Jamshid Jafargulu oglu Nakhchivanski ( az, Cəmşid Cəfərqulu oğlu Naxçıvanski; August 23, 1895 – August 26, 1938), also known as Jamshid Khan Nakhichevanski, was a

Russian Imperial The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

, Azerbaijani and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

military commander. He rose to the rank of

Combrig (russian: комбриг) is an abbreviation of Commanding officer of the brigade (russian: командир бригады, komandir brigady; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR from 1935 to 1940. It was also the ...

(equivalent to Brigadier General) in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

Early life

Jamshid Nakhchivanski was born to the family of retired Russian Imperial

Rittmeister __NOTOC__ (German and Scandinavian for "riding master" or "cavalry master") is or was a military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A ''Rittmeister'' is typic ...

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 ...

who was the brother of General Adjutant

Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski, or Nakhichevansky, francised spelling: Hussein Nahitchevansky ( az, Hüseyn xan Naxçıvanski; russian: Гусейн-хан Нахичеванский or ) (28 July 1863 in Nakhchivan City – January 1919 in St. Peters ...

. The Nakhchivanskis came from roots of Kangarli Oghuz Turks tribes descendants of which ruled the

Nakhchivan 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 ...

. At the age of seven, his mother Farrantaj-hanim taught him to write in Azerbaijani and his nanny taught him

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and French. In 1904, he was admitted to ''Tiflis Cadet Corps'' graduating in 1911.

Service in the army

Imperial Russian Army

On August 30, 1914 he started his service as

junker Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...

of ''

Yelizavetgrad Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, Кропивницький, Kropyvnytskyi ) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of . It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name ...

Cavalry School''. Having graduated from the four-month 1st-grade intensive course, he was appointed

praporshchik ( rus, Пра́порщик, 3=ˈprapərɕːɪk, ) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in navies. It is usually equivalent to Warrant ...

and assigned to Azerbaijani reserve cavalry regiment of the Caucasian Native Mounted Division which was formed from Muslim volunteers from

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

and

Transcaucasus 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 ...

. On June 14, 1915, Jamshid Khan was transferred to the regiment and on August 22 he was promoted to the rank of Cornet. On February 14, 1916, he was awarded his first military award of

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 ...

of 4th degree. On 26 January 1917 Jamshid Khan was decorated with St. George sword for defeating the enemy and leading a cavalry attack, despite being wounded twice. In March 1917, Jamshid Khan was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus of 2nd degree for his bravery on

Romanian front The Romanian Front ( ro, Frontul Românesc, FR) was a moderate fascist party created in Romania in 1935. Led by former Prime Minister Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, it originated as a right-wing splinter group from the mainstream National Peasants' Part ...

. On April 15 he was awarded the

Order of St. 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 Holst ...

of the 3rd degree and on August 22 with

Cross of St. George The Cross of Saint George (russian: Георгиевский крест, Georgiyevskiy krest) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was initially established by Imperial Russia where it was officially known as the Decoration of ...

of 4th degree. On October 30, 1917, Nakhchivanski was conferred the rank of stabs-rittmeister, and his regiment was made a part of the Russian Caucasus Army and relocated to the Caucasus. At the end of 1917, at

Special Transcaucasian Committee The Special Transcaucasian Committee ( Russian: Особый Закавказский Комитет ''Osobyi Zakavkazskii Komitet'' (OZaKom, Ozakom or OZAKOM)) was established on March 9, 1917, with Member of the State Duma V. A. Kharlamov as C ...

orders, the formation of Muslim (Azerbaijani) Corps under

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Ali-Agha Shikhlinski Ali Agha Ismail Agha oghlu Shikhlinski ( az, Əli Ağa İsmayıl Ağa oğlu Şıxlinski;); – )Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are in the Julian calendar with the start of year adjusted to 1 January. All other dates in this article are in ...

's command began.

