Charles Christie (died 1812) was a British officer, mostly remembered for his endeavours in
Qajar Iran
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
. A member of the first British military mission to Iran (1810), he was killed in action while serving on the Iranian side during the
Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813.
Biography
Charles Christie was the son of
James Christie, the founder of
Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
Auction House. Originally a captain of the
Bombay Regiment of the Anglo-Indian army, in 1810, Christie and Lieutenant
Henry Pottinger
Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Pottinger, 1st Baronet (; 3 October 1789 – 18 March 1856) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and colonial administrator who became the first Governor of Hong Kong.
Early life
Henry Pottinger was born at his family est ...
were ordered by Sir
John Malcolm
Major-General Sir John Malcolm GCB, KLS (2 May 1769 – 30 May 1833) was a Scottish soldier, diplomat, East India Company administrator, statesman, and historian.
Early life
Sir John Malcolm was born in 1769, one of seventeen children of Geo ...
to explore the route from
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
to
Baluchistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
,
Sistan
Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan (N ...
and the
Makran
Makran ( fa, مكران), mentioned in some sources as Mecran and Mokrān, is the coastal region of Baluchistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in Balochistan, in Pakistan and Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. It extends westwards, ...
. These areas were thought to hold a possible overland route by which a European army could invade India. Christie and Pottinger disguised themselves as horse dealers, and travelled north from the Makran coast to
Nushki
Nushki (Urdu , ) is a town and district in Balochistan, Pakistan. It lies in a plain south-west of Quetta, at an elevation of above sea level. From Nushki, the flat Balochistan desert stretches away northward and westward to the Helmand River.
...
, where the two separated in March of 1810. Christie moved north through Sistan to
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...
and thereafter across the central Iranian desert to
Yazd
Yazd ( fa, یزد ), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd Province, Iran. The city is located southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, the population was 1,138,533. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a Worl ...
and
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
. A manuscript of Christie's travel journal is appended to Pottinger's account of his expedition which provided the first reliable information about these territories.
At the request of
Harford Jones (later named Harford Jones-Brydges), the British envoy to Iran, Christie and a number of other British officers entered into military service with Iran hence forming the core of the military mission provided for in accordance with the Preliminary Treaty of Friendship and Alliance that Jones had negotiated with
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar ( fa, فتحعلىشاه قاجار, Fatḥ-ʻAli Šâh Qâjâr; May 1769 – 24 October 1834) was the second Shah (king) of Qajar Iran. He reigned from 17 June 1797 until his death on 24 October 1834. His reign saw the irr ...
(1797–1834) on 17 June 1809.
Christie was tasked with training the Iranian infantry (''sarbaz'') and had become the commander of the
Shaqaqi
The Shekak (also Shakkak, Shikakan or Shekkāk; ; ) is a Kurdish tribe present in various regions, mainly in West Azerbaijan province, Iran.
History
The Shikaki tribe are first mentioned in a Yezidi mişûr (manuscript) from 1207 AD, where th ...
Regiment, one of the twelve new regiments (''Nezam-e Jadid'') in the province of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
. Christie fought on the Iranian side against the
Russians
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during the
Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813. However, in 1812, Britain and Russia had reconciled, which meant that Britain was withdrawing its support from Iran. Christie, two other British officers (
Henry Lindsay and
William Monteith) and thirteen sergeants were allowed to remain in Iranian service at the request of Crown Prince
Abbas Mirza
Abbas Mirza ( fa, عباس میرزا; August 26, 1789October 25, 1833) was a Qajar crown prince of Iran. He developed a reputation as a military commander during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 and the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828, as ...
, commander of the Iranian army. Christie and Lindsay both participated in the
Battle of Sultanabad
The Battle of Sultanabad occurred on February 13, 1812 between the Russian Empire and the Persian Empire. In the resulting battle, the Russians were routed.
The Persians, numerically superior, were led by Abbas Mirza and fought the Russians, ...
(13 February 1812) which ended in an Iranian victory. During the battle, Christie and Lindsay reportedly threw themselves into the thick of the fighting, thereby gaining the admiration of the Iranians and proving that they would not refrain from attacking fellow Christians.
Both later participated in the ensuing
Battle of Aslanduz
The Battle of Aslanduz took place from 31 October to 1 November 1812 between Russian Empire and Qajar Iran during the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813). The Persian commander Fath Ali Shah stationed his forces, led by his two heirs, Abbas Mirza and ...
(31 October–1 November 1812) that resulted in an Iranian defeat. During the battle, Christie was shot in the neck, but, as he refused to surrender, was said to have killed six Russian soldiers before being killed himself. John Cormick, physician to Abbas Mirza, found Christie's remains and buried them near the spot where he had been killed.
References
Sources
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* {{cite journal , last1=Michael , first1=M. A. , title=Not exactly a connoisseur: A new portrait of James Christie by Benjamin Vandergucht (1752–1794) and the auctioneer's family history , journal=The British Art Journal , date=2019 , volume=19 , issue=1
18th-century births
1812 deaths
19th-century British Army personnel
People of the Russo-Persian Wars
People of Qajar Iran
British expatriates in Iran
British East India Company Army officers
British military personnel killed in action in the Napoleonic Wars
British explorers