Mehrali bey Javanshir () — was the de facto leader of the

Karabakh Khanate The Karabakh Khanate was a semi-independent Turkic peoples, Turkic Khanates of the Caucasus, Caucasian khanate on the territories of modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan established in about 1748 under Safavid dynasty, Iranian suzerainty in Karaba ...

prior to

Ibrahim Khalil Khan Ibrahim Khalil khan Javanshir (1732–1806) was an Azerbaijani Turkic khan of the Karabakh Khanate from the Javanshir family, who succeeded his father Panah-Ali khan Javanshir as the ruler of the khanate. Early life He was born in c. 1732 in ...

's arrival from Zand Iran. Most of the information about him came from his descendant Ahmad bey Javanshir's '' On the Political Affairs of the Karabakh khanate in 1747–1805''.

Life

He commanded a wing of 3,000 soldiers during Muhammadhasan khan's invasion of Karabakh in 1757. He was left behind by his father

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 clan of Javanshir, who with their associate clan o ...

prior to his departure to Iran in 1759. Not accepting Ibrahim Khalil's right to rule, he established several alliances with nomadic tribes in Karabakh. However, he was defeated by the combined forces of his brother and the

Avar khanate The Avar Khanate, the Avar Nutsaldom ( av, Avar Nutsallhi; russian: Аварское ханство), also known as Khundzia or Avaria, was a long-lived Avar state, which controlled mountainous parts of Dagestan (in the North Caucasus) from the ...

and had to flee to

Karim Khan Zand Mohammad Karim Khan Zand ( fa, محمدکریم خان زند, Mohammad Karīm Khân-e Zand; ) was the founder of the Zand Dynasty, ruling from 1751 to 1779. He ruled all of Iran (Persia) except for Khorasan. He also ruled over some of the Cauc ...

, who instructed

Hedayat-Allah Khan Hedayat-Allah Khan ( fa, هدایت‌الله خان) was a Gilaki prince, who was the semi-independent ruler of Gilan from 1753 to 1786. Background Hedayat-Allah was the son of Agha Jamal Fumani, a tribal chieftain from Fuman who was descende ...

of Gilan to invade Karabakh. However Karim Khan's death in 1779 foiled the plans of Mehrali. This time he left for the

Quba Khanate The Quba Khanate (also spelled Qobbeh; fa, خانات قبه, Khānāt-e Qobbeh) was one of the most significant semi-independent khanates that existed from 1747 to 1806, under Iranian suzerainty. It bordered Caspian sea to the east, Derbent Khan ...

and obtained an alliance with Fatali Khan who was going to invade the

in 1785. However Mehrali bey was ambushed on his way from Baku to Karabakh by the forces of Aghasi Khan of Shirvan.

Family

He had at least four sons and a daughter: * Muhammad bey (1762-1797) *# Jafarqoli bey *## Ahmad bey Javanshir * Alihumbat bey * Asadullah bey * Khankishi bey * Khankhanum agha — married to

Mehdigulu Khan Javanshir Mehdigulu Khan Javanshir ( fa, مهدیقلی خان جوانشیر, translit=Mehdiqoli Xān Javānšir, az, مهدیقلو خان جاوانشیر; 1763 or 1772–1845) was the last Khan of the Karabakh Khanate, functioning as its head from 18 ...

* Khadija begüm — married to Muhammad Qasim agha, son of

References

{{improve categories, date=August 2020 Karabakh Khanate Azerbaijani nobility People from Karabakh 1735 births 1785 deaths Ethnic Afshar people Khans of Karabakh