Prince Cyrus Khan Kangarli Nakhchivansky

Prince Cyrus Kangarli Khan Nakhchivansky is the official biographer and current head of the Nakhchivanski family. The heir of a long lineage of rulers and generals from the historical region and city of Nakhchivan, his great grandfather was Prince Bahram Khan Nakhchivanski  (1872 – 1941), who once served as the governor of Nakhchivan and was the last ruler of Nakhchivan Khanate.

Prince Cyrus was born into a family of US diplomats and grew up in Lausanne, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The only son of Ana N. Khan Nakhchivanskaya and grandson of Eshrat Khan Nakhchivanski, he spent a decade at the prestigious École Nouvelle de la Suisse Romande (ENSR), receiving an elite boarding-school education.

During his teenage years, Prince Cyrus relocated to Canada with his family while they were working for the Canadian government. This paved the way for the young man who would follow in his family’s footsteps and enter Canadian public service, taking on various city projects. Likening himself to a true-blue Quebecois, he felt a strong affiliation towards the Quebec sovereignty movement, working alongside PQ ministers and coalition leaders to rally for independence.

He also served with the Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council, working with Native Americans to bring about legislation in Canada that would impact the rights of First Nations people – Indigenous Canadians.

Thereafter, he went on to make his mark as a trader in London before returning to the US to complete his MBA severals years later.

Today, Prince Cyrus oversees a real-estate group while raising a daughter, splitting his time between the US and Europe.

With his new role as the official biographer of the Nakchivanski family, he now dedicates much of his time to compiling a memoir, actively seeking to restore the his family's extensive genealogy, in particular the ties between the Kangarli dynasty and the Nakhchivanski family.

 

Dynastic Lineages Preserved by Prince Cyrus

 
1. Kangarli Dynasty
 
Founders and hereditary rulers of the Nakhchivan Khanate (c. 1747–1828).
 
Maintained rule over Nakhchivan under Qajar suzerainty until the Russian annexation in 1828.
 
 
 
2. House of Nakhchivanski
 
The Russified princely branch of the Kangarli family, recognized by the Russian Empire as Knyaz (prince).
 
Included celebrated generals like Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski, Aide-de-Camp to Tsar Nicholas II.
 
 
 
3. Javanshir-Karabakh Dynasty
 
Through Khanbika Khanum Javanshir, granddaughter of Khurshidbanu Natavan, the last poet-princess of Karabakh and daughter of Mehdiqulu Khan Javanshir.
 
This line merged into the Kangarli family, binding Karabakh and Nakhchivan nobility.
 
 
 
4. Qajar Empire (Iran)
 
Through intermarriage with the Qajar-Iravani and Ganja-Qajar branches (e.g., Khurshid Qajar).
 
Both Karabakh and Ganja khanates were administered by Qajar-linked dynasts, including the Ziyadoghlu Qajars of Ganja.
 
 
 
5. Makinsky (Maku Khanate)
 
Via maternal ancestry tied to the rulers of Maku, in northwest Iran.
 
A historically strategic Turkic-Iranian khanate bordering Nakhchivan, often allied with Kangarli and Karabakh nobility.
 
 
 
6. Republic of Aras (Araz-Turk Republic, 1918–1919)
 
Founded by H.R.H. Prince Bahram Khan and H.R.H. Prince Jafargulu Khan Nakhchivanski, the Republic was a short-lived but symbolic assertion of Turkic-Muslim self-rule in Nakhchivan during the post-Ottoman collapse.
 
Its legacy endures through Prince Cyrus Khan, who is today the dynastic heir and Head of the Aras Republic.
 
 
 
7. Ganja Khanate
 
Through integration of Qajar-Ziyadoghlu bloodlines into the Kangarli family via marriage, especially through the Natavan line, which connected Karabakh, Ganja, and Nakhchivan dynasties.
 
The Ganja house's prestige was preserved in the larger Qajar-Kangarli network.