him, this was intended not for the conquest of foreign territory but
for the establishment of law and order within a part of the empire
and the maintenance of the Russo-Iranian border (as it stood before
the recent Russian expansion).^12 This theme of reestablishing Iranian
control over the country's northwestern borderlands was echoed in a
number of proclamations from Fath 'Ali Shah to various Christian
and Muslim Caucasians.
Another point raised in several proclamations to inhabitants of the
disputed provinces illustrates the way in which Russia's heavy-handed
treatment of Georgia strengthened the Qajar argument. When Russia
abolished the rule of the Bagrations, Fath 'Ali Shah was able to style
himself the defender of Bagration legitimacy by recognizing the princes
Alexander (Erekle's son) and T'eimuraz (Giorgi's son) as the valis of
Georgia and sending troops to restore their kingdom to them. The
shah also tried to win over Prince P'arnaoz, Prince Alexander's young-
er brother.^13
While the Qajars' desire to reestablish Iranian hegemony over the
eastern Caucasus was vital to their own prestige, that was not the spe-
cific cause of the war with Russia, even though it increased the ill
will between the prospective combatants. Fath^1 AH had threatened
to drive the Russians from the Caucasus, but the war did not begin in
earnest until there was a direct Russian military threat to the Qajar
government. This threat had two aspects. The first was the way Fath
'Ali perceived Russia's involvement in the Caucasus as being directed
against his authority. The other was the way Russia deliberately took
the offensive against Iran and tried to intimidate the shah.
Although Russia's official policy was to extend its border only to
the Aras and Kura rivers, there was little reason for Fath 'Ali to feel
sure that there would be no attack on the territory farther south, es-
pecially since Russian ambitions occasionally ranged beyond that line.
St. Petersburg readily agreed to Tsitsianov's proposals to take control
of Tabriz (the capital of Azerbaijan) andKhoi (located on the Turkish
border), even though both were south of the proposed border, and,
once the war had begun, accepted his plan to invade Gilan as well.
Even if the Russians had not advocated such measures, there would
have been good reason for the shah to suspect Russia of hostile in-
tent. Catherine made several attempts, albeit unsuccessful ones, to
establish Morteza Qoli, Aqa Mohammad's rebel brother, as the ruler
of the south Caspian coast, and her 1796 proclamation to the Iranians
and Caucasians announced her intention to liberate Iran from Aqa
Mohammad's tyranny. Fath 'Ali's government interpreted these ac-
tions as proof of Catherine's desire to conquer Iran.
14
In writing
Origins of the First Russo-Iranian War 95