The Treaty of Akhal (russian: link=no, Ахалский договор, fa, پیمان آخال), also known as Akhal-Khorasan Boundary Convention, was an agreement signed between

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 ...

and Imperial Russia on 21 September 1881 to mark Iran's official recognition of

Khwarazm Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ea ...

's (mostly the territory of present-day

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

) annexation by the Russian Empire. The title of the treaty is derived from the name of the vast region north of Khorasan where the Turkmen tribe of Tekke lived – Akhal.

Background

In 1856, Russia was defeated in the

Crimean war The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

by the coalition of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, French and Ottoman forces, which altered the direction of Russian expansion from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. Pursuing their policy of territorial expansion, Russians first captured

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...

in 1865 before establishing a protectorate over the Emirate of Bukhara in 1868. Russia also gained

Samarqand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top: Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zin ...

and was paid war reparations as a result of its victory over Bukhara. In 1869, Russia marked its presence in the south-east coast of the

Caspian sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

by founding a naval base in Krasnovodsk (present-day Turkmenbashy, Turkmenistan) and fortifying it. Subsequently, Russian diplomats in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

assured the Persian court that Russia recognized Iran's border along the entire length of

Atrek river The Atrek ( fa, اترک, ku, Etrek, tk, Etrek derýasy), also known as the Attruck, Atrak, and Etrek, is a fast-moving river which begins in the mountains of north-eastern Iran (), and flows westward draining into the south-eastern corner of ...

and did not contemplate to establish military bases there. Russia's imperialistic ambitions soon led to the seizure of Khiva and Khoqand in 1873 and 1876 respectively, and later to the capture of the fortress of Geok-tepe after two military expeditions against Turkmens in 1879 and

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The ...

. With the fall of the last stronghold of Turkmens, Russia enforced the Akhal Treaty on Qajar Iran.

Naser al-Din Shah Qajar Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدین‌شاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Mal ...

sent foreign secretary Mirza Saeed Khan Ansari to meet Russian envoy Ivan Zinoviev and sign a treaty in

Treaty

Akhal Treaty, also known as Akhal-Khorasan Treaty, was signed on 21 September 1881 and marked Persia's official recognition of Khwarazm's (mostly the territory of present-day Turkmenistan) annexation by the Imperial Russia. The title of the treaty is derived from the name of the region north of

Kopet Dag The Köpet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh ( tk, Köpetdag; fa, کپه‌داغ), also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range, is a mountain range on the border between Turkmenistan and Iran that extends about along the border southeast o ...

mountains in Khorasan where the Turkmen tribe of Tekke lived – Akhal. Akhal Treaty consisted of 9 Articles. However, the signatories also signed a separate document with 5 secret clauses in addition to the Treaty on the same day. By virtue of the Treaty, Iran would henceforth cease any claim to all parts of

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...

and

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

, setting the

Atrek River The Atrek ( fa, اترک, ku, Etrek, tk, Etrek derýasy), also known as the Attruck, Atrak, and Etrek, is a fast-moving river which begins in the mountains of north-eastern Iran (), and flows westward draining into the south-eastern corner of ...

as the new boundary. Hence

Merv Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...

Sarakhs Sarakhs ( fa, سرخس, Saraxs, also Romanized as Serakhs) is a city in Sarakhs County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. Sarakhs was once a stopping point along the Silk Road, and in its 11th century heyday had many libraries. Much of the origina ...

, Eshgh Abad, and the surrounding areas comprising modern-day Turkmenistan were transferred to Russia, where they would be the

Transcaspian Oblast The Transcaspian Oblast (russian: Закаспійская область), or just simply Transcaspia (russian: Закаспія), was the section of Russian Empire and early Soviet Russia to the east of the Caspian Sea during the second half of ...

References

Akhal 1881 treaties 1881 in the Russian Empire 1881 in Asia Treaties of the Russian Empire Akhal 1881 in Iran History of Turkmenistan Central Asia in the Russian Empire Iran–Russia treaties {{Iran-stub

Background

Treaty

See also

References