Editing Baku (section)

=== Downfall of the Safavids and the Khanate of Baku ===
The Safavids temporarily lost power in Iran in 1722; Emperor [[Peter the Great]] of Russia took advantage of the situation and invaded. As a result of the [[Russo-Persian War of 1722–1723]], the Safavids were forced to cede Baku to Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |last= Shukiurov Kerim |title= The Caucasus in the System of International Relations: The Turkmanchay Treaty was Signed 180 Years Ago |url= http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/the-caucasus-in-the-system-of-international-relations-the-turkmanchay-treaty-was-signed-180-years-ago |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150629192734/http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/the-caucasus-in-the-system-of-international-relations-the-turkmanchay-treaty-was-signed-180-years-ago |archive-date= 29 June 2015 |access-date= 30 June 2015 |website= [[Cyberleninka]]}}</ref> By 1730 the situation had deteriorated for the Russians; the successes of [[Nader Shah]] ({{reign | 1736 | 1747}}) led them to sign the [[Treaty of Ganja]] near [[Ganja, Azerbaijan|Ganja]] on 10 March 1735, ceding the city and all other conquered territories in the Caucasus back to [[Iran]].<ref>{{Cite book |last= Mikaberidze |first= Alexander |title= Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia |year= 2011 |isbn= 978-1-59884-336-1 |editor-last= Mikaberidze, Alexander |publisher= ABC-CLIO |page= 329 |chapter= Treaty of Ganja (1735)}}</ref>

The eruption of instability following Nader Shah's death in 1747 gave rise to the various [[Khanates of the Caucasus|Caucasian khanates]]. The semi-autonomous Persian-ruled<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title= Azerbaijan – history – geography |encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica |url= https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-129462/Azerbaijan |access-date= 4 July 2015 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081118105319/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-129462/Azerbaijan |archive-date= 18 November 2008}}</ref><ref>Russia and Iran, 1780-1828By Muriel Atkin, Page 16-20</ref>