The Treaty of Turkmenchay (; ) was an agreement between

Qajar Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...

and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, 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 Iran to cede or recognize Russian influence over the territories that formerly were part of Iran. The treaty was signed on 22 February 1828 (5 Sha'ban 1243) in Torkamanchay (a village between Tabriz and

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

). It made Iran cede the control of several areas in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

to Russia: the

Erivan Khanate The Erivan Khanate (), also known as , was a Khanates of the Caucasus, khanate (i.e., province) that was established in Afsharid dynasty, Afsharid Iran in the 18th century. It covered an area of roughly 19,500 km2, and corresponded to most o ...

, the Nakhchivan Khanate and the remainder of the Talysh Khanate. The boundary between Russia and Iran was set at the Aras River. These territories are now

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, the south of the Republic of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, Nakhchivan and Iğdır Province (now part of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

). The treaty was signed for Iran by the Crown Prince Abbas Mirza and Allah-Yar Khan Asef al-Dowleh, chancellor to Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, and for Russia by General Ivan Paskievich. Similarly to the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan, the treaty was imposed on Iran following a Russian military victory. Paskievich threatened to occupy Tehran in five days unless the treaty was signed. 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 Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and

, 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 conquered by Russia during the 19th century. Following the two treaties, the formerly Iranian territories came under Russian, and later

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

control for approximately 180 years, where Dagestan remains a constituent republic within the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

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 The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991: namely Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Terms

The terms of the treaty are as follow * Article 4: Persia ceded the

(most of present-day central

), the Nakhchivan Khanate (most of the present-day

Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (, ) is a landlocked country, landlocked Enclave and exclave, exclave of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous RepublicNakhchivan Autonomous Republi ...

), the Talysh Khanate (southeastern Azerbaijan), and the Ordubad and Mughan regions (now also part of Azerbaijan) and also reiterated the cessions made to Russia in the Treaty of Gulistan * Article 6: Persia promised to pay Russia 10 '' korur'' in gold or 20 million silver rubles (in 1828 currency). *Article 7: Russia promised to support Abbas Mirza as the heir to the throne of Persia on the death of Shah Fath Ali (the clause became moot when Abbas Mirza predeceased Shah Fath Ali). *Article 8: Persian ships lost full rights to navigate all of the

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and its coasts, which were given to Russia. *Persia recognised capitulation rights for Russian subjects in Persia. *Article 10: Russia gained the right to send consular envoys anywhere in Persia. *Article 10: both parties accept commercial treaties with detailed conditions. *Article 13: prisoners-of-war were exchanged. *Persia officially apologised for breaking its promises made in the Treaty of Gulistan. *Article 15: Shah Fath Ali Shah promised not to charge or persecute any inhabitant or official in the region of Iranian Azerbaijan for any deed carried out during the war or during the temporary control of the region by Russian troops. In addition, all inhabitants of the aforementioned district were given the right to move from Persian districts to Russian districts within one year. 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. This resettlement replaced the 20,000 Armenians who moved to Georgia between 1795 and 1827.

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. Following the two treaties, the formerly Iranian territories came under the Russian, and later the

control for approximately 180 years, and Dagestan remains a constituent republic within the

to this day. Comprising most of the territory ceded in Gulistan and Turkmenchay treaties, three separate nations would gain independence following the

in 1991: Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Repatriation of Armenians

By virtue of the 15th term of the Treaty of Turkmenchay, Armenians from the Iranian 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 The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

immigrated to Russian Armenia. 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

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. As a sign of his apology for the murder of the Russian ambassador, the Shah of Iran gave the Russian Czar his most valuable crown jewel, the Shah Diamond.

Notes

Sources

* H. Pir Nia, Abbas Eghbal Ashtiani, B. Agheli. ''History of Persia''. Tehran, 2002. p. 673–686. *

External links

*
Text of the Treaty of Turkmenchay
{{Iran–Russia relations Turkmenchay Turkmenchay 1820s in Iran 1828 in Asia 19th century in Armenia 19th century in Azerbaijan History of Iğdır Province Turkmenchay 19th century in the Russian Empire Turkmenchay Turkmenchay Iran–Russia relations Russo-Persian Wars 1828 in Europe February 1828 Iran–Russia treaties