1 Conven tion, Oct 7, Hist. ix. 100, 105: Doe. Hist. forms. 1 Ann. Hist. ix. 398, 400. 20. Russia. these privileges. 4. The frontiers of the two | per moment arrived, Sultan Mahmoud conempires in Asia were fixed as they were at the tinued, without intermission, his 19. moment of signing the treaty. 5. The privi- military and civil reforms. The Se- Sultan Mahleges and concerns of the Servian nation shall | raglio, so long the seat only of indo- moud conbe regulated by a hatti-sheriff, which shall be lence or pleasure, resounded with tinues his reissued at latest in the period of eighteen months. the din of arms; military officers 6. Commissioners were appointed on both sides were seen hurrying to and fro in every directo determine the compensation which was to be tion, bearing orders or dispatches, as at the awarded to the Russian subjects who had suffer- head-quarters of a great army; and the Sultan ed under the depredations of the Barbary pi- himself was constantly engaged in the organizrates, for which the Porte was held responsible, ing of fresh battalions, and the instructing the and to restrain all such acts of piracy in future. troops in the new exercises. Notwithstanding 7. The hospodars of Moldavia and Wallachia all his exertions, however, the raising of the shall be chosen, agreeably to ancient usage, by new force proceeded but slowly; and it soon the boyards of those provinces respectively, appeared that it had been a matter of absolute subject to the consent and approbation of the necessity to submit to the terms dictated at Sublime Porte, the period of their enjoyment of Ackerman. Before the end of the year, not power being in every instance seven years. more than twenty thousand men were assem8. No hospodar was to be dismissed from office bled who had been instructed in the new exerwithout notification to the Russian embassador; cises; and as they constituted the whole regubut if no cause of complaint has been stated by lar military strength of the empire, it may that power, he may be re-elected, after notifica- easily be figured to what perilous straits it was tion to the Russian embassador, for a second reduced, and what an opportunity was afforded term of seven years. 9. The confiscated prop- to Russia for prosecuting her longerties in the two provinces shall be restored to cherished projects of ambition on the former proprietors, and those implicated in the shores of the Bosphorus.' the troubles of 1821 are to be permitted to re- Secured, in the mean time, in a great advanttarn without being molested or disquieted in age, on the side of Turkey, by this any particular. 10. All taxes and impositions convention, Nicholas pursued, during Internal were to be remitted to the inhabit- the next year, the projects of social reforms of ants of Moldavia and Wallachia for amelioration which he had so much Nicholas in 1826; Ann. the period of two years, and entire at heart, and the necessity of which freedom of commerce and exportation the revelations made, during and after the great of the produce of their industry to conspiracy of 1825, had so clearly demonstrated. any part of the world.1 Such was the activity which he communicated Considered in themselves, and with reference to the judicial department that, in the course only to present results, there was of the year 1826, no less than 2,850,000 causes Their disas. nothing in these conditions which were decided in the ordinary tribunals; and trous conse- appeared very detrimental to the out of 127,000 persons under arrest when he quences to Turkish empire. There were nei- came to the throne, only 4900 remained in deTurkey. ther provinces ceded, nor fortresses tention in the beginning of 1827. A report to surrendered, nor alliances imposed. But view- the Emperor, in the beginning of 1827, however, ed in reference to ultimate consequences, the showed that there were still sixty thousand case was very different. By solemnly recog- processes in arrear a state of things which nizing the provisions in the treaties of Bucha- gave him so much concern that he immedirest and Kainardji, which gave Russia a right ately issued a fresh commission to dispatch of interference in behalf of the members of the them; and the Minister of Justice, Prince LaGreek Church in certain parts of the empire, it banoff-Rastowsky, received intimation that he established a RIGHT OF PROTECTORATE in a for- might retire to his estates, and he was succeedeign power inconsistent with national indepen-ed in his functions by Prince Dolgorowsky. A deace, and which opened the door to perpetual ukase of 5th March abolished a cruel species foreign interposition. By the impunity which it of torture, long practiced among the Cossacks stipulated for the rebels in Wallachia and Mol- of the Don, which consisted in attaching the davia, the immunities provided to Servia, and feet of a victim to huge blocks of stone in a the important