Abstract
This chapter examines various treaties between Iran and Britain during the nineteenth century. It discusses the imposition of unjust treaties by regional and western powers as pacts that eventually separated Herat from Iran , a traditional component of the Persian Empire from ancient days. Moreover, Iranians, though not intimate with Afghans , nevertheless regarded their people as close tribal relatives with similar languages, religion and culture. Long before Afghanistan independence, and even after it, Afghans paid taxes, ransoms and tributes to the Iranian government. After its long history as part of Iran , Herat became independent by British cunning, and for the first time in its modern history, Afghanistan became an independent nation by means of British impositions.
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Notes
- 1.
After Paul I’s death (only son of Peter III and Catherine, Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801, who had planned to attack and occupy India , Tsar Alexander I took power and completely changed Russian foreign policy. France became the enemy and good relations with Britain were established. However, Russia desired Iran ’s Georgia , believing it was Russian territory. Hence, Russian troops invaded Georgia on 12 September 1802. Fath-Ali Shah (Fath-ʻAli Shah ) asked for British aid but was refused. Finally, in January 1807, the Iranian ambassador to Britain , Muhammad Nabee Khan, returned to Iran without fruitful results.
- 2.
The Tilsit Treaty of July 1807 , signed between France and Russia , initially prevented France helping Iran , and thus annulled Napoleon ’s plan. When Iran signed the Treaty of Tilsit , the French lost interest and removed their political-military missions from Iran (Ghani 2013), especially as Spain presented yet another barrier. Thus, France could not effectively ally with Iran , who needed assistance.
- 3.
Russians never gave back Iran ’s land despite what it had promised in the Gulistan (Gulistān) Treaty. In the case of Iravan (Īravān/Yerevan), the dispute on the Russo-Persian frontier started once again in 1826. Although Iran had become totally weak after many years of war, it finally engaged in war with Russia . It was fourteen years after the Russo-Persian war that eventually ended in the Gulistan Treaty . See more clarification about Gulistan Treaty in Chap. 4 of this book. Iran ’s army was supported by neither Caucasian’s soldiers, nor Azerbaijan ’s people. At the result, after two years’ war, unfortunately Iran ’s army failed. When conflict and quarrelling began on the Russo-Persian frontier, the British government sent Sir Colonel John Kinneir MacDonald to Iran . Then, on 10 February 1828, the Treaty of Turkmenchay was signed between Iran and Russia . This was a political-commercial agreement that led to the cancellation of the Gulistan Treaty , and Iran lost many parts of its northern frontier, including Iravan and Nakhjavan (Nakhchivān). See Partu (2009/1388).
- 4.
Fath-Ali Shah (1212–50/1797–1834) died on 23 October 1834. His son, the crown prince, Abbās Mīrzā (1203–49/1789–1833), died a year before his father in 1833.
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Ebrahimi, M., Yusoff, K. (2019). On Iran’s Eastern Borders: Origins and Consecutive Treaties with the British During the Nineteenth Century. In: Ebrahimi, M., Rad Goudarzi, M., Yusoff, K. (eds) The Dynamics of Iranian Borders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89836-0_2
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