Content deleted Content added
Dushnilkin (talk | contribs) No edit summary Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
Ira Leviton (talk | contribs) m Deleted a duplicate "the". |
||
(22 intermediate revisions by 13 users not shown) | |||
Line 10:
| date = 22 June 1804 – 24 October 1813
| place = [[North Caucasus]], [[South Caucasus]], North [[Iran]]
| result = [[Russian Empire|Russian]] victory
[[Treaty of Gulistan]]
| territory = Persia is forced to cede what is now [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], Southern [[Dagestan]], most of [[Azerbaijan]], and parts of northern [[Armenia]] to the Russian Empire.
| casus = Border dispute between [[Persia]] and [[Russia]] over eastern [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] ([[Kartli]], [[Kakheti]]), which had been annexed by the Russian Empire in 1801, and the Russian [[Battle of Ganja (1804)|capture]] of the Persian town of Ganja.
| combatant1 = {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Russian Empire]]
| combatant2 = [[Image:Flag of Agha Mohammad Khan.svg|22px]] [[Qajar Iran
| commander1 = {{flagicon|Russia}} [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]]<br>{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Ivan Gudovich]]<br>{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Pavel Tsitsianov]]{{KIA}}<br>{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Pyotr Kotlyarevsky]]<br>{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Alexander Tormasov]]
| commander2 = [[Image:Flag of Agha Mohammad Khan.svg|22px]] [[Fath Ali Shah Qajar]]<br>[[Image:Flag of Agha Mohammad Khan.svg|22px]] [[Abbas Mirza]]<br />[[Image:Flag of Agha Mohammad Khan.svg|22px]] [[Dowlatshah|Ali Mirza]]<br>[[Image:Flag of Agha Mohammad Khan.svg|22px]] [[Javad Khan|Javad Khan Qajar]]{{KIA}}<br>[[Image:Flag of Agha Mohammad Khan.svg|22px]] [[Sadeq Khan Qajar]]{{KIA}}<br>[[File:Coat of Arms of the Bagrationi of Mukhrani.svg|22px]] [[Alexander of Georgia]]
| casualties1 =
| casualties2 =
Line 27 ⟶ 25:
{{Campaignbox Russo-Persian Wars}}
{{Campaignbox Napoleonic Wars}}
The '''Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813'''{{efn|Also called the '''Russo-Iranian War of 1804–1813'''.{{sfn|Pourjavady|2023}}}} was one of the many wars between the [[Qajar Iran|Persian Empire]] and [[Imperial Russia]], and
The war ended in 1813 with the [[Treaty of Gulistan]] which ceded the previously disputed territory of Georgia to Imperial Russia, and also the undisputed Iranian territories of [[Dagestan]], most of what is
==Origins==
{{Main|Siege of Ganja (1804)}}
[[File:Взятии штурмом крепости Гянджи.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Illustration of the [[Battle of Ganja (1804)|
The origins of the war can be traced back to the decision of Tsar [[Paul I of Russia|Paul I]] to annex Eastern Georgia ([[Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti|Kartli-Kakheti]]) in December 1800.{{Sfn|Daniel|2001}} Earlier, in 1783, the Georgian king [[Heraclius II of Georgia|Heraclius II]] had signed the [[Treaty of Georgievsk]] with Russia, bringing his kingdom under Russian protection and swearing allegiance to Empress [[Catherine the Great|Catherine]].{{Sfn|Kazemzadeh|1991|p=328}} While Russia had failed to protect Georgia against the assault of [[Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar|Agha Mohammad Khan]] in 1795, and an [[Persian expedition of 1796|expedition against Iran]] was called off by Tsar Paul, in September 1799 Russia reasserted its protectorate over Georgia at the request of the Georgian king and stationed troops there.{{Sfn|Kazemzadeh|1991|pp=329-330}} From the Iranian perspective, however, Georgia and all the South Caucasus remained integral Iranian territories,{{sfn|Pourjavady|2023}} and Iran's new shah [[Fath-Ali Shah Qajar|Fath-Ali Qajar]] could not accept their loss. Russia's annexation of Georgia in December 1800 was seen as a major threat to Iran's territorial integrity.{{Sfn|Kazemzadeh|1991|pp=330-331}} After Tsar Paul's assassination on 11 March 1801, [[Alexander I of Russia|Tsar Alexander]] continued Russia's involvement in the region and sought to incorporate the [[Khanates of the Caucasus|khanates of the eastern Caucasus]]{{Efn|Iranian provinces that passed in and out of Iranian control over the course of the eighteenth century, but which were always viewed as Iranian territories.{{Sfn|Hambly|1991|pp=145-146}}}} into his empire. In 1803, the newly appointed [[Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917)|governor of the Caucasus]], [[Pavel Tsitsianov]], attacked [[Ganja, Azerbaijan|Ganja]] and captured its [[Ganja Fortress|citadel]] on 15 January 1804.