‘A collection of treaties, engagements and sanads relating to India and neighbouring countries’ [‎3] (20/578)

PERSIA.
3
Persia concluded treaties with France in 1708* * * § and 1715t, with Turkey
in 1718 and 1722, and a commercial treaty + with Russia in 1715.
In 1722 Isfahan was besieged by Mahmud of Kandahar, and Shah
Husain formally resigned his crown; though his son Tamasp assumed the
title of King and implored the assistance of Peter the Great. The
Czar captured Darband and Baku and concluded a treaty with Tamasp,
who ceded all the Persian possessions on the Caspian Sea on condition
that the Czar expelled the Afghans and placed him on the throne.
Tamasp also entered into negotiations with the Turks, with the same
object; but, regardless of his pretensions, Russia in 1724 avoided war
with Turkey by agreeing to the cession to her of certain Persian provin
ces : and in 1725 Turkey and Russia concluded a treaty by which they
partitioned Persia among themselves.
Mahmud died in 1725 and was succeeded by his cousin Ashraf. In
1727 Turkey, though defeated by Ashraf, forced him to cede § the Persian
provinces which she had occupied, and in return acknowledged him as
Shah. In the same j'ear Nadir Kuli Khan was placed in command
of Tamasp’s army : and in 1780 the Afghans were expelled, Ashraf was
killed, and Shah Tamasp was restored. He died in 1732 and was suc
ceeded by his infant son Abbas III, who died three or four years later,
when the Safavian dynasty came to an end and Nadir Kuli Khan ascend
ed the throne with the title of Nadir Shah.
Russia restored to Persia, by treaty, in 1729 the provinces of Astara-
bad and Mazanderan: in 1732 (Treaty of Rasht) Larijan, Gilan and
the Persian provinces as far as the Araxes: and in 1735 (Treaty of
Gandja) Baku and Harband with their provinces, and retired behind the
river Terek .^1
Under Nadir Shah the Persian empire recovered for a time its former
glory. He not only recovered the provinces conquered by the Turks
* Traite de Commerce, 31 articles, date Redieb 1120 (Septembre 1/08) traduit
per Francis Petits de la Croix.
Commandement du Roi de Perse en faveur des Fran^ais, Septembi’e 1708.
Autre Commandement, Septembre 1708.
Traduits par Barout.
(“ Documents pour servir a I’histoire des relations entre la France et la Perse,
par J. Thierry, Evreux, 1866.)
t Traite d’Amitie et de Commerce, 13 Aout, 1715, 11 articles, fait a Versailles.
Quatre articles separes du Traite precedent, meme date.
Commandement du Roi de Perse, faire savoir au Sieur Padery, Consul de
France a Chiras, qu’il a accepte le traite fait en France, 13 Aout 171o, par son
Ambassadeur Muhammad Reza Beg, date 20 Juin 1722. (Idem).
X (Copy not procurable).
§ Appendix No. I.
H Copies of the Perso-Russian Treaties of 1729, 1732 and 1735 are only procur
able in Russian at Tehran.