Qarabagh and defeating Kotliarevskii, who was just north of the river
with 2,000 soldiers. Kotliarevskii found out and attacked first. Al-
though difficulties in fording the Aras prevented him from reaching
the Iranian camp during the night, lax security was still in effect
when he arrived in the early morning. Kotliarevskii's men were about
300 yards from the camp before they were discovered by the Iranians
who fled in disorder (although they later regrouped in a fort), leaving
some of their artillery, most of their ammunition, and virtually every-
thing else behind. During that day's fighting and the next, roughly
40 percent of the Iranian contingent was killed.
27
While Iran was at war on its northwestern frontier, it was also in-
volved in smaller conflicts elsewhere. Fighting broke out between
the Iranians and the Afghans in 1805 and 1811. In 1811, Iran also
sent troops against the Wahhabis (a sect that advocated a return to
its concept of the pure faith of Mohammad) in Arabia. The Iranians
suffered heavy casualties, but Iran's security was not jeopardized.
Relations with the Ottoman Empire were a more serious problem. In
addition to the long-standing rivalry between the neighboring empires,
there were specific points of friction that nearly caused a war be-
tween them during this era. In 1811, Kurds from the Ottoman pro-
vince of Byazid staged a devastating raid deep into Azerbaijan, de-
stroying at least fifteen villages. Iran responded by sending the gov-
ernor of one of the affected districts to attack the Kurds, whose lead-
er was killed in the reprisal. About the same time, the pasha of Bagh-
dad, who was on good terms with Iran, was replaced by someone
who was distinctly hostile. The shah's eldest son Mohammad 'Ali, the
governor of the western province of Kermanshah, argued that the
Kurdish raid and developments in Baghdad were grounds for war
with the Ottomans. Yet Iran was so desirous of assistance against
the Russians that it had endeavored since 1803 to obtain Ottoman
cooperation in the war. Talks on this subject were resumed in 1809
and after two years of negotiation led to an agreement to stage a
joint attack on Russia's Caucasian forces. However, the plan came
to nought because the Ottoman general sent to work out the de-
tails with the Iranians was assassinated by an agent of his political
rival. Instead of cooperating with the Ottomans, Mohammad 'Ali's
army of around 30,000 fought to oust the pasha of Baghdad. Fi-
nally, in 1812, Fath 'Ali's concern over the war with Russia and
the sultan's willingness to take conciliatory measures in the Bagh-
dad dispute ended the fighting between Iran and the Ottoman Em-
pire. However, there was no renewed cooperation in the Caucasian
war, and the Ottoman Empire made a separate peace with Russia.
28
The War, 1804-1813 113