After the Treaty of Gulistan, which concluded the first stage in the division of Azerbaijan’s territory between the Russian and the Qajar empires, a further treaty was signed, between the Qajar and the British empires against the Russian Empire, on November 25, 1814. Under the terms of this treaty, the Qajar Empire would guarantee India’s security within its borders, and Britain would provide it with financial and military assistance in return.[1]
In 1823, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Qajar and Ottoman empires, with mediation by the British Empire, to end the war between them that had begun in 1821.[2] During that period, there had been rebellions in the North Caucasus against the Russian Empire, which therefore refrained from engaging in a new war with the Qajar Empire. The Russian diplomat who was sent to the Qajar Empire expressed the Russian Empire’s willingness to hand over part of the Karabakh and Lankaran khanates to the Qajar Empire in order to stop the Shah from starting a new war. However, the Shah declared war on the Russian Empire on December 14, 1825, on the eve of the revolution in Saint Petersburg. The timing of the declaration of war was considered perfect because while the Russian Empire was busy with internal problems, it could not defend itself against the Qajar Empire. The khans of Azerbaijan’s khanates, who had been granted asylum in the Qajar Empire after the Treaty of Gulistan, profoundly influenced the Shah’s decision to declare war on the Russian Empire.[3]
The war began on July 19, 1826, when Abbas Mirza’s military forces attacked Karabakh. The 48-day-long siege of the Shusha fortress by the army of the Qajar Empire allowed the Russian Empire to gain time to deploy additional military forces to the region. During that time, Russians were extracted from Ganja, Shaki, and Shamakhi, respectively, by Ugurlu Khan, Salim Khan, and Mustafa Khan. However, Baku and Lankaran were still controlled by the Russian Empire’s military forces. The defeat of the army of the Qajar Empire by the Russian Empire’s military forces near Shamkir on September 3, 1826, forced Abbas Mirza to stop besieging the Shusha fortress. The defeat of Abbas Mirza in the decisive battle near Ganja on September 13 marked a turning point in the war. The Russian Empire’s military forces advanced towards Nakhchivan after taking control of Khudaferin Bridge. Nakhchivan was occupied in June 1827. The Russian military forces’ victory at the Battle of Javanbulag allowed them to occupy Abbasabad, a fortress of strategic importance for protecting Nakhchivan. The occupation of the Sardarabad fortress was followed by the occupation of Iravan on October 1. The military forces of the Russian Empire thus did not face any obstacles while attempting to advance toward South Azerbaijan. Tabriz was occupied on October 13. The negotiations between the Russian and Qajar empires, with British mediation, in November did not end successfully. The occupation of Urmia and Ardabil in January 1828 forced Fath Ali Shah to begin new negotiations with the Russian Empire.[4]
On February 10, 1828, a peace treaty was signed between Abbas Mirza and General Paskevitch in the village of Turkmenchay. The Treaty of Turkmenchay consisted of 16 articles. Under the terms of Article III, the Nakhchivan and Iravan khanates were annexed to the Russian Empire. As it was in the Treaty of Gulistan, only the Russian Empire possessed an exclusive right to have warships on the Caspian Sea in accordance to Article VIII of the Treaty of Turkmenchay. Article VI, in turn, specified that the Qajar Empire agreed to indemnify the Russian Empire by handing over 20 million silver coins. Russian merchants were given special privileges and exclusive rights to conduct trade within the Qajar Empire. Article XV of the Treaty of Turkmenchay was especially dealing with the condition, migration in case of necessity, and settlement of population in accordance with the new regulations.[5]
