page_title: Russian conquest of the Caucasus
section_title: By place
hierarchical_section_title: Russian conquest of the Caucasus / Caspian coast / By place
caption_attribution_description: English: Location map of Azerbaijan. Equirectangular projection. Strechted by 131.0%. Geographic limits of the map: * N: 42.0° N * S: 38.2° N * W: 44.5° E * E: 51.0° E Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.
context_page_description: The Russian conquest of the Caucasus mainly occurred between 1800 and 1864. In that era the Russian Empire expanded to control the region between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, the territory that is modern Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Iran and Turkey, as well as the North Caucasus region of modern Russia. Multiple wars were fought against the local rulers of the regions, as well as the dominant powers, the Ottoman Empire and Persian Empire, for control. By 1864 the last regions were brought under Russian control.
context_section_description: Terek River: The Terek Cossacks were settled here from perhaps 1520 or 1563. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries it was the nominal border between Russia and Persia, although neither empire had much control over the region.
  Sulak River: Russia held the Holy Cross Fort in 1722-35.
  Tarki was closest to Russia and far from Persia.  In 1594 Tarki was captured by Boyar Khvorostin in support of a Georgian king, but he was driven off. The Shamkhalate of Tarki separated from Gazikumukh in 1642.  In 1668 Stenka Razin was defeated by the Shamkhal. In 1722 Peter the Great was admitted to Tarki. In 1786 it accepted nominal Russian sovereignty. In 1806 the Shamkhal supported the Russian attack on Derbent. In 1821 the Russians built Fort Burnaya on the rocks above Tarki. In 1831 the town was briefly occupied by Kazi Mulla. In 1839  Burnaya was moved downhill to Nezovoye and in 1844 or before the port of Petrovsk was built which grew into Makhachkala, the current capital of Dagestan. The Shamkhalate was abolished in 1867.
  Kaitag, Karakaitag or Qaytaq is not well documented in English. Its ruler was called the Utsmi and its chief towns Bashli and Kayakent. During Peter the Great's invasion he sent four envoys to Kaitag.  The Utsmi killed them and gathered 16000 men to resist. They were defeated at "Utemish a few miles inland from Kayakent" and all the prisoners were hanged in revenge for the murder of the envoys. Around 1774 the Utsmi captured Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin, who died in captivity. Catherine sent General Medem on a punitive expedition which also captured Derbent (March 1775).  In 1818 Colonel Pestel tried to take Bashli and was driven back to Derbent with a loss of 500 men. Bashli was taken by Valerian Madatov, the Utsmi fled to Akusha, his subjects renounced him and they took an oath to the Czar.
  Derbent is at a narrow point on the Caspian coast. This ancient walled city was long regarded as the northern gate of Persia.  It had no natural harbor. The Derbent Khanate lasted from 1747 to 1806.  Its rulers were a branch of the Avars. In 1765-99 it was ruled by the larger Quba Khanate. It was captured four times by the Russians:  1) 1722: It was controlled by Russia from 1722-35 following Peter the Great's campaign. 2) In 1775, in revenge for the death of Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin, Catherine the Great sent General Medem against the Utsmi of Karakaitag.  The Utsmi was besieging Derbent.  He was defeated, Derbent was occupied without much justification and then evacuated. 3)  In 1796 it was captured by Valerian Zubov after 2-month siege.  The khan, Shaykh Ali was made prisoner, made a daring escape, went to Gazikumukh, defeated a Russian detachment near Alpani and raided the Russians until they withdrew in May 1797.  4) In 1806, to avenge the disaster at Baku, General Glazenap left the North Caucasus Line, crossed the Aktash country to Tarki and gained the Shamkhal's support.  Shaykh Ali being unpopular with his subjects, the Shamkhal sent emissaries to stir up trouble. When the Russians crossed the border a rebellion broke out, the khan fled and Derbent was occupied without a shot (22 June 1806). From then on it was a Russian base and refuge when things were difficult in the interior.
  Quba: Quba Khanate, based inland, held much of the coast from Derbent to Baku. Its core was protected by rivers and forests and it exported food. Under Fatali Khan (1758–89) it greatly expanded. It submitted to Zubov in 1796. About 1804 the Quba Khan broke an attempted siege of Baku. It submitted to Gazenap's successor in 1806 and was annexed along with Baku.
  Baku: Baku was practically a city-state, had the only good harbor on the west coast and was the foremost commercial center in the western Caucasus. In 1723-35 it was held by Russia. The Baku Khanate lasted from then until 1806. In 1768/72 it was ruled by Quba. In 1796 it was taken by Zubov. In summer 1805 the Caspian Flotilla besieged Baku but was driven off by the Khan of Quba. Tsitsianov was killed here while accepting a feigned surrender. (Both times there was a mass exodus from the cit
caption: Khanates on a map of Azerbaijan
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