Escription of the assassination of the shah in Shusha and Shusha’s natural landscape by Ahmad Bey Javanshir

Abstract

This article describes Agha Mohammad khan Qajar’s campaign to Shusha in 1797, his entry into the city, the atrocities he committed there, and his eventualassassination. After Ibrahim khan abandoned the city, Agha Mohammad khan entered Shusha without resistance and established a reign of terror over its inhabitants. Executions, crucifixions, eye gouging, and the construction of a tower from human skulls illustrated the tyrant’s brutality. Amidst these events, the courage and dignity of Mohammad bey Javanshir stand out. Agha Mohammad khan’s servants, safarali bey and abbas bey, having grown weary of his cruelty, devised an assassination plan, which was carried out with the support of Sadiq khan and Mohammad bey. Ultimately, Agha Mohammad khan was killed in his bedroom. At the end of the article, the author poetically and vividly portrays the natural scenery of shusha. Through references to misty mountains, the khazineh rock, underground passages, and legends involving fairies, the strategic and mystical significance of the city is emphasized. This text not only reflects a dramatic chapter in Karabakh’s history but also reveals the socio-political landscape of that era and the heroic spirit of its people.