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A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF POLITICAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC,
AND MILITARY RELATIONS BETWEEN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND QAJAR
IRAN (1794–1925)
Zarwali Sediqi
Department of History and Geography, Shaikh Zayed University, Khost, Afghanistan
Email address:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15687472
Abstract.
This article explores Iran-Ottoman relations during the Qajar era (1794–
1925), highlighting both cooperation and competition between the two neighbors. Their
collaboration brought significant achievements in economy, culture, politics, and security, while
conflicts—mainly rooted in border issues, ethnic minorities, and foreign interventions
(particularly Russian and British)—often led to wars. Despite these tensions, efforts to maintain
peaceful relations marked this era as relatively stable compared to earlier periods like the
Safavid, Afsharid, and Zand dynasties. Key events such as the First and Second Treaties of
Erzurum reflect the deepening of bilateral ties. Although full success was not achieved, this
period holds a notable place in the history of both nations for fostering cooperation in political,
cultural, economic, and military spheres. The study adopts a descriptive and library-based
research approach, concluding that these shared interests are strong foundations for continued
collaboration.
Keywords:
Cultural Relation, Economic Relations, Ottoman-Qajar Diplomacy, Qajar
Iran, Political Relation.
INTRODUCTION
As the Ottoman Empire was the western and northwestern neighbor of Iran, and the
history of these two countries has always been affected by the relations between them, therefore,
in examining the relations between Iran and the Ottomans during the Qajar period, we can obtain
events and results that determine the importance of Today's relations which plays a role, because,
after the establishment of the Qajar state in the late eighteenth century, the relations between Iran
and Ottomans were full of cooperation and conflicts, most of the conflicts were caused by border
issues, behind which the colonial hand of Russia and England should not be ignored. However,
today Alhamdulillah, the Islamic Republic of Iran is independent in every respect and considers
its national interests in all its cases, so it can obtain a good framework and a standard for the
benefit of the parties from the events of ancient history to improve future relations. Therefore,
this article aims to examine the balance in cooperation and competition between these two
neighboring countries in political, economic, cultural, and military relations and to answer the
following question:
How were the relations between Iran and the Ottoman Empire during the Qajar period?
Method: It is a review article where different articles are reviewed, studied and
paraphrased for the compilation this article based on relevant, novel and authentic literature. The
library method is utilized. Then the results of historical texts are presented in the following
sections:
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First, the importance of relations and the background of Qajar and Ottoman is discussed
in detail. In the second part, political, cultural, economic, and military bonds are discussed, and
in the third part of the article, the result of ties is discussed.
Relations between Iran and the Ottomans during the Qajar Sultanate
Interstate Relations
Undoubtedly, communication between countries in the past and now is considered very
vital, because, without communication, no country can manage its affairs; therefore, countries
need to have good relations with each other, so that they can easily solve their issues with their
neighbors from elementary level to big and complex issues. The history of relations between the
two neighboring Muslim countries, Iran and the Ottoman Empire is important in many ways, and
in this way, we can get the main roots of political, cultural, social, and economic relations from
it. And we can get profit from the relationship for future. Although the Qajar kings paid more
attention to internal affairs and did not follow foreign events much. Also, when we are talking
about the relations between Iran and Ottoman countries in this period, we must remember the
provocations and policies of the two powerful governments of that time, Russia and England,
which were fiercely competitive in Asia. Their role in this regard could not be ignored (Bina,
1991).
At the beginning of the 20
th
century, when the Ottoman Empire faced a political decline,
and at the same time, the controversies between Iran and the Ottomans also declined, and in this
regard, the efforts of Islamic governments for the unity of Islam and the ideas of Seyyed
Jamaluddin Asadabadi had extensive effects, which continued from the Nasrid era until the
outbreak of the First World War. The visit of Muzaffaruddin Shah to Istanbul and the exchange
of letters between the Qajar court and Bab Ali also played a prominent role (Salim, 2009).
