The Erivan Khanate (; ; ), also known as , was a khanate (i.e., province) that was established in Afsharid Iran in the 18th century. It covered an area of roughly 19,500 km2, and corresponded to most of present-day central Armenia, the Iğdır Province and the Kars Province's Kağızman district in present-day Turkey and the Sharur and Sadarak districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of present-day Azerbaijan.
The provincial capital of Erivan was a center of the Iranian defenses in the Caucasus during the Russo-Iranian Wars of the 19th century. As a result of the Iranian defeat in the last Russo-Iranian War, it was occupied by Russian troops in 1827 and then ceded to the Russian Empire in 1828 in accordance with the Treaty of Turkmenchay. Immediately following this, the territories of the former Erivan Khanate and the neighboring Nakhchivan Khanate were merged to form the Armenian Oblast of the Russian Empire.
History
Administration
Under Iranian rule, the kings (shahs) appointed various governors to preside over their domains, thus creating an administrative center. These governors usually carried the title of "khan" or "beglarbeg", as well as the title of sardār (“chief”). Prior to the establishment of the khanate (i.e., province), the Iranians had used the Erivan Province (also known as ) to govern roughly the same area. Both the Safavid era province, as well as the administrative entity of the Zand and Qajar era, were alternatively known by the name of .
In the Qajar era, members of the royal Qajar dynasty were appointed as governors of the Erivan khanate, until the Russian occupation in 1828. The heads of the provincial government of the Erivan Khanate were thus directly related to the central ruling dynasty. Administratively, the khanate was divided into fifteen administrative districts called maḥals with Persian as its official language. The local bureaucracy was modeled on that of the central government, located in Tehran.
Together with the Nakchivan Khanate, the area made up part of Iranian Armenia (also known as Persian Armenia). The Erivan Khanate made up the bulk of Iranian Armenia. The remaining fringes of historic Armenia under Iranian rule were part of the Karabakh and Ganja Khanates as well as the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti.
Events and cession to Russia
Nader Shah () organized the region into four khanates: Erivan, Nakhchivan (formerly a part of ), Karabakh, and Ganja. Nader's assassination in 1747 was followed by fifteen years of disorder in the region, which allowed some of the Turkic tribes in Iranian Armenia to reassert themselves. The Qajar tribe was strengthened in Erivan, Ganja, and Nakhichevan, while the Javanshir tribe took control of Karabakh. The Georgian king Heraclius II and the Javanshir khan of Karabakh Panah Ali allied to divide Iranian Armenia into their own protectorates. In 1749, a vassal of Azad Khan named Mohammad Khan attacked the Erivan Khanate and besieged Erivan while plundering the surrounding territory. The khan of Erivan appealed to Heraclius of Kakheti and his father King Teimuraz of Kartli, offering to become their tributary in exchange for their assistance. Heraclius and Teimuraz defeated Mohammad Khan and drove him out of the Erivan Khanate. After this, the khan of Erivan was obligated to pay a yearly tribute to the Georgian kings. The khan often tried to escape this obligation, and Heraclius campaigned against the Erivan Khanate several times to exact tribute.
In 1753–54, the Erivan Khanate suffered greatly from raiding by Lezgi tribesman from the North Caucasus. By 1762, Karim Khan Zand had succeeded in reuniting Iran and reestablishing Iranian suzerainty over the khans of the Caucasus. Karim Khan took hostages from the khans' families to ensure their loyalty, but he did not meddle in Caucasian affairs. In 1765 and 1769, Heraclius II invaded the Erivan Khanate in response to Hoseyn Ali Khan's attempts to terminate payment of tribute. Both times, bloodshed was avoided through the mediation of the Armenian Catholicos Simeon of Yerevan, and Heraclius accepted the restoration of the khanate's tributary status. Karim Khan's death in 1779 precipitated another power struggle in Iran, again leading to conflict between the rulers in the Caucasus. That year, Heraclius again invaded the Erivan Khanate, devastating the land and taking a large amount of booty and prisoners, although he was unable to capture Erivan Fortress.