Today Azerbaijan marks the 160th birthday of the founder of the national army, an outstanding commander, Minister of Defense of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, General Samad bey Mehmandarov.
Samad bey Mehmandarov was born on October 16th 1855 in Lankaran to a noble family. He began his military service on September 1st 1873 as a cadet of 25th Konstantinovsky Military School in St. Petersburg. Mehmandarov took part in China Relief Expedition in 1900-1901. For service in battle Mehmandarov was conferred the rank of colonel and awarded a gold weapon. In addition, during the siege of Port Arthur he was promoted to major general.
Mehmandarov's rise in his military career was associated with the First World War. He was decorated with the Order of Saint George of the 3rd degree and a Saint George sword decorated with diamonds for battles in 1914, when he crushed German and Austrian armies. In the history of the Russian Army, General Mehmandarov was the only commander who was awarded a gold and Saint George sword decorated with diamonds.
In 1914 Mehmandarov was appointed the commander of the 2nd Caucasian Army Corps. Mehmandarov’s corps was engaged in the fiercest battles with German and Austrian troops. Mehmandarov was awarded all the top awards, including the second most important in the hierarchy of orders of the Russian Empire, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.
After the February Revolution in Russia he retired from the army and left for Vladikavkaz. However, his absence from the military ranks was short: on November 1st, Mehmandarov was appointed the Assistant to the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan, and on December 25th as the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan. Under his direct leadership the formation of the national army was started, which was not completed due to a number of foreign policy reasons. Meanwhile, in a short period of time Mehmandarov managed to organize an army which defeated the Dashnak troops and completely liberated the territory of Azerbaijan from gangs.
Mehmandarov held this position until the 11th Red Army troops invaded Azerbaijan on April 28th 1920. He taught in military schools and was an adviser to the Commissariat of Military and Naval Forces of the Azerbaijan SSR until his retirement in 1928. Mehmandarov passed away in February 1931 in Baku.
"Samad Bey Mehmandarov was one of the most prominent Azerbaijani generals. He was a general of artillery of the Russian Imperial Army, and after the proclamation of Azerbaijan as a Democratic Republic, he became a military minister. The formation of a national army started under his command, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head of the History Department of Azerbaijani-Russian relations at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Sevinj Aliyeva, said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza.
Historian Ilgar Niftaliyev noted that Samad bey Mehmandarov participated in two wars: the Russo-Japanese War and World War I.
‘‘In general, he was one of the most prominent generals of the Azerbaijani army during the late 19th-early 20th centuries. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Military Academy as Ali Agha Shikhlinski. The rank of general was received during the Russo-Japanese war. He was a military minister of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, who participated in the establishment of the Independent National Army, then was awarded the highest medals of Czarist Russia. He played a major role in the creation of the National Army of Azerbaijan. However, after the establishment of Soviet power, Mehmandarov was repressed and was arrested by the Bolsheviks after the Ganja uprising as a former minister of war of the national army, but Nariman Narimanov helped to release him,’’ the historian said.
