Mehdi-Khan Qasemlu

Mehdi-Khan Qasemlu (Persian: مهدی خان) was the first khan (governor) of the Erivan Khanate from 1747 to 1752 during the reign of Nader Shah.

Origin He descended from the Qasemlu branch of the Afsharid clan.

Biography After the assassination of Nader Shah on the night of July 19-20, 1747, great confusion arose and claims to the throne began to be made from all sides. In this struggle the nephew of Nader Shah Ali-Quli Khan was temporarily brought to power under the name of Adel Shah. However, the new shah could not prevent the emergence of independent feudal khanates. sent Mir-Mehdi Khan, one of the Afshar generals with his troops to Yerevan to crush the uprising. However, Mehdi Khan himself came to an agreement with the rebels, joined them and began to lead the uprising. The ruler of Urmia Fath-Ali Khan was defeated and was forced to cede certain areas of his khanate to Mehdi Khan. Panah Ali Khan with 4,000 troops crossed the borders of the Erivan Khanate and moved to the lands around Etchmiadzin. For protection from Muslims, the Armenians turned to king Heraclius II of Georgia for help. Heraclius II gathered troops and sent them against the khan of Karabakh. Having suffered a heavy defeat in battle, Panah Ali Khan retreated. Then the king Teimuraz II of Kakheti moved to Yerevan in September 1749 with a 25,000-strong army, taking advantage of the call of the Armenians. Unable to resist Mehdi Khan stops making peace with Teimuraz II. On November 22, the Georgian troops left the khanate and returned.

Taking advantage of the weakening power of the khan of Erivan, Fath-Ali Shah decided to capture Yerevan. Under the leadership of Azad Khan, in 1751, a 30.000-strong army was sent to Yerevan, besieging the Erivan fortress.