'Ali Shah to make peace on Russia's terms by attacking Gilan. When
Tsitsianov gave a subordinate his orders for the expedition, he re-
ferred to the plan as being determined by secret instructions known
only to the tsar and himself. This was patently untrue. The Gilan
campaign was treated by St. Petersburg like any other policy deci-
sion regarding that region. There was no special secrecy. Foreign
Minister Czartoryski and Tsitsianov discussed the plan in correspond-
ence, and no doubt other officials knew of it as well.^13
Tsitsianov, a descendant of a Georgian prince of the Tsitsishvili
family who had emigrated to Russia during the time of Peter the
Great, could speak as the leader of a Georgian national revival when
the occasion warranted. He was eager to reunify his ancestral home-
land by extending Russian sovereignty over the western as well as the
eastern Georgian principalities (which Alexander also favored) and
over Ganjeh, which he claimed had been subject to Georgia since the
reign of Queen Tamara (who ruled from 1184 to 1213). In a letter to
Fath 'Ali Shah, the general announced his intention to restore Geor-
gia to its ancient greatness, with borders extending from Abkhazia,
on the Black Sea, to Derbent.^14
More frequently, Tsitsianov represented himself as the spokesman
for European civilization in a world of Asian depravity. In fact, he
reverted to this theme with such conspicuous regularity that it seems
to have been an integral part of his obsession with having his way in
all matters. Anyone who interfered with his wishes was contemptible,
uncivilized, and, therefore, to be swept aside. His concept of European
standards varied erratically. He offered Javad Khan of Ganjeh the
opportunity to surrender and avoid bloodshed, saying he was acting
"according to European customs and the Faith I profess," but, when
Javad suggested that Tsitsianov lift the siege to avoid bloodshed, the
general refused further discussion on the grounds that to pursue the
subject was "unacceptable in any well mannered European writing."
15
Tsitsianov's pose as a European chauvinist nearly cost him the sub-
mission of one of the few khans who was genuinely eager to become
a Russian vassal. Ja'far Qoli Khan Domboli had been ruler of Khoi,
located south of the Aras near the Ottoman border, but had lost
power because of his opposition to Fath 'Ali Shah. Therefore, the
khan hoped to be reinstated with the help of Russian arms, an idea
Tsitsianov encouraged. They agreed that Ja'far Qorl and his support-
ers would cross the Aras to meet Tsitsianov, who planned to conquer
Yerevan and then restore Ja'far Qoli to power in Khoi. The khan did
not arrive at the appointed time because his stronghold on the Otto-
man border was besieged by Turkish troops. His wife, who had taken
74 Russia's Conquest of the Eastern Caucasus