Before we get into the depth of the article, I think it is necessary to first talk about Iran
during the Qajar period and then have a brief introduction about the Ottoman Empire
Iran during the Qajar Era
The Qajar clan, about which there are various historical narratives, lived on the shores of
the Mediterranean for many years and cooperated with Shah Ismail Safavi in Iran, and after the
death of Shah Ismail, they dispersed throughout Iran, and during the time of Shah Abbas Kabir,
they were considered as one of the Iranian clans. However, when he realized his abundance and
arrogance, they felt fear of them and divided them into three groups to prevent their power, one
part of which was in Marwa, the other group was in Ganja and Erwan and the third group in
Mubarakeh Abad Castle in Estrabad were kept against the Turkmens. Where the third group
subdivided into two groups based on the appearance of differences, one group of which was
called Qajar Qoyunlu and settled in the lower area of the river, and for this reason, they were
called (Ashaqa Bash) and others were called Yokhari Bahs. (1995).
Finally, this dynasty named Qajar came to power in Iran, starts with Agha Mohammad
Khan Qajar and is divided into three parts by historians (the first period, the second period, and
the third period). In the first era of Qajaria, which took round about fourty years, Agha
Mohammd Khan Qajar and Fath Ali Shah Qajar, who preccede one another. This period
coincides with the most important events in the history of the world, such as the Great French
Revolution and the rise of Napoleon I, and the special attention of the number of European
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countries to Iran increased, and one of the most intense and long wars of the new era of Iran took
place at this time. Among those chaotic events. The rulers of the Qajar government lost some of
the country's interests in favor of foreigners, only to succeed in maintaining the position of the
monarchy (Shamim, 2008).
The second period is the era of Muhammad Shah and Naser al-Din Shah, and the third
period, which coincides with the beginning of the 20
th
century, consists of Muzaffar al-Din Shah,
Muhammad Shah, and Ahmad Shah.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire is one of the oldest and most stable governments founded by
Turkish speakers. According to the historians the Ottoman Empire could be divided into five
separate periods. The first period started form 1326 AD and continued till 1402 AD. The second
period started in 1402 AD and lasted to 1566 AD. The third period started in 1566 AD
continued till 1703 AD. The fourth period started in 1703 AD and continued till 1839 AD. And
the last and final period it means the fifth period started in 1839 and continued till 1922. After
these periods, it means after October 29, 1923, Turkey through Mustafa Kemal Atatürk entered
to a new phase and the relationship between Iran and the Ottomans was generally good and
without conflicts, except the borders they did not have any serious problems (Stanford, 1991).
Ottomans in the Qajar Era
As mentioned earlier, during the Qajar era, when the Ottomans were leaving their fifth
period behind them, they were generally good with the Iranians and wanted to have good
relations with them, even though these relations had many ups and downs in the past centuries.
In this article, the relations between the two countries have been examined in this period, the
Qajar period. Based on the article about the relationship between Iran, Ottomans, and Turkey) by
Ali Akbar Safipour, the relationship between Qajar and Ottoman has been divided into four
stages:
1-
From the end of the reign of Aquyunluha until the end of Nader Shah's reign.
2-
From the end of Nader Shah's rule to the constitutional movement.
3-
From the constitutional movement to the end of the First World War.
4-
The establishment of the Pahlavi government in Iran and the Republic of Turkey
under the leadership of Atatürk (Safipour, 2006).
Based on the above division, its two stages are related to the Qajar period.
A Brief History of Iran and Ottoman
Before discussing the topics relevant to the article, it is necessary to first consider the
history briefly because during the Safavid era, the relations between Iran and the Ottomans were
not very good, and there were many wars around the neighboring countries (Avery et al., 2018).
