Javad Khan Qajar (; ; c. 1748 – 1804) was a member Ziyadoghlu Qajar, a clan of the Qajar tribe, as well as the sixth and the last khan of the Ganja Khanate from 1786 to 1804 before it was lost to Russia.
Background
Javad was born in 1748 as a son of Shahverdi Khan and his wife Sharafjahan Khanum. He fled to Ibrahim Khalil khan of Karabakh in 1778 when his elder half-brother Muhammad Khan of Ganja usurped the throne and started to kill all his relatives.
Early reign
Javad Khan succeeded his brother Rahim Khan after his deposition through Georgian-Karabakh intervention in 1786. With the accession to power, Javad Khan faced a threat from Georgia. In order to somehow appease Heraclius II, Ibrahim Khan decided to cede Shamkhor to Georgia. He managed to convince Javad Khan that such a step is being taken for the sake of the security of Ganja from Georgia. Javad Khan's representative, Armenian melik Misael (head of Gazakh Armenians), Ibrahim Khalil's envoy Hazrat Qoli and Prince Kaikhosro Andronikashvili (Georgian ambassador to Karabakh) went to report to Heraclius that Ganja has no claims to Shamkhor. In turn, the representative of Javad Khan, melik Misail, reported that as a sign of friendship, Javad sends half of his annual income to the king. However, at the insistence of colonel Stepan Burnashev, head of the Russian military-diplomatic mission in Georgia, Heraclius refused the treaty and demanded from Ibrahim Khalil to abandon Ganja to his authority in full.
Outraged by these demands of Heraclius, the envoys of Karabakh returned home. These events greatly worsened relations with Georgia, and by the end of 1786 they took on a clearly hostile character. At the beginning of 1787, Heraclius, who had up to 6000 soldiers under arms, suggested that colonel Burnashev make a joint campaign against Ganja and Karabakh. However, pursuing a wait-and-see policy, Burnashev evaded this proposal, arguing that Karabakh was allegedly an Iranian possession. Heraclius also supported Armenian meliks Abov and Mejlum - respectively meliks of Gulistan and Jraberd - who had been at enmity with khan of Karabakh all these years. Armenians from the territory of the Ganja Khanate in the amount of 2500 households also decided to move to Georgia under the leadership of melik Misail, the former envoy of Javad Khan. However, Melik Misail could not put his plan into practice, because he was soon arrested by the supporters of Javad Khan.
Yet another unrest started same year in Ganja, trying to use opportunity in September 1787, a combined Georgia and Russian army under the command of Colonel Burnashev marched to Ganja. However, Ibrahim Khalil Khan's march on Armenian meliks and stopped any hope for support from southern side. However, the meliks, who had been waiting for this campaign for a long time, turned to Heraclius II with a request to help them resettle in Georgia. Heraclius II sent a 4000-strong army led by Prince Orbeliani and his son Prince Iulon to help them. The negotiations that began with Javad Khan were suddenly interrupted, because on September 13 an order came from Pavel Potemkin on the immediate withdrawal of Russian battalions from the South Caucasus due break of Russian-Turkish war. Burnashev, who, nevertheless, wanted to fulfill the order of Heraclius, but couldn't waive the order of his superiors, stayed at Ganja for another three days. His request, sent by courier to Potemkin, to leave the battalion in Georgia at least until spring, was also rejected. In early October 1787, Burnashev's jaeger battalions left for Vladikavkaz. After series of battles and depriving of one more ally, forced the Georgian troops to retreat. A fragile peace ensued and the Georgia king Erekle II granted Javad Khan control over Shamshadil, in return Javad returned part of the inhabitants of Borchali and Qazakh to the Georgian king.
Meanwhile, Heraclius II managed to establish diplomatic relations with Fath Ali Khan of Quba. For this purpose, Prince Georgi Tsitsishvili and Gurgen bek Enikolopashvili were Georgian ambassadors to Quba, while Mirza Rahim, Fatali Khan's envoy Haji, was sent to Tiflis. This circumstance made it possible for Heraclius not only to strengthen his rear, but also to have an ally in the fight against the Karabakh Khan, who dominated Ganja. In December 1788, Heraclius now allied with Fath Ali Khan of Quba and Muhammad Hasan Khan of Shaki was able to capture the outskirts of Ganja. In early 1789, Georgian troops led by the son of Heraclius, Prince Vakhtang, defeated Javad Khan. The matter worsened for Karabakh by the fact that the ally of Ibrahim Khan, Umma Khan of Avar Khanate, due to illness, could not help his ally.