In the first third of the 19th century, following Russia's conquest of Transcaucasia (South Caucasus) and the addition of significant Muslim-populated territories to the empire, the government began developing specific methods for controlling Muslim subordinates and clergy. On April 5, 1872, Emperor Alexander II approved regulations to establish two spiritual administrations in Transcaucasia – for Shiites and Sunnis: "Regulation on the Management of the Shiite Muslim Clergy of Transcaucasia" and "Regulation on the Management of the Sunni Muslim Clergy of Transcaucasia." Consequently, on January 2, 1873, the Spiritual Administrations for Shiites and Sunnis in Transcaucasia (1872-1917) officially opened, with centers in Tbilisi. The Shiite administration was led by the Sheikh-ul-Islam, while the Sunni administration was headed by the Mufti. Typically, Azerbaijanis were appointed as Sheikh-ul-Islam, and the Mufti could also be Kazan Tatars (Gelovani, 2021, pp. 56-121).

According to the regulations of the spiritual administrations, the Muslims of Transcaucasia, like all peoples of Russia, were granted freedom of religion. The state protected justice for all religions and sects, and their "dogmas, worship, mosques, cemeteries, schools, believers" were protected. There was no prohibition on opening new mosques and religious buildings "provided that they would not harm others" (Hüseynli, 2002, pp. 79-92). Several attempts to reorganize state control over the activities of the Muslim clergy and ordinary Muslims ended unsuccessfully, and the 1872 regulations of the Spiritual Administrations of Muslims of Transcaucasia remained in force until 1917, despite becoming outdated and no longer responding to changing internal and external political realities. The jurisdiction of the Transcaucasian spiritual administrations extended to the governorates of Baku, Elizavetpol, Tbilisi, and Yerevan.

The institutionalization of the Muslim confession, not only in Transcaucasia but also in other regions of the Russian Empire, on one hand, represented a support for Tsarism in implementing colonial policy, while on the other hand, the imperial authorities gained the opportunity to govern the Muslim population through the clergy. For example, the Muslim clergy was required to celebrate all holidays in mosques with prayers, to pray to the Lord for the emperor's health and longevity, as well as for his wife, the heir to the throne, and the entire royal family, according to existing regulations (Arapov, 2001, p. 98).

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, debates continued about the necessity of new forms of organization of Muslim spiritual life, but by the beginning of World War I (1914), this discussion had, in our opinion, lost its relevance.

In April 1917, the Provisional Central Bureau of Muslims of the Russian Empire was established, aiming to "reorganize the Russian state system on the basis of freedom, equality, and brotherhood of peoples." At this time, the leaders of the Spiritual Administrations of Muslims of Transcaucasia – Sheikh-ul-Islam Fishanamaz-zade and Mufti A. Subkhankulov – announced their support for the Provisional Government.

It should be noted that after the February Revolution, Muslim parties, councils, and other organizations were established in all Muslim regions of Russia. Overall, April 1917 proved crucial in the political development of the Muslim national movement in Transcaucasia.

The initial step in defining the goals and direction of the national movement was taken at the First Congress of Muslims of the Caucasus (Caucasian Muslim Congress) held in Baku from April 15-20, 1917. The event was organized through the efforts of Agha Alizade, the Akhund of Tezepir Mosque, with the participation of 300 delegates. Representing Georgian Muslims, the Georgian public figure, writer, and publicist Memed Beg Abashidze was sent to the congress.

One of the main results of the congress was a resolution on the necessity of forming a central Muslim body for all of Russia with legislative functions. Two provisional central bureaus were created: one for the North Caucasus and Dagestan, centered in Vladikavkaz, and the other for the South Caucasus, with the center in Baku. A special bureau was planned to be opened in Tbilisi (Tiflis) for conducting affairs of all Muslims of the Caucasus.

The declaration by the chairmen of the Spiritual Administrations of the Muslims of Transcaucasia (Shiites and Sunnis) regarding the unity of the followers of Islam's two branches –Shi'a and Sunni – was assessed as a significant historical event in the broader Islamic context. The Sheikh-ul-Islam and the Mufti shook hands and promised to cease mutual confrontation (Nurullayev, 2014, pp. 84-85). This reconciliation later contributed to the unification of the Transcaucasian Shiite and Sunni administrations into the Mashikhat.

For nearly fifty years, the Spiritual Administrations of Muslims (both Shiites and Sunnis) operated in Tbilisi, but neither Muslims nor Christians clearly opposed each other. Before the development of a Georgian national identity, both Azerbaijanis and Georgia's Christian population showed tolerance toward the Muslim spiritual administration in Tbilisi. Tbilisi served as the administrative and cultural hub of the Caucasus, where most of the ancient Azerbaijani community resided. After the emergence of three independent states, the strong ethnic and religious identities of Georgians and Azerbaijanis created distance between these groups. According to J. Thomson, "Religious identity remains one of the most destructive identities we can imagine. Until we reconcile with differences regarding religious beliefs and identities, especially of the three great Abrahamic faiths, we will all remain on the line of fire" (Thomson, 2009, pp. 22-42).

