Introduction 7to Peter's activities and his treaty with Tahmasb but only as secondary
arguments. Her campaign in the eastern Caucasus was not designed
as an imitation of Peter's. Instead, she formed her Iranian policy on
the basis of her analysis of conditions that existed in her own time.
Peter's example served to legitimize a policy already formulated. For
example, in her 1796 manifesto to the Iranian and Caucasian peoples
announcing the war against Aqa Mohammad Khan, she cited the
Petrine precedent but placed far greater emphasis on more recent
events, especially Russia's obligation to protect Georgia and the evils
of Aqa Mohammad's brutal misrule. Therefore, she argued, Russia
had a duty to destroy the tyrant and establish justice in the afflicted
territories.^2 Catherine's references to Peter's achievements studiously
avoided any mention of his treaty with the Porte, according to which
the latter was recognized as overlord of Georgia and most of the other
territories Russia then claimed. Anna's two treaties were also conve-
niently forgotten until Alexander's war with Iran, at which time the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs argued that the concessions were made
only because Nader Shah had temporarily reestablished law and order,
which, by implication, subsequent Iranian pretenders had failed to
do. In any event, Russia argued that it was not bound by the treaties
since Iran had failed to live up to certain provisions.^3
Peter's activities on the Caspian coast influenced later generations
by raising the possibility of using Iranian territory as a base for ex-
panded trade with Asia. For half a century, the idea lay dormant
while his successors gave their attention to other matters. Catherine
the Great, who was as vigorous an advocate of Russian expansion as
Peter had been, also developed an interest in that quarter. In so doing,
she responded far more to contemporary attitudes about imperial
greatness and to political turbulence in Iran than to her predecessor's
accomplishments. The one precedent that seems to have influenced
her greatly was the apparent similarity between Iran's political frag-
mentation at the beginning and end of the century and, therefore,
the likelihood of easy Russian success against a weak opponent. How-
ever, the similarity proved deceptive, and the obstacles to duplicating
Peter's achievements were many.