On 6 February 1918, the Muslim Corps commander, Lieutenant-General Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, in a letter to the Transcaucasian Commissariat asked for the opening of a military school in Baku under the 1st Muslim Division. The Declaration of Independence of Azerbaijan (adopted on 28 May 1918) stated that Azerbaijan must have a regular army to protect itself from foreign interference and to neutralize internal enemy forces. By the fall of that year, the many structural institutions and units of the army were established, including a military school. In March 1918, a military school was opened, with officer Cahangir Zeynaloğlu being appointed as chief. After the March Days, it was decided to move the school to Ganja. The base of the school, which arrived in Ganja on 2 April, was first located in the building of the railway school, and then in the building of the local art school by 9 April. In Ganja, the military school was headed by Colonel Atif Bey of the Ottoman Army.