I require quite specific answers but not a huge amount of detail. In
the period 1850-1870 I need to know what the extent of Persia was. I
need to know where the capital city was, what it was called and
whether it fulfilled all functions of a capital or if there was a
secondary capital. A map of Persia in this period is necessary. I know
that Persia extended into what is now Turkmenistan as Russia clashed
with them and took land off them - which land was this and was it
under Persian rule or influence, i.e. was it part of Persia proper or
was it an area they exercised power over differently? Please ask for
clarification if I haven't made enough sense! Thanks

---

Request for Question Clarification by journalist-ga on 08 May 2003 11:19 PDT

I'm a bit unclear on your exact needs.  The most readable map I
located is at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/persia_afghanistan_1856.jpg
(Persia 1856 - large file - you may have to wait a bit for complete
screen load).  Will this assist you in better defining your question?

---

Clarification of Question by wolvies-ga on 08 May 2003 12:58 PDT

Aha, I guess the area in question is Khiva - who ruled there, how did
it become Russian, what degree of control did Persia have over it? I
see Tehran was called Teheran - was this the capital? Was it the court
AND administrative capital ? Did the Shah and the gov't both reside
there, in whatever form that meant in mid nineteenth century Persia?

Hope that is of help :)

Hello wolvies

Nice to work with you again. You always ask such interesting (and
challenging) questions.

The short answers are that Tehran was the only capital from before
1800 and in 1850-70 Persian influence didn't extend further north than
the river Atrek (Attruck) which became the official border in 1869.
Meanwhile the Russians were gradually fighting their way into
Turkmenistan, gaining final control of Khiva in 1873.

Journalist has already found you the best possible online map for your
purposes and, after perusing many webpages with vague and confusing
information, I've collected a series of excerpts which I think will
answer your questions. Just ask if there's some point I haven't
addressed.


======
TEHRAN
======

Tehran had been the capital since the end of the eighteenth century
and in it were both "royal buildings" and the "the government head
quarters and the governor’s seat". It was also the city to which
"political envoys" came.

"Agha Mohammad Khan, in [..]1785, designated Tehran as his capital
city, and after the elimination of all his rivals and enemies, he was
formally crowned as Shah at the Tehran Citadel. From this point on and
until the fall of the Qajars, Tehran carried the title of Dar-ol
Khelafeh (the seat of the caliphate) bestowed upon it by Agha Mohammad
Khan. He was succeeded by his nephew Fath Ali Shah (reigned
1797-1834).
During Fath Ali’s reign, Tehran gradually improved and became more
developed. New buildings were erected and the population began an
upward trend with speculations that Tehran’s population, in those
years, was some where between 15 to 20 thousand. During the reign
intervals of Fath Ali Shah and his successor Mohammad Shah (reigned
1834-48) and until the beginning of Naser ed-Din Shah’s (reigned
1848-96) Tehran witnessed a three to four times population increase as
well as the formation of new architectural structures including the
Marmar (Marble) Ivan or Diwankhaneh va Darol Emareh (the government
head quarters and the governor’s seat), for the construction of which,
the major materials were acquired from the Karim Khan’s Vakil Palace
in Shiraz. "

Tehran
http://www.irib.com/rdp/iranology/tehran/html/fa/magadamehe.htm


"During the reign of Nader Shah little attention was paid to Tehran.
Later Karim Khane Zand, in his war against Mohammad Hassan Khane
Qajar, chose Tehran as his military headquarters and the gathering
center of his soldiers. He was the first who thought of making Tehran
his capital. The plan reached the stage where in the year 1758 A.D.
offices and a harem were built within the Arg which was surrounded by
ramparts and moats. The plan to make Tehran the capital, first thought
of by the Zands, was carried out by Agha Mohammad Khane Qajar, who in
the year 1785 A.D., proclaimed it his capital and bestowed on it the
title of Dar ol Khelafeh (the house of the caliphate). During the
reign of Fathali Shahe Qajar, Tehran developed gradually, new
buildings were erected and the population increased.