After the Safavid era, during Afshar's reign, there was a political war and conflict
between Iran and the Ottoman Empire. At this time, the Ottoman government attacked Tahmasb
II, who had requested peace in 1731, and as a result, Tahmasb retreated from Tabriz, Hamadan,
and Larestan; But Nader Shah, who was in Khorasan at that time, came to Isfahan, removed
Tahmasb and appointed his son Abbas III in his place and rushed to war with the Ottomans. As a
result, won the war and proposed peace again and signed a peace agreement in Taflis in 1736,
according to which all the lands captured by the Ottomans were returned to Iran (Yaqi, 2009).
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Although peace was established by this agreement, both factions were not satisfied, and
there were many wars between the armies of these two countries, and Nader Shah played a good
role on behalf of Iran in these wars and defeated the Ottomans in several wars. At this time
Nader wanted to go to India, both sides became eager for peace, and peace negotiations began in
Taflis. In these negotiations, the Ottoman side claimed that Iran should re-accept the borders
determined in the Qasr Shirin Treaty and should end the Russian alliance and force Russia to
leave Dagestan, but these negotiations were not completed here, and it was decided that the rest
of the negotiations should be continued in Istanbul, and finally an agreement was signed, in
which Mahmud I, the Ottoman Sultan, accepted the disputed areas as the territory of Iran and
also accepter Nader Shah Afshar as the king of Iran (Salim, 2009).
This situation continued with many ups and downs until the Qajar Sultanat dynasty from
(1925-1794 AD) and especially during the time of Fath Ali Shah (1834-1794 AD), Iran's
interventions on the border with the Ottomans after 1813 AD, when Britain was rebuilding the
Shah's army. The Russians were trying to encourage Fath Ali Shah to look greedily at other
people's lands in order to compensate for their losses against him, and in 1817, the Iranian army,
with the help of some Kurdish tribes, plundered the Van area, and Mahmud II (1839-1808) who
did not want war with Iran, was forced to declare war on Iran in October 1820. As the main
forces of the Ottoman army were in Europe, the Iranians were able to win easily in two short
battles, Mohammad Ali Mirza the oldest son of Fath Ali Shah, who was the governor of Kerman,
went towards Baghdad, but he retreated due to endemic and died because of the disease before
he could reach Kerman in 1821.
In the same year, Abbas Mirza, the crown prince, conquered the cities of Bayazid and
Toprak Fort advanced to Erzurum, but this time the army faced the endemic and he was
compelled to ask for peace from Sultan. Based on this, an agreement was reached in Erzurum in
1823. In this agreement the peace treaty of 1746 was accepted without any changes, and at the
same time the Ottomans again allowed Iranian merchants and pilgrims to enter the sultan's
territory, and even accepted the Iranians' claim regarding the sovereignty over the numerous
border tribes. In order to achieve the peace which was called (Bab Aali) needed to deal with the
Greek rebels, the agreement was accepted. The subsequent invasion of Russia into the Caucasus
and the conquest of Yerevan and Nakhjwan by that country put an end to the pride of Ottoman in
region and allowed the weak Iran to be engaged in new adventures in the south for some time
(Avery et al., 2018).
Relations between the Qajars and the Ottomans
I want to study the relations between Qajars and Ottoman in two separate sections as
follows.
The first period of the Qajar Sultanat, which started from Agha Mohammad Shah Qajar,
and took place in 1210 AH, in this period Agha Mohammad Khan was able to destroy his
opponents and make his possessions equal to those of the Zand family. After Agha Mohammad
Khan, Fath Ali Shah in 1212 AH came to power and ruled for 38 years, and during this time,
important and great events took place in Europe, which affected Iran in turn, and long and
exhausting wars between Iran and Russia also took place during this period, which among
irreparable languages they brought (Shamim, 2008).
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Anyway, in general, the Qajar monarchy wanted to have good diplomatic relations with
its neighboring countries, and in this regard, it was a partner of the Ottoman state, which had
various historical commonalities, and insisted that it should have good relations with them. In the
political, cultural, and economic fields.
