He declared his independence as the khan when Nader was murdered in 1747. Using power vacuum, Chalabi raided south as far as
Tabriz and became a major power in the region with strong army. His first target was
Karabakh in 1748, where he made an alliance of
Melikdoms of Karabakh and rival branches of
Javanshir clan, although nothing came out of it. Alarmed local rulers, namely
Panah khan of
Karabakh, Heydargulu khan of
Nakhchivan,
Shahverdi khan of Ganja, Kazim khan of
Karadagh concluded alliance against
Shaki Khanate. They were invited by
Teimuraz II who wished to join their alliance, but in fact capturing them as hostages, demanding tributes. Having received the news, Chalabi khan and his army rushed to the aid of their former enemies. His forces prevailed in the battle against Georgian prince
Heraclius in June 1752 near
Aghstafa river and routed them to
Tbilisi. Chalabi khan appointed his son Aghakishi beg as viceroy to newly conquered territories of
Ganja,
Kazakh and
Borchali. Subsequently, in 1755, in an attempt to establish his hegemony over the
Shirvan Khanate, Haji Chalabi was defeated by Huseynali khan of
Quba and the result of this defeat was the decline of the power of Sheki Khanate. Chalabi died same year from an illness. == Religious policy ==