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Siege of Ganja
Part of Russo-Persian War (1804–1813)
A part of Ganja Fortress
Date 22 November [O.S. 10 November] 1803 – 15 January [O.S. 3 January] 1804 Location South Caucasus Ganja, Ganja Khanate, in part vassal of Persia (modern-day Azerbaijan) Result Russian victory Territorial changes Russia captures Ganja
Belligerents
Russian Empire	Persia Ganja Khanate
Commanders and leaders
Paul Tsitsianov	Javad Khan †
Strength
Six battalions of infantry: 2 battalions of Sevastopol Musketeer Regiment 3 battalions of the 17th Jaeger Regiment One Battalion from Grenadier Regiment of the Caucasus, a regiment (3 squadrons) of Narva Dragoons 165 Cossacks 700 Tatar horsemen 12 guns.	4 guns, and about 1,700 soldiers
Casualties and losses
38 killed and wounded (3 officers and 35 of the lower ranks of the Russian Army)	3,000 – 7,000 inhabitants of Ganja (executed) 1,700 soldiers (killed in fighting and executed)

The siege of Ganja (Persian: نبرد گنجه) or assault on Ganja (Russian: Штурм Гянджи) was the result of a Russian offensive in the South Caucasus intended to conquer the Ganja Khanate of Qajar Iran, which contributed to the escalation of the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813).

Prologue

After Tsar Paul's decision to annex Georgia (December 1800) and, after Paul's assassination (11 March 1801), the activist policy followed by his son and successor, Alexander I, aimed at establishing Russian control over the khanates of the eastern Caucasus. In 1803, the newly appointed commander of Russian forces in the Caucasus, Paul Tsitsianov, attacked Ganja. After Mohammad Khan Qajar invasion of Tbilisi, which Javad Khan fought alongside Agha Muḥammad Khān, Tsitsianov wrote a letter to Javad Khan, demanding a voluntary surrender:

Javad Khan answered:

After this response, the Russian troops moved forward and opened gunfire. Javad Khan defended heroically and the siege lasted a month, Tsitsianov renewed demands to surrender five times, but to no avail. "I'll take the fortress and I will deliver thee to death," - he wrote and the stubborn Khan answered: "You'll find me dead on the fortress wall !", and both vowed to fulfil their respective promises. Finally, the 14th in January 1804, the Russian council of war decided to do: "Be the assault the next day".

Battle

Tsitsianov divided the Russian troops into two columns, one was entrusted to Major-General Portnyagin (Karabagh gate) and the other to Colonel Pavel Karyagin (Tbilisi Gate). Early morning (5.00 am), January 15, the column of Portnyagin, approached the Karabagh gate and pierced a hole in the ground before the wall, but as the defenders focused their main forces there Portnyagin left it aside and stormed the ramparts with ladders. The resistance he met was so great that the Russian troops resumed the attack twice, and twice were repulsed with considerable loss. Then Portniagin rushed himself at the head of the column and first went to the wall, followed by a Lieutenant of the regiment of the Narva that fell, struck by several bullets. Then Major Bartenev of Caucasus Grenadier Regiment fell and finally, it was Lieutenant Colonel Simanovich Grenadiers that managed to climb the stairs to the wall and help out Portnyagina. Meanwhile, the second column, led by Colonel Karyagin, ascended the wall from the gate of Tbilisi, and took possession of the main tower. The other two towers were taken one by one by major Lisanevich. Javad Khan, who did not want to seek safety in flight, took the gun and sword in hand and defended himself until he was killed by captain Kalovski, who himself was immediately killed by the defenders. Khan's death brought confusion into the ranks of the defenders, but they still showed resistance and piled heavy stones.

The city at this time was in terrible confusion. Crowds of the people, on horse and foot, rushed in disorder on the streets, vainly searching for the already deceased Khan. Residents hid in their homes and barns, women filled the air with frantic cries. Meanwhile, Russian soldiers with bayonets cleared the street, entirely covered with dead bodies. By noon the battle began to subside, and broke again only for a moment when, according to Tstsianov, the soldiers came upon five hundred men, who have entrenched themselves in the Juma mosque. At first they offered to surrender, but when one Armenian said that among them are some Lezgins, it was the signal for the death of all defenders, because the hatred of Lezghins was so strong among the Russian troops.

Tsitsianov deeply appreciated the effort of the soldiers in the capture of the fortress and wrote:"...this is proof of moral superiority of Russian Empire over Persians and that spirit of confidence in the victory, will feed and warm up the soldiers that I consider as my first purpose".

The elder son of Javad Khan, Hossein Quli khan, was also killed during the battle, the rest of the khan's family was taken prisoner and years later (1812) were given permission to go to Iran via Baku. His younger son, Ughurlu, survived, went to Iran and later fought the Russian Empire when the Iranians attacked Ganja in the second Russo-Persian war.

