History of the War in Afghanistan, Vol. 1 (of 3): Third EditionKaye, John William, Sir
History
History of the War in Afghanistan, Vol. 1 (of 3): Third Edition
Kaye, John William, Sir
Afghan Wars
After some protracted negotiations, a new treaty, superseding that
of Goolistan, was signed at Toorkomanchai, in February, 1828, by
General Paskewitch and Abbas Meerza. By this treaty, Persia ceded to
the Czar the Khanates of Erivan and Nakhichevan; and consented to the
recognition of the line of frontier dictated by the Russian Government.
The frontier line between the two empires, laid down in the fourth
article of the treaty, commenced at the first of the Ottoman States
nearest to the little Ararat mountain, which it crossed to the south of
the Lower Karasson, following the course of that river till it falls
into the Araxes opposite Sherour, and then extending along the latter
river as far as Abbas-Abad.[96] The line of frontier then followed
the course of the Araxes to a point twenty-one wersts beyond the ford
of Ledl-boulak, when it struck off in a straight line drawn across
the plain of Moghan, to the bed of the river Bolgaron, twenty-one
wersts above the point of confluence of the two Rivers Adinabazar
and Sarakamyshe; then passing over the summit of Ojilkoir and other
mountains, it extended to the source of the River Atara, and followed
the stream until it falls into the Caspian Sea.
Such was the boundary laid down in the treaty of Toorkomanchai. The
other articles granted an indemnity to Russia of eighty millions of
roubles for the expenses of the war—yielded to that state the sole
right of having armed vessels on the Caspian—recognised the inheritance
of Abbas Meerza—and granted an amnesty to the inhabitants of Aderbijan.
To Persia this treaty was deeply humiliating; but the manifestoes of
the Emperor, with characteristic mendacity, boasted of its moderation,
and declared that its ends were merely the preservation of peace and
the promotion of commerce. “For us,” it was said, “one of the principal
results of this peace consists in the security which it gives to one
part of our frontiers. It is solely in this light that we consider the
utility of the new countries which Russia has just acquired. Every
part of our conquests that did not tend to this end was restored by
our orders, as soon as the conditions of the treaty were published.
Other essential advantages result from the stipulations in favour of
commerce, the free development of which we have always considered as
one of the most influential causes of industry, and at the same time as
the true guarantee of solid peace, founded on an entire reciprocity of
wants and interests.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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