ful of the heavy taxes. Plundering during battle still interfered with
the Iranians' ability to press home an early advantage and was wide-
spread even among the Western-style army because of their inade-
quate pay. Yet the Iranian effort was not an unmitigated disaster
from the start. Local uprisings inflicted serious defeats on Russian
troops even before the Iranians attacked. There was little of the wa-
vering in choosing sides that occurred during the first war. Inhabi-
tants of Elizavetpol', Qarabagh, Shirvan, Shakki, Talesh, and the
Muslim border districts of Georgia battled fiercely with the Russians,
killing whole garrisons in several places, especially Elizavetpol', and
expelling the Russians elsewhere. The Iranian invasion began in July
with attacks across a broad front from Georgia to Talesh and Baku.
The invaders won several battles and besieged the Russian garrisons
of Shusha and Baku. However, neither fortress was captured, and by
September the advance was stopped, most significantly by the rout
of 'Abbas's army in Elizavetpol'. There was a lull in the fighting dur-
ing the winter. At that time, Ermolov was recalled and Paskevich given
command. Fighting resumed in the spring. The Russian advance faced
some serious opposition, especially in Yerevan, but ultimately Paske-
vich and his subordinates were victorious. While 'Abbas concentrated
his efforts on the area around Khoi, the Russians took Nakhjavan,
Yerevan, and 'Abbasabad. The road to Tabriz lay open before them.
The city's terrified inhabitants were convinced that resistance would
provoke drastic reprisals. The local garrison did not inspire confidence
and in fact did not attempt a defense. A few of the city's notables
arranged a peaceful surrender to the Russians in mid-October.^14
When this happened, the shah realized that the cause was lost and
agreed to open negotiations. As in the talks that ended the first war,
Russia dictated the terms. Russia demanded Yerevan and Nakjavan
and set out the terms for the transfer of populations across the new
border. Several demands had significant implications for Russian in-
fluence in Iranian affairs. Russia recognized the shah's designate as heir
to the throne, as it had done in the previous treaty. This reflected Rus-
sia's desire to increase its influence over 'Abbas but also meant that
Russia would have grounds to intervene in the succession. A separate
commercial treaty compelled Iran to allow the establishment of Rus-
sian consulates anywhere in Iran and guaranteed extraterritorial
privileges, a sharp contrast with the shah's previous objection even to
the revival of the Russian consulate at Anzali. The most obviously
disagreeable provision from Iran's point of view was the one by which
the government was compelled to pay reparations to Russia for the
158 The Consequences of the Struggle