Massacre

Various Persian and western historians have written on the dimensions of the massacre that took place after the fall of the city. Etemad ol saltane (an Iranian historian) states that the massacre that ensued after the battle continued for three days, Hedayat has a more accurate time of three hours, Abbasgulu Bakikhanov mentions the massacre but does not give more information. It is estimated that about 1,500-3,000 men died.

Shah's response

At the beginning of the battle, Javad khan sent a messenger to Fath Ali Shah and requested reinforcement. Shah gathered a 30,000-strong force and sent them to Ganja, but the force did not reach the Ganja in time because of the coldness of January and also because Hossein Khan Sardar, the governor khan of the Erevan Khanate had rebelled against the Shah and only one letter carrier, Saied Bayk, reached the town in time.

Aftermath

External image
Silver medal Awarded to Russian soldiers participating in the capture of Ganja Fortress.
Silver medal of Alexander I Awarded to Russian soldiers participating in the capture of Ganja Fortress, 1804

Taking Ganja was an event of extraordinary importance because it was considered a fortress key to the northern provinces of Persia. Thereafter, Tsitsianov changed the name of the city to Yelizavetpol, after empress consort Elizabeth Alexeievna, the wife of tsar Alexander I of Russia. Referring to the place by its old name became a crime punishable by a fine, the main mosque was turned into a church, and Russian law replaced Islamic law. However, as Swietochowski notes, the name never found acceptance amongst the Azerbaijanis, who continued to call the town Ganja.

Javad Khan's surviving wives and relatives who had not escaped to Iran (as had most of his sons) were arrested. They were held as prisoners in the citadel until 1812, when they were freed by Tsitsianov's successor Philip Paulucci, who held the view that Javad Khan was a valiant man who died fighting to defend his interests.

With Tsitianov's attack on Ganja, the Iranians saw a direct invasion of their country's territory. The issue was now no longer to impose tribute on the Lezgins or about re-asserting Persian domination over Christian Georgia, which had happened several years before; now, the integrity of Shi'ite Iran itself had been violated by the invasion of the town of Ganja.

Immigration

Two years after the Russian occupation of Ganja, Ugurlu Khan, the son of Javad Khan, with the assistance of crown prince Abbas Mirza, moved many inhabitants of Ganja across the Iranian border, and the protection of 6,000 families of inhabitants of Ganja was entrusted to Pir-Gholi khan Qajar, who moved them to Tabriz. Then in 1809, the Borchali and Ayrumlu tribes of Ganja moved to Nakhchivan, where they were renamed to Qarapapaq (Black hat in Azeri language), and finally after Nakhchivan was ceded to Russia, they went to Solduz (Naqadeh) in Iranian West Azerbaijan Province. Other main places of Qarapapaq residence are the provinces of Ardahan (around Lake Çıldır), Kars and Iğdır in Turkey.

Notes

a. Iranian historians like Donbuli, blames the Armenians of Ganja and Nasib beg Shams-od-dinlu for the fall of the fortress and accuse the Armenians for opening the gate for capturing the tower .

See also

• Ganja Fortress

References

1. ^ Mansoori, Firooz (2008). "17". Studies in History,Language and Culture of Azerbaijan (in Persian). Tehran: Hazar-e Kerman. p. 245. ISBN 978-600-90271-1-8.
2. Russia in the Nineteenth Century. Volume II of The History of Russia. Edited by M. V. Nechkina. 1953. P. 52

   The khanates of Eastern Transcaucasia were in part semi-independent state structures and in part vassals of Iran, for instance the Khanate of Erevan, which had grown up on the territory of Armenia, or of Georgia, such as the Khanate of Ganja in Azerbaijan.

