Jafar al-Javad Khan Ziyad oghlu Qajar was a member of the Qajar dynasty, and the last khan of the Ganja khanate from 1786 to 1804.
Biography
Javad Khan was a son of Shahverdi Khan and brother of Rahim Khan. Javad Khan succeeded his brother on Rahim Khan's deposition through Georgian intervention in 1786. Alike the then ruling dynasty of Iran, Javad Khan was a member of the Qajar tribe. With the accession to power, Javad Khan faced a threat from Georgia. In September 1787, a combined Georgia and Russian army under the command of Colonel Burnashev marched to Ganja, but the ongoing Russo-Turkish war forced the allies to withdraw. A fragile peace ensued and the Georgia king Erekle II granted Javad Khan control over Shamshadilu, but the khan of Ganja failed to bring the district into submission. In early 1789 Erekle II, now allied with Fath Ali Khan of Quba and Muhammad Hasan Khan of Shaki, attacked Ganja and Javad Khan had to abandon his capital without fighting. After three months, Fath Ali Khan died and Javad was able to resume his reign. His political orientation was pro-Iranian that brought him in conflict with Georgia and Russia. In 1795, Javad Khan of Ganja joined the Iranian expedition against Georgia. Erekle II retaliated by blockading Ganja in 1796, but the khan of Karabakh brokered peace. In September 1796 Ganja was temporarily occupied by the Russian general Valerian Zubov during his Persian Expedition of 1796. During the first Russo-Persian War, Ganja was considered by Russians as a town of foremost importance. General Pavel Tsitsianov approached Javad khan several times asking him to submit to Russian rule, but each time was refused. In November 1803, the Russian army moved from Tiflis and in December, Tsitsianov started the siege preparations. After heavy artillery bombardment, on January 3, 1804, Tsitsianov gave the order to attack the fortress. During the fierce fighting, Armenians residing in the cityopen the gates of the castle and, as a result, the Russians were able to capture the fortress. Javad khan was killed, together with his sons at war. Some members of his family were able to escape to Tabriz, while others remained in Ganja. Javad Khan's descendants in the Russian empire bore the surname Ziatkhanov. Ismail Khan Ziatkhanov was a member of the First State Duma of the Russian empire, and later a prominent activist of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