right of free exportation of their room, while his hands were fastened at extreme produce, which it secured to all these provinces, tension to the ceiling, and leaving him in that it gave a striking example of the benefits which position till he often expired. But amidst these those sheltered by this protectorate might ex- noble cares, the vigilance of internal adminispect from its influence. A large part of the in-tration was in no respect lessened; and the inhabitants of the country were taught to look to a foreign court for protection and redress of grievances. The ruling power was felt to be elsewhere than at Constantinople. We may form some idea of the effects of such a foreign protectorate in dissolving an empire, from what we have ourselves done in India, and might assuredly expect if a similar system were turned against ourselves by France or Russia in Ireland. 18. Undeterred by the prospect of these remote dangers, or rather secretly resolved to avert them, by breaking the treaties when the pro crease of the exiles of Siberia, during the course of 1826, from nine thousand to twelve thousand, proved how wide-spread had been the conspiracy of the preceding year, and how strongly government felt the necessity of extirpating, root and branch, so formidable a combination. The Polish patriots, in the course of the same year, were discovered to have been engaged in a great conspiracy, vailed under the name, and conducted by the fraternity of Free Masons, which seriously attracted the attention of government. A commission of inquiry was issued, which published an elaborate report, and a great number of noble Poles were arrested; but happily the proceedings against them were distinguished by unusual mildness, as the evidence against them was found to be insuffi1 Rapport, Jan. cient; for, after a few months' 3, 1827; Ann. detention, they were all set at Hist. x. 314, 319. liberty.1 21. Notwithstanding the victories of the preceding campaign in Persia, the Russian Operations government was far from being satisin Persia. fied with the general result of the operations. Little durable advantage had been gained from all these successes, chiefly from the want of foresight in providing magazines, which rendered it impossible to move the troops in advance, whatever victories they had achieved. General Yermoloff, in consequence, whose talents, however great, had not proved equal to the emergency, was deprived of the command, which was bestowed on GENERAL PASKEWITCH, who had greatly distinguished himself in the preceding campaign in the capacity of aid-decamp, and who was intrusted with the supreme command in Georgia. Great exertions were made to augment the military force at his disposal, which was increased to seventy thousand men and eighty-six guns-by far the largest Christian and disciplined body of men which had yet appeared to the south of Caucasus. The campaign began, in the beginning of April, by an advance on the fortified convent of Elschmiadzine, long celebrated from its strength and commanding position, but which was now abandoned by the Persians without opposition. On the 17th May, hav17th May. ing got up the requisite supplies and reinforcements, General Benkendorf moved in the direction of ERIVAN, a fortress of great strength, deemed impregnable, and justly regarded as the bulwark of northern Persia. The fort of Abbasabad lay on the road, and was the first object of attack. A brilliant cavalry action took place on the 20th June, when June 20. seven thousand horse, under the command of Hassan Khan, were defeated by the Russian dragoons, on the banks of the Araxes. This was the prelude to the siege of the fortress of Abbasabad, which was invested, 2 Ann. Hist. in the middle of July, by Paskewitch in person.2 April 18. x. 324, 325. 22. Informed of the danger of this important frontier fortress, Abbas Mirza adBattle of vanced at the head of forty thousand Djevan- men, the chosen troops of the monBoulak. archy, to raise the seige; and the July 18. Sardar of Erivan joined him with a large body of irregular horse. The Russian general resolved to anticipate the attack; and, leaving eight battalions and a few guns to observe the fortress, passed the Araxes by a ford, by means of hides forming air-bladders, adopted from the Orientals by Paskewitch for the occasion. He found the Persians in a strong position outflanking his right, and supported on their left by an imposing mass of five thousand irregular horse. The enemy appeared in great strength, and the position extremely formidable; but a headlong charge of the dragoons of NijniNovgorod and a body of Cossacks having checked the horse on the left, the infantry in the centre succeeded in making themselves masters of an elevated plateau in their front, from which their guns commanded the whole field of battle. The Persians, seeing their centre forced, and their left in disorder, broke and fled on all sides. It was no longer a battle, but a rout; and before the Russians sheathed their victorious swords, the Persians had lost five thousand men killed, wounded, and prisoners, several standards, and nearly their whole artillery. Abbas Mirza himself narrowly escaped being made prisoner, and owed his escape entirely to the fleetness of his horse. The loss of the Russians was only forty-nine men; and Paskewitch soon after reaped the substantial fruits of victory by the acquisition 1 Ann. Hist. of Abbasabad, which surrendered on x. 324, 327. 