Lankaran, known as Lenkon in Talysh, is the tenth largest city in Azerbaijan, situated along the Caspian Sea, approximately 200 kilometers south of Baku, and home to around 52,000 residents. The city’s history is intricately woven into the broader tapestry of Azerbaijan’s diverse cultural and ethnic landscape.
The majority of Azerbaijan consists of vast steppes along the Aras and Kura rivers, which create a flat plain nestled between the towering Caucasus Mountains to the north and the Elburz Mountains to the south. The Elburz range stretches along the southern Caspian coast, extending past Tehran and transitioning into the Turkmen Kopetdag. In Azerbaijan, the mountains are not particularly high, with the tallest peak, Mount Karakuy, reaching just 2,492 meters. Locally, this range is referred to as the Talysh Mountains, named after the Talysh people who inhabit the area. Historically, the Talysh have been intertwined with the broader Azerbaijani identity, with their name deriving from the region rather than the other way around.
Long before the Azerbaijani people emerged, the region was inhabited by the Azers, an ancient Iranian-speaking group from Media, which thrived under centuries of Islamic rule. By the Middle Ages, Azerbaijan had evolved into a complex ethnic mosaic, comprising Azers, Caucasian highlanders, incoming Persians, and Turkic tribes. The Turkic influence, driven by military conquests, ultimately dominated this eclectic mix. The Talysh Mountains became the last bastion of the Azeri language, and as the Turkified inhabitants of the plains began to identify as Azerbaijanis, the mountain dwellers were designated as Talysh. Their relationship to Azerbaijanis is akin to that of Tajiks to Uzbeks—reflecting a remnant of a shared heritage.
In the 16th century, the Talysh, who were predominantly Shia Muslims, allied themselves with the nomadic Turkic Qizilbash tribes, which soon conquered Iran and established a Shia empire under the Azerbaijani Safavid dynasty. During this period, they identified as Turks, a designation that indicated their status as warriors rather than a reflection of their linguistic ties. While Talysh culture shares similarities with Azerbaijani culture, the Talysh people often see themselves as distinct, positioning themselves in opposition to the Azerbaijani state. Today, their population is estimated to range from 300,000 to one million, split roughly evenly across the Iranian border.
Until the 19th century, the Talysh Mountains functioned as a cohesive entity, with Ardabil and Talysh being closer to Lankaran than Baku or Shemakha. A pivotal moment in the region’s history occurred when a man from the village of Khir, seeking a better life in Shirvan, stopped for the night in the village of Kharkhatan. There, he dreamt that his descendants would rule Talysh. Believing in this prophetic dream, he chose to remain in Kharkhatan, where his son, Seyid Abbas, married Ahu-Khanum, the daughter of a local noble, Asad Hussein oglu Boradigahi. Their grandson, Seyid Jalaladdin, entered the service of the formidable Nadir Shah in 1736. Nadir Shah, often referred to as the “Iranian Peter the Great,” was known for his military campaigns stretching from Georgia to Fergana.
During his service, Seyid Jalaladdin rose to the rank of centurion, earning the nickname Garabek (Black Bek) due to his dark complexion. After campaigns in Dagestan, he was bestowed the title of khan by Nadir Shah in 1742 on his native soil. Following the assassination of Nadir Shah in 1747, new khanates emerged across his former territories. Seizing the opportunity, Seyid Jalaladdin chose Lankaran—a fishing village known since 1409—over Astara as his new residence. By the late 1740s, Lankaran evolved into a city and became the center of the new Talysh Khanate.
This khanate, ethnically Talysh, extended across both sides of the modern border and comprised two distinct regions: the Talysh Mountains, divided into 11 magals (communal areas) where fruits were cultivated, and the Mughan Steppe, which lacked permanent settlements but served as pastureland for nomadic Azerbaijanis known as Shahseven. Lankaran rapidly developed into a city with fortified walls, a khan’s palace, and mosques surrounded by bustling bazaars.
The stability of the Talysh Khanate relied heavily on Seyid Jalaladdin’s leadership. However, upon his death in 1786, Lankaran became a vassal of Guba, which had recently conquered territories from Derbent to Ardabil. The Guba khanate itself faltered upon the death of its ruler, Fatali Khan, and in 1795, the Talysh leader Mir-Mustafa became the first of the Caucasian khans to seek protection from Russia. A year later, Agha Muhammad Shah, the new ruler of the Qajar dynasty in Persia, dispatched troops to Talysh, building a formidable fortress in this strategically vital but disloyal region, aided by the British who had the keys to their own creation.
Despite a brief period of independence for the Talysh Khanate in 1802, the geopolitical landscape shifted dramatically. In 1809, during the height of the Russo-Persian War, the khanate reaffirmed its allegiance to Russian protection. However, in 1812, the fortress was once again occupied by Persian forces, potentially with the assistance of the British, who were familiar with the fortress’s defenses.
The turning point came in January 1813 when Lankaran transformed into a “Caspian Izmail,” an impregnable stronghold. Russian General Pyotr Kotlyarevsky led a daring assault on the fortress, which resulted in heavy casualties on both sides. While half of the Russian contingent was lost, the enemy’s losses were estimated to be tenfold, paving the way for the Russian army to advance into Persia. In the aftermath, the Shah sought peace, but the Talysh Khanate became a significant point of contention, igniting the flames of the subsequent Russo-Persian War in the 1820s.
Lankaran, the last piece of Transcaucasia south of the Aras River, was meticulously excluded from all treaties. The independent Talysh khan had recognized the authority of the Russian tsar back in 1795, which meant that by the time hostilities resumed, Talysh was already considered Russian territory—an area that could not be relinquished.
From 1814 to 1826, under Russian protection, Lankaran experienced a brief period of governance under its third khan, Mir-Gasan, before the khanate transitioned into a unique administrative unit overseen by a “temporary divan” consisting of two beks and a Russian general. In 1840, Lankaran was officially designated as a district, which saw a succession of administrative changes under the Caspian region, Shemakha, and Baku gubernatorial authorities.
By the early 20th century, Lankaran had developed into a modest port town on the Caspian Sea, with a population of approximately 8,700 people. The demographic composition revealed a diverse community, with two-thirds identifying as Azerbaijanis, while the Talysh population was slightly fewer than the Russians.