The political situation in Azerbaijan at the beginning of the 18th century

The third country that joined the struggle for the Caucasus.
In the 16th century, the Moscow kingdom, which occupied the
Khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan, had direct access to the Caspian Sea.
After these invasions, the political influence of the Russians in the North
Caucasus began to strengthen. In the middle of the 17th century, the
Russians, eager to advance into the interior of the Caucasus, began to
build fortresses near the borders of the Safavids.
These fortresses were to be military bases and serve the strategic
interests of the Moscow tsars.
In the second half of the 17th century, the historical Silk Road was
losing its importance. This process, which began after great
geographical discoveries, had a negative impact on the economic life of
Eastern countries located on the Silk Road.
The Safavid state also faced huge financial losses. The Safavid shahs,
trying to make up for the losses, began to pay special attention to trade
relations with Moscow. This also met the strategic interests of Moscow,
which has been trying to monopolize the silk trade between Eastern
and Western countries for a long time. The revitalization of the Volga-
Caspian trade route also created conditions for the economic expansion
of Russia to Eastern countries, which had already become a state with a
large territory.
Shah Suleiman (1666-1694), who came to power after the death of
Abbas II, signed an agreement with the Russian state. In this treaty,
signed in 1667, Russian merchants were granted extensive privileges:
they received the right to trade without customs and other privileges in
the territory of the Safavid state during the reign of the Safavid dynasty.
According to Shah Suleiman's decree, local judges were required to
treat Russian merchants with special respect.
The revival of the Volga-Caspian trade route created conditions for the
beginning of bandit raids. Russian Cossacks were particularly active in
this field. Their biggest robber raid is associated with the name of
Stepan Razin. In the summer of 1668, Razin, who went down to the
Caspian Sea with his ships, looted the settlements along the coast from
Darband to Gilan with his band of robbers and returned with great
booty. The Russian tsars were determined to prevent such marches.
The captured Razin was also severely punished.
During the reign of Shah Abbas II and his son Shah Suleiman, the
Safavid shahs preferred to live in peace with neighboring states, avoid
conflicts and expand trade relations. They repeatedly disappointed the
European and Russian ambassadors who tried to drag the Safavids into
a new war with the Ottoman state with their decisive answers.

Economic recession or the beginning of the end. Towards the end of

the 17th century, the Safavid state faced a severe economic crisis. The
crisis, which covered all areas of economic life, had economic and
political reasons.
Economic reasons:
The loss of importance of the Silk Road and the weakening of
traditional trade relations;
The decrease of silk export, which is the main source of income of the
state;
As a result of the weakening of foreign trade, the shortage of money in
the country, the circulation of fake money;
Failure of artificial irrigation networks and reduction of cultivated areas.
Political reasons:
• Mistakes made in administration, incompetent persons finding
their way into the state administration apparatus;
• Official arbitrariness, corruption of civil bureaucracy.
• Shah Sultan Hussain's attempts to get the state out of crisis. Shah
Sultan Hussein (1694-1722), who came to power at the end of the
17th century, took a number of unsuccessful steps to save the
country from the crisis it had fallen into.
• First, trying to eliminate the monetary crisis, the king melted
down the gold and silver items on the graves of his ancestors in
Ardabil and minted them. But this measure did not work.
• The financial crisis in the country deepened, state revenues
decreased, and the treasury was emptied. The king, who spends
most of his time in entertainment, decided to raise taxes this time
to fill the treasury.

For this purpose, in 1699-1702, the population and the

population's property were listed. New taxes were introduced.
Taxes, which were three times higher than before, made it even
more difficult for the population to live. Moreover, the drought
that engulfed Azerbaijan at the beginning of the 18th century
caused a terrible famine.
The weakening of the central government made it possible for
officials to embezzle a large part of the collected taxes.
Jar Uprising
Heavy taxes and official arbitrariness led to revolts against the
shah and his disgruntled local officials. In the first quarter of the
18th century, people's protests and uprisings covered all parts of
the empire, including Azerbaijan.
People of Jar (modern Zagatala) revolted twice in 1707 and 1711.
They were paid from the treasury in exchange for protecting the
northern borders of the state.
The fact that Shirvan Baylarbey stopped the payment arbitrarily
caused their anger. The dissatisfied population of Shirvan also
joined the rebels. Hasanali Khan, Beylarbey of Shirvan, who tried
to suppress the rebellion, was himself defeated and killed.

Shirvan’s Revolt
In 1709, the Afghan tribes revolted and captured Kandahar. Shah
Sultan Husayn's half-hearted policy undermined the people's trust
in the Safavid dynasty, and when the forces dissatisfied with the
central government became active, it became difficult to suppress
the uprisings.
In 1719, another rebellion against the Safavids took place in
Shirvan. The uprising was led by Haji Davud from Dadali village of
Mushkur district. He planned to occupy the administrative center
of Shirvan by creating an alliance with Ahmed Khan of Gaitag and
Surkhay Khan of Qazigumug. The royal troops sent to Shirvan
combined with the forces of the local judges succeeded in
suppressing the rebellion and arresting Haji Davud. However, Haji
Davud, who soon escaped from Darbend prison, asked for military
assistance from Russia.
He did not hide his desire to free Shirvan from the Safavids and
become the head of the independent state of Shirvan under the
protection of Russia by writing a letter to the Russian ruling
circles.
The Russian government, which closely followed the events in the
center of the Safavid state, rejected Haji Davud's proposal. Haji
Davud's wishes did not correspond to the interests of the Russian
authorities, which were preparing to seize the Caspian coast
regions.
Haji Davud, who restored the alliance with Surkhay Khan of
Qazigumugh, soon occupied Shamakhi, the administrative center
of Shirvan. During the robberies in the city, several Russian
merchants were killed and their goods were looted.
Concerned about possible Russian intervention, Haji Davud
appealed to the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III for protection.
Concerned about Peter I's march to the Caspian coast, Sultan
Ahmad III accepted Haji Davud's offer of patronage.
Shirvan was recognized as a semi-independent khanate under
Ottoman protection. Thus, the actions of Haji Davud gave an
excuse for the intervention of Russia and the Ottoman state in
Azerbaijan, and Russia joined the competition for Azerbaijan for
the first time.
The Afghans captured Isfahan
 In March 1722, the Afghans captured Isfahan, the capital of the
Safavids, and captured Shah Sultan Hussein and the members of
the dynasty. Only one of the king's sons, Tahmasib, managed to
escape to Astaraba, where he declared himself king under the
name of Tahmasib II.
Questions:
• Why did King Suleiman give wide privileges to Russian merchants?
• Do you think it was possible to prevent the uprisings in the 18th
century?
• What were the reasons for Russia's activation in the Caucasus?
Identify the similarities between the activities of Abbas II and
Shah Suleiman.