Aqa Mohammad as the legitimate ruler of Gilan and Mazandaran and
warned that his actions put him in danger of her "stern punishment."^23
Nonetheless, when Skilichii and Tumanovskii urged Aqa Mohammad
to conquer Gilan, he agreed and voiced his desire for good relations
with Russia. Then, when the khan and the consuls had realized their
objective, the burgeoning cooperation broke down. Aqa Mohammad
was a man of far different mettle and ambition from Hedayatollah
or the other khans who tried to make an agreement with Russia. Aqa
Mohammad's communications with Russia reveal that he perceived
cooperation with that country in terms of an alliance between two
sovereigns rather than the submission of a vassal to his suzerain. He
favored the growth of Russo-Iranian trade, but he suspected that
Russia was not content with unimpeded commerce and planned to
restrict his political authority. The most conspicuous symbol of that
threat was the Russian intention to build forts inside his realm, espe-
cially near Astarabad and at Anzali. The possibility of his reaching an
accord with the Russians was further reduced by Tumanovskii's greed.
The ex-consul demanded a large bribe for his help in the conquest of
Gilan but was turned down by Aqa Mohammad, who was annoyed
that the two Russian agents had already seized Hedayatollah's trea-
sures and refused to share the spoils of victory. A last attempt in 1787
to reach an agreement failed under obscure circumstances. Thereafter,
Russia dealt with the khan's rebel brother, Morteza Qoli, whom it in-
tended to install on the Iranian throne as the tsaritsa's vassal. Cather-
ine delayed putting this plan into operation until the 1796 campaign,
which failed to achieve most of its objectives. The most noticeable
result of Russia's endorsement of Morteza Qoli's pretensions was the
further estrangement of Aqa Mohammad, who ordered in reprisal
that the small Russian settlement in Anzali be blockaded. This dis-
rupted Russian commerce and caused considerable hardship for the
isolated community.
Russo-Iranian commerce faced a host of other obstacles that would
have been difficult to overcome even if political relations between
the two countries had been better. Travel between the two had to
be conducted by boat across the Caspian because the formidable bar-
rier of the high Caucasus and the danger of attack made the overland
passage of merchant caravans impossible. The sea route was not a
great improvement. The violent storms to which the Caspian is sub-
ject made shipwrecks a real hazard for those who sailed it. Few points
along the southern or western coasts offered a safe harbor. Anzali,
the most important commercial center on the south coast, had no
harbor at all. Ships had to anchor several miles offshore in open waters.
Russian Expansion under Catherine the Great 35