Azerbaijani Army (ADR)

By end of May 1918, the establishment of the corps was completed. After the declaration of independence of

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 A ...

on June 26, 1918, the corpus was transferred to

Azerbaijani Army The Azerbaijani Armed Forces ( az, Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri) were re-established according to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Armed Forces from 9 October 1991. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) had originally formed ...

corps. In July 1918, the corps dissolved and were partially integrated with newly arrived Turkish 5th Caucasian and 15th Chanahkala divisions and newly formed Caucasian army of Islam led by

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

. During the battles in the outskirts of Goychay on June 27 - July 1, 1918, the Army of Islam destroyed the 1st Caucasian corps of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

. Jamshid Khan took part in the

Battle of Baku The Battle of Baku ( az, Bakı döyüşü, tr, Bakü Muharebesi, russian: Битва за Баку) was a battle in World War I that took place between August–September 1918 between the Ottoman–Azerbaijani coalition forces led by Nuri Pas ...

against the

Centrocaspian Dictatorship The Centro-Caspian Dictatorship, also known as the Central-Caspian Dictatorship (russian: Диктатура Центрокаспия, ''Diktatura Tsentrokaspiya'') (Azerbaijani: Sentrokaspi Diktaturası), was a short-lived anti-Soviet administr ...

and Armenian

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. Baku was liberated on September 15, 1918. In the Azerbaijani Army, Jamshid Khan was the commander of the 1st company of 1st Azerbaijani regiment and assistant to regiment commander. On March 24, 1920 Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

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 ...

appointed Lieutenant Colonel Jamshid Khan Commander of 2nd Karabakh cavalry regiment. While in Karabakh he participated in liberation of

Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govha ...

Soviet Army

After the establishment of Soviet rule in Azerbaijan, the Karabakh division was transferred under command of the Red Army. Following the suppression of the 1920 Ganja revolt, Bolsheviks arrested many Azerbaijani officers including Nakhchivanski. He was kept in prison on Nargin island in

Baku Bay Bay of Baku (Baku Bay) is a natural harbor of the Baku port and local yacht club, on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula and on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Description It has an area of 50 km² and a coastline of 20&nbs ...

but was released in two months to serve in the administration of Red Commanders School. He then served as Commander of the Azerbaijani Rifle Division from 1921 to 1931.Газета «Азербайджанский Конгресс». Реквием комбригу Нахичеванскому
/ref> On February 22, 1931 he was called to Red Army corps in

Tbilisi 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 p ...

where he was arrested and accused of treason and anti-Soviet espionage. On September 30, 1931 he was sentenced to death but

Sergo Ordzhonikidze Sergo Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze,, ; russian: Серго Константинович Орджоникидзе, Sergo Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze) born Grigol Konstantines dze Orjonikidze, russian: Григорий Константино ...

prevented the execution by taking the issue to Politburo where

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

ordered to release Nakhchivanski provided that he wouldn't work and live in Caucasus. Nakhchivanski was rehabilitated in the army and sent to

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

for further studies. In 1933, he completed his studies and stayed at the academy to teach military tactics. On December 5, 1935 by the order of People's Commissar of Defense

Kliment Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov (, uk, Климент Охрімович Ворошилов, ''Klyment Okhrimovyč Vorošylov''), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (russian: link=no, Клим Вороши́лов, ''Klim Vorošilov''; 4 Februa ...

he was conferred the rank of

Death

During the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secret ...

, Nakhchivanski was arrested on May 20, 1938 and was charged with anti-Soviet activities and

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

on August 26, 1938 in Lefortovo prison. He was sentenced to death and confiscation of all personal property. Nakhchivanski 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 ...

. His body was transported and buried in

Kommunarka shooting ground The Kommunarka firing range (russian: Расстрельный полигон «Коммунарка»), former dacha of secret police chief Genrikh Yagoda, was used as a burial ground from 1937 to 1941. Executions may have been carried out th ...

, an

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

burial site for repression victims, 26 km outside of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. On December 22, 1956 he was rehabilitated. In 2007, 112th anniversary of Jamshid Nakhchivanski was celebrated in Azerbaijan. Streets in Baku and Nakhchivan as well as

Jamshid Nakhchivanski Military Lyceum Jamshid Nakhchivanski Military Lyceum ( az, Cəmşid Naxçıvanski adına Hərbi Lisey), also known as Military Lyceum named after Jamshid Nakhchivanski, is a state school, specializing in education and training of students in military science and ...

were named after Jamshid Khan Nakhchivanski. A house museum in Nakhchivan was also opened by Azerbaijani government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakhchivanski, Jamshid 1895 births People from Nakhchivan Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of World War I Azerbaijani military personnel of World War I Azerbaijani people of World War I Azerbaijani military personnel of the Armenian–Azerbaijani War (1918–1920) Generals of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Soviet kombrigs Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian) Azerbaijani nobility Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class Recipients of the Cross of St. George 1938 deaths People executed by the Soviet Union by firing squad Great Purge victims from Azerbaijan Executed politicians Deaths by firearm in Azerbaijan Frunze Military Academy alumni Soviet rehabilitations Soviet Azerbaijani people Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Nakhchivanskis