Treaty of Constantinople (1724)

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The Treaty of Constantinople was signed on June 24, 1724 between the Ottoman Empire and Russia and determined how the two powers divide the northwest of the declining Safavid Empire.

Both Russia under Peter the Great and the Ottoman Empire had an interest in extending their sphere of influence to the Caucasus, which had been under Persian rule for hundreds of years. In the Russo-Persian War of 1722 and 1723, Russia succeeded in taking from Persia large areas in the North Caucasus, today's Republic of Azerbaijan and Northern Iran along the Caspian Sea . In the Treaty of Saint Petersburg , Shah Tahmasp II had to accept the cession of the cities of Derbent and Baku and the associated regions (today's Republic of Azerbaijan) to Russia, as well as the provinces of Gilan, Shirvan, Māzandarān and Astarabad (today's Northern Iran). The treaty stipulated that Russia would henceforth be on friendly terms with the Shah, help him fight rebels and grant the Shah peaceful possession of the throne.

For the Ottoman Empire, which had triumphed in the Fourth Russian Turkish War and acquired the Azov fortress from Russia in the Peace of the Prut , it was unacceptable for Russia to establish itself on both the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The disputed Persian provinces could have served Russia as a starting point for campaigns to Anatolia. For this reason, the Turks informed Russia that Daud Khan and Mir Mahmud Hotaki had declared themselves followers of the Ottoman Empire. Daud Khan sacked and captured the city of Şamaxı in what is now Azerbaijan , Mahmud proclaimed himself a shah after the successful siege of Isfahan .

The Russian ambassador in Constantinople learned that the British had warned the Ottoman Empire of a large Russian army in Dagestan . The French ambassador, Jean-Louis d'Usson , warned that the Ottoman Empire now considered Persia its own and that further interference would mean war. For Peter the Great, however, it was important to prevent the Ottoman Empire from gaining access to the Caspian Sea. After the conclusion of the contract in 1723, Reis Efendi was surprised that in his eyes Tahmasp II was no longer a Shah and could therefore not sign a contract. In order to avoid a war, Jean-Louis d'Usson brokered an agreement according to which the annexed Persian territories east of the confluence of the Kura and Aras would henceforth be Russian zones of influence. These included the provinces on the Caspian Sea of Gilan , Mazandaran and Astarabad , the North Caucasian region of Dagestan with Derbent as well as Baku and the province of Shirvan . The areas to the west of it became Turkish, including a large part of the South Caucasus (today's Georgia and Armenia ), Iranian Azerbaijan , Hamadan and Kermanshah . Peter the Great also undertook to ensure that Tahmasp II would voluntarily or under pressure cede the provinces granted to the Turks to them.

The occupation of the Persian territories was expensive for Russia, however, the Afghan rule over Persia collapsed under Ashraf Khan within a short time. The heirs to the throne of Peter the Great therefore decided to make peace with Persia when a ruler appears who can keep himself on the throne. With the Treaty of Rasht (1732) and the Treaty of Ganjah (1735), Russia subsequently returned all acquired territories to Persia under Nadir Shah . In the Ottoman-Persian War (1730-35) Nadir Shah largely recaptured the territories that had been lost to the Turks.

Individual evidence

  1. Firuz Kazemzadeh, p. 318
  2. Firuz Kazemzadeh, p. 319
  3. Firuz Kazemzadeh, p. 320
  4. Alexander Mikaberidze: Conflict and conquest in the Islamic world, a historical encyclopedia . tape 2 . ABC-Clio, 2011, ISBN 978-1-59884-336-1 , pp. 726 .
  5. Firuz Kazemzadeh, p. 322

swell

  • Firuz Kazemzadeh: Iranian relations with Russia and the Soviet Union, to 1921 . In: Peter Avery, Gavin Hambly and Charles Melville (Eds.): The Cambridge History of Iran. Volume 7. Cambridge University Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0-521-20095-0