In this regard, they always put Iran-Ottoman relations under their influence, one of them
was the issue of Iran-Ottoman borders, which was still not clear and they had problems,
especially in the Sulaymaniyah area, which was the home of Kurdish people. In addition, the
religious prejudice of the Iranian and Ottoman people, which was strengthened by the clerics of
both countries, caused real conflicts between Iran and the Ottoman Empire (Shamim, 2008).
During the second Qajar era, after the mediation of Russia and England, political and
commercial relations improved between both countries, and Iranian government officials
provided facilities to Ottoman traders in Mahmra, and after the Treaty of Arzaneh al-Rum,
political relations also improved, which under political relations and a business will be discussed
(Shamim, 2008).
In general, during this period, religious sentiments decrease a little, but border disputes
increase, and another thing came up to cause disputes, which was the presence of Russia and
England in Iran, and both countries tried to control Iran-Ottoman relations, such as going to Hajj,
blessed pilgrimages, and the coming and going of merchants and border tribes also have a
special effect on the relations between these two neighboring countries
(Safipour, 2006).
In short, it is said that Iran and Ottomans have been and will be in contact with each other
for many centuries due to their various commonalities, which are mentioned below: 1.
Neighborhood 2. Sacred places 3. Border issues 4. Tribes and Border nomads 5. Trade 6.
Thought of Islamization 7. Cultural relation
The Crisis in Iran-Ottoman Relations and the Formation of the Quadric Partite
Commission
As mentioned earlier, with the attack of the governor of Baghdad on Mahmoora
(Khorramshahr) and then the massacre of Shiites in Karbala by the Ottomans, Mohammad Shah
summoned his ambassador from Baba Ali and started equipping the army. England also
withdrew because it had no personal interests in this matter. But the Russians, who wanted a
conflict between these two countries, encouraged Muhammad Shah to fight. But the Ottomans,
who had been defeated by Egypt, did not want to fight. For this reason, immediately accepted the
offer of England's mediation. Finally, it was decided that the representatives of Iran, Ottoman,
Russia, and England would form a commission in Erzurum and resolve the border disputes,
which will be discussed in the following lines (www.fuka.ir).
Political Relations:
With the establishment of the Qajar dynasty parallel to the European
colonial period, which wanted to use the rich resources of other countries, the relations between
Iran and the Ottomans entered a very sensitive stage, therefore, it is said that the history of the
political relations of these two countries recalls of rivalries, wars, the treaty, the exchange of
ambassadors and other diplomatic measures, and most importantly the interventions of the
colonists. In order to better understand the political relations of these two countries, it is
necessary to know the reasons for the rivalries between them. The following were the
controversial issues between these two countries:
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1- The indefinite state of the boundaries of the two countries (the long Iranian-Ottoman
border from the peak of Ararat to the brink of the Shatt al-Arab, which was more than seven-
hundred-miles).
2- Clashes between border tribes (from the border of Azerbaijan to Khuzestan) and the
support of some of the chiefs by the Iranian princes.
3- The issue of citizenship of the families of the bordering tribes and the problems
invoked from the nomads.
4- The issue of Iranian and Ottomanis refugees.
5- The harsh and insulting behavior of the Ottomanis towards Iranian pilgrims and the
shrine visitors.
6- The issues of Iranian and Ottomanis trade.
7- The land of Kurdistan and the related issues to the Kurds. Undoubtedly, the Kurdish
issue can be considered one of the major issues of the region (Alizada Birjandi, 2006).
As mentioned earlier, the political relations between Iran and the Ottoman Empire during
this era were almost affected by various things; however, it was relatively peaceful in the period
of the new Ottomani system, which was established by Sultan Mahmud and then through the
regulations and the decree known as “Gulkhana” and the establishment of Madrasas, military
institutions, naval and medical, the Ottoman government became powerful, but the extraordinary
troubles of that country with the European countries and the Christian tribes in the interior and
the people of the Balkans left no room to deal with the East (Mirzaei, 2003).
