Treaty of Turkmenchay explained

Treaty of Turkmenchay
Signatories:
Location Signed:Turkmenchay, Qajar Iran
Date Signed:22 February 1828
Languages:

The Treaty of Turkmenchay (Persian: عهدنامه ترکمانچای|translit=Ahdnāme-ye Torkmânčây; Russian: Туркманчайский договор|translit=Turkmanchayskiy dogovor) was an agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828). It was second of the series of treaties (the first was the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan and the last, the 1881 Treaty of Akhal) signed between Qajar Iran and Imperial Russia that forced Persia to cede or recognize Russian influence over the territories that formerly were part of Iran.[1] [2]

The treaty was signed on 21 February 1828 (5 Sha'ban 1243) in Torkamanchay (a village between Tabriz and Tehran[3]). It made Persia cede the control of several areas in the South Caucasus to Russia: the Erivan Khanate, the Nakhchivan Khanate and the remainder of the Talysh Khanate. The boundary between Russia and Persia was set at the Aras River. These territories are now Armenia, the south of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan and Iğdır Province (now part of Turkey).

The treaty was signed for Persia by the Crown Prince Abbas Mirza and Allah-Yar Khan Asaf al-Daula, chancellor to Shah Fath Ali, and for Russia by General Ivan Paskievich. Similarly to the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan, the treaty was imposed on Persia following a Russian military victory. Paskievich threatened to occupy Tehran in five days unless the treaty was signed.[4]

Following this treaty, as well as the Treaty of Gulistan, Russia completed its conquest of the Caucasian territories from Qajar Iran; what is now Dagestan, eastern Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, all of which had formed part of its very concept for centuries. The areas north of the Aras River, such as the territory of the contemporary nations of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the North Caucasian Republic of Dagestan, were Iranian until they were occupied by Russia during the 19th century.[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Following the two treaties, the formerly Iranian territories came under Russian, and later Soviet control for approximately 180 years, where Dagestan remains a constituent republic within the Russian Federation to this day. Comprising most of the territory ceded in the Gulistan and Turkmenchay treaties, three separate nations would gain independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991: namely Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Terms

The terms of the treaty are as follow[11] [12]

Article 15 provided for the resettlement of Armenians from Iranian Azerbaijan to the Caucasus, which also included an outright liberation of Armenians taken captive by Persia since 1804 or 1795.[13] [14] This resettlement replaced the 20,000 Armenians who moved to Georgia between 1795 and 1827.[15]

Aftermath

According to Prof. Alexander Mikaberidze:

According to the Cambridge History of Iran:

In combination with the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan, some authors have claimed that the two resulting Iranian territorial cessions separated the Azerbaijani people and the Talysh people from their brethren in Iran.[16] [17] [18] Following the two treaties, the formerly Iranian territories came under the Russian, and later the Soviet control for approximately 180 years, and Dagestan remains a constituent republic within the Russian Federation to this day. Comprising most of the territory ceded in Gulistan and Turkmenchay treaties, three separate nations would gain independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991: Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Repatriation of Armenians

By virtue of the 15th term of the Treaty of Turkmenchay, Armenians from the Azerbaijan Province were given the freedom to emigrate to Russian-controlled territory north of the Aras River. In the period 1828–1831 following Russia's annexation, 45,000 Armenians from Iran and 100,000 from the Ottoman Empire immigrated to Russian Armenia.[19] Beginning in October 1829, 7,668 families immigrated to Russian Armenia; ultimately, 14,047 families consisting of 90,000–100,000 people had immigrated.

Massacre at Russian embassy

In the aftermath of the war and the signing of the treaty, anti-Russian sentiment in Persia was rampant. On 11 February 1829, an angry mob stormed the Russian embassy in Tehran and killed almost everyone inside. Among those killed in the massacre was the newly-appointed ambassador to Persia, Aleksander Griboyedov, a celebrated Russian playwright. Griboyedov had played an active role in negotiating the terms of the treaty.[20] As a sign of his apology for the murder of the Russian ambasador, the Shah of Iran gave the Russian Czar his most valuable crown jewel, the Shah Diamond.

