Emboldened by his successes, Fatali desired to extend his influence to the rest of the South Caucasus. He invaded Karabakh Khanate in 1780 by crossing the Kura River, but the Georgian king Erekle II helped Ibrahim Khalil Khan by sending him a detachment under the command of princes George and David. In August of that year, the khan undertook an unsuccessful campaign again, but at the beginning of 1781, he could penetrate deep into Karabakh and drive away some peasants from there. Meanwhile his brother-in-law and vassal Malik Muhammad Khan was captured in Karabakh and was later released. Seeing this as humiliation, Fatali appointed 11 year old Mirza Muhammad Khan II as Baku khan and forced his father to go on pilgrimage in 1781. Thanks to his sister acting as regent for khan, Fatali became true ruler of Baku.
