- His main force was sent to oppose the Afghans in Khorasan.
The smaller force sent to the Caucasus managed to besiege Khoi and
Yerevan and to approach the borders of Georgia. However, the ex-
pected support from Turcoman tribes along the Georgian border
and dissident members of the Bagration family failed to materialize.
Georgia itself was not attacked. The Iranian army had no victories
before its recall at the end of August. In the remaining seven months
of his reign, Paul was not faced with any further attempts to enforce
the shah's claim to disputed provinces. The Iranian army did not re-
sume operations in the northwest until the summer of 1802, more
than a year after Paul's assassination.
One aspect of Paul's attitude toward the disputed border territor-
ies that seems out of keeping with his general restraint is his decision
to make Georgia an integral part of his empire, thus ending rule by
the ancient line of Bagration kings. Yet, even in this case, Paul acted
much less aggressively than the simple fact of annexation would ap-
pear to indicate. The most important factor in his decision lay out-
side his control—the critical weakness of the Georgian kingdom. King
Erekle died early in 1798. Without that once strong and respected
ruler in command, the country seemed on the verge of anarchy and
civil war. Giorgi, the new king, evinced a desire to remedy his coun-
try's problems, but he was ineffectual and in failing health. His rela-
tives prepared for the struggle for the throne that all expected to
follow his impending death. There was a possibility that some of the
pretenders to the throne might call upon Iran or the Ottoman Em-
pire for support or that either state would on its own initiative move
in to fill the vacuum resulting from Georgia's collapse.
Giorgi sent representatives to ask Paul to make the kingdom a
Russian province, with the Bagrations to serve as its governors. At
the same time, these representatives and Paul's Russian advisers held
forth the picture of the increase in trade with Asia to be derived
from the annexation.
24
However, Paul had cause to wonder whether
annexation would be enough. While a Bagration remained the chief
official in Georgia, there was a possibility that he could be the spokes-
man for fellow countrymen dissatisfied with Russian rule. Giorgi had
tried to pressure Paul into establishing a large, permanent garrison in
Tbilisi by threatening to submit to Iran unless Russia satisfied his de-
fense needs. If a 1798 letter purportedly from Giorgi to Fath 'Ali is
authentic, which a Georgian source seems to confirm, the king was
quite serious about his threat. After lamenting the foolishness of
Erekle's rebellion against Aqa Mohammad, Giorgi affirmed:
58 Russian Policy: Questions and Continuity