Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi
The Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi (also Hunkiar Skelessi ; Russian Ункяр-Искелесийский договор Unkjar-Iskelessijski dogowor ) was a defensive alliance concluded on July 8, 1833 between Russia and the Ottoman Empire in the wake of the Russian-Ottoman War of 1828–1829 .
background
Muhammad Ali of Egypt , formally a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, led his renewed army in a war against the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II in late 1831 to take control of Palestine , Syria and Arabia . He quickly overcame the Ottoman forces and now threatened Constantinople . While Great Britain and France showed benevolence towards Muhammad Ali, Tsar Nicholas I sent a Russian army to support the Ottomans. This intervention forced Muhammad Ali to refrain from advancing further; in the Treaty of Kütahya of May 4, 1833, however, he was awarded rule over Syria, among other things.
The contract
On July 8, 1833, Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi, in which they assured each other of mutual assistance in the event of an attack by other states. However, a secret article released the Ottoman Empire from the obligation to send military aid to Russia in the event of war, provided that it would close the Dardanelles to all foreign naval units.
With this treaty, Russia became Turkey's only protecting power. Great Britain and France met the treaty with suspicion - they feared it would give Russia a free hand to send warships through the Dardanelles. However, these concerns were allayed in 1841 by the Dardanelles Treaty .
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Günther Stökl : Russische Geschichte , Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-520-24405-5 , p. 501f.