Anyhow, the political ties between these two countries were enhanced after the Treaty of
Arzaneh al-Rum, and so the Iranian ambassador in Istanbul and the Ottomani ambassador in
Tehran were esteemed and honored by both courts (Shamim, 2008).
In this century, there was another vital political issue, as aforementioned that the Tsarist
Russian government, in the implementation of its territorial development policy in Asia, faced
the policy of generalizing the influence and expanding the dominance of the British government
and England gradually faced The tsar, who considered themselves the supporters of Christians,
the government of Great Britain took a stand in the favor of Muslims (Bina, 2004).
After the Ottomani revolution, which took place three years later the Iranian
constitutional revolution, amidst this period, stronger connections were established between
Iranian and Ottomani intellectuals, and Istanbul was an important base for Iranian businessmen,
intellectuals, workers, and professionals. It became a significant political and cultural hub at that
time (Safipour, 2006).
Cultural Relations:
In addition to the formal relations, the ties between these two
countries in terms of culture and traveling, the presence of scientists, writers and intellectuals,
especially the Persian speakers in Anatolia, has been one of the strong bases and the cause for
the augment of relations (Safipour, 2006).
Regarding cultural relations, it should be said that culture is something separate from the
existing borders of the world and has a horizontal form that unites societies. Accordingly, when
Iran and Turkey started bloody wars during the Qajar era, still these two nations had the spiritual
and cultural links and we can see that for centuries the Turks took their cultural and linguistic
elements from the land of Iran based on the famous Arabic saying, “Knowledge is the hidden
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entity of Muslim, if found anywhere, is the right of Muslim” so it acquired new science and
civilization through this country, which was the bridge between Iran and Europe. The following
points indicates the cultural relationships between two countries.
1- Iranians were educated at the Madrasas of Istanbul.
2- Publication of the newspaper Qanun and Akhtar in Istanbul.
3- The special position of the Persian language in the Ottoman Empire.
4- The role of translations in cultural ties.
5- The Ottoman Empire was the center of transmission of Western civilization to Iran
(Alizadeh Birjandi, 2006).
When talking about the cultural relations between Iran and the Ottoman Empire, we must
also take it into consideration that the 13
th
century was actually the period of decline of the
Islamic countries, which had several causes, so the European territorial expansion increased and
finally the Islamic countries came under their control.
Although at the end of this period efforts were made for the unity of Islam by Seyyed
Jamal al-Din Afghan and his followers (Mirza Agha Khan Kermani, Sheikh Rumi and others)
and Abu al-Hasan Mirza and some other Iranians and Seyyed Abdul Rahman Kawakbi and
others in the Ottoman Empire as well as the newspaper Habalul Matin in Calcutta was also
involved in bringing unity, however, did not achieve the result fully (Mirzaei, 2003).
Akhtar newspaper, which was published in Istanbul, was also a source of awareness and
information during Iran's constitutional movement (Safipour, 2006).
Economic Relations:
As there were border attacks between Iran and Ottoman
throughout the 19
th
century, which goes back to the Qajar era; therefore, the economic benefits of
both sides were detrimental, for example, silk and other export goods from Iran were sent
through the Ottoman territory and Trabuzan to the west, and naturally the Sultan's government
wanted to benefit from this situation of its eastern neighbor, but we can see that both Iran and
Ottomans were influenced to a great deal by European economic imperialism in the 19
th
century,
the effects of which were evident in both countries due to which constitutional revolution in Iran
in 1905 and the Turkish Youth revolution took place three years later in Turkey (Salim, 2009).
In this regard, the author of the article ((Factors Affecting Iran-Ottoman Relations during
the Qajar Era)) adds that the increasing weakness, the increase of the political and economic
dependence of the Ottomans and Iran on the West, and the stagnation of their national economy
caused the trade of Iran and Ottomani declined. (Alizadeh Birjandi, 2006).
