Mahammad Said Khan

Muhammad Said Khan (, 1729–1788) was a Khan of Shirvan Khanate along with his brother Aghasi Khan.

Background He was born to powerful noble Allahverdi bey (d. 1767) (although, Bakikhanov erraneously names his father as Askar bey) and his wife Ummugulsum khanum (d. 1742) in 1729. His parents were of House of Sarkar of Khanchobani tribe . He had younger brothers Aghasi Khan, Muhammad Husain (1733-1789) and Agha Razi (1735-1758). His sisters Fatima (b.1737), Qiz Ana Khanum (b. 1747) and Sakina (1755-1796) were all married to local Shirvani beys.

Dual reign with Aghasi Khan In 1761, with Karim Khan Zand’s approval, the residents of New Shamakhi deposed Nader Shah’s appointed governor and installed their own choice, Hajji Mohammad ʿAli Khan, who ruled until early 1763. In the eastern part however, nomadic Khanchobani tribe was in power. According to Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin, Muhammad Said's father Allahverdi bey was powerful noble whose lands stretched from Ağsu river to Altıağac and from villages around Old Shamakhi to Nəvahı in east, and Göyçay in the west. He was succeeded by his sons Muhammad Said Khan and Aghasi Khan upon his death.

Just seven days after Fatali Khan's enthroning in 1758, Agha Razi, the younger brother of Muhammad Said, raided Quba’s Barmak district (modern Xızı, Azerbaijan) and abducted 200 families. In retaliation, Fatali Khan launched a campaign against Shirvan, captured around 400 families, resettled them on his own lands, and killed Agharazi in battle near Old Shamakhi. According to Gmelin, Fath Ali soon started the plan on conquest of Shirvan, but Shirvan's alliance with Shaki Khanate's Muhammad Husayn Khan Mushtaq, which hindered him from acting.

Accounts of Hajji Mohammad ʿAli Khan’s removal from power vary. According to Gmelin, in 1761, Muhammad Said defeated Hajji Mohammad ʿAli, established sole authority, returned to Old Shamakhi, and appointed a deputy to govern New Shamakhi.

Alarmed by reunited brothers, seeking to exploit the situation through dynastic politics, Fatali Khan agreed to a marriage alliance—his sister Fatma Khanum was promised to Muhammad Said’s son, Muhammad Rza in 1779. This move was designed to neutralise Muhammad Said as a political threat and to sow discord between the brothers - a decision that enraged Aghasi Khan, who then left his refuge in Alvand and demanded sole authority from his elder brother. Muhammad Riza on the other hand, fled to court of Fatali Khan, who soon launched punitive invasion onto Shirvan. Though the two brothers united against him, they were defeated—Muhammad Said fled to Shaki, and Aghasi returned to Alvand. Despite several attempts at reconciliation, including sending gifts to Fatali Khan, their political position continued to weaken. Multiple sources confirm that Fatali Khan subsequently appointed Muhammad Rza as vassal khan of Shirvan. According to Adolf Berzhe, he ruled for 3 years.

According to Mirza Hasan Alkadari, Fatali Khan, angered by the brothers’ support for the Avar ruler Umma Khan, had both Aghasi and Muhammad Said arrested and executed in Baku. According to Butkov, his death was ordered by Fath Ali Khan and he was executed alongside his two sons in Salyan, 1788. Abbasgulu Bakikhanov characterizes him as someone "with a pure heart and a changeable disposition." Jacob Reineggs, who visited him towards end of his reign, described him as "an old, quiet, and honest man: for he has experienced frequent and tragic fates of all possible changes, which have made him indifferent toward hope and fear."

Family According to Adolf Berzhe, Muhammad Said was married to two wives and several children:

Firangiz Khanum (m. 1751, d. 1776): Mahmud bey (d. 1788) – killed in youth by Fath Ali Khan Muhammad Riza Khan (1753 – 1788), puppet ruler of Shirvan Khanate, married to Fatma Khanum, sister of Fath Ali Khan Askar Khan (1756 –1820), ruler Shirvan Khanate for 6 months Hafsa Khanum (1764 –1815), m. 1805 to Musa bey, son of Muradkhan bey Mah Pari Khanum (m. 1756, d. 1790): Isgandar bey (d. 1788) – killed in youth by Fath Ali Khan Qasim Khan (1763 – 1828), ruler Shirvan Khanate for 2 years Halima Khanum (1765 – 1793), m. 1778 to her paternal cousin Murtuz Ali bey Anakhanum Khanum (1774 – ?) m. 1794 to her paternal cousin Shikh Ali bey