Iran turns to Britain with a preliminary alliance treaty

Russian forces captured Ganja’s citadel and killed its ruler Javad Khan. The assault intensified the struggle over the eastern Caucasus between Russia and Qajar Iran; reported killing of inhabitants...

Iran and France signed the Finkenstein treaty. France recognized Iranian claims to Georgia and promised arms and military instructors. Iran sought support against Russian expansion, while Napoleon...

Napoleon and Alexander I concluded their treaty at Tilsit. Their rapprochement weakened French support for Iran against Russia, showing how European settlements could undercut Iranian diplomacy even...

Russian troops defeated Abbas Mirza’s army at Aslanduz. The defeat weakened Iran’s ability to resist Russian territorial demands. British officer Charles Christie, who had remained in Iranian service,...

After the 1804–1813 war, Iran recognized Russian control over major Caucasian territories under the Treaty of Gulistan. Russia also secured exclusive Caspian warship rights, deepening the unequal...

Iran and Britain concluded a definitive treaty offering British troops or a subsidy if a European power attacked Iran. It also constrained Iran’s alliances. The agreement sought protection after...

The Treaty of Turkmenchay ended the 1826–1828 war. Iran ceded the Erivan and Nakhchivan khanates, accepted an indemnity and confirmed Russia’s exclusive Caspian warship rights, consolidating Russian...

A crowd attacked the Russian mission in Tehran, killing ambassador Alexander Griboedov and other staff. The crisis followed the unequal Turkmenchay settlement; conflicting Iranian and Russian accounts...