However, it is significant that from 1845-1917, Tbilisi was the residence of the Viceroy of the Caucasus. After the 1917 Russian Revolution, Tbilisi was the location of the Provisional Government of Transcaucasia, which established the Transcaucasian Federation in spring 1918 with Tbilisi as its capital. It was precisely in Tbilisi, in the palace of the Viceroy of the Caucasus, that the independence of the three Transcaucasian states – Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia –was declared on May 26-28, 1918.

Azerbaijan became the first democratic republic in the Muslim world. A national government was established under the leadership of Fatali Khan Khoyski. Baku remained under Bolshevik control, and Elizavetpol was temporarily declared the capital, returning to its historical name –Ganja. The immediate withdrawal of Muslim organizations from the Georgian territory became an urgent concern (Akhanchi, 2022, pp. 461-473).

The Spiritual Administrations of Muslims of Transcaucasia themselves, due to the changed political situation, began to consider leaving Tbilisi, which was no longer within the boundaries of their "national territory." As Ismail Bey Gasprinski noted, "Although Muslims are deprived of all European culture as a force of self-preservation, they have, in their religion and the social life derived from it, a very strong, almost invincible force of resistance to all foreign influence that is detrimental to their national individuality" (Gasprinsky, 1993, p. 25).

It should be noted that in resolving the issue of relocating the spiritual administrations, the leadership of both the Shi’a and Sunni spiritual administrations collaborated to preserve the administrations' property and documentary heritage by transferring them to Azerbaijan. The joint committee of employees from the Spiritual Administrations of Shiites and Sunnis of Transcaucasia sent a letter of appeal to the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan – Fatali Khan Khoyski – that included the following:

On May 30, 1918, in Tiflis, the committee of employees of the Sunni Spiritual Administration of Transcaucasia, along with the committee of employees of the Shiite Spiritual Administration, discussed the following issue: On May 26 of that year, the Transcaucasian Sejm was dissolved, and the Georgian National Council declared Georgia's independence. The city of Tiflis, which was the residence of these administrations, was on Georgian territory and thus remained under the influence of the Georgian government. Therefore, the Muslim clergy immediately demanded that the spiritual administrations leave the city of Tiflis and move to a more or less central location in Eastern Transcaucasia. After consideration, it was decided that, until the situation is settled, the headquarters of these administrations should be located in the city of Elizavetpol. This decision was to be sent for review and approval to the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan – Khan Khoyski – and, if approved, a request was to be made for funds to support the administrations and transfer their property. According to the employees' estimate, a minimum of 10 closed wagons and 5,000 rubles in cash are needed for this purpose (GIAAR, f. 291, d. 5188, l. 4).

The appeal was signed by the chairmen of the Spiritual Administrations of Shiites and Sunnis of Transcaucasia – Mufti A. E. Subkhankulov, Sheikh-ul-Islam I. S. Gaibov, members of the administration and committee E. Alahverdi-zade, N. Teregulov, secretary-advisor Efendiev. F. Kh. Khoyski did not immediately respond to the appeal. As a result, the joint committee of staff from the Transcaucasian Shiite and Sunni administrations appealed to the Prime Minister again. The appeal stated that "if these documents were not valuable, they would leave them at the station and go to Iran or Central Asia" (GIAAR, f. 291, d. 5188, l.3-4).

On June 5, 1918, F. Kh. Khoyski added a resolution to the appeal: "I agree to let the spiritual administrations move to the city of Elizavetpol... let 5,000 rubles and 10 wagons be given..." (GIAAR, f. 291, d. 5188). After receiving organizational and financial support from the Azerbaijani government, the Muslim spiritual administrations began packing property and documents for evacuation from Tbilisi. The last decree of the Sunni Spiritual Administration of Transcaucasia stated the following: "Due to the urgent necessity of transferring the spiritual administration's property to Elizavetpol, it is ordered that the assistant secretary prepare all archival property for dispatch in the shortest time. Signed by the chairman of the Transcaucasian administration—Mufti A. E. Subkhankulov" (GIAAR, f. 291, d. 5188, l. 3-4).

On June 17, 1918, the second cabinet of the government (Council of Ministers) was formed in Elizavetpol (Ganja), headed by Fatali Khan Khoyski. On June 19, the Ministry of Public Education and Religious Affairs (Xalq Maarifi və Dini Etiqad Nazirliyi) was established, which immediately began close cooperation with religious leaders upon its formation. The country's parliament took into account both the religious and ethnic composition of Azerbaijan's population: Muslims (Azerbaijanis, Tatars, Talysh, Lezgins, Kurds, and others) received 80 seats, Christians received 35. Additionally, 8 Muslim deputies were from the clergy and 13 deputies were from the "Ittihad" party (İskəndərli, 2012).

