User:HistoryofIran/Mirza Shafi Mazandarani

Mirza Shafi Mazandarani was the chief minister of the Iranian shah (king) Fath-Ali Shah Qajar ((r. 1789 – 1797)) from 1801 until his death in 1818/19.

Biography
A son of Mirza Haji Ahmad, he was born in 1744 to an Isfahani family that moved to the Mazandaran province after the assassination of the Afsharid shah (king) Nader Shah in 1747. His career started in the court of first Qajar shah Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar ((r. 1789 – 1797)), who appointed him as a kalantar. In 1801, Agha Mohammad Khan's successor Fath-Ali Shah Qajar ((r. 1789 – 1797)) appointed Mirza Shafi as his chief minister. Since the Safavid era, the chief minister's position was known as e'temad ol-dowleh ("the trusted of government"). However, with its authority increased in 1806, it was renamed sadr-e azam sedarat-e uzma (the grand chief or grand chancellery), or simply sadr-e azam.

Due to British pressure and promises, actual financial difficulties, and military difficulties elsewhere, Fath-Ali Shah ultimately conceded defeat to the Russians. On the recommendation of Mirza Shafi and others, he grudgingly agreed to this arrangement in the hopes that the British, acting as the Russian emperor's intermediary, could secure a more favorable agreement for him. One observer hypothesized that Fath-Ali Shah's acceptance of peace with Russia was due to Iranian political officials' little knowledge of the world's affairs and their reliance on British envoy Gore Ouseley's pledge to advocate for the return of some of the territories under Russian occupation. It was well known that Mirza Shafi, who favored peace with the Russians, knew more about European politics than other politicians in Tehran. He had already come to the conclusion that the war with Russia was unwinnable, therefore he may have tried to stop additional land loss by convincing Fath-Ali Shah to make peace with Russia. Numerous domestic uprisings as well as economic issues were taking place in Iran.

Abbas Mirza and Mirza Bozorg opposed making peace and expressed faith in Iran's capacity to reorganize and carry on the fight. Abbas Mirza's army had replenished both its manpower and its supplies between October 1812 and October 1813. By 1813, Abbas Mirza reportedly possessed more artillery than he did before the battle of Aslanduz, but low morale was present amongst the soldiers. Nevertheless, they were stopped by Fath-Ali Shah. Mirza Shafi designated Mirza Abolhassan Khan Ilchi as the only representative of Iran because Abbas Mirza and Mirza Bozorg refused to ratify any agreement that called for the loss of Iranian territory. On 24 October 1813, Mirza Abolhassan signed the Treaty of Golestan in the Golestan village on behalf of Iran.

Per the terms of the treaty, Iran conceded to Russia the sultanates of Shamshadil, Qazzaq, Shuragol, and the khanates of Baku, Derbent, Ganja, Shakki, Quba, Shirvan, Karabakh, and the northern and central part of Talish. Moreover, Iran also had to abandon its claims over Georgia, ultimately only retaining control over Erivan and Nakhichevan. The position of the border in southern Talish and southern Karabakh continued to be up for debate between the two parties. Russia acknowledged Fath-Ali Shah as the legitimate shah of Iran, but refused to designate Abbas Mirza as his heir in order to punish and isolate him.