14 Iranian Empire and Caucasian BorderlandsThere is little information about the khans' conceptions of their
office—whether, like the ideal of the Islamic ruler, they aspired to
promote justice and prosperity or whether they viewed their territories
as sources of private wealth and bases for further conquests. In the
second half of the eighteenth century, their energies were devoted,
either by choice or necessity, to struggles with domestic and external
rivals. Many khans came to power by force; those who were strong
enough tried to expand their domains by conquest. Furthermore,
most khans were tribal chiefs whose first loyalties were to their tribes
not to the khanates. Given the disruptive effect of the wars, epidem-
ics, and famines that wracked the Caucasus during this era, it would
have been very difficult for a khan to afford to play the public bene-
factor had he been inclined to do so.
Below the khans were the notables (begs), a term applied to a
khan's brothers or sons as well as to administrative officials. When a
khan was strong enough to enforce his will, the begs were expected
to serve him in whatever capacity, civil or military, he required. They
were often employed as governors of districts of all sizes. Some of
the begs could be powerful figures whose authority within a district
was similar to a khan's. In return for his service, a beg enjoyed certain
benefits and privileges. His khan paid him either a direct cash salary,
a portion of the harvest, a grant of income from land, or outright
land ownership. The begs were also exempt from most taxes, includ-
ing the head and land taxes (on land they owned) and levies on vari-
ous commercial activities. The rest of the public offices in the khan-
ates were staffed by scribe-bureaucrats, village headmen, the head-
men's subordinates, (who were in charge of a quarter), and tax farmers.
Khans also had a variety of courtiers and servitors as well as guard
corps that were separate from the army. Begs had their own retainers
who, in addition to serving their master, also served in the khan's
army. Many members of these groups as well as others, such as pros-
perous peasants, enjoyed tax-exempt status. This exemption was given
on a hereditary basis to people who served the khan, including tribes
that fought in the khan's army, and also to people who had no role
in government but paid the khan to make them exempt.
Muslim holy men—experts on religious law, teachers, and descen-
dants of Mohammad—also enjoyed special status. They were exempt
not only from taxes but also from government service, and they re-
ceived income from grants of revenue from farming villages, caravan-
serais, and shops (vaqf}. The mosques of Shusha, the capital of Qara-
bagh, held particularly large vaqf grants. The religious establishment
does not seem to have been particularly influential. The only theo-