In the 11th century, the Seljuk dynasty of the Oghuz Turkic origin, which emerged in Central Asia, crossed the Araz River while marching to Gilan and then reached Arran.
[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] After the death of Toghrul, Alp Arslan and his vizier Nizam ul-Mulk visited Ganja during the reign of Fazl Muhammad II, who came to power after Abulasvar Shavur.
A cadet branch of Shaddadids continued to rule in Ani and Tbilisi as vassals of the Seljuq Empire until 1175 when Malik-Shah I deposed Fadl III.
[8][9][2][10][11] Referring to the work of Minorsky, Azerbaijani historian Sara Ashurbeyli states that in 1066–067, during the reign of Shah Fariborz b. Sallār (1063–1096), ruler of Shirvanshahs, Seljuk Turks headed by commander Qarategin made great marches to Shamakhi and Baku, and then Shah I Fariburz accepted to be dependent on the Seljuks by paying 40,000 dinars a year.
[4] Coins from the reign of Manuchohr III also show that the state of the Shirvanshahs at that time depended on the Iraqi Seljuk sultan Malik Shah.
In 1160, after the death of Manuchehr III, Tamar joined the power struggle between her sons and tried to unite Shirvan with Georgia with the help of Kipchak mercenaries.
Manuchehr's older son, Akhsitan I (1160–1197), won the battle for the throne, forcing Tamar and his younger brother to flee to Georgia with the support of the Eldeniz dynasty.
[13][14] The absence of the sultan's name on the coins minted during the reign of his son Akhsitan I indicates that the Seljuk state was already weakened and the Shirvanshahs were independent.
[16][7] According to Minorsky, the Sultan of Iraqi Seljuks, Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud, gave Seljuq province of Arran (amongst others) to Kipchak slave Shamseddin Eldeniz (Eldiguz) as iqta in 1137.
His marriage to the Mumine Khatun enabled him to intervene in the dynasty dispute between the Seljuk sultans of Iraq, which began after Masud's death in 1152.
[20][16][21] Eldeniz had married the widow of the Seljuq ruler Toghrïl II and proclaimed Great Atabeg (guardian) of his stepson, Arslanshah in 1161 and became the main protector of the Sultan's government.
[20][23] Pahlavan transferred the capital from Nakhchivan to Hamadan in western Iran and made his younger brother, Qizil Arslan Uthman, the ruler of the political entity.
[26] Muhammad Jahan Pahlavan entrusted the management of Arran to his son Nusrat al-Din Abu Bakr and made Qizil Arslan his governor.
Even Shirvanshah Akhsitan I who used to be Atabegs’ liegeman attempted to intervene the interior affairs of the Eldiguzids and opposed Qizil Arslans aspiration to the throne.
Qizil Arslan’s nephews began to rule independently, and one of the Mamluks of Jahan Pahlavan, Mahmud Anas Oglu, freed Toghrul III from his prison and regains the sultanate throne in May 1192.
[29][30][31] The Mausoleum of Yusif ibn Kuseyir was built in 1161–1162 and was decorated with geometric patterns of baked brick in Karabaglar village of Nakchivan city, the capital of the Atabegs state.
Mausoleum was erected on the grave of Shams ad-Din Eldiguz’s wife Momine Khatun, and its construction was finished by Mahammad Jahan Pahlavan.
The Gulustan mausoleum is one of the remarkable architectural monuments of the early 13th century, which demonstrates the genetic commonality of the tombs in Azerbaijan and Anatolia.
[35] Khagani (1120–1199), one of the poets born in the cities of Azerbaijan in the XII century, lived in Shirvan, in the palace of Shirvanshahs and composed a Divan consist of qasidas.
Eskandar-Nâmeh (The Book of Alexander, 1196–1202) was dedicated to Nusrat al-Din Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad, Atabegs of Azerbaijan, and Malik Izzaddin, the ruler of Mosul.
Thinking that the Mongols would stay in Arran until the Spring, the Georgians began gathering an army, asking for help from Malik Ashraf of Akhlat and Uzbek, the Atabag of Azerbaijan.
Subotai and Jebe received reinforcements from Genghis Khan and recruited local Turkish and Kurdish forces under the command of Akush, a disloyal underling of Atabag Uzbek.
[52][53] During 1244–1255, Arghun Agha was nominated as a civil governor and head of finances in the Mongol-controlled area of Khorasan, Irak-Ajem, Azerbaijan, Shirvan, Kerman, Georgia, and that part of Hindistan.
According to Rašid- al-Din, it was not just a military campaign but also the mass migration of a large portion of the Mongolian people to Persia and the neighboring countries.
[2] In consequence of which, Abu Sa'id died without an heir or an appointed successor, thus leaving the Ilkhanate vulnerable, leading to clashes of the major families, such as the Chupanids, the Jalayirids.
[64][65][66][67][68] In 1364 Shaykh Uways Jalayir campaigned against the Shirvan Shah Kai-Ka’us, but a revolt begun by the governor of Baghdad, Khwaja Mirjan, forced him to return to reassert his authority.
[60] According to Zayn al- Dīn Qazvīnī and Ḥāfiẓ Abrū, Kā’ūs readily overpowered all of Shirvan and Darband for Shaykh Uways Jalayir, and remained a faithful servant as long as he lived.
Kara Koyunlu or Qara Qoyunlu were a Muslim Turkoman monarchy that ruled over the territory comprising present-day Azerbaijan and other parts of Caucasus from about 1375 to 1468.
[70] The Kara Koyunlu Turkomans were initially vassals of the Jalairid Sultanate in Baghdad and Tabriz from about 1375, when the leader of their leading tribe ruled over Mosul.
Hopeless Jahangir sent his mother Sara Khatun to Mamluk Egypt while Jahan Shah started to support his half-brother Sheikh Hasan.