3. Fischer, William Bayne; et al. (1991). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press. p. 332. (..) "In Tsitsianov's attack on Ganja the Iranians saw a direct invasion of their country's territory.
4. Swietochowski, Tadeusz (1995). Russia and Azerbaijan. Columbia Press. p. 5. (..) The Treaty of Gulistan, which was signed on 12 October 1813, provided for the incorporation into the Russian Empire of vast tracts of Iranian territory, including the khanates of Karabakh, Ganja, Sheki, Shirvan, Derbent, Kuba, Baku and Talysh.
5. ^ Potto Vasily Alekseevich, Caucasian war from ancient times to Ermolova Book One,Tsentrpoligraf (2008),ISBN 5952431518, section VII. (PRINCE Tsitsianov), (in Russian)
6. Peter Avery; William Bayne Fisher, Gavin Hambly, Charles Melville (1991-10-25). The Cambridge history of Iran: From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic. Cambridge University Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0-521-20095-0.
7. John F. Baddeley, The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus, London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1908, p. 67, citing "Tsitsianoff's report to the Emperor: Akti, ix (supplement), p. 920".
8. The Siege and Assault of Fortress Ganja Archived 2014-05-19 at the Wayback Machine,(in Russian)
9. Daniel, Elton L. "Golestān Treaty". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
10. kavosi, Mohammad hassan (1994). Some Documents of the Relations Between Caucasia & Iran (in Persian). Tehran: Iranian foreign office(Bureau for Publication of Documents). p. 160.
11. ^ Владыкин М. Н. Путеводитель и собеседник в путешествии по Кавказу. — 2-е изд.. — М., 1885. — С. 261.
12. ^ Бабаев Э. Из истории Гянджинского ханства. — Б.: Нурлан, 2003. — С. 104. — 232 с.
13. Харитонов И. За Царя, за Родину, за веру! Герои и войны российской армии (1695-1918). — М.: Феникс, 2000. — С. 102. — 303 с.
14. Бобровский П. О. Исторiя 13-го Лейбъ-Гренадерскаго Эриванскаго Его Величества полка за 250 лѣтъ. Часть третья. — СПб., 1893. — С. 214. — 393 с.
15. Bournoutian, George A. (2004). Two chronicles on the history of Karabagh : Mirza Jamal Javanshr's Tarikh-e Qarabagh and Mirza Adigozal Beg's Qarabagh-Nameh / Introduction and annotated by George A.Bournoutian. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publication. ISBN 978-1-56859-179-7. page 117
16. Etemad ol Saltane, Mohammad Hasan Khan (1984–1985). "III". Montazam-e Naseri. Tehran. p. 1469.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
17. Hedayat, Reza Qoli Khan (1961). "IX". Tarikh e Rouzat ol safa. Qom. p. 390.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
18. Bakikhanov, Abbasgulu (1383). Golestan-e Eram. Tehran: Ghughnoos Publication. ISBN 978-964-311-432-9.page 209
19. Peter Avery; William Bayne Fisher; Gavin Hambly; Charles Melville (1991-10-25). The Cambridge history of Iran: From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic. Cambridge University Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0-521-20095-0.
20. ^ Donbuli, Abd-al Razagh. Gholam-hussain Sadri Afshar (ed.). Maaser al Sultaniyeh (in Persian) (2nd ed.). Tehran: Ibn Sina. p. 109.
21. Andreeva, Elena. "Russo-Iranian Relations up to the Bolshevik Revolution". Encyclopædia Iranica Online Edition. Retrieved 2 April 2014. Tsitisianov stormed the citadel, massacred between 1,500 and 3,000 inhabitants, made Ganja a district of Georgia and renamed it Elizavetpol in honour of the Emperor's wife. Referring to the place by its old name became a crime punishable by a fine, the main mosque was turned into a church, and Russian law replaced Islamic law
22. Swietochowski, Tadeusz. Russian Azerbaijan, 1905-1920: The Shaping of a National Identity in a Muslim Community Cambridge University Press, 7 June 2004 ISBN 978-0521522458 page 4
23. Atkin, Muriel (1980). Russia and Iran, 1780-1828. Univ Of Minnesota Press; Minnesota Archive Editions edition. p. 84. ISBN 978-0816656974.
24. ^ Fisher et al. 1991, p. 332.
25. Oberling, P. "ĀYRĪMLŪ". Encyclopædia Iranica Online Edition. Retrieved 14 April 2012. Following the treaty of Torkamāṇčāy, in 1828 through which Iran lost the provinces of Īravān (Erevan) and Naḵjavān, ʿAbbās Mīrzā, the crown prince, who valued the fighting ability of Turkic tribesmen, encouraged several Turkic tribes which dwelled in the ceded provinces to settle down south of the Aras (Araxes) river, offering them fertile lands and lush pastures as a reward. One of these was the Āyrīmlū tribe, which moved from its ancestral holdings in the vicinity of Gümrü (later Alexandropol, and later still Leninakan) to Āvājīq, a district to the west of Mākū

Sources

• Bournoutian, George (2021). From the Kur to the Aras: A Military History of Russia's Move into the South Caucasus and the First Russo-Iranian War, 1801–1813. Brill. ISBN 978-9004445154.
• Fisher, William Bayne; Avery, P.; Hambly, G. R. G; Melville, C. (1991). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 7. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521200950.

External links

• The Siege and Assault of Fortress Ganja(in Russian)

• Battles of the Russo-Persian Wars
• Conflicts in 1804
• 1804 in the Russian Empire
• Battles involving Qajar Iran
• Ganja Khanate
• 1804 in Iran
• History of Ganja, Azerbaijan
• November 1803 events
• December 1803 events
• January 1804 events
• Massacres committed by the Russian Empire
• Massacres in Azerbaijan
• Sieges involving the Russian Empire