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OK, so here is the first chapter from a TL I've been working on. The initial PoD is a different end to OTL's 1804-1813 Russo-Persian War and the subsequent butterflies allow for more reforms under Abbas Mirza (who becomes Shah ITTL). Some pro-Persin butterflies should serve to give the Qajaris a better fate . Now, this not my usual field of expertise, so if I overdid it or made a mistake, point it out to me .
The Rebirth of the Persian Empire
Chapter I: Consolidation, 1804-1818.
The 1804-1811 Russo-Persian War, one of the many wars between the Persian and Russian Empires, started out like many wars as a territorial dispute. The Persian king, Fath Ali Shah Qajar, wanted to consolidate the northernmost reaches of his Qajar dynasty by securing land near the Caspian Sea’s south-western coast (also known as Azerbaijan) and the Caucasus region which is also known as Georgia and Armenia. Like his Persian counterpart, the Russian Tsar Alexander I had also just ascended to imperial throne and he was equally determined to control the disputed regions which meant that war was inevitable at some point. Persia at the time claimed the territories of Karabakh, Shirvan, Talysh, and Shakki among its possession although these claims appeared rather shaky after the 1801 Russian annexation of Georgia, a territory also claimed by the Persia. The Russians were eager to extend and consolidate their advantage and so they pushed forward militarily into Persian lands, planning to expand Imperial Russia's borders to the Aras River. Russian commanders Gudovich and Tsitsianov triggered the war with their attack on Echmiadzin where a siege took place. Russian forces failed to take it and were forced to retreat to Yerevan where another failed siege took place. Fortunately, Russia was still mired in European wars with Napoleonic France, the Ottoman Empire and Sweden and couldn’t commit very many troops, instead relying on superior technology and tactics against the Persian forces commanded by crown prince Abbas Mirza which held a numerical advantage of five to one. Abbas Mirza had attempted to reform the military of the Persian Empire although he was still a long way off from achieving Western standards. He was also the heir to the throne even though he wasn’t the oldest son of the shah; this was because of his mother’s royal lineage. Abbas Mirza managed to mount a fairly respectable resistance effort against the Russians in the Caucasus with mostly low quality troops and irregular cavalry forces. In the meantime, starting in 1805, Napoleon tried to woo the Persians into an alliance against Russia, offering his support in the Russo-Persian War although Abbas Mirza came to the conclusion that an alliance wouldn’t be of use. Napoleon was quite far away from Persia and wouldn’t be able to support Persia if it got into another war since British naval superiority would prevent the French from ever reaching them, thus leaving Persia to defend the Caucasus front alone. Abbas Mirza also grew rather untrusting of Napoleon after he made peace with Russia and its allies in the Treaty of Tilsit after which Russia declared war on the British while Prussia was left gutted. Russia was now actually fighting on the same side as France and was part of the Continental System which didn’t benefit Franco-Persian relations. Mirza grew slightly wary of French power when they got Denmark-Norway on their side as well which meant that they virtually dominated Europe. Napoleon had wild ambitions to conquer British India which was his main motivation besides distracting the Russians who were now temporarily allied to him. Abbas Mirza didn’t want his country to merely serve French ambitions and he persuaded his father to decline signing an alliance, instead choosing to maintain “friendly relations”. Negotiations went on for some time in 1807, but ultimately lack of confidence in French capabilities and willingness to help (as shown by the Treaty of Tilsit and Russia switching to France, and France’s loss of naval parity in the Battle of Trafalgar) led to French efforts petering out. Britain, at this time, was stuck in the Anglo-Russian War and a war with Sweden would soon erupt as well although little action took place. In Europe, from 1810 onward, Franco-Russian relations started to deteriorate again when it became clear that Napoleon wasn’t keeping his end of the bargain. He had promised to support Russia in its wars against the Ottoman Empire, but did nothing remotely resembling that. Instead, he was supporting the Porte against the Russians. Also, the creation of a Polish state (the Duchy of Warsaw) which included Austrian Galicia and inhibition of Russian trade through the Continental System soured relations. The subsequent Russian withdrawal from the Continental System was one of the reasons for Napoleon’s decision to invade. While Russo-French relations gradually went south, Persia took an opportunity to make peace with Russia in the so-called Treaty of Tiflis in 1811 which was a good peace considering the Russians could inflict crippling defeats on Persia if their hands weren’t tied. Seeing the mounting French threat on the border in the Polish region of Galicia, Tsar Alexander I accepted the Persian proposal. In the peace treaty signed in 1811, Persia was allowed to keep its pre-war territories (Azerbaijan and Armenia) while Russia continued to hold Georgia (essentially making it a status quo ante bellum peace, and a very advantageous one for Persia). Tsar Alexander, however, vowed he would continue the war and defeat Persia to gain the coveted territories once Napoleon had been vanquished once and for all. Persia around this time also signed the Anglo-Persian Friendship Treaty under Abbas Mirza’s instigation, giving Britain a way to contain Russian ambitions in the Middle East and Central Asia. It would serve to curb Russian ambitions to reach the Indian Ocean and conquer India. The treaty was a dual commercial and military agreement which foresaw in more trade between the two countries, military reform with British help and mutual assistance if one of the two got into war with more than one country. This was the start of the still embryonic Anglo-Persian Alliance which