Haji Chalabi Azerbaijani military leader, khan and politician Date of Birth: 01.01.1703 Country: Azerbaijan

1. Ancestry and Early Life
2. Military Campaigns against Nader Shah
3. Founding the Sheki Khanate
4. Diplomatic and Military Conflicts

Ancestry and Early Life

Haji Chelebi, a prominent Azerbaijani military leader, khan, and political figure, was born in the mid-18th century. His origins are shrouded in some uncertainty. According to some sources, he was a descendant of the Armenian priest Kara-Keshis. His father was Ketkhuda-Qurban, and his grandfather was Ali-Jan-bek. The Encyclopedia Britannica claims that Haji Chelebi was the grandson of an Armenian priest who converted to Islam, while Georgian King Irakli II stated that Haji Chelebi's paternal grandfather was an Armenian priest who embraced Islam.

Military Campaigns against Nader Shah

Haji Chelebi participated in the war against the central Persian authority in the early 1740s. In 1743, he played a significant role in the assassination of Nader Shah's governor in Sheki, Melik Najaf. Nader Shah retaliated by besieging the Gelyarsan-Gorarsan fortress, where Haji Chelebi had taken refuge. Haji Chelebi's defiant response to Nader Shah's surrender demand became legendary, and the fortress was renamed "Gelersen-Gorelsen" ("You Will See If You Come"). Nader Shah lifted the siege in 1745 without capturing the fortress.

Founding the Sheki Khanate

Following Nader Shah's death, Haji Chelebi established the independent Sheki Khanate in the mid-18th century. Sheki flourished under his rule, with improvements in infrastructure and living standards. Haji Chelebi built a mosque, a madrasah, and a bathhouse in the khanate's capital, Nukha. He also reformed and strengthened his army, making Sheki one of the most powerful khanates in Transcaucasia.

Diplomatic and Military Conflicts

Haji Chelebi's military might and ambitions brought him into conflict with neighboring khans. In 1748, he was targeted by a conspiracy involving the khans of Karabakh, Nakhichevan, Ganja, and Garadag, but the plot was exposed and the conspirators were imprisoned by King Teimuraz II of Georgia. In 1752, Haji Chelebi's forces clashed with the Georgian army led by King Irakli II in the Battle of Borchali. The Sheki army emerged victorious, and Haji Chelebi appointed his deputy, Agakishi-bek, as governor of the territory between Ganja and Borchali.

In 1755, Haji Chelebi attempted to assert his dominance over the Shirvan Khanate but was defeated by Huseynali Khan Qubinsky. This military setback weakened the Sheki Khanate, and Haji Chelebi's power declined.