Everything about Russo-persian War 1826-1828 totally explained
Russian Empire
|combatant2=
Persian Empire
|commander1=
Aleksey Yermolov Valerian Madatov Ivan Paskevich
|commander2=
Fath 'Ali Shah Abbas Mirza
|strength1=8,000
|strength2=35,000
|casualties1=
|casualties2=
|}}
The
Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828 was the last major military conflict between the
Russian Empire and the
Persian Empire.
After the
Treaty of Gulistan concluded the previous
Russo-Persian War in
1813, peace reigned in the
Caucasus for thirteen years. However,
Fath 'Ali Shah, constantly in need of foreign subsidies, relied on the advice of
British agents, who pressed him to reconquer the territories lost to Russia and pledged their support to military action . The matter was decided upon in spring
1826, when a bellicose party of
Abbas Mirza prevailed in
Tehran and the
Russian minister,
Aleksandr Sergeyevich Menshikov, was placed under house arrest .
Campaign of 1826
Although there was no formal declaration of war, a 35,000-strong Persian army, led by Abbas Mirza, crossed the border on
16 July and invaded the Khanates of
Talysh and
Karabakh. The Khans quickly switched sides and surrendered their principal cities —
Lenkoran,
Quba,
Baku — to the Persians.
Aleksey Yermolov, Russia's General Governor of Caucasus, feeling that he didn't have sufficient resources to counter the invasion, refused to commit Russian troops to battle and ordered
Ganja, the most populous city in the
Southern Caucasus, to be abandoned. In
Shusha, a small Russian garrison managed to hold out until
5 September when General
Madatov's reinforcement arrived to their relief.
Madatov routed the Persians on the banks of the Shamkhor River and retook Ganja on the 5th September. On hearing the news, Abbas Mirza lifted his siege of
Shusha and marched towards Ganja. A new Russian reinforcement under
Ivan Paskevich (Yermolov's replacement) arrived just in time to join their forces with Madatov and to form a 8,000-strong corps under Paskevich's supreme command. Near Ganja they fell upon the Persians and forced them to retreat across the
Araks River back to Persia. The aggression was repulsed but the war was to continue for a year and a half.
Campaign of 1827
The onset of winter weather led to the suspension of hostilities until May
1827, when Paskevich advanced towards
Erivan, taking
Echmiadzin,
Nakhichevan and
Abbasabad on his way. The principal war theatre was now
Eastern Armenia, whose capital,
Erivan, was stormed and captured by Paskevich after six days of siege (
October 1). Fourteen days later, General Eristov entered
Tabriz, forcing the Shah to sue for peace.
The outbreak of the new
Russo-Turkish War revived Persian hopes and hindered peace negotiations, which were conducted by
Aleksandr Griboyedov, among others. In January 1828 a Russian detachment reached the shores of
Lake Urmia and the Shah started to panic. On his urging, Abbas Mirza speedily signed the
Treaty of Turkmenchay (
February 2,
1828) which concluded the war.
Aftermath
According to the terms of the treaty, the Khanates of Erivan and
Nakhichevan and passed to Russia. The Shah promised to pay an indemnity of 20,000,000 silver roubles and allowed his Armenian subjects to migrate to Russian territory without any hindrance. More importantly, the Shah granted the Russians the exclusive right to
maintain a navy in the
Caspian and agreed that Russian merchants were free to trade anywhere they wanted in Persia.
In the short term, the treaty undermined the dominant position of the
British Empire in Persia and marked a new stage in
the Great Game between the empires. In the long term, the treaty ensured the dependence of the Caucasus on Russia, thus making possible the eventual emergence of the modern states of
Armenia and
Azerbaijan on the territories conquered from Persia during the war.
Further Information
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