Javad Khan

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Javad khan Ziyad oghlu Qajar (?-1804) was khan of Ganja khanate.

During the first Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) Ganja was considered by Russians as a town of foremost importance. General Pavel Tsitsianov several times approached Javad khan asking him to submit to Russian rule, but each time was refused. On November 1803 Russian army moved from Tiflis and in December Tsitsianov started the siege preparations. After heavy artillery bombardment, on January 3, 1804 Tsitsianov gave the order to attack the fortress. After fierce fighting Russians were able to capture the fortress. Javad khan was killed, together with his sons.

On September 11, 2007 President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received Rza Javadkhani, descendant of Javad khan of Ganja (ancient city in Azerbaijan). The Head of State touched on Javad khan’s historical services, saying he is satisfied that Ganja khan’s descendant is in Baku.

[edit] Javad Khan's handwritten letter to Tsitsianov

Javad Khan's handwritten letter(or his Secretary) to Tsitsianov :

“

The letter of "Javad Khan" to "Tsitsianov" (1218.AH) (1182 AP / 1803 A.D)
At this time, the letter that you sent has been received. And you wrote:" In the era of yore, the land of Dedeh-faal of Ganja was subordinate to Georgia. No one has ever heard of such words. But know that our ancestors like Abbas Qoli Khan and others were rulers of Georgia and if you do not believe this, then question the old folks of Georgia with regards to the Abbas Qoli Khan and ask them if he was the ruler or not.[As a sign of this proof,] currently his mosque and market place are in Georgia. And the kingly clothes bestowed upon his servants as well as his letters/documents are with the people of Georgia. From the days of the Erekli Khan's father and our father, the borders between Ganja and Georgia were clearly defined. And we do not need to mention these facts, because if we say that our ancestors were the sovereigns of Georgia, no one on your side will believe it and they will not bestow Georgia upon us.

You also wrote, six years ago, I gave away the fort of Ganja to the ruler of Russia. This is true, at that time, your ruler wrote letters to all the provinces of Iran and also to us and we accepted the letter and gave the fort. Whenever the king[of Russia] wrote us a decree with regards to Ganja, then make that decree clear so that we may observe that decree and apply it. And you wrote to us “We were a client of Georgia”, then know it that right now the letter of your king [the king of Russia] in is our hands and in that letter, you can see that our title was Beglarbegi (governor) of Ganja and not a client of Georgia and thus your words are in contradiction with your [own] decree. And the other thing that when we get under the role of the Russian king, the Iranian king were to Khorasan and we could not reach him, and due to that [fact] the king of Russia is also great, we accepted his obedience, but now, thanks to god, the Iranian king is near and his servant general has come to us and also his army, and more of them will come [to help us].

You also wrote that “Georgia belongs to the king [of Russia] and you [- Javad Khan-] obtain fees from the merchants”. This is correct, but the first day that you entered Georgia, we wrote to you and sent men and made it clear that the Nasib is our servant and he has became rebellious and he had sealed from the merchants under our command and we thought that you were the servant of the [Russian] king and you would do as justice and take back the belongings of our merchants and hand us Nasib and other Shamss al-dinlu's that had became rebellious to us ,but you did nothing. And you can see yourself –and don't relay on the saying of the others – that the goods that we took , was from the Shamkori servants that are from Ganja and not from the Georgians.

And whenever you seek for a battle, know that we are ready for battle and if you boast about your cannon and guns, thanks to the mercy God, our cannon and guns is no less than yours. And if your canons are one gaz [meter] know that our canons are three/four gazs [meters] and victory is [only] due to God. And how do you know if you are braver than the Qizilbash [Iranian army], you have seen yourself fighting but have not seen the fighting of the Qizilbash. And you have written that to us to be ready for battle. From the time that you came to Shamss al-Dinlu and brought our people under your command, we have been preparing and we are ready for the day of battle if you want to fight. And when you wrote:" If you do not accept our words in this letter than mis fortunate will strike”, we know such thoughts have brought you here. Fate has brought you from St. Petersburg to that misfortune here. With the will of God, the highest, may your misfortune become apparent.

”