As a result of efforts by A.S. Griboyedov and General J.F. Paskevitch, Armenians who had been brought from the Qajar Empire were settled in Azerbaijan by the Russian Empire under the terms of Article XV in the Treaty of Turkmenchay. The settlement of Armenians in North Azerbaijan by the Russian Empire was not a coincidence. It was envisaged in the Decree by Peter I that was issued on November 10, 1724. In order to carry out this plan, favorable conditions and opportunities were created in the 1820s and 1830s. After the occupation of the Iravan Khanate, arrangements were made to provide a legal basis for this migration process. A.S. Griboyedov, Russian Empire representative to the Qajar Empire, played a crucial role in the realization of the migration plan prepared by an Armenian called Catholicos Nerses. Griboyedov’s letter to the Tsar contains valuable information regarding the migration plan. In March 1828, a month after the Treaty of Turkmenchay was signed, 700 Armenian families were settled in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh-Barda region. The Committee on Migration that was formed mainly for this issue settled the Armenian population on the northern side of the Aras River, mainly in the Karabakh, Iravan, and Yelizavetpol (Ganja) regions of Azerbaijan. The Armenians who migrated were given special privileges. These Armenians were exempted from all taxes and duties and were given a 25-ruble monthly allowance per person for the following six years. The allowances were allocated from the indemnity that the Qajar Empire paid.[6]
Between 1828 and 1830, 40,000 Armenians from the Qajar Empire and 85,000 Armenians from the Ottoman Empire were settled in Azerbaijan. For the settlement of Armenians, 200 thousand-dessiatine lands were allocated from the land of the Treasury. In addition, territories were purchased from Muslim landowners for 2 million manats of the time. In 1911, Russian historian N. Shavrov wrote that around 1.3 million Armenians were living in the South Caucasus at the beginning of the twentieth century. More than one million of these Armenians settled in these territories due to the migration policy of the Russian Empire.[7]
The signing of the Treaty of Turkmenchay put an end to fighting between the Russian and Qajar empires. This treaty officially ended Azerbaijan’s division into two parts. The Russian Empire intended to create a stronghold in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories. Different ethnic groups and nations from neighboring countries settled in Azerbaijan as a result of the migration policy of the Russian Empire, which significantly influenced and seriously changed the ethnic composition and demographic situation of Azerbaijan’s population. On the question of the settlement of Armenians in Azerbaijan, Griboyedov wrote that after a while, Armenians would claim that the territories they settled in as a result of the Russian Empire’s migration policy belonged to them.[8] Griboyedovos prediction thus came true, and Armenia began territorial claims against Azerbaijan, which led to definite controversies among the local population. Furthermore, from 1828, the Russian Empire purposefully pursued its activities, together with Armenians, for creating an ‘Armenian province’ in the Nakhchivan and Iravan khanates, in line with its migration policy and its intention of creating a buffer zone along its border with the Ottoman Empire.
[1] “İran və İngiltərə arasında Tehran müqaviləsi,” in Mahmudov and Şükürov (eds.), Azərbaycan beynəlxalq münasibətlər və diplomatiya tarixi (1639–1828), pp. 449–453.
[2] “Osmanlı imperiyası və İran arasında Ərzurum müqaviləsi,” in Mahmudov and Şükürov (eds.), Azərbaycan beynəlxalq münasibətlər və diplomatiya tarixi (1639–1828), pp. 481–487.
[3] Azərbaycan tarixi, Vol. 6, (2008), pp. 42–46.
[4] Umudlu, Şimali Azərbaycanın çar Rusiyası tərəfindən işğalı, pp. 144–157–166–170.
[5] “Türkmənçay müqaviləsi,” in Mahmudov and Şükürov (eds.), Azərbaycan beynəlxalq münasibətlər və diplomatiya tarixi (1639–1828), pp. 493–503. See also: “Rusiya-İran Türkmənçay müqaviləsi. 10 fevral 1828-ci il,” in Heydərov, Bağırov, and Şükürov (eds.), Qafqazda “erməni məsələsi,” Vol.1, pp. 55–66.
[6] Грибоедов, А.С., Горе от ума. Писма и записки (Баку, 1989), p. 338. See also: Qlinka, Azərbaycan ermənilərinin Rusiya hududlarına köçürülməsinin təsviri, pp. 42–46, 92.
[7] Шавров, Н.Н., Новая угроза Русскому делу Закавказе: Престояшая распродажа Мугани инородцам (Баку: Элм, 1990), pp. 59–64.
[8] Грибоедов, Горе от ума. Писма и записки, p. 338.
