Shīrvānian Beylerbey Khosrow Khān and the Russian-Persian Conflict in the Middle of the 17th Century

Abstract

In the mid-17th century, the relatively stable trade and diplomatic relations between Russia and Safavid Persia were disrupted by a conflict (1651–1653). The study’s main aim is to examine the immediate and indirect causes, and particularly, the role of Shīrvānian beylerbey Khosrow Khān in the conflict. According to several historians, he played an important role in this struggle. As the governor of the Safavid frontier province in the South Caucasus, he was an integral part of official Russian-Safavid trade relations. Khan’s merchants regularly travelled to Russia and traded at the local markets. However, Shīrvānian and Persian merchants’ trade sustained losses caused by frequent attacks of the Cossacks. Khosrow Khān sent several letters to the governors of Astrakhan and Terek complaining about these Cossack plundering raids. In addition, he also expressed dissatisfaction with the construction of a fortress on the territory at the mouth of the Terek and Sunzha rivers, which the Russians and Safavids considered their own sphere of political influence. All these factors gradually provoked Khosrow Khān, and other local Dagestani and Kumyk rulers (probably with the approval of the Safavid Shah), to organize military operations against the Shunza fortress. This seemingly local conflict was immediately noticeable at the official Russian-Safavid state diplomatic level. The research draws on a range of archival and published Russian and Persian sources, as well as on scholarly literature on the subject.