1820-1823 Ottoman-Persian War

Having fought with each other for centuries to be the sovereign power in the East, the Ottoman and Persian States resolved their problems, though temporarily, as a result of the first Erzurum Treaty signed at the end of the war that began in 1820 and lasted for approximately three years. If we are to leave aside the lootings, sieges, and conflicts that took place during the process that ended with the signing of the second Erzurum Treaty and in the aftermath of the Treaty, this was the last great war waged between the two significant powers of the East. From the beginning of the 19th century, Britain, France and Russia attempted to exert dominance over these two countries in line with their political goals. After the first quarter of the century, France had to withdraw from this struggle. Both the Ottoman and Persian States were quite weak in comparison to their opponents in the fierce struggle that began in Caucasia, India, and Middle East and it was extremely difficult for both countries to not to collapse given the circumstances. On the one hand, the Ottoman and Persian states were occupied with fending off the great powers' fight regarding their lands and on the other hand they began to face each other politically and militarily due to many issues that transpired between them in the past. Due to the problems caused by the Kurdish tribes who lived nomadically on the borderline of the two states, the grievances of the Persian pilgrims / visitors, the spreading of the political competition between the princes Abbas Mirza and Mohammad Ali Mirza to the Ottoman lands along with the encouragements of Russia, Iran had sufficient reasons to wage war. This thesis study addresses the reasons that led the two countries go into war, the military dimensions of the war, and the diplomatic process that brought peace and the treaty. The study employs primary sources from various languages and archival documents.