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In From the Kur to the Aras George A. Bournoutian presents the first military history of the Russian advance into the South Caucasus in 1801 and the ensuing First Russo-Iran War (1804-1813) that was a crucial step in the Russian Empire’s eventual expansion into the Caucasus region. Using both Iranian and Russian primary sources, the work vividly describes the strategies, military capabilities and personalities that clashed for ten years, ending with the Treaty of Golestan. Numerous and illustrative maps, as well as informative appendices, add to a balanced view of a struggle between and ancient and an emerging empire.
Price: $170.00
Pages: 318
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Iran Studies
Publication Date:
17 December 2020
ISBN: 9789004445154
Format: Hardcover
'Wars have two sides, yet their complex stories are most often told from the side of the victor. Because of his formidable knowledge of the sources and the relevant languages, George Bournoutian provides the first authoritative and comprehensive account of the Russo-Iranian War in the first decades of the nineteenth century that considers the aims and policies of both sides. He demonstrates the sad truth that when great empires clash, the peoples between them become the pawns of other's imperial ambitions.'
Ronald Grigor Suny, William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History, Professor of Political Science, The University of Michigan
'The two wars Iran fought—and lost—against Russia in the early nineteenth century were hugely consequential for the country. Iran lost the entire southern Caucasus and became exposed to Russian political and economic intrusion into its affairs in ways that continue until today. To date no full study of either confrontation existed in any language. Bournoutian has filled part of this gap by writing a comprehensive history of the first war, the one that ended with the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813. From the Kur to the Aras uses an array of sources in multiple languages to offer a rich, blow-by-blow account of campaigns and battles, in addition to providing much information about strategies, logistics, and personalities. This, together with the dispassionate writing and the keen sensitivity to the self-serving modern sensibilities of all parties involved, likely will make this study a classic of military history.'
Rudi Matthee, Distinguished Professor of History, University of Delaware
“Certainly, the book is a must-read and major contribution to scholarship on the First Russo-Iranian War.”
- Mehdi Mousavi, University of Delaware in: Iranian Studies (2022).
Ronald Grigor Suny, William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History, Professor of Political Science, The University of Michigan
'The two wars Iran fought—and lost—against Russia in the early nineteenth century were hugely consequential for the country. Iran lost the entire southern Caucasus and became exposed to Russian political and economic intrusion into its affairs in ways that continue until today. To date no full study of either confrontation existed in any language. Bournoutian has filled part of this gap by writing a comprehensive history of the first war, the one that ended with the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813. From the Kur to the Aras uses an array of sources in multiple languages to offer a rich, blow-by-blow account of campaigns and battles, in addition to providing much information about strategies, logistics, and personalities. This, together with the dispassionate writing and the keen sensitivity to the self-serving modern sensibilities of all parties involved, likely will make this study a classic of military history.'
Rudi Matthee, Distinguished Professor of History, University of Delaware
“Certainly, the book is a must-read and major contribution to scholarship on the First Russo-Iranian War.”
- Mehdi Mousavi, University of Delaware in: Iranian Studies (2022).
George A. Bournoutian (Ph.D. 1976, UCLA) is a historian of the Caucasus and has published numerous articles and some two dozen books on the region. He has been a faculty member in a number of colleges and universities across the US.