It was the Islamic world's first democratic republic. In Baku, however, a coalition of Bolsheviks, Dashnaks and Mensheviks fought against a Turkish Islamic army led by Nuru Pasha. The coalition, known as the Baku Commune, inspired (or tacitly condoned) the massacre of local Muslims by Dashnak-Armenian forces. It collapsed, and was replaced by the British-controlled Centrocaspian Dictatorship in July 1918. After battles in August and September, the joint forces of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Ottoman Empire (led by Nuru Pasha) entered Baku and declared it the Azerbaijani capital on 15 September 1918.