{{efn|All dates [[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe|old style]] (12 days behind the Gregorian calendar)}}{{Efn|Tsitsianov's goal was to secure the territory between Georgia and the Caspian Sea. He used as justification the fact that the khans of Ganja had sometimes recognized Heraclius II's overlordship in the second half of the eighteenth century; he also referred to Georgian possession of Ganja and its vicinity during the reign of [[Tamar of Georgia|Queen Tamar]] ({{reign|1184|1213}}).{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|pp=45, 48}}}} Ganja's governor, [[Javad Khan|Javad Khan Qajar]], was killed, and a large number of the inhabitants slaughtered.{{Sfn|Daniel|2001}} On the Iranian side, the capture of Shia Muslim territory was seen as an outright invasion that carried the risk of further losses and the imposition of foreign rule. It provoked a strong emotional reaction and the mobilization of Iran's clergy and educated elite. In fact, Tsitsianov intended to expand Russia's territories further southward into Iran, even beyond the Kur and Aras rivers, if possible.{{Sfn|Kazemzadeh|1991|pp=331-332}} As Elton L. Daniel notes, Fath-Ali Shah saw the Russian threat to Iran's northwestern territories "not only as source of instability [...] but as a direct challenge to Qajar authority."{{Sfn|Daniel|2001}}
▲[[File:Взятии штурмом крепости Гянджи.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Battle of Ganja (1804)|The siege of Ganja Fortress in 1804]] during the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) by the Russian forces under leadership of general [[Pavel Tsitsianov]].]]
==Unequal forces==
Line 41 ⟶ 38:
The Russians were unable to commit a large portion of their troops to the [[Caucasus]] region, because Alexander's attention was continually distracted by simultaneous wars with [[French invasion of Russia|France]], the [[Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812)|Ottoman Empire]], [[Finnish War|Sweden]] and [[Anglo-Russian War (1807–1812)|Great Britain]]. 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 experts through the [[Franco-Persian alliance]], and then from British experts, in order to address the tactical disparity between the forces.
==Outbreak of war and first battles==
{{Main article|Battle of Echmiadzin (1804)|Siege of Erivan (1804)}}
The war began when Russian commanders [[Ivan Gudovich]] and [[Paul Tsitsianov]] attacked the Persian settlement of [[Echmiadzin]], the holiest town in Armenia. Gudovich, unsuccessful in the siege of Echmiadzin due to a lack of troops, withdrew to [[Siege of Erivan (1804)|Yerevan]], where his siege again failed. Despite these ineffective forays, the Russians held the advantage for the majority of the war, due to superior troops and strategy. Russia's inability, however, to dedicate anything more than 10,000 troops to the campaign allowed the Persians to mount a fairly respectable resistance effort. The Persian troops were of a low grade, mostly irregular cavalry.▼
Having captured Ganja, Tsitsianov turned to the [[Erivan Khanate|Khanate of Yerevan]] (Erivan), the territory of which could serve as an invasion route to Tiflis from the south.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|p=61}} He used a dispute over the election of the [[Catholicos of All Armenians|Armenian Catholicos]] (head of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Church]]) as a means to place pressure on the khan of Yerevan, [[Mohammad Khan Qajar of Erivan|Mohammad Khan Qajar]].{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|pp=61–65}} In the meantime, Fath-Ali Shah sent a letter to Tsitsianov requesting that he leave Tiflis and place [[Prince Alexander of Georgia|Prince Alexander]], who had earlier fled to Iran, on the Georgian throne. He warned Tsitsianov that he was raising a large army but stated that he wanted to avoid bloodshed. Tsitsianov sent back a hostile response, prompting the Shah to send Abbas Mirza toward the South Caucasus at the head of an army of 20,000 or 30,000.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|pp=66–67}} Abbas Mirza set out for [[Yerevan]] from Tabriz on 8 May 1804.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|p=68}} Mohammad Khan of Yerevan, caught between the approaching Iranian army and the Russians, offered his submission to Tsitsianov, but the latter responded with more threats and harsh demands.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2024|pp=69–70}} Abbas Mirza arrived in Iranian Armenia and encamped on the Zangi (Hrazdan) River half a league from the city of Yerevan on June 7.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2024|p=70}} Mohammad Khan, hoping for the arrival of the Russians, refused Abbas Mirza's demand to come out of the city and join him, and the two sides fired upon each other.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2024|pp=70–71}} Tsitsianov crossed into the Yerevan Khanate with an army of about 5,000 men, and Abbas Mirza abandoned the siege of Yerevan to confront him on June 24.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2024|pp=71–72}} Abbas Mirza's army, reinforced by local forces, numbered around 40,000.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2024|pp=72–73}}
