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| Russo-Persian War of 1796 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theRusso-Persian Wars | |||||||||
 Oath of allegiance of theNovoshemakhan Gasim khan toRussia among the corps under the command of CountV. A. Zubov off the Aksuchay River in 1796 byGavriil Sergeev [ru]. A late 1790s painting. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Russian Empire Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti |  Qajar Iran | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Valerian ZubovHeraclius II | Agha Mohammad KhanJavad Khan | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 50,000[1] (other estimates suggest 30,000–40,000)[2] | Tofangchi musketeers Royal regiment of Mohammad Khan Northern town watch | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 2,150 men | Unknown | ||||||||
ThePersian expedition of Catherine the Great of 1796, like thePersian expedition of Peter the Great (1722–1723), was one of theRusso-Persian Wars of the 18th century which did not entail any lasting consequences for either belligerent.
The last decades of the 18th century were marked by continual strife between rival claimants to thePeacock Throne. EmpressCatherine the Great ofRussia (r. 1762–1796) took advantage of the disorder to consolidate her control over the weak polities of theCaucasus, which was, for swaths of it, an integral Persian domain. The kingdom ofGeorgia, a subject of the Persians for many centuries, became a Russian protectorate in 1783, when KingErekle II signed theTreaty of Georgievsk, whereby the Empress promised to defend him in the case of Iranian attack. Theshamkhals ofTarki followed this lead and accepted Russian protection three years later.
With the enthronement ofAgha Mohammad Khan as Shah of Persia in 1794 the political climate changed. He put an end to the period of dynastic strife and proceeded to re-strengthen the Persian hold on the Caucasus by re-garrisoning the Iranian territories and cities in the area of modern-dayDagestan,Azerbaijan, andArmenia, as well asravaging and recapturing Georgia and reducing its capitalTbilisi to a pile of ashes in 1795. Belatedly, the Empress Catherine determined to mount apunitive expedition against the Shah. The ultimate goal for the Russian government involved toppling the anti-Russian Shah and replacing him with his half-brother, namelyMorteza Qoli Khan, who had defected to Russia, and was therefore pro-Russian.[3][4]
In the Early spring of 1796, he sentAlexander andDavit Batonishvili toGanja with an army assembled by name to punishJavad Khan. from the south. The army of Ibraim-Khan Karabagheli also went to Ganja. Javad Khan was locked in prison. Georgians severely defeated his troops and besieged the city. ThenErekle himself,Giorgi andIoane Batonishvili, came to Ganja with new troops and assault vehicles. Intimidated by the revenge of the Georgians, Javad Khan asked for peace and sent the key to the city. Georgians entered Ganja. Erekle did not personally accept the sword tied around his neck and paid fifteen thousandmanats as an annual tribute.[5]
Although it was widely expected that a 50,000-strong Russian corps would be led by a seasoned general (Gudovich), the Empress followed the advice of her lover,Prince Platon Zubov, and entrusted the command to Zubov's youthful brother, CountValerian Zubov. The Russian troops set out fromKizlyar in April 1796and stormed the key fortress ofDerbent on 10 May. The Russian court poetDerzhavin glorified this event in a famous ode; he would later comment bitterly on Valerian Zubov's inglorious return from the expedition in another remarkable poem.
By mid-June Zubov's troops had overrun—without any resistance—most of the territory of modern-dayAzerbaijan, including three principal cities—Baku,Shemakha andGanja. By November they were stationed at the confluence of theAraks andKura Rivers, poised to attack mainlandIran.
In that month the Empress of Russia died. Her successor, the EmperorPaul, who detested the Zubovs and had other plans for the army, ordered the withdrawal of all Russian troops from the region. This reversal aroused the frustration and enmity of the powerful Zubovs and other officers who took part in the campaign: many of them would join the conspiracy which arranged Paul's assassination five years later.
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