Kanayan fled Karabakh. On August 1, 1918 with the formal establishment of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, Habib Bey Salimov was appointed Chief of General Staff of Azerbaijani Armed Forces. After occupation of Azerbaijan by Bolsheviks, Salimov was appointed Military Commissar to Nakhchivan. However, Salimov refused to work with Bolsheviks and was arrested on September 1, 1920. On December 30, 1920 he was

executed by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salimov, Habib Bey Armenian Azerbaijanis 1881 births 1920 deaths Generals of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Azerbaijani military personnel of World War I Azerbaijani military personnel of the Armenian–Azerbaijani War (1918–1920) Chiefs of General Staff of Azerbaijani Armed Forces Executed Azerbaijani people People from the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic People executed by Russia by firing squad 20th-century executions by Russia Azerbaijani anti-communists Azerbaijani generals of Imperial Russian Army Azerbaijani people of World War I

Early life

Service in Azerbaijani Army

See also

References