would prove beneficial for the ruling Qajar dynasty. British trade indeed expanded as it imported Western weaponry, technology, science and modern irrigation and farming techniques in exchange for wheat, rice, corn, cotton, sugar beets, tea, hemp, tobacco, potatoes and saffron (of which Persia was the largest producer) among others. Increased commerce along the Persian Gulf coast increased wealth slowly but surely, leading to the emergence of a new upper and middle classes while the increased revenue from transit fees, customs etc. allowed for modernization of the army. Abbas Mirza purchased modern flintlock muskets and cannons from Britain, founded a military academy in Tehran staffed with British officers in order to teach Persian officers modern tactics and strategies, bought several ships for the Persian navy and brought in many military advisors to drill his troops and train them in modern warfare. Understandably, the process of reform wasn’t something overnight, but it was effective as shown with the outbreak of the War of the Sixth Coalition in 1812. Fath Ali Shah held his word and sent troops to assist Britain against Napoleon in Europe. Only 10.000 men were sent since many Persian forces were still being trained or issued with modern equipment, but they performed well alongside the armies of Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia. Abbas Mirza commanded them himself and he and his troops got a taste of modern combat as well as firsthand experience to bring back home. Persian troops were among those to enter Paris in 1814 after Napoleon’s defeat; they did not fight during the Hundred Days after Napoleon’s escape from Elba, but 6.000 of them served as reserve forces at Waterloo just in case. Persia gained a seat during the Congress of Vienna, but didn’t make any gains besides prestige for its performance in the war. Their troops then left Europe and returned to Persia where these now experienced veterans transferred their knowledge directly to their own people and started to take over British staff positions at the growing Tehran Military Academy.
The reformed Persian army would come to prove itself sooner rather than later as Tsar Alexander I made true on his vow to continue the war against Persia. Barely a month after the end of the Congress of Vienna, Russia started to make aggressive moves again by transferring troops to the Caucasus. 40.000 infantry forces and 10.000 cavalry troops were moved here and they set up a fortified encampment on the left bank of the Kura River near Tiflis. On August 1st 1815 this force crossed the river and advanced toward Borchali where they clashed with Persian troops. Now field marshal Abbas Mirza commanded a force of 50.000 infantry and 20.000 cavalry although 11.000 of those were still mounted archers. This army had been assembled after reports had reached Tehran after the build-up on the Russian side of the border, but this response hadn’t deterred Russia from continuing its preparations for war. Russia had underestimated the effects of Abbas Mirza’s military reforms which had led to a European-style army with a modern officers corps and command structure (although the army still had some equipment shortages). They believed that their still superior technology and tactics would be enough to negate Persian numerical superiority. They came out deceived as they encountered entrenched Persian soldiers and well fortified positions around the town of Borchali. Abbas Mirza drew Russian soldiers into the wooden fortifications which had overlapping fields of fire, thus inflicting severe casualties. His cavalry came down on Russian flanks and the Russian army had to withdraw in order to avoid encirclement. In total, the Russians had lost 13.000 men in the Battle of Borchali and 39 guns had been captured by Persian forces. Russia had underestimated its foe and sent more troops while Britain financed the Persian war effort. Over a year of campaigning along the Kura River and in the Caucasus mountains was needed before this comparatively bloody and destructive war ended, leaving 130.000 casualties and part of Tiflis damaged due to the fighting and artillery bombardment by both Russia and Persia against whoever held the town (it switched hands several times). The war had temporarily exhausted the Russian giant which had already faced the ordeal of Napoleon’s invasion, had fought the Ottomans in a six year war before that, had been at war with Britain and had fought France in the War of the Fourth Coalition as well; this translated into a decade of warfare for Russia. In the Treaty of Yerevan, signed in October 1816. Russia agreed to a status quo ante bellum peace with Persia although this peace too wouldn’t hold in the end. The Russians felt humiliated due to this humbling by an enemy regarded as weak and inferior and swore revenge against their hereditary Muslim enemies, Persian and otherwise, in order to liberate Christian minorities. In the meantime, Great Britain was impressed by the performance of Persia’s armies in what would become known as the 1815-1816 Russo-Persian War. Britain therefore decided to expand its alliance with Persia into a full and equal alliance of mutual assistance, seeing how Persia was a useful ally against Russia and buffer against her ambitions towards India and the Persian Gulf. Britain recognised Persia as strong in her own right and also as being the dominant regional power; the British slowly started to favour Persia over the waning Ottoman Empire as their best hope of protecting British interests in the Middle East. In January 1818, Fath Ali Shah signed a 25 year military alliance known as the Anglo-Persian Treaty of mutual assistance in London while prime minister Robert Jenkins, 2nd Earl of Liverpool and regent prince George of Wales (the future king George IV) signed it for their country. The Shah and his entourage took their time to see the city of London when the opportunity presented itself. Solid roads, canals, a postal system, a modern banking system, modern education, a constitution and a fully functional parliamentary system came before the Shah’s eyes, not to mention those of his son. These novelties gave the Shah and his successor a clear vision of what Persia’s future should be.