In addition, as the silk and other export items passed from Iran to the west through the
Ottoman territory and through Trabuzan, the Sultan's government benefited from this situation,
therefore, peace and the usage of these roads was a privilege for the Ottomani. So through the
Persian Gulf, the Swiss Canal and the Caucasus roads that Russia had opened and developed in
the 19
th
century, it was a kind of competition for the Ottomanis. Accordingly, in the 19
th
century,
both Iran and the Ottomans were greatly influenced by European economic imperialism, the
effects of which is observable in both countries, therefore, reformative steps were taken after the
Iranian constitutional revolution in 1905 and the revolution of the Turks Youth in 1908 (Avery,
Hambly, & Melville, 2018).
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Military Relations:
Iran-Ottoman war over Basra Issue
With British provocations in Basra against Iran, Karim Khan proclaimed to the Ottoman
king, Omar Pasha, that he would attack Basra if the governor of Baghdad was not stopped from
collecting taxes from Iranian pilgrims. Negligence of Sultan Abdul Hamid in this regard caused
the Iranian army to attack Basra. At first, the city was besieged, but due to the strong resistance
of the Arabs and the destruction of the British, after thirteen months they managed to capture the
city and the British trade agency was also closed. After some time and in another war, the
Iranians succeeded to defeat the Arabs in Labohilana. The chiefs of the tribes requested for
peace, but due to Iran's heavy proposals, the war got serious again and the Iranian army retreated.
At the same time, Karim Khan died. (www.fuka.ir)
When we discuss Iran-Ottoman military ties, we must keep in mind the Qasr Shirin
Treaty, which was signed by both parties in 1639. This treaty is actually the beginning of the
bilateral relations of Iran and the Ottomans, based on this treaty, the long war of almost a century
between these two countries ended and their borders were marked with a slight changes such as
the main division of the Middle East was preserved in this treaty: The Tigris, Euphrates and
Eastern Anatolia basins came to the Ottoman sultan, and the Caucasus region remained under
Iran's control (Avery et al., 2018).
The military relations between Iran and the Ottomans during the Qajar Era in 1823
began based on an agreement signed in Erzurum, according to which the peace treaty of 1746
was accepted in the same text, and the Ottomans again allowed Iranian merchants and pilgrims
to enter to the land of Sultan and they even accepted the request of the Iranians regarding the
control over the numerous border tribes. Therefore, until the 19
th
century, when the Ottoman
Empire existed, military relations with Iran were limited to clashes and border attacks, the main
causes of which were border nomads (Avery et al., 2018).
The Treaty of Erzurum, which was the first decree after the last war, included the
following provisions:
1- States should not interfere in each other's affairs after this treaty.
2- Those who go to Mecca, Medina and other Islamic countries from Iran as pilgrims or
visitors to the shrines, and merchants, should not be harmed.
3- The controversy which was due to the Haidaranlu and Siki families, were currently
living in Ottoman territory, if they attack on Iran border, the border guards should be careful, and
if they come to Iran willingly, the Ottoman government should not prohibit them.
4- According to the old condition, the fugitive from states of any sides should not make
any hurdles, including the nomads and tribes that go to the Ottomans from Iran after this date, or
vice versa.
5- The goods of Iranian which are kept at Dar al-Sultaneh and in other Ottomani territory
must be handed over to their owners within sixty days from this date onwards.
6- In the states of the Ottomani Empire, those people who belong to the contracting
parties, if they die and do not have a legal heir or has not expressed his will to anyone, the agents
of the Baitul-Mal (Public Treasury) shall register the estate of the deceased according to Sharia
and hand over to the government treasury.
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7- According to the precedent condition a deputy from each side should come to the
discussion, which should take place within three years, where the delegates should for the
betterment and cordial relationship, which is the main crux of the policy of the treaty (Najmi,
1995).
