Hajji Mohammad Ali Khan governed Shirvan until 1763, when
Fath-Ali Khan of
Quba gained influence there, and appointed his own governors, such as
Aghasi Beg and Askar Beg, both members of the same family. Askar Beg, along with supporters from the Khanchoban tribe, returned to Old Shamakhi, and soon became powerful enough to establish control over New Shamakhi. Aghasi Beg and another family member Mohammad Sa'id successfully acquired the title of
khan from Karim Khan Zand. The family were in control of Shirvan until 1767, when a combined army from Quba and
Shakki captured Old Shamakhi. Fath-Ali Khan of Quba had Mohammad Sa'id imprisoned, while
Hosein Khan of Shakki had Aghasi Khan blinded. Shirvan was subsequently divided between Quba and Shakki. Nevertheless, Aghasi Khan later managed to restore his control over Shirvan, in 1774. He was later succeeded by his son
Mostafa Khan. In 1790,
Shirvan khans restored their authorities. After the
massacre in Ganja, Mostafa Khan asked the central government in
Tehran for assistance, in order to prevent
Tsitsianov's advance. The government responded by sending an army under general
Pir Qoli Khan Qajar. However, when the general had reached the
Mughan plain, he found out that Mostafa Khan had entered negotiations with the Russians. Mostafa Khan hoped that the Russians would recognize a Shirvan Khanate "enlarged" to the boundaries of the
Shirvanshah's of the Medieval era. Though Mostafa Khan was uncomfortable with Tsitsianov's proposal, the latter threatened that if he would not agree with his terms, he would replace Mostafa with his younger brother (who was reportedly enthusiastic about it). Anyhow, the Russians invaded the khanate, and on 6 January 1806, Mostafa Khan was forced to submit. Mostafa Khan was allowed to administer the khanate and had to give an annual tribute in gold rubles to the Russians. Furthermore, he had to send hostages to
Tiflis (Tbilisi), which had recently been annexed and transformed into the "base" of the Russian
Caucasus Viceroyalty. Lastly, he also had to provide food and accommodation for the Russian garrisons. After Tsitsianov was killed in
Baku in 1806, Mostafa Khan repudiated his allegiance to the Russians, and re-submitted himself to the
shah. Things changed when
Aleksey Yermolov took office as the new Russian commander-in-chief in the Caucasus, in 1816. A staunch Russian imperialist, Yermolov was committed to bringing the entire Caucasus under the Russian sway. He wanted to establish the
Aras river as the border between Iran and Russia at all costs, and was therefore determined to conquer the last remaining khanates under Iranian rule; the
Erivan Khanate and the
Nakchivan Khanate. When Ismail, the
khan of Shaki, died in 1819 without any heir, Yermolov annexed the entity. Realizing what was going to happen to himself, Mostafa Khan fled to mainland Iran in 1820 with his son; Yermolov did not waste any time to annex the Shirvan Khanate. Several years later, in violation of the
Gulistan treaty (1813), the Russians invaded Iran's Erivan Khanate. This sparked the final bout of hostilities between the two; the
Russo-Iranian War of 1826-1828. Crown prince
Abbas Mirza led a full-scale attack in the summer of 1826 order to recover the Iranian territories that had been lost by the Gulistan treaty. The war started off well for the Iranians; they quickly recaptured
Ganja, Shirvan and
Shaki amongst others, and performed attacks on Tiflis. The government then reinstated Mostafa in Shirvan. However, just a few months later, the tide had completely turned with the Iranian army suffering decisive defeats against the militarily superior Russians. In September 1826, Abbas Mirza was
defeated at Ganja by
Ivan Paskevich, and thus the army had to retreat over the Aras. Mostafa Khan, accompanied by a small retinue, fled once again to mainland Iran. == Administration ==