Russo-Persian War (1804-1813)
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The 1804-1813 Russo-Persian War, one of the many wars between the Persian Empire and Imperial Russia, began like many wars as a territorial dispute. The Persian king, Fath Ali Shah Qajar, wanted to consolidate the northernmost reaches of his Qajar dynasty by securing land near the Caspian Sea's southwestern coast (modern Azerbaijan) and the Transcaucasus (modern Georgia and Armenia). Like his Persian counterpart, the Russian czar Alexander I was also new to the throne and equally determined to control the disputed territories.
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[edit] Territorial claims
In 1779, following the death of Karim Khan, the Zand dynasty ruler of southern Persia, Agha Mohammad Khan (reigned 1779-97), a leader of the Turkmen Qajar tribe, set out to reunify Persia. By 1794 he had eliminated all his rivals, including Lotf Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty, and had reasserted Persian sovereignty over the former Persian territories in Georgia and the Caucasus. In 1796 he was formally crowned as shah, or emperor. Agha Mohammad was assassinated in 1797 and was succeeded by his nephew, Fath Ali Shah (reigned 1797-1834). Fath Ali attempted to maintain Persia's sovereignty over its new territories, but he was disastrously defeated by Russia in two wars.
Persia at the time claimed Karabakh, Shirvan, Talysh, and Shakki (parts of modern Azerbaijan) among its possessions; however, these claims appeared shaky after Russia's 1801 annexation of Georgia, a territory also claimed by the Persians. The Russians, eager to extend and consolidate their advantage, pushed forward militarily into the Persian frontier, planning to expand Imperial Russia's borders to the Aras River, bordering what is now northern Turkey.
[edit] Unequal forces
The Russians were unable to dedicate a larger portion of their troops in the Caucasus region, because Alexander's attention was continually distracted by concomitant wars with France, the Ottoman Empire, and Sweden. Therefore, the Russians were forced to rely on superior technology, training, and strategy in the face of an overwhelming disparity in numbers. Some estimates put the Persian numerical advantage at five to one. Shah Fath Ali's heir, Abbas Mirza, tried to modernize the Persian army, seeking help from French and British experts with a mind to achieving this cause, but this merely delayed the Persian defeat.
[edit] Outbreak of war
| Russo-Persian Wars |
|---|
| 1722–23 – 1796 – 1804–13 – 1826–28 |
The Russian commanders Ivan Gudovich and Paul Tsitsianov catalysed the outbreak of war when they attacked the Persian settlement of Echmiadzin, notable as the most holy town in Armenia. Gudovich, unsuccessful in the siege of Echmiadzin due to a lack of troops, withdrew to Yerevan where he again prosecuted another failed siege. Despite these ineffective forays, the Russians held the advantage for the majority of the war, due to superior troops and strategy; however, Russia's inability to dedicate anything more than 10,000 troops allowed the Persians to mount a fairly respectable resistance effort, the Persian troops being of a low grade, mostly irregular cavalry.
[edit] Holy war and Persian defeat
The Persians scaled up their efforts late in the war, declaring a holy war on Imperial Russia in 1810; however, this was to little avail. Russia's superior technology and tactics ensured a series of strategic victories, culminating in Pyotr Kotlyarevsky's victories at Aslanduz and Lenkoran, in 1812 and 1813 respectively. Upon the Persian surrender, the terms of the Treaty of Golestan ceded the vast majority of the previously disputed territories to Imperial Russia. This led to the region's once-powerful khans being decimated and forced to pay homage to Russia.
[edit] References
- N. Dubrovin. История войны и владычества русских на Кавказе, volumes 4-6. SPb, 1886-88.
