Tabriz Khanate
The Tabriz Khanate (, Azerbaijani: تبریز خانلیغی) was a Caucasian Khanate from 1757 to 1799, centered around Tabriz and led by members of the Turkified Kurdish Donboli tribe. History. Founding. Until the end of the Safavid dynasty, the city of Tabriz and the surrounding regions belonged to Iran and was the capital of the province (beglarbegi) of Azerbaijan. The first khan of Tabriz, Najaf Qoli Khan, had entered the service of Nader Shah after he took Khoy from the Ottomans in 1734. He would accompany many of Nader Shah's later expeditions. After the death of Nader Shah Afshar , his empire was divided among his heirs, former Afsharid generals, and local militias and tribes. With the war of succession between the Qajar and Zand princes for the throne of Iran, the Donboli lords of Khoy and Salmas established their rule in Tabriz and extended their influence over the whole province. Azad Khan Afghan, a Pashtun warlord got Azerbaijan. Tabriz became the capital of Najaf Qoli Khan's kingdom with Fath-Ali Khan Afshar as his deputy. Najaf Qoli Khan kept his rank as Amir al-Omara. Zand period. Najaf Qoli Khan and the Donbolis in general defected to Mohammad  Hasan Khan Qajar during his invasion of Azerbaijan in 1757, and as a result they were able to put Tabriz under their control. Later they pledged allegiance to Karim Khan Zand during his invasion in 1763. In 1769, Najaf Qoli Khan was appointed governor of Tabriz by Karim Khan Zand. He kept Zand's control over Azerbaijan unusually firm. After Karim Khan Zand's death in 1779, Sadiq Khan Shaqaqi and his Sarab Khanate, conquered Tabriz in 1787 and killed Khodadad Khan. Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar's invasion of Azerbaijan in 1791, destroyed the Sarab Khanate, who gave Tabriz back  to the Donbolis. In 1796, Agha Mohammad Khan was proclaimed as "shahanshah" and emperor of all of Iran. Upon his death in 1797, Sadiq Khan Shaqaqi revolted against the new Iranian ruler, Fath-Ali, and attempted to seize the lands of the Donboli, but was repulsed. Fall of the Khanate. He was pardoned but revolted again in 1798 when Jafar Khan Donboli was appointed governor of Tabriz. They eventually allied themselves against the Qajars along with the Afshars of Urmia. Fath-Ali Khan Qajar heard of the news in Dh'ul Qadah 1212 (April-May 1798) and made a farman to  discourage the elites of Tabriz from supporting the alliance. Iranian forces eventually moved into Azerbaijan, captured Urmia on June 20, and on July 1 moved towards Salmas and Khoy and deposed Jafar Qoli Khan. By then, Fath-Ali Shah had enough of Sadiq, and had him walled up and killed in the Golestan Palace in 1800. When Hossein Qoli Khan died in 1799, Jafar returned to Khoy with the support of the elders and asked Fath-Ali Shah to comfirm his position as governor of Khoy. Fath-Ali Shah refused and sent his son Abbas Mirza to deal with the  Donbolis. In June Abbas Mirza entered Tabriz, and finally defeated the Donboli army on September 17 and entered Khoy, effectively ending the Donbolis as a major political force in the region. In 1809 the Khanate of Tabriz was incorporated into the new established regency ("velayat") of the Qajar crown prince, who hold traditionally the post of vicegerent ("vali") of Azerbaijan with his seat of power at Tabriz.