THE FIRMANS OF NADIR-SHAH AFSHAR IN THE NAME OF KAYTAG UTSMIY AHMAD-KHAN

Abstract

The article presents epistolary sources in Persian from the Dagestan collection of firmans of Persian shahs in the name of the Kaitag utsmis. At the Institute of history, archaeology and Ethnography of DFRC RAS stored microfilms of these firmans received from the National library of France, where utsmic collection hit in the second half of the ХΙХ century. Copies of the firmans of Persian shahs in the name of Kaitag utsmis exist in the libraries of Georgia. They are published by the Georgian scientists with the typed texts and translation in Georgian and Russian languages. A comparative analysis of the documents revealed that the Georgian collection is fuller than the Paris collection, there are copies made by different katibs in the collections, and there are textual discrepancies and discrepancies in the Dating of firmans. We present in this article a facsimile of the firmans of Nadir Shah addressed to one of the most influential Dagestani rulers of the XVΙΙΙ century Kaitag utsmiy Ahmad-khan, and provide their contents with appropriate comments. Firmans have informative value, serve as a good source base for studying the complex, contradictory historical period, containing a lot of white spots in the history of the Nadir Shah wars in Dagestan. The documents have high scientific value and shed light on the policy of Nadir Shah in the territories under his control, on historical events related to the struggle of the Dagestani peoples for liberation from vassalage, and the policy of the Dagestani rulers. For several years, there was a struggle between the Dagestani highlanders and the Shah of Iran. The final victory over Nadir Shah was won only when the combined forces of the Avars, Kaitag people, akushins, kumukhs, Tabasarans, and all Dagestani peoples took part in the fight against the enemy in Andalal. Firmans convey the atmosphere of historical events, threats against recalcitrant mountaineers are heard more often, the tone of Nadir's letters, promising endless Shah's favors in exchange for submission, is replaced by a menacing, sometimes offensive one.