Nonetheless, Tehran was not a city fit to be the capital. Apart from
the royal buildings, dwellings were bad and lacking most urban
necessities. Alleys were narrow, dusty and dark in the heat of summer,
and full of mud-filled potholes in winter. All travelers and political
envoys described this and expressed their dissatisfaction. During the
reigns of Mohammad Shahe Qajar and his son Naser-Oddin Shah new
developments and buildings slowly appeared and the first planned
development was in the year 1867 A.D...."

History of Tehran
http://www.farsinet.com/tehran/history.html



====================================
PERSIAN BORDER, TURKMENISTAN & KHIVA
====================================

In the period which interests you, the border between Persia and
Turkmenistan was roughly along the Atrek (Attruck) river and the area
north of there was being fought over by the Russians and the Turkomen,
largely nomadic people. There was no Persian influence over the
Khanate of Khiva, which became a Russian protectorate in 1873. This is
the course of events leading up to that:

"In 1839 a force under General Perovsky moved from Orenburg across the
Ust-Urt plateau to the Khivan frontiers, to occupy the khanate,
liberate the captives and open the way for trade. This expedition [..]
terminated in disaster. In 1847 the Russians founded a fort at the
mouth of the Jaxartes or Syr-darya. This advance deprived the Khivans
not only of territory, but of a large number of tax-paying Kirghiz,
and also gave the Russians a base for further operations. For the next
few years, however, the attention of the Russians was taken up with
Khokand, their operations on that side culminating in the capture of
Tashkent in 1865. Free in this quarter, they directed their thoughts
once more to Khiva. In 1869 Krasnovodsk on the east shore of the
Caspian was founded, and in 1871-1872 the country leading to Khiva
from different parts of Russian Turkestan was thoroughly explored and
surveyed. In 1873 an expedition to Khiva was carefully organized on a
large scale. The army of 10,000 men placed at the disposal of General
Kaufmann started from three different bases of operation—Krasnovodsk,
Orenburg and Tashkent. Khiva was occupied almost without opposition.
All the territory (35,700 sq. m. and 110,000 souls) on the right bank
of the Oxus was annexed to Russia, while a heavy war indemnity was
imposed upon the khanate. The Russians thereby so crippled the
finances of the state that the Khan is in complete subjection to his
more powerful neighbour."

1911 Encyclopedia
http://92.1911encyclopedia.org/K/KH/KHIVA_CAPITAL_.htm


"East of the Caspian, Russian expansion was not felt by Iran until
1869. By that time, Russian conquests of Muslim groups east of the
Caspian brought them close to settled Iranian territory, and an
agreement in that year confirmed the lower Atrek as the common
boundary between Russia and Persia."

US State department study of the Iranian-Russian Border
http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS025.pdf


"Russia began sending military expeditions into Turkmenistan in the
second half of the 19th century. From 1863 through 1868, Russian
armies defeated and annexed the khanates of Bukhara and Khiva. The
people of western Turkmenistan, who were seeking independence from the
khans, willingly joined the Russian Empire. But the Turkmen of eastern
and southern Turkmenistan fiercely resisted Russian annexation."

History of Turkmenistan
http://www.turkmenistanembassy.org/turkmen/history/history.html


"During 17 - 19 centuries Turkmenia was disputed between Persian
Sheikh, the Khan of Khiva and the Emir of Bukhara."
Turkmenistan
http://www.geographicbureau.com/Central_Asia/turkmenia-info.htm


An English soldier, Captain Burnaby, rode to Khiva in 1875 and felt
that "The Russian hold upon this khanate is precarious"
review of : Burnaby's A Ride to Khiva. [The North American review. /
Volume 124, Issue 256, May 1877] Page(s) 512-515
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/ncpsbib:@field(DOCID+@lit(ABQ7578-0124-77_bib))::

New OUP edition
http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-280367-0?view=sales


"Timeline:

1855
Russia is defeated in the Crimean War.

1855
Kazakhstan comes fully under Russian control, who now hold the Syr
Darya line (from the Aral Sea to Lake Issyk Kul).

