The Khanates of the Caucasus, or Azerbaijani khanates or Persian Khanates were various principalities established by Persia (Iran) on their territories in the Caucasus, (modern-day Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Dagestan) from the late Safavid to the Qajar dynasty. The Khanates were mostly ruled by Khans of Turkic (Azeri) origin and were vassals and subjects of the Iranian shah (King). Persia permanently lost a part of these khanates to Russia as a result of the Russo-Persian Wars in the course of the 19th century, while the others were absorbed into Persia.
The khanates ultimately absorbed by the Russian Empire were:
Caspian coast north to south:Shamkhalate of Tarki (1813 protectorate of Russia, 1867 abolished)Derbent Khanate (1806 occupied and annexed to Russia, same year abolished)Khanate of MekhtuliPrincipality of Kaytak (also called the Utsmia of Karakaytak) ?Principality of Tabasaran (also called the Maisumat of Tabasaran)Quba Khanate (1805 protectorate of Russia, 1816 abolished)Baku Khanate (1806 occupied and annexed to Russia)Talysh Khanate, also called Lankaran Khanate (1802 protectorate of Russia, 1826 abolished)Javad Khanate, probably absorbed by Shirvan before 1800Interior Dagestan:Gazikumukh Shamkhalate or Shamkhalate of Dagestan which broke up into the following smaller states in 1642Gazikumukh Khanate (Russian influence from 1811, 1860 abolished)Avar Khanate (1803 protectorate of Russia, 1864 abolished)South of the mountains west to east:Erivan Khanate (1827 occupied by, 1828 annexed to Russia)Nakhchivan Khanate (1827 occupied by, 1828 annexed to Russia)Ganja Khanate (1804 occupied and annexed to Russia)Karabakh Khanate (1805 protectorate of Russia, 1822 abolished)Elisu Sultanate (1806 protectorate of Russia, 1844 abolished)Shaki Khanate (1805 protectorate of Russia, 1819 abolished)Shirvan Khanate (1805 protectorate of Russia, 1820 abolished)also:Shuragel Sultanate at junction of Georgia, Turkey and PersiaShamshadil Sultanate and Kazakh Sultanate, north of Lake Sevan and west of Ganja appear to have been subdivisions of GeorgiaApart from that some remote parts of Dagestan were governed by largely independent rural communities/federations before the Russian conquest of the area:
Federation of AkhtyFederation of Akusha-DargoFederation of AndalalDjaro-Belokani now in AzerbaijanKoysubu or Hindal, around GimryRutul FederationFrom ancient times until the arrival of the Russians most of the above area was part of the Iranian world, and was under a large degree of Persian control (Transcaucasia and parts of Dagestan). For the Khanates that remained Persian after the Russian conquests over Persia in the 19th century, see Khanates of the Iranian Azerbaijan.
