Adil Khan Abulfat Khan oghlu Ziyadkhanov was born on September 25, 1877, in Ganja. He is the great-grandson of Javad Khan Ziyadoghlu Qajar, the Khan of Ganja, who bravely fell in battle against Russian invaders. His mother, Azer Humayun, is the granddaughter of Abbas Mirza Qajar and the daughter of Prince Bahman Mirza Qajar.

Adil Khan Ziyadkhanov began his education with a private tutor before completing his studies at the Ganja Classical Gymnasium. In 1902, he earned his degree from the law faculty of Moscow State University. He was proficient in Russian, French, English, and Persian.

He served as an attorney in Baku and a sworn attorney at the Ganja District Court and its branch in Shusha. Beginning in 1905, he collaborated with the "Kaspi" newspaper, published in Baku under the editorship of Alimardan Bey Topchubashov, where he contributed enlightening articles.

After the Russian Revolution of 1905, Adil Khan became actively engaged in social and political activities. In the spring of that year, he signed a petition initiated by Alimardan Bey Topchubashov, which was presented to the Committee of Ministers alongside representatives from the upper Muslim class of Baku and Ganja. In May 1905, he collaborated with Alimardan Bey Topchubashov and Alakbar Bey Khasmammadov to form an elected committee aimed at advocating for a suspension of new elections to the city dumas until the laws that limited the rights of Muslims in municipal governance were abolished. On February 20, 1906, Adil Khan represented the Elizavetpol uezd alongside Alakbar Bey Khasmammadov at the "conciliation congress" of Azerbaijani and Armenian delegates convened in Tiflis under the auspices of the Viceroy's Council.

In 1908, he journeyed through Eastern and Western European countries and later published his memoirs in Ganja in 1909, titled "My Three-Month Tour in Europe."

Adil Khan Ziyadkhanov was among the seven members elected to the Interim Executive Committee of the National Muslim Council, formed in Ganja following the February Revolution of 1917. After the Government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic relocated from Ganja to Baku in September 1918 he became involved with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the republic. On October 30, 1918, Adil Khan was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and during the time Alimardan Bey Topchubashov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was in Istanbul, he served as the acting minister.

On November 17, 1918, Adil Khan Ziyadkhanov represented the Azerbaijani government in a meeting with General William Montgomerie Thomson, the commander of British military forces who had arrived in Baku.

A total of 2,000 copies of Adil Khan's book "Azerbaijan, its History, Literature, and Politics," published in both Azerbaijani and French, were sent to Alimardan Bey Topchubashov, who led the Azerbaijani delegation at the Paris Peace Conference held in Versailles in 1919. The books were distributed across European countries, the United States, and Canada.

In January 1919, Adil Khan Ziyadkhanov met with General George Milne, the commander-in-chief of British forces.

On July 16, 1919, the Azerbaijani government resolved to establish a diplomatic mission in Tehran, Iran. Subsequently, on October 4, they approved the mission's staff and appointed Deputy Minister Adil Khan Ziyadkhanov as its head.

During his time in Iran, he shared his book "Azerbaijan: Its History, Literature, and Politics," written in our native language, with local compatriots at no cost. Additionally, he published and distributed his two-volume work "Flight of the Pen" in Persian, which focuses on the people's movement for Azerbaijan's freedom.

The signing of eight agreements covering diplomatic negotiations, telegraphic communication, trade and customs, postal services, legal matters, consular conventions, and various other topics between Azerbaijan and Iran coincided with Adil Khan Ziyadkhanov's tenure as ambassador.

Following the collapse of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Adil Khan Ziyadkhanov chose not to return to Baku and remained in Tehran. On June 23, 1921, the Soviet government halted his diplomatic activities. Subsequently, he held several roles within the Tehran municipal administration, the Ministry of Social Security, and the railway and shipping administrations in Tabriz. In 1934, he relocated to Istanbul and took up a teaching position at Istanbul University.

Adil Khan Ziyadkhanov died on 14 December 1957 in Istanbul.

Recommended literature:

1. Azərbaycan Xalq Cümhuriyyətinin Gəncə quberniyasından olan dövlət xadimləri: Azərbaycan Xalq Cümhuriyyətinin 100 illiyinə həsr olunur : [monoqrafiya] /AMEA, Gəncə Bölməsi ; layihə rəhbəri F. Əliyev ; tərtib. ed.: E. Həsənov, A. Hüseynov, M. Əliyeva ; red. N. Mirzəyeva, T. Verdiyeva. - Gəncə: Elm, 2018. - 349 s.
2. Ziyadxan, Adil Xan. Avropada 3 aylıq bir səyahətim /A. X. Ziyadxan ; biblioqrafik məlumat, ərəb qrafikasından latın qrafikasına edilmiş transliterasiyanın və indekslərin tərt.: T. Hacıyev, E. Əmirov, E. Əliyev ; elmi red.: V. M. Məmmədəliyev [ön söz müəl.], M. A. Əliyev. - Bakı: CBS, 2018. - 167 s.
3. Çingizoğlu, Ənvər. Ziyadoğlu Qacarlar / Ə. Çingizoğlu ; elmi red. M. Qacar. - Yenidən işlənmiş və tamamlanmış II nəşr. - Bakı : Mütərcim, 2018. - 304 s.