The first battle between the armies of Tsitsianov and Abbas Mirza occurred at [[Echmiadzin]] (also known at the time as Üç-Kilisa), the center of the Armenian Church. Accounts of the battle differ on the details, with sources from each side claiming victory. After the main battle on July 3, mainly skirmishes occurred. Tsitsianov was running out of supplies and had heard that the khan of Yerevan had joined the Shah, so on July 8 he ordered his troops to march for [[Kanaker]], a village in the vicinity of Yerevan, in order to besiege the city.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|pp=76–80}} Abbas Mirza moved to Kanaker to block the Russians' path, but the Russians successfully forced their way into the city and besieged [[Erivan Fortress|its citadel]]. Abbas Mirza regrouped his forces and requested aid from the Shah, who arrived with reinforcements on July 27.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|pp=80-81}} Again, Iranian and Russian sources give differing details about the battles that occurred during the siege of Yerevan.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bournoutian|2021}} presents parallel accounts based on Iranian and Russian sources, respectively, on pp. 80–83 and 84–98.</ref> The Iranians succeeded in disrupting Russian supply lines, and the Russians were not able to attempt an assault on the fortress.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|pp=91–94}} By late August, Tsitsianov's forces were running dangerously low on supplies. He requested provisions from Georgia, but the peasants there refused to provide the grain, and [[1804 Mtiuleti rebellion|a rebellion]] occurred along the [[Georgian Military Road]], temporarily blocking the passes through the Caucasus Mountains.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|p=94}} In mid-September, Tsitsianov ended the siege and retreated towards Tiflis while being chased by the Iranian vanguard.<ref>See the parallel Persian and Russian accounts, respectively, in {{harvnb|Bournoutian|2021|pp=82–83}} and 94–98.</ref> He arrived back in Tiflis on October 16, having lost half of his men.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|p=98}}{{efn|Tsitsianov reported that 2,329 able-bodied men had made it back to Tiflis.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|p=98, note 145}} According to Iranian sources, the Russians lost 4,000 men during the retreat, while the Iranians suffered 1,000–2,000 dead.{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2021|pp=82–83}}}}
▲
==War==
Line 89 ⟶ 88:
{{Location map~|Caucasus mountains|lat=38.90|long=46.23|label=M|position=bottom}}
}}
In early 1805 the [[Shoragel sultanate]] was taken by the Russians. This was a small area at the junction of Georgia, the Yerevan Khanate, and Turkey and included the militarily important town of [[Gyumri]]. On 14 May, the [[Karabakh Khanate]] submitted to the Russians, and on 21 May the [[Shaki Khanate]] did the same. In response to the loss of Karabakh, Abbas Mirza occupied the [[Askeran Fortress]] at the mouth of a valley leading from the plain southwest to [[Shusha]], the capital of Karabakh. The Russians responded by sending Koryagin to take [[Shahbulag Castle]]. Abbas Mirza marched north and besieged the place. On hearing of the approach of another army under Fath Ali, Koryagin slipped out at night and headed for Shusha. He was caught at the [[Askeran]] gorge but not defeated. More Russian troops relieved the blockade of Koryagin and Shusha. Seeing that the main Russian force had pushed far to the southeast, Abbas Mirza made a wide swing north and besieged Ganja. On 27 July, 600 Russian infantry routed his camp at [[Shamkir (city)|Shamkir]].
Line 98 ⟶ 93:
In September, a naval attack on [[Baku]] failed. In November, Tsitsianov marched east toward Baku, en route to accepting the submission of the [[Shirvan Khanate]] (27 December). On 8 February 1806, he was murdered while accepting the surrender of Baku. Russian honor was restored by Glazenap, who marched from north of the mountains and took [[Derbent]], [[Quba]], and Baku (technically Baku surrendered to Bulgakov). [[Ivan Gudovich]] replaced Tsitsianov as viceroy. In December, the [[Ottoman Empire]] declared war on Russia.
