Natavan was born on August 15, 1832 in Shusha, a town in present-day Nagorno-Karabakh to Mehdigulu Khan (1763-1845) and Badir Jahan Begüm (1802-1861). Being the only child in the family and descending from Panah Ali Khan, she was the only heir of the Karabakh khan, known to general public as the “daughter of the khan” (Azerbaijani: Xan qızı). Her name Khurshid Banu (خورشیدبانو) is from Persian and means “Lady Sun”. Her nom de plume Natavan (ناتوان) is also from Persian and means powerless. She was named after her grandmother – Khurshud Begüm, daughter of Javad Khan.

After her father’s death, she inherited vast amounts of lands from her father including 1,315 households, 41 nomadic territories and 7 villages at age of 14. She was put in care of her aunt Gawhar agha who taught her music, poetry and painting. She probably married Kumyk noble Khasay Utsmiev in 1847. She inherited additional number of 9 villages from her mother Badir Jahan Begüm in 1861 after her death. She founded and sponsored the first literary societies in Shusha and in the whole of Azerbaijan. One of them called Majlis-i Uns (“Society of Friends”) founded in 1864 became especially popular and concentrated major poetic-intellectual forces of Karabakh of that time.

She probably married Kumyk nobleman, Khasay Utsmiev, in 1847 and had two children with him:

She later married a commoner named Seyyid Huseyn Agamirov (1833-1891) in 1866 with whom she had 5 children:

Natavan was closely engaged in philanthropy, promoting the social and cultural development of Karabakh. Among her famous deeds was a water main that was first laid down in Shusha in 1872, thus solving the water problem of the townsfolk. The local Russian “Kavkaz” newspaper wrote at the time: “Khurshud Banu-Begum left an eternal mark in the memories of the Shushavians and her glory will pass on from generation to generation”. The aqueduct built by Natavan from famous Shusha white stones were called by the townsfolks “Natavan springs” and were also considered historical monuments under protection.

Natavan died in 1897 in Shusha. As a sign of respect, people carried her coffin on their shoulders all the way from Shusha to Agdam, some 30 km north-east, where she was buried in a family burial vault.