31st July.1 rane. The Persians, however, were not discouraged by this defeat, which was, in truth, 23. rather a "battle of the spurs" than a Battle of regular action. They made a vigor- the Abbaous attack on General Sipiagine, who was conducting a considerable park of artillery to Krasowsky; and though he succeeded in effecting the junction, it was only after repeated assaults, and a very severe loss. They next laid siege to the monastery of Elschmiadzine, which was soon seriously endangered by the fire of their batteries. Upon this Krasowsky took the field to raise the siege; but so weakened was the Russian force by detachments, that it was only with four battalions of infantry, five hundred Cossacks, and twelve guns-in all scarce four thousand men. He was met by Abbas Mirza at the head of five thousand infantry and five thousand irregular horse, with twenty-eight guns. Notwithstanding this great disparity of force, the Russian general, moved by the danger of the beleaguered stronghold, resolved on an attack. The combat which ensued, though in the end favor. Aug. 29. able to the Russians, was extremely bloody, and evinced a degree of discipline and organization in the Persian army much beyond what had been hitherto encountered. The Russians, without much difficulty, made themselves masters of the Persian position, which was the summit of a rocky ridge. But when they were there, they found the reverse side to consist of steep precipices, almost impracticable for artillery; and while hesitating what to do next, the Persians attacked them with the utmost impetuosity on all sides, while their artillery, which was admirably served, made fatal ravages in their ranks. At length the enemy were repulsed, but not before they had inflicted on the Russians a loss of twelve hundred men in killed, prisoners, and wounded, Krasowsky himself being among the latter. The Persians were weakened by nearly two "Krasowthousand men. It was remarkable, sky's Bulin this well-contested action, that letin, Aug. two Persian battalions charged two 30, 1827; of the Russian guard, and came off A. Hist. x. 326, 327. victorious.2 Informed of the narrow escape of this corps from destruction, Paskewitch hast- 24. ened to the support of his lieu- Fall of Sartenant with all the forces which he darabad and could collect, and obliged Abbas Mirza to retire to the right bank of the Araxes; after which he undertook the siege of Sardarabad, the reduction of which was Erivan. October 13. soon made prisoner; and the town, with its necessary before undertaking the siege of Erivan. It yielded after a siege of only four days, and Paskewitch immediately sat down before Erivan. The garrison, which was three thousand strong, made a gallant defense, and repulsed several attacks; but such was the consternation of the inhabitants, that they could not be brought to take any efficient part in the defense; and on the 13th October, when a battalion of the imperial guard had already mounted the breach, they insisted on the governor imploring the clemency of the conqueror. The garrison, consisting of three disciplined battalions, the governor, and seven other khans, were made prisoners of war; the whole artillery of the fortress, with immense stores of ammunition and provisions, fell into the hands of the Russians; and the bulwark of Persia, regarded over all Asia as impregnable, fell into These repeated disasters convinced the Perthe hands, and permanently remained under the sians at length of the necessity of 26. power of the Muscovites. Though the place coming to terms. On 29th October Peace with had been in a manner taken by assault, no dis- the governor of the province of Tau- Persia. orders of any kind were committed by the be- ris sent in offers of accommodation; Nov. 9. siegers. The Russians were received rather as and Paskewitch having stated the conditions deliverers than enemies, and victors and van- on which he was empowered to treat, and acquished met together in peace within its formi-corded a delay of six days, within which they dable ramparts. With great but not undeserved might be accepted, the Persian government sent pride, Paskewitch addressed to his brave com- in their unqualified submission on the 9th Nopanions in arms a proclamation, which recalled vember. The Persians agreed to every thing the bulletins of Napoleon in his Italian cam- that the conquerors demanded, and the Ruspaigns: "Brave comrades! you have conquered sians were forthwith put in possession of the in this campaign two provinces, taken eight ceded territories, which were very considerable, standards, fifty guns, two sirdars, twenty khans, including the fortress of Erivan, and the provsix thousand prisoners in arms, ten ince in which it is situated. Prince Abbas Mirx. 328, 330; thousand who had cast them away, za did the most flattering homage to the MusPaskewitch's and great stores of provisions: such covites by repairing in person to their camp, Dispatch. are your trophies!" and commissioners were appointed 2 Ann. Hist. to arrange the terms of a definitive X. 335, 337. treaty." 