It is worth mentioning that in the history another treaty with the same name between Iran
and the Ottoman Empire, mediated by England and Russia, which is known as the Second Treaty
of Erzurum, which took place in 1847, according to which the areas located in the east of Zahab
and Karand, Mahmorah harbor and the lands located in the east of the brink of the Arab sea were
recognized as belonging to the Iranian government, and the Iranian government renounced any
claim to the state of Sulaymaniyah. Both countries mutually recognized the brink of the Arab sea
for free navigation for boats and waived all territorial claims against each other. In addition, the
Ottoman government pledged to prevent the harassment of Iranian pilgrims. In the negotiations
of Erzurum, Mirza Taqi Khan, the prime minister, showed dedication and skill in protecting the
interests and rights of Iran so that when he returned to Tehran he was given an inlaid sword from
Mohammad Shah (Mahdavi, 1970).
This Agreement Contained the Following Articles:
1- Regarding Iran's claim against Mahmora, the damaged was pardoned.
2- The Ottoman government renounced its claim to Mahmora and Akhdar Island and the
lands located on the left coast of the brink of Arab Sea and recognized the ownership and
sovereignty of Iran. Also, Iran renounced its claim to Sulaymaniyah and the land of Zehab was
divided between Iran and the Ottomans.
3- Both governments must waive all territorial claims against each other's land and
appoint engineers and authorized officials without delay to mark the boundaries according to the
second article.
4- Regarding the right of pasture, which was claimed by Iran, it was decided to
determine the amount claimed by Iran through a friendly notification after the investigation of a
joint border commission and should be paid to Iran by Ottoman government.
5- They pledged to hand over the criminals and political refugees to the agents of their
respective governments.
6- The issue of freedom of trade of Iranian merchants in Ottoman soil and customs tariff
and customs payment methods were confirmed and approved in the new agreement in the same
manner as was determined in the first Arzaneh al-Rum agreement.
7- The Ottoman government pledged to prevent its agents from any violation against
Iranian pilgrims in Iraq, Iranian pilgrims and nationals in Ottoman soil are respected and their
rights are protected, and their lives and property are under the protection of the Ottoman
government. Likewise, if required, Iranian Government would have political and trade
representatives to protect the interest of Iranian pilgrims in the cities of Ottoman country except
Mecca and Medina and the Iranian government also accepted the above-mentioned obligations
regarding the Ottoman nationals and political and commercial representation in its soil.
8- The commitment of the two countries is to prevent the transfer and arbitrary migration
of the border nomads and to prevent them from encroaching on each other's territory, and for this
purpose, they would establish military barracks in the border strip, and it was also decided about
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the border nomads: the nomads who have been subject to Iran since ancient times and were
previously residents of Iran's territory, but after the treaty migrated to the Ottoman territory, they
should be relocated to Iran with the cooperation of the military forces of the two countries, and
the nomads who have lived in Ottomanis land for a long time should be returned to their
homeland. And the nomads whose permanent residence is not known or difficult to mark, it
should be at their own disposal to be chosen.
9- All articles and provisions contained in the first treaty of Arzaneh al-Rum, which were
not canceled or repealed in this agreement, remained in force, and the provisions of the first
treaty are intended to determine the route of the border line between the two countries of Iran
and the Ottoman Empire. And the commissions for marking the boundaries should work on the
basis of map to erect the border signs (Bina, 2004).
In 1856, Fath Ali Shah, at the suggestion of the British, sent Mirza Reza Nawai, the
senior secretary to the court of Sultan Mahmud II to sign a military alliance agreement between
them against the Russians, because the Ottomans were defeated by the Russians, and a
delegation headed by Abdul Wahab Effendi was sent to Tehran to make another comprehensive
plan against the Russians (Salim, 2009).
The second treaty of Arzaneh al-Rum has a special importance in the history of Iran-
Ottoman relations and the treaty with Iraq has also a vital place as well. On the one hand, this
treaty shows the last period of historical evolution of Iran-Ottoman relations, and on the other
hand, it is the foundation of Iran's relations with the new Iraqi government. The importance of
this agreement is based on the following reasons:
1- All the differences between Iran and Ottomans during the past centuries were enfolded
in this treaty; for this reason, it was the most comprehensive agreement that had been signed
between Iran and the Ottoman Empire so far. Efforts has been taken in this agreement to find out
solutions for all disputes between these two countries.
