300 of those inside were killed. In all, about 2,000 Iranians were
killed and more than 500 were captured. Christie and one of the drill
sergeants were also killed. According to some reports, Christie sur-
vived the battle but was killed as he lay wounded because the Rus-
sians were angry that any British continued to aid Iran. The Russians
lost only 28 killed and 99 wounded.^22
Iranian morale was shaken badly. Some of the disappointment
was expressed as criticism of Britain for betray ing Iran to Russia. Then
at the start of the new year came the Lankaran disaster. The Russians
took no prisoners "because on account of the obstinance of the Per-
sians in defending that fort and the arrogance with which the propo-
sal to surrender was rejected no one was shown mercy by the sol-
diers."^23 In two months, Iran lost about 5,000 soldiers of its new
army. Yet Fath 'Ali, 'Abbas, and Hosein Qoli Khan of Yerevan were
not ready to admit defeat. Border raids continued into the summer
of 1813. Despite the losses suffered at Aslanduz and Lankaran, the
Iranian government perceived encouraging signs. Although Napoleon
had left Moscow by the time of Aslanduz, the slowness of communi-
cations meant that Iran was still receiving word of French triumphs
well into 1813. Even when news of the French retreat finally arrived,
rumor had it that Napoleon had merely regrouped his forces in Poland
to prepare for a new invasion of Russia. Therefore, the Iranians kept
expecting Russia to recall its troops from the Caucasus for service in
Europe. They also hoped for renewed uprisings in Georgia. Moreover,
the shah still counted on ample support from Britain. A few British
officers and some 12,000 arms that had been ordered a long time be-
fore arrived in Iran after Aslanduz. The shah also ordered thousands
more weapons, while British soldiers in Tabriz drilled infantry recruits
and manufactured cannon. By the spring of 1813, Iran's new army
had recovered to near its pre-Aslanduz strength. When Fath 'Ali re-
viewed the new army that summer, it looked impressive and encour-
aged his hopes of military success. In addition, the shah knew he was
entitled to receive the British subsidy for the duration of the war, so
he was less worried about the cost of continuing to fight. However,
Britain was determined to end a war that no longer served its national
interests. Therefore, the British ambassador compelled Iran to make
peace.^24
The British had been involved twice in unsuccessful attempts to
negotiate peace since the restoration of their diplomatic influence in
Iran. In 1810, the shah was concerned about rumors that France had
obtained a Russo-Turkish peace, which would permit the transfer of
more Russian troops to the east Caucasian front. He was even more
France and Britain in Iran 139