Ibrahim Khalil Khan

Who was Ibrahim Khalil Khan?

Ibrahim Khalil khan Javanshir was the Azeri Turkic khan of Karabakh from the Javanshir family, who succeeded his father Panah-Ali khan Javanshir as the ruler of Karabakh khanate.

In the 1780s, Ibrahim Khalil Khan emerged as one of the most powerful rulers in the eastern Caucasus. He aspired to bring most of the Muslim-ruled territory from the Caucasus mountains as far south as Tabriz under his sway, but eventually he had to curb his efforts in the face of the rising Qajar power in Iran. He was then allied with the Georgian king Erekle II of Kartli-Kakheti and the two interfered in the affairs of the Erivan khanate and made the Ganja khanate their puppet. The alliance waned after Erekle accepted the Russian protectorate in the treaty of Georgievsk in 1783. Ibrahim maintained contact with the Russian authorities, but did not sign any formal treaty.

In 1795 the ruler of Iran, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, attacked the region to bring it again within the Iranian empire. The khans of Ganja, Nakhjavan, and Erevan submitted, but Ibrahim Khan did not. He was defeated in battle and retreated to the fortress of Shusha. After a prolonged siege, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar failed to take the fortress and left the region. In a verbal truce, Ibrahim Khan acknowledged Qajar supremacy and was permitted to continue to rule as Khan of Karabakh.