In mid-June 1918, Akhund Agha Alizade from the Tezepir Mosque (Baku) was elected as the qadi of Baku. The chairman of the Azerbaijan National Council, Mamed Emin Rasulzade, issued a decree on the formation of a unified Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Caucasus based on the existing spiritual administrations operating in Tbilisi.

On June 22, 1918, a resolution was adopted to allocate 5,000 rubles in the name of Firidun Bey Qocharli (Qocharlinski), the head of the Azerbaijani department of the Transcaucasian Teachers' Seminary, for transferring the department's property from Georgia to Gazakh (Azerbaijan) (GAAR, f. 2898, op. 1, d. 1, l. 3).

By the decision of the Ministry of Public Education and Religious Affairs of Azerbaijan on August 10, 1918, the leadership of both spiritual authorities, including Sheikh-ul-Islam Muhammad Fishanamaz-zade (Azerbaijani: Axund Məhəmməd Əli oğlu Pişnamazzadə; Sheikh-ul-Islam from 1909-1918) and acting mufti Mustafa Efendizade (in 1917, Mufti Hussein Gaibov died, which coincided with the collapse of the Russian Empire, and no new mufti was appointed to his position; Mustafa Efendizade performed his duties), relocated to Ganja (formerly Elizavetpol). According to the resolution of the Azerbaijan government dated August 20, 1918, the Transcaucasian Sheikh-ul-Islam and mufti were allocated monthly salaries of 1,500 rubles, effective June 1 (the 2,000 rubles already issued to each of them was credited to their salary account) (Законодательные акты, 1998).

Sheikh-ul-Islam Fishanamaz-zade, in order to unite the Shia and Sunni clergy, met with the leaders of both sides. After this meeting, he prepared a proposal for the formation of a new spiritual administration based on the model of the Ottoman Empire, where the Sheikh-ul-Islam's chancellery was called Mashikhat, which was abolished in 1924 after the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey and the Diyanet (Directorate of Religious Affairs) was created (Süleymanlı, 2011).

On September 1, 1918, the Spiritual Administrations of Muslims of Transcaucasia (Shia and Sunni), through the efforts of their leaders, voluntarily united into one administrative body - the Mashikhat ("Maşyaxat-i İslamiyya" – "Islamic Organizational Union," Sheikhate) (Gürer & Tağıyeva, 2019). This decision was approved by the Ministry of Public Education and Religious Affairs of Azerbaijan on September 7. On September 15-16, the Islamic Army of the Caucasus, led by Nuri Pasha (Nuri Qiligili; Enver Pasha's younger brother), liberated Baku from Bolshevik-Dashnak formations. The capital of the democratic republic was moved from Ganja to Baku. Accordingly, it was decided that the unified administration of Muslims in Transcaucasia (Sunni and Shia) – the Mashikhat – would move from Ganja to Baku along with the government cabinet. Its administration was housed in the Taza Pir Mosque (Nəcəfov, 1992).

On September 17, 1918, the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was formed in Baku, and changes were made to Fatali Khan Khoyski's second cabinet. On October 6, the Ministry of Social Protection and Religious Affairs was created to replace the Ministry of Public Education and Religious Affairs, with Musa Bey Rafiev appointed as its first head. However, on December 26, 1918, Fatali Khan Khoyski formed the third cabinet of the government, and the Ministry of Social Protection was formed as a separate ministry, while religious issues were again transferred to the Ministry of Public Education, and the Ministry of Public Education and Religious Affairs was formed, with Nasib Bey Yusifbeyli appointed as minister.

On October 8, 1918, the government decided to increase the monthly compensation for the Sheikh-ul-Islam and mufti. According to the resolution ("Resolution on increasing the salaries of the Transcaucasian Sheikh-ul-Islam and mufti and transferring their chancellery to Baku"), "the allowance for the mufti and Sheikh-ul-Islam should be increased to 2,500 rubles per month, and they should be offered to urgently transfer their chancelleries to Baku. The compensation should be paid from October 1 of the current year" (Nasirova, 2018).

On October 30, 1918, the Transcaucasian Sheikh-ul-Islam and mufti sent a letter to the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic containing 4 demands: 1. Official confirmation of the unified spiritual administration – Mashikhat (Maşyaxat-i İslamiyya), which should be completely independent; 2. Based on the September 7 decision of the Ministry of Social Protection and Religious Affairs of Azerbaijan, one of the co-chairs of the Mashikhat should be called Sheikh-ul-Islam, and the other - his assistant; 3. The Sheikh-ul-Islam would become a member of the Council of Ministers, with the right to attend government meetings; 4. Allocation of credit for conducting religious activities (Nurullayev, 2014).

