The overthrow of tsarism in Russia as a result of the February Revolution gave great hopes to the inhabitants of South Azerbaijan.  The fall of tsarism, as a pillar of the Iranian regime, was perceiveof people and democratic forces as a weakening of Tehran's power in the regions, including South Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijan Provincial Committee of the Iranian Democratic Party (IDP) led the protests of the population. The Committee was headed by Sheikh Mohammed Khiyabani, hardened on the barricades of the Iranian Revolution (1905-1911). The local committees were established in Sarab, Ardabil, Zanjan and Urmia. The press organ of the IDP Azerbaijan Provincial Committee - the newspaper "Tajaddud"  began to be published. The first issue of the newspaper was published on April 9, 1917. The Democrats called on the population to fight for the expulsion of the foreign invaders from the country and the granting of the autonomy to South Azerbaijan.

On August 24, 1917, a conference of the Azerbaijan Provincial Committee opened in Tabriz. The conference was attended by 480 representatives from different regions of South Azerbaijan. The conference proclaimed the Azerbaijan Democratic Party (ADP) independent and elected its Central Committee headed by Sheikh Mohammad Khiyabani. After the summer of 1917, a new stage began in the activities of the ADP.

As a result of the protests that took place in Southern Azerbaijan and spread to other parts of Iran, at the end of 1917, the government of Vusuguddevli resigned. But the influence of the British in the country still remained. In early 1918, Russia withdrew its troops from Iran. Britain planned to use Iran as a springboard for invading neighboring countries.

In January 1918, the British sent a special military unit to Iran under the command of General Dunsterville. This group was supposed to occupy Anzeli and Rasht, and then Baku. By the spring of 1918, the British occupied Zanjan and Miyane. Under the pretext of a"threat" from the Turkey, they captured the cities of South Azerbaijan, including Khoy and Urmia, and formed there police and military detachments under the command of the British officers. At the same time, Mirza Hassan Vyusuguddovle, who pursued an open pro-English policy, was repeatedly returned to power.

At the instigation of the former Russian and French officers, British missionaries, Armenians and Kurds perpetrated a massacre against Azerbaijanis in the northwest of South Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijan Democratic Party (ADP) led the protests against the British, who pursued an occupation policy in South Azerbaijan, and took serious measures to prevent seditious massacres.

At the beginning of 1918, the entry of Turkish military units into South Azerbaijan prevented these massacres. In March they took control of the Khanate of Maku, in May – Urmia and Salmas, later – Tabriz and remained here until November 1918. After the withdrawal of Turkish troops in November 1918, the British captured  the northwest of Iran. The agreement signed by the British with the Iranian government on August 9, 1919, gave impetus to the national liberation movement that unfolded in South Azerbaijan, and the struggle against the Shah's government and the British colonialists intensified.

As a result of the uprising at the end of October 1919, the governor of Iran was expelled from Tabriz. The performances continued until the beginning of 1920. In March 1920 there was a mass demonstration against British policy in Iran. The British command in Tabriz withdrew military units from Tabriz at the request of the demonstrators.

The arrest of the several members of the ADP in the first days of April 1920 gave impetus to the uprising. On the night of April 7, the leadership of the ADP, gathered in the building of the editorial office of the newspaper "Tajaddud", prepared a plan for an armed uprising. With the beginning of the uprising, the national liberation movement in South Azerbaijan entered a new stage. The movement took on the character of an armed uprising. The Public Council (PC) was organized to lead the uprising. The Council was headed by Sh.M. Khiyabani. Under the leadership of this council, the rebels captured almost all government offices within two days. The armed uprising won without bloodshed. The Public Council officially announced to the consulates of the foreign states in Tabriz that it was fighting for the national freedom and the democratic rights. At the suggestion of Sh. M. Khiyabani, the name of Azerbaijan was changed to Azadistan.

The uprising, which began in Tabriz, gradually spread to other regions and cities of South Azerbaijan. Most of these movements were usually led by local ADP organizations. Already at the beginning of June 1920, the uprising covered a large territory within South Azerbaijan - Zanjan, Maraga, Agar, Khoy, Ardabil and other cities.

On June 23, 1920, by the decision of the ADP, on the basis of the Public Council (PC), the National Government was created, which moved from the editorial office of the “Tajaddud” newspaper to Alagapi. This event became a common holiday for the inhabitants of Tabriz. Governor Einuddovla and his officials were expelled from Tabriz at the request of Khiyabani. The National Government (NG) included 20 members of the ADP. Among the members were representatives of medium and small landowners, intellectuals, servants, as well as representatives of the big merchant bourgeoisie.

