Russo-Persian War, 1722-1723, known in Russian historiography as the Persian campaign of Peter the Great, was a war between Russia and Persia (Iran), triggered by the tsar's attempt to expand Russian influence in the Caspian and South Caucasus regions and to prevent its rival, Ottoman Turkey, from territorial gains in the region at the expense of the declining Safavid Persia.
Prior to the campaign, Peter I of Russia secured an alliance with a Geo...
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Russo-Persian War, 1722-1723, known in Russian historiography as the Persian campaign of Peter the Great, was a war between Russia and Persia (Iran), triggered by the tsar's attempt to expand Russian influence in the Caspian and South Caucasus regions and to prevent its rival, Ottoman Turkey, from territorial gains in the region at the expense of the declining Safavid Persia.
Prior to the campaign, Peter I of Russia secured an alliance with a Georgian king Vakhtang VI of Kartli and with Catholicos of Armenia Asdvadzadur. These Christian rulers were seeking Russian aid in their struggle against two expansionist Muslim powers - Turkey and Persia.
In July 1722, the Russian army, numbering about 22,000 men, embarked on ships of the newly-built Caspian Flotilla led by admiral Fyodor Apraksin from Astrakhan. They were joined later by about 22,000 cavalry and the Cossacks marching overland from Tsaritsyn. On August 23, 1722 the Russian army captured Derbent in southern Dagestan. However, in...
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