Troops were moved west to deal with the Turks, a truce was made and Nibolshin was left to guard the frontier. Fighting resumed in 1808 when Russia took [[Vagharshapat|
In early 1812, Persia invaded Karabagh. They occupied Shahbulag Castle, which the Russians later recaptured. They attacked a Russian battalion at "Sultan-Buda" using European-style infantry and a few British officers. After a day of fighting the Russians surrendered. Russia responded to this unusual defeat by moving [[Pyotr Kotlyarevsky]], the hero of [[Akhalkalaki]], from the Turkish to the Persian front.
In the summer of 1812, just as Napoleon was preparing to invade Russia, the Russians made peace with the Ottoman Empire and Russian troops in Caucasia turned to Persia. On 19 October, Kotlyarevsky ignored the cautious Ritishchev's orders, crossed the [[Aras (river)|Aras]] river and routed the Persians at the [[Battle of Aslanduz]]. He then crossed the snow-covered [[Mughan plain|Mughan Plain]] and, [[Siege of Lankaran|after a five-day siege]], stormed the newly-built fort of [[Lenkaran|Lankaran]]. The Russians lost 1000 men, two-thirds of their force. Of the 4000-man Persian garrison, every survivor was bayonetted. Kotlyarevsky was found wounded among a heap of corpses. He was carried half-dead to [[Tbilisi|Tiflis]] (now Tbilisi) and survived for 39 more years, unfit for further service. A victory at "Karabezouk" completed the discomfiture of the Persians (3 April 1813). News of [[French invasion of Russia#Retreat|Napoleon's defeat]] reached Persia in the spring of 1813. Peace negotiations were already underway and an [[armistice]] was made in October. In the [[Treaty of Gulistan]], Persia recognized Russian possession of all the khanates it
Thirteen years later, in another [[Russo-Persian War (1826–1828)|Russo-Persian War]] fought from 1826 to 1828, Persia tried to regain its territory. It was defeated and lost the khanates of [[Erivan Khanate|Yerevan]] and [[Nakhichevan Khanate|Nakhichevan]], roughly corresponding to modern Armenia.
Line 115 ⟶ 110:
Then, in the third and final twist to this story, [[French invasion of Russia|Napoleon invaded Russia in June 1812]], making Russia and Britain allies once again. Britain, like France after Tilsit, was thus obliged to steer a course between antagonizing Russia and violating its commitments to Persia, with its best option being to broker a settlement of the conflict between the two. The Russians had been periodically interested in finding a negotiated settlement since the setbacks of 1805–6 and as recently as 1810, when [[Alexander Tormasov]], who had replaced Gudovich as commander after his unsuccessful siege of Erevan, and [[Ghaem Magham Farahani|Mirza Bozorg Qaem-magham]] had sought to arrange an armistice . Yet the Russians were unwilling to make serious concessions in order to end the war, and the Persians were also less than eager to settle since from their point of view the war was not going all that badly. Ouseley, however, realized the awkwardness of having Britain's resources deployed against its Russian ally and that the situation for Persia was likely to worsen once Russia was freed from the struggle with Napoleon. He was thus receptive to Russian requests to act as an intermediary and sought ways to pressure the Qajars into accepting a settlement. He proposed revisions to the Definitive Treaty, scaled back British military involvement (leaving two officers, [[Charles Christie (officer)|Charles Christie]] and [[Henry Lindsay Bethune|Lindesay Bethune]], and some drill sergeants with the Persian army), and threatened to withhold payment of the subsidy promised to the Qajars.
In February 1812, [[
==1813: Treaty of Gulistan==
{{expand section|date=January 2016}}
{{main|Treaty of Gulistan}}
Russia fought on two frontiers: against the Ottomans between 1806 and 1812; and against the Persians from 1804 to 1813. Both frontiers were concluded via treaties: the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1812)|Treaty of Bucharest]] in 1812 with the Ottoman Empire; and the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 that lasted until 1826 when Russian troops, acting outside of the control of Tsar [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]], occupied [[Mirak, Armenia|Mirak]]. Under the Gulistan treaty, Russia was acknowledged as the power in control of the South Caucasus; western and eastern Georgia and the Muslim khanates until Baku and Quba were placed under Russian administration.