The policy pursued by the National Government was directed against discrimination carried out by Iran against South Azerbaijan, and the purpose of this policy was for Azerbaijan to gain autonomy within the newly created democratic Iran.

The National Government (NG) began to carry out reforms and other measures in the fields of agriculture, education, finance, health, justice and other areas. A draft of the organization of the national defense forces was also prepared. In accordance with this project, the creation of a military unit – the National Guard  began from the urban population and peasants who arrived in Tabriz, the total number of which will be increased to 12 thousand people in the future. The government created new gendarmerie and police units and put things in order. These forces were the backbone of the national government.

The National Government has created departments and ministries in the most important sectors -education, culture, health, justice, waqf, military affairs. The particular attention was paid to the education of the population, free schools were opened in cities and villages. The organization of a free school for girls in Tabriz was a rare event in all of Iran. Although new shields with the name “Azadistan” were put up in the institutions and enterprises, the coat of the arms of the Iranian state was preserved on them.

The national freedom and democratic movement in South Azerbaijan caused great concern among the representatives of England in Iran and the allied central government of Iran. The British began to make new plans against the movement in South Azerbaijan, which they considered "dangerous" for them.

The new Iranian Prime Minister Mushiruddevla, seeing that he could not influence the rebels through negotiations, was preparing a new attack on them. For this purpose, in the first days of September 1920, a new governor, Hidayat Mukhbirussaltan, arrived in Tabriz. He gave Khiyabani the Prime Minister's letter and started negotiations with him. During the negotiations, he won over to his side the Cossack brigade, camped on the outskirts of Tabriz, and prepared a plan for a joint attack on the city. The additional cavalry units were called to Tabriz and from other places. At the same time, Mukhbirussaltan enlisted the head of the gendarmerie Mir Huseyn Hashimi to his side in order to push the armed forces of the National Government (NG) away from Tabriz. Hashemi, under the pretext of fighting bandits, withdrew the armed forces from the city without the consent of the National Government. On September 12, counter-revolutionary forces attacked the rebels at dawn.

Despite serious resistance, the counter-revolutionary forces captured Alagapi on September 12, and on September 14 they destroyed the building of the “Tajaddud” newspaper. Although the counter-revolutionary forces outnumbered the rebels, the rebels fought heroically until  September 14. Mukhbirussaltan allowed the Cossacks to loot and plunder the houses of the democrats. On September 14, Sheikh Mohammad Khiyabani was killed. The counter-revolutionary forces brutally cracked down on the rebels. Their houses were burned, hundreds of the rebels were arrested, executed or exiled. Thus, the movement in South Azerbaijan was suppressed by the Iranian reaction with the direct assistance of the British troops.

The national liberation movement led by Sheikh Mohammad Khiyabani is a bright page in the history of the peoples of South Azerbaijan and Iran as a whole. Although the movement was defeated, the struggle of Azerbaijanis against the imperialist dominance and reactionary arbitrariness ruling in Iran is written in golden letters in history.

Recommended literature:

Atabəyi, Turac. Azərbaycan : etnik mənsubiyyəti və İranda qüdrət uğrunda mübarizəsi / T. Atabəyi ; tərc. N. E. Mədətli ; elmi red. Y. M. Mahmudlu. - Bakı : Təhsil, 2002. - 248 s.

Azadlıq uğrunda mübarizə tariximizdən : Xiyabani hərəkatı-90: [məqalələr toplusu] / AMEA akad. Z.M. Bünyadov adına Şərqşünaslıq İnstitutu ; elmi red. Ə. R. Rəhimli ; red. E. F. Məmmədova. - Bakı : Bakı Çap Evi, 2011. - 232 s.

Rəhimli, Əkrəm Rəhim oğlu. Cənubi Azərbaycan : düşüncələr, problemlər: [məqalələr] / Ə. R. Rəhimli ; elmi red. S. Z. Bayramzadə ; red. İ. Qəribli. - Bakı : Nurlar NPM, 2017. - 400 s.

Mədətli, Eynulla Yadulla oğlu. İranda Azərbaycan tarixi məsələləri : monoqrafiya / E. Y. Mədətli ; elmi red. Y. M. Mahmudov ; AMEA A.A. Bakıxanov adına Tarix İnstitutu. - Bakı : Turxan NPB, 2020. - 508 s.