The geopolitics of the area of the South Caucasus in the 18th century after the death of Nadir Shah, was the cause, for the rising of the independent de facto Karabakh khanate, whose founder was Panah Ali Khan. It became one of the strongest countries in the area of Azerbaijan; however, it was unable to defend itself from constant Persian invasions. The only military force that could oppose them was the Russian Empire. On 14th May 1805, khan Ibrahim Halil and general Pavel Tsitsianov signed up the Kurekhay Treaty. Under its terms Karabakh became a part of the Russian Empire and its previous ruler retained administrative powers. The confirmation of such a state of affairs was armed peace between Russia and Persia concluded in 1813 in Gulistan. Under its terms, most of the North Azerbaijan's khanates got under the power of the tsar. For Karabakh the consequence of getting under the new reign was the change of the ethnic structure of the whole area, which was connected with the far-flung Armenian colonization.
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