Quick Overview
Following the murder of Griboedov, the Envoy and Minister Plenipotentiary of Russia and the massacre of the entire Russian Legation, save one, by an angry mob, on February 11, 1829, in Tehran, the government of Iran dispatched a mission with an official apology from the Shah to Tsar Nicholas I. The mission, headed by Khosrow Mirza, the 16-year-old seventh son of Crown Prince `Abbas Mirza, left Iran in early May and returned on February 27, 1830, after successfully accomplishing its task. The young Prince had not only charmed the Tsar, the royal family and the nobility, but had also managed to cancel the ninth payment of the indemnity amounting to half a million tomans or two million rubles and had obtained a five-year grace period for the payment of the tenth, or last part. His skillful diplomacy had saved Iran from Russian retaliation, had strengthened Russo-Iranian ties, and had reduced the British influence in his land. The present study, utilizing Persian and Russian contemporary sources, is a detailed daily account of the long journey and experiences of the Iranian delegation in Armenia and Georgia, its stay in the various Russian cities such as Vladikavkaz, Piatigorsk, Stavropol, Voronezh, Tula, Moscow, and especially its long stay in St. Petersburg. It should serve as a primary source on Russo-Iranian relations in the fist trimester of the 19th century. The study is composed of an introduction, the account of the journey in three parts, eight unique maps, an appendix, a bibliography and index.