Mir Hassan Khan

After the death of previous khan in 1814, the Russians inevitably recognized the rule of his eldest son Mir Hassan Khan, but he contrary to his father's method opposed the expansionist goals of the Russians.[3] In 1821, tsar Alexander awarded him the military rank of colonel general. One of the historians of that time, Seyid-Аli wrote about this in his work “Javahirnamei-Lenkoran”: “After the death of Mir-Mostafa Khan, the leaders of His Majesty the Russian tsar entrusted the administration of the Talysh khanate to Mir Hassan Khan... He was given the rank of colonel.[3] However, due to conflicting subordination the brothers and sisters of Mir Hassan Khan were outraged, they did not like this step and even his mother Fakhrul-Nisa Khanum was outraged by this appointment of the Russian Empire and her son Mir Hassan opposed this.[3]

In particular, the predatory policy against Mir Hasan Khan was led by Major M. С. Ilinsky.[3] He secretly killed people loyal to the khan. This major, who was the commander of the Caspian naval battalion (660 people) and 50 Cossack horsemen forced the khan to flee to Iran. However, soon Ilyinsky was exiled from Talysh to the Telavi region of Georgia for causing harm to the locals.[3]

On July 25, 1826, Mir Hassan Khan with local fighters who raised an uprising and several thousand Qajar soldiers entered into battle with the Russian garrison located in Lankaran.[3] After six days of fighting major Ilyinsky retreated to the island of Sara, leaving the rebels "not a fortress, but its ruins." Thus, the Russian military administration in the Talysh khanate was overthrown.[3]

In 1826, the Talysh khanate was again captured by Russia. This time, Mir Hasan Khan was declared a traitor, and the khanate was abolished. According to article 4 of the Treaty of Turkmenchay of 1828, the lands of the Talysh khanate were to be transferred to Russia.[4] Mirza Yusuf Qarabaghi also writes about Hassan Khan's resistance to the Russian government.[5]

Representatives of the upper class were removed from administrative work, and measures were taken to undermine the authority of religious leaders among the population.[3] The amount of taxes collected from the peasants was doubled or tripled.[3] Hatred of the Russian authorities grew among the majority of the population and they sent a letter to Iran and called on Mir Hassan Khan in Lankaran to lead the movement against the Russians. In 1831, with the arrival of Mir Hassan Khan in Lankaran many districts of the province were in revolt. The government sent Russian troops stationed in the cities of Shamakhi, Shaki and Derbend against the rebels.[3] At the beginning of April 1831 the uprising was crushed. Khan again went to the homeland of the Qajars. Some rebel families were forced to move to Iran to escape punishment too.[3]

After the assassination of Alexander Griboyedov on February 11, 1829, Mir Hassan Khan took the opportunity and tried to take the region out of Russian control being in Northern Talysh, but he was arrested and handed over to Bala-khan (ruler of Kerganrud), and then to Djahangir Mirza (ruler of Ardabil) and imprisoned in the fort of Namin by order of Abbas Mirza. After enduring several months of imprisonment he again fled to Northern Talysh and tried several times to capture this area, when he was attacked by Russian troops, then he entered Southern Talash and fled to Anzali and from there to Mazandaran to the son of Fath-Ali shah.

At the end of 1831, Mir Hassan Khan was in the province of Mazandaran. The son of Fath-Ali shah, Zillisultan Ali Mirza, ruled there. It is written in "Akhbarname": "He (i.e. Ali Mirza) urgently reported the arrival of Mir Hassan Khan to Fath-Ali shah in Tehran. Fath-Ali shah was afraid and the prince sent him to Tehran. Mir Hassan Khan was poisoned and killed there. This event took place on July 30, 1832".

At the same time, the Russian military leader of the Caucasian troops Ivan Paskovich also demanded that Mir Hassan Khan be extradited to the Russian Empire and sent to Tbilisi, the capital of the Caucasian Viceroyalty.[6]

But before that happened, Mir Hassan Khan died on Thursday, July 12, 1832, in prison due to suffocation.[7] However, in the book "Akhbarname" the cause of death of Hassan Khan is called drug poisoning.[8]