Ottoman–Persian War (1821–23)

Ottoman-Qajar War
Part of Ottoman–Persian Wars
Persian cavalry troops at the Caucasus front.
Date 1821–1823 Location Iranian–Turkish Border, Erzurum, Eastern Anatolia Result Stalemate Treaty of Erzurum Status quo antebellum[1] Territorial changes Recognition of Pre-War Boundaries.
Belligerents
Qajar dynasty	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Abbas Mirza	Mahmud II

The Ottoman–Qajar War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and Qajar Empire from 1821 to 1823.^[2]

Reasons

Tensions between the two empires had been rising due to the Ottoman Empire's harboring of rebellious tribesmen from Iranian Azerbaijan. Although secretly, the Russian Empire was attempting to put pressure on the Ottoman Empire, which was at war with the Greeks.

War

Crown Prince Abbas Mirza of Persia, at the instigation of the Russian Empire, invaded Western Armenia and the areas surrounding Iranian Azerbaijan.^[3] The governor of Baghdad's invasion of Persia is defeated by Mohammed Ali Mirza who then besieges Baghdad, his untimely death ends the siege.^[4] Meanwhile, Abbas Mirza marched into eastern Anatolia with 30,000 troops and met an Ottoman army of 50,000 at the Battle of Erzurum. Abbas Mirza scored a crushing defeat over the Ottomans despite being severely outnumbered and his army suffering from a cholera epidemic.^[5]

Thanks to the recent modernisations, the so-called "Nezam-i-Jadid" reforms of the Persian army according latest European model made possible by Abbas Mirza's brother, Dowlatshah, it made the army qualitatively far superior over that of their Ottoman Turkish arch rivals, despite being severely outnumbered.

Result

Peace was not concluded until the Treaty of Erzurum two years later; both sides recognized the previous borders, with no territorial changes. Also included in the treaty, was the guaranteed access for Persian pilgrims to holy sites within the Ottoman Empire.^[6]

References

1. A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle, Vol.III, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 1140.
2. Martin Sicker, The Islamic World in Decline: From the Treaty of Karlowitz to the Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, (Praeger, 2001), 118.  – via Questia (subscription required)
3. A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle, Vol.III, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, 1140.
4. Steven R. Ward, Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces, (Georgetown University Press, 2009), 76.  – via Questia (subscription required)
5. A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle, Vol.III, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, 1140.
6. A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle, Vol.III, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, 1140.