See also

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Baddeley, John. The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus. Longman, Green and Co.. London. 1908. 90.
  2. Book: Adle, Chahryar. History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Towards the contemporary period: from the mid-nineteenth to the end of the twentieth century. 2005. UNESCO. 470–477. 9789231039850.
  3. Book: Simon, Payaslian . The History of Armenia: From the Origins to the Present. . 2008 . Palgrave Macmillan . 978-0-230-60858-0 . 111–112 . 1132426878.
  4. Zirisnky, M. “Reza Shah’s abrogation of capitulation, 1927–1928” in The Making of Modern Iran: State and Society Under Riza Shah 1921–1941. Stephanie Cronin (ed.) London: Routledge, 2003, p. 81: “The context of this regime capitulations, of course, is that by the end of the reign of Fath Ali Shah (1798–1834), Iran could no longer defend its independence against the west.... For Iran this was a time of weakness, humiliation and soul-searching as Iranians sought to assert their dignity against overwhelming pressure from the expansionist west".
  5. Book: Swietochowski, Tadeusz . Tadeusz Swietochowski . 1995. Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition. 69, 133 . . 978-0-231-07068-3.
  6. Book: L. Batalden, Sandra . 1997. The newly independent states of Eurasia: handbook of former Soviet republics. 98. Greenwood Publishing Group . 978-0-89774-940-4.
  7. Book: E. Ebel, Robert, Menon, Rajan . 2000. Energy and conflict in Central Asia and the Caucasus. 181 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-0-7425-0063-1.
  8. Book: Andreeva, Elena . 2010. Russia and Iran in the great game: travelogues and orientalism. 6 . reprint . Taylor & Francis . 978-0-415-78153-4.
  9. Book: Çiçek, Kemal, Kuran, Ercüment . 2000. The Great Ottoman-Turkish Civilisation. University of Michigan . 978-975-6782-18-7.
  10. Book: Ernest Meyer, Karl, Blair Brysac, Shareen . 2006. Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia. 66 . Basic Books . 978-0-465-04576-1.
  11. English translation https://karabakh.org/treaties/turkmenchay-treaty/
  12. Russian translation https://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/FOREIGN/turkman.htm
  13. "Griboedov not only extended protection to those Caucasian captives who sought to go home but actively promoted the return of even those who did not volunteer. Large numbers of Georgian and Armenian captives had lived in Iran since 1804 or as far back as 1795."Fisher, William Bayne;Avery, Peter; Gershevitch, Ilya; Hambly, Gavin; Melville, Charles. The Cambridge History of Iran Cambridge University Press, 1991. p. 339.
  14. Web site: ФЭБ: Грибоедов. Записка о переселении армян из Персии в наши области. — 1917 (текст) . 2023-01-02 . feb-web.ru.
  15. [George Bournoutian|Bournoutian, George]
  16. "However the result of the Treaty of Turkmenchay was a tragedy for the Azerbaijani people. It demarcated a borderline through their territory along the Araxes river, a border that still today divides the Azerbaijani people." in Svante Cornell, "Small nations and great powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus", Richmond: Curzon Press, 2001, p. 37.
  17. Michael P. Croissant, "The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: causes and implications", Praeger/Greenwood,1998 – Page 67: The historical homeland of the Talysh was divided between Russia and Iran in 1813.
  18. Swietochowski, Tadeusz. Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia 2003 Taylor and Francis, 2003. p 104
  19. Book: Herzig . Edmund . The Armenians: Past and Present in the Making of National Identity . Kurkchiyan . Marina . RoutledgeCurzon . 2005 . 0700706399 . Oxon . 66.
  20. Book: Hopkirk, Peter. Peter Hopkirk. . Paperback. 1991. Oxford University Press. Oxford. 0192827995. 112–113. 9: The Barometer Falls.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Treaty of Turkmenchay".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.