The new geopolitical situation in the South Caucasus in the second half of the 18th century and the Karabakh Khanate

Abstract

In the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, important historical events took place in this region in connection with the new geopolitical situation that emerged in the South Caucasus. The role of the Karabakh Khanate and other khanates of Azerbaijan was significantly large in the direction in which these events developed. In this article, by examining the written sources of the period under discussion, we have tried to interpret the reasons for the emergence of the Karabakh Khanate and the construction of the Shusha Fortress against the background of the new geopolitical situation that emerged in the South Caucasus in the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, as well as the political activities of Panahali Khan, the founder of the Shusha Fortress, and his and other Azerbaijani khanates' relations with Tsarist Russia and the Qajar state. In the article, we have also tried to shed light on the role of the Karabakh Khanate and other Azerbaijani khanates, as well as other factors, based on historical facts, in the process of changing the political geography of the region (Gulustan and Turkmenchay treaties of 1813/1828).