==Assessment and aftermath==
{{expand section|date=January 2016}}
Although Russia was recognized as a dominant power over the Caucasus, the success of the Treaty of Gulistan was overshadowed by the threat of the Ottomans. The Treaty of Bucharest was in favor of the Ottoman Empire which had claimed the territories that Russia conquered during the war: [[Poti]] and [[Anapa]], which were Black Sea port cities, as well as [[Akhalkalaki]]. Still, the conditions of sovereignty were comparatively stable in these years. In the complex political map of the South Caucasus, Russia had the means to control the region through defensive lines.
According to
{{cquote|The defeat of Napoleon enabled Russia to allocate greater resources to the Caucasus front. The difference between well-drilled, well-equipped, disciplined armies and the tribal levies of Abbas Mirza was decisive. At Aslanduz on the Aras, 2,260 Russians under General P. S. Kotlyarevsky fought a two-day battle with 30,000 Persians under Abbas Mirza, killing 1,200 enemy soldiers, and capturing 537 at a loss to themselves of only 127 dead and wounded. Though on occasion the Persians fought well, for instance at Lankaran, where the same Kotlyarevsky lost 950 of 1,500 men under his command and was himself permanently disabled, the war was obviously lost.{{sfn|
}}
== Notes ==
Line 138 ⟶ 130:
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Sources==
*{{Cite book |last=Atkin |first=Muriel |title=Russia and Iran, 1780–1828 |date=1980 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-0924-6 |location=Minneapolis}}
*N. Dubrovin. История войны и владычества русских на Кавказе, volumes 4–6. SPb, 1886–88.▼
*
*{{Encyclopædia Iranica Online|year=2001|first=Elton L.|last=Daniel|access-date=22 June 2024|title=Golestān Treaty|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/golestan-treaty}}
*{{cite book |first=Timothy C. |last=Dowling |title=Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond |location=Santa Barbara |publisher=ABC-Clio |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-59884-948-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KTq2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA728 }}
*{{cite book |first=Erik |last=Goldstein |title=Wars and Peace Treaties: 1816 to 1991 |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=1992 |isbn=0-415-07822-9}}
*{{cite book |last=Hambly |first=Gavin R. G. |title=The Cambridge History of Iran |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0521200950 |editor-surname1=Avery |editor-given1=Peter |editor-link1=Peter Avery |volume=7 |pages=144-173 |chapter=Iran during the reigns of Fath ‘Alī Shāh and Muhammad Shāh |editor-surname2=Hambly |editor-given2=Gavin |editor-surname3=Melville |editor-given3=Charles}}
* {{cite book |last=Kazemzadeh |first=Firuz |author-link=Firuz Kazemzadeh |title=The Cambridge History of Iran |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0521200950 |editor-surname1=Avery |editor-given1=Peter |editor-link1=Peter Avery |volume=7 |pages=314-349 |chapter=Iranian relations with Russia and the Soviet Union, to 1921 |editor-surname2=Hambly |editor-given2=Gavin |editor-surname3=Melville |editor-given3=Charles}}
* {{cite book|last=King|first=Charles|title=The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus|year=2008|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|ISBN=978-0-19-517775-6|url=https://archive.org/details/ghostoffreedomhi0000king|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Pourjavady|first1=Reza|year=2023|title=Russo-Iranian wars 1804-13 and 1826-8|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/russo-iranian-wars-1804-13-and-1826-8-COM_34286|encyclopedia = Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History Volume 20. Iran, Afghanistan and the Caucasus (1800-1914) | publisher = [[Brill Publishers|Brill]]}}▼
==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last1=Behrooz|first1=Maziar|authorlink=Maziar Behrooz|title=Iran at War: Interactions with the Modern World and the Struggle with Imperial Russia|date=2023|publisher=I.B. Tauris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TnevEAAAQBAJ|isbn=978-0755637379}}
▲* {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Pourjavady|first1=Reza|year=2023|title=Russo-Iranian wars 1804-13 and 1826-8|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/russo-iranian-wars-1804-13-and-1826-8-COM_34286|encyclopedia = Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History Volume 20. Iran, Afghanistan and the Caucasus (1800-1914) | publisher = Brill}}
{{Russian Conflicts}}
Line 155 ⟶ 152:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russo-Persian War (1804-13)}}
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:19th century in Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:19th century in Georgia (country)]]
|