The Azerbaijan government agreed to establish a unified administration, with the spiritual leaders of Shi’a and Sunni (Sheikh-ul-Islam and mufti) receiving equal rights and co-chair positions. Simultaneously, the approval of the Mashikhat administration staff was finalized, consisting of 31 people: 16 representatives of the Shia and 15 of the Sunni, including the Sheikh-ul-Islam and mufti, as well as 29 qadis (15 Shia and 14 Sunni) (Iskhakov, 2004).

On December 11, 1918, the 7th Sheikh-ul-Islam of the Transcaucasian Spiritual Administration, Muhammad Fishanamaz-zade, resigned from his position due to health reasons (he remained in his native Ganja and was appointed as akhund of the Friday Mosque), and by the order of the Minister of Public Education and Religious Affairs of Azerbaijan, Musa Bey Rafiev, 47-year-old Akhund Agha Alizade (Azerbaijani: Ağa Cavad oğlu Əlizadə) was appointed in his place. He became the 8th Sheikh-ul-Islam of Transcaucasian Muslims and the first Sheikh-ul-Islam of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918-1920).

It should be noted that the followers of the two main directions of Islam during the period under consideration did not represent organizational unity and had different foreign policy orientations, but they acted together in preserving the Islamic heritage of the administrations. Also, despite differences of opinion on certain dogmas, they united their efforts and held a congress where they decided to send an appeal to the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic requesting assistance for the evacuation of Muslim spiritual administrations' property and transfer of documents from Tbilisi.

The analysis of archival documents testifies to the difficulties that arose in connection with the transfer of Sunni and Shia administrations' property to Azerbaijan: several wagons were lost and the cargo did not reach Baku. In spring 1919, the spiritual administration "Mashikhat," together with the railway administration of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, made great efforts to search for the lost wagons. Despite the fact that it was initially assumed that the documents of the spiritual administrations would be brought to Elizavetpol, the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic successfully ensured their delivery to Baku, where numerous people were waiting to receive the corresponding documents previously issued by these organizations.

In 1919, the co-chairs of the Mashikhat were given the status of deputy minister of Public Education and Religious Affairs, and with amendments to the budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan in May 1919 (1919 budget - 1,550,654,393 rubles), from July 1, 1919, the compensation of the Mashikhat chairs – the mufti and Sheikh-ul-Islam – was equated to the salary of a deputy minister (Borba, 1919; GAAR, f. 84, op. 1, d. 23, t. 2, l. 305). However, the spiritual leaders demanded compensation at the minister's rank.

The resolution of the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on June 18, 1919, stated: "On issues concerning the Muslim religion, the Sheikh-ul-Islam and mufti participate in government meetings with decisive voting rights" (GAAR, f. 2898, op. 1, d. 1, l. 2). By the government's order of June 25, 1919, the heads of religious structures (Sheikh-ul-Islam and mufti) were tasked with "transporting metric books of the last five years from Tiflis to Elizavetpol" (GAAR, f. 2898, op. 1, d. 1, l. 4).

By resolution of the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the right to appoint religious persons was directly transferred to the Mashikhat. The sphere of its activity was also expanded. For example, the government decided to introduce the position of "military mullah" (Azerbaijani: hərbi molla) in the subdivisions of the national army. The resolution of problems related to the activities of "military mullahs" was entrusted to the Ministry of Defense and the Mashikhat. At the same time, the direct leadership of "military mullahs" in the Ministry of Defense was carried out by the "chief military mullah" (Azerbaijani: baş hərbi molla) (Юнусов, 2004). It was believed that the Mashikhat played a major role in strengthening the moral strength of the army. On February 22, 1920, by order of the military department of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in agreement with the Mashikhat (February 7, No. 553), Baku qadi Abdul Kasum Efendi Emin-zade was accepted into the Azerbaijan army and appointed as imam of the military school (Сборник приказов [Collection of Orders], 2018).

In April 1920, after the arrival of the XI Army, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic ceased to exist, and the Bolsheviks, who were hostile to Islam, initially removed from the Mashikhat those representatives of the clergy who did not support the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan. On May 12, 1920, they abolished the Mashikhat (Transcaucasian Muslim Spiritual Administration) – the world's first centralized Shia-Sunni religious organization and the position of Sheikh-ul-Islam (Силантьев, 2010). At the same time, the Communists issued a decree on May 5, 1920, on the confiscation of territories belonging to waqfs and mosques for the benefit of the "working population" (Юнусов, 2004). On May 15, 1920, the Military-Revolutionary Committee abolished the Ministry of Public Education and Religious Affairs.

In the first years of Soviet power, a new structure of Muslim religious institutions was formed. On April 14, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR decided to resume the work of the Transcaucasian Muslim Spiritual Administration, or Mashikhat.