2- In this agreement, for the first time, Iran's land and water borders with its western
neighbor have been defined and specified. In all the previous agreements, the borders of Iran and
Ottomans, both on land and water, were not precisely determined, and ambiguity was visible in
all of them.
3- Arvand River and its legal aspect has been discussed for the first time.
4- The current borders of Iran and Iraq, with minor changes, are determined based on this
agreement.
5- This agreement laid the foundation for the subsequent disputes between Iran and Iraq
and became the source of future disputes. In fact, the troubles caused by the aforementioned
treaty have also passed since the Ottoman Empire and have continued until today.
6- This agreement is the basis for concluding subsequent agreements. For example, the
Second Arzaneh al-Rum Treaty is the basis for concluding the Tehran Protocol 1329 Qamari or
1911 AD and the Islambol Protocol 1331 Qamari 1913 AD and the demarcation of the
boundaries were marked in the meeting of 1914 Qamari according to 1332 AD. The last
agreement between Iran and Iraq as the border and good neighbor Agreement of 1354/1975 AD,
was also the Islambol Protocol and likewise agreement are linked to it.
(Sayed Mohsen Mirhosseini and Khadija Zandinia)
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International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 6 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
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However, this treaty was not approved by the Iranian government based on the lack of
trust between the contracting parties and the intervention of foreigners, and the Ottoman
government also took advantage of the death of Mohammad Shah Qajar and the arousal of
disorder in the early month of the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, and Darvish Pasha, the
representative of that government, who was the head of the Ottoman army, captured Qatur and
changed the border marks to their liking and considered this area as part of the territory of the
Ottoman government, as this area had very strategic importance, so Russia did not want this area
to be under Ottoman control and thus supported Iran's point of view and on the other hand
England favored Ottomans. Therefore, these factors caused that the differences were not solved
between the quadrilateral commission and the Ottoman government were not ready to return
Qatur region, and in the same way, the Crimean War between Russia and the Ottomans began in
1854, and the governments of England, France, and Sardinia supporting the Ottomans entered
the war and so the border disputes between Iran and the Ottomans remained unresolved
(Mahdavi, 1970).
With the start of the First World War, the relationship between the two countries entered
a new phase, although Iran declared neutrality, but despite this, hostile forces entered Iran and
invited the Iranians to unite with them to indulge in war with Russia and England, and this
situation continued till the end of the war (Safipour, 2006).
Conclusion
Analyzing Turkey's political, cultural, economic and military relations reveals two major
aspects, one is political, cultural and economic cooperation that has come from many alliances in
different fields, and the other is non-agreement and struggle, which not only influenced minor
disputes, but it has also encircled major issues like military relations of these two countries.
If a little attention is paid to this relationship, it could be clearly seen that the existence of
cultural and ideological issues in various forms had been an important factor that helped
compromise and established relations and strengthened them. We could see that these relations
throughout history developed in the past and will have profound positive effects in the future as
well.
As mentioned earlier that these two countries, Iran and Turkey, have been connected with
each other for many centuries in terms of various commonalities such as 1- Neighborhood 2-
Holy places 3- Border issues 4- Border tribes and nomads 5- Trade 6- Thought of Islamization 7-
Bilateral cultural ties.
A very interesting point that was launched with the description of the bloody wars during
the Qajar era, there was also a spiritual and cultural friendship between these two nations, and
we see that for centuries the Turks took their cultural and linguistic elements from the land of
Iran and Iran also acquires new science and civilization through this country, which was a bridge
to Europe.
It is clear from the military situation and the problems arising perspectives that it was
originally the rivalry between the Russians and the British, which fueled these issues and wanted
to inflame the fire of discord between the two neighboring countries so that they could pursue
colonial interests and utilize it for themselves.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 6 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
838
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