1865
The Russians create the Province of Turkestan.

June 1865
The Russians capture Tashkent.

1867
The Russians create the Governorate-General of Turkestan, with
Tashkent as its capital.

1868
The Russians create the Governorate-General of the Kazakh Steppe, with
Orenburg as its capital.

May 1868
The Russians capture Samarkand.

June 1868
The Khanate of Bukhara becomes a Russian protectorate.

1869
The Russians establish a fort at Krasnovodsk on the Caspian Sea.

1871
Russian forces occupy the Ili Valley.

Aug. 1873
The Khanate of Khiva becomes a Russian protectorate."

Major Events Relevant to Central Asian History
http://www.oxuscom.com/cahist2.htm




======================
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
======================

CURZON, GEORGE N. PERSIAN AND THE PERSIAN QUESTION
(both volumes) LONDON: LONGMAN & CO, 1892
http://bahai-library.org/books/persian.question.txt


Iran in the Persian Gulf
http://www.archiveeditions.co.uk/Leafcopy/810FullConts.html#VOLONE


It's been a pleasure to research this and I hope you find the material
helpful. As you know, you are very welcome to ask for clarification.

Regards - Leli


search terms were combinations of:

19th nineteenth century 1850s 1860s
Persia Persian Iran Russia Turkmenistan Turkestan
Tehran Teheran Khiva Bukhara
khanate

Definitely a five star answer! I could ask little follow-up questions
about the extent of Persian control over Azerbaijan as we know it
today and Afghanistan but as they weren't in the original question...

Teheran was the capital. It was customary for the heir to the Qajar
throne to be named as governor of Azerbaijan, the capital of which was
Tabriz, but Teheran was the capital of Persia. In 1848 Naser al-Din
rode from Tabriz to Teheran to his coronation as Shah. He was
accompanied by the British and Russian ministers and a British army.

Bokhara was occupied by the Russians in 1868, Khiva in 1873, Khokand
in 1876, and Marv in 1884, after which the Atrak became the northern
border of Persia.

The Treaty of Paris of 1857 gave Afghanistan it's nominal independence
from Persia.

See:

Middle East: Past and Present, Armajani, Yahya, Prentice Hall,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1970. Pp 224-225.

hlabadie-ga

Wolvies - thank-you very much for the tip and the stars.

The history of this area is fascinating but complex. Thanks to
hlabadie for adding the Azerbaijani dimension!
To find out more, useful search terms will probably include the
Turkmanchai treaty of 1828. As the BBC says:

"Timeline: Azerbaijan
A chronology of key events:
1828 - Turkmanchay treaty between Russia and Persia divides Azerbaijan
into two. The territory of what is now the Azerbaijani Republic
becomes part of the Russian empire while southern Azerbaijan is part
of Persia."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1235740.stm

The southern part of Azerbaijan at that time is generally described as
a Persian province, for instance:
"Bahman Mirza Kadjar,[..] the son of the Persian Prince Abbas Mirza
Kadjar, was the Governor of Tabriz and administrator of the Persian
province of South Azarbaijan. In 1848, he escaped from his brother
Mohammad Shah Kadjar to Transcaucasia which then was under the Russian
Tsarist Empire. "
http://users.sedona.net/~sepa/darab2.html

A bit of detail:
" Two Russo-Persian wars followed, one in 1804-1813 and the second in
1826-1828. The first was ended by the Treaty of Gulistan (1813), by
which Russia obtained the khanates of Karabagh, Ganc, Sheki, Shirvan,
Quba, Derbent, Baku, and Talysh, as well as western Georgia (Imeretia
and Abkhazia) and Dagestan. The second war, in which Russia was again
victorious, was ended by the Treaty of Turkmanchai (1828), by which
Persia ceded the two large khanates of Nakhichevan and Erivan. The
Treaty of Turkmanchai completed the division of Azerbaijan along the
Araks River. "
http://www.azerbembassy.org.cn/eng/historical.html

Hope this helps!

Leli