Thande
Donor
In the Russo-Persian War of 1722-23, Peter the Great of Russia conquered the northern reaches of Persia and annexed the southern Caspian coastline to Russia, essentially turning the Caspian into a Russian lake.
OTL this lasted only about a decade, and the Russians handed the territory back to Persia in 1735 to keep them neutral in an upcoming war with the Ottomans. However, what if Russia had managed to keep control of this territory in the long run?
Another interesting possibility is if the Ottomans had managed to take the area from the Russians in turn in one of their series of wars, because that would allow the Ottomans direct land contact with the Turkic peoples of Central Asia that might be ripe for joining with the Sublime Porte.
OTL this lasted only about a decade, and the Russians handed the territory back to Persia in 1735 to keep them neutral in an upcoming war with the Ottomans. However, what if Russia had managed to keep control of this territory in the long run?
Another interesting possibility is if the Ottomans had managed to take the area from the Russians in turn in one of their series of wars, because that would allow the Ottomans direct land contact with the Turkic peoples of Central Asia that might be ripe for joining with the Sublime Porte.