1 Ann. Hist. 25. Tauris. The remainder of the campaign was nothing but a series of easy successes, which Capture of cost the Russians more fatigue than blood. Prince Eristoff, whom Paskewitch had detached upon that service, occupied Ourdabad on 7th October, passed the Araxes on the 10th, the rugged defiles of Daradis on the 13th, and received the submission of all the tribes on the south of the Araxes. Such was the terror which the fall of Erivan inspired, that scarce any resistance was any where attempted; and before the end of October, Abbas Mirza found himself deserted by all his forces except five thousand horse and fifteen hundred foot, with which, and twelve light guns, he retired in haste toward Khoi. Eristoff having received intelligence that Abbas Mirza was preparing to destroy the important magazines in Tauris, the second city in the empire, and the residence of the heir-apparent to the throne, moved by forced marches upon that town. It formerly contained 250,000 inhabitants, now reduced by Mohammedan tyranny to 40,000; but it was still, next to the capital, the most important place in the kingdom. At the first news of the approach of the Russians, five thousand of the troops in the garrison left the town and disbanded This disgraceful defection left the governor, Ali-Yar, only two battalions, with which it was impossible to defend a town of such extent. With this handful of men, however, he endeavored to defend the ramparts; but he was deserted in presence of the enemy even by them, and compelled to seek safety in flight attended only by two followers. He was 27. Hardly was the war with Persia at an end when Russia engaged in another. In the beginning of September the Preparations Emperor Nicholas gave the most of Russia for decisive proof of his warlike inten- a war with tions by a ukase, which ordered the Turkey. levy of two males in every five hundred over the whole extent of the empire. By another ukase, published on the same day, the Sept. 7. Jews were, for the first time, subjected to the military conscription. The departure shortly before of the Emperor's aid-de-camp, Count Capo d'Istria, with great pomp, to take possession of the presidency of Greece, indicated not less clearly in what direction the views of the cabinet of St. Petersburg were set; and the battle of Navarino, which occurred in the end of October, naturally led to vio- Oct. 20. lent recriminations on the part of the Porte, and brought the two empires into a state of scarcely disguised hostility with each other. It was soon apparent that war had been resolved on on both sides. Military preparations on a great scale were commenced in all the harbors both of the Baltic and the Black Sea, immense magazines were formed in Bessarabia and at the mouth of the Danube, and every preparation was made for the crossing of 3 Valentini, the Pruth and invasion of the Prin- 221, 222; cipalities by an army of eighty thou- Ann. Hist. sand men.3 X. 337, 338. But when all eyes were turned from the Araxes to the Bosphorus, and a new war was 28. Fresh rupture with conclusion of the peace at Tourkmantchai. Feb. 22, 1828. hourly anticipated with Turkey, advices were Hist. 365. 29. Mutual re of the Russians and Turks. superior and the weaker power; but, what was really extraordinary, and perhaps unprecedented in the annals of diplomacy, the Turks had the candor to admit, in a pub- 1 Ann. Hist. xi. lished declaration, that they had 367, 368, Turksigned the treaty of Ackerman ish Declaration without any intention of perform- of War,Dec. 20, ing its conditions, and merely to Declaration, gain time-a thing often done, but April 26, 1828; rarely confessed.1* 1827; Russian An. Hist. xi.76. Although hostilities had thus been determined on on both sides, yet it was not till 30. the beginning of April that they ac- Forces of the tually commenced. The vast extent Russians. of the Russian empire renders it a matter of absolute necessity to have several months, generally half a year, to complete their preparations and bring up their forces. When most of the troops have a thousand or fifteen hundred miles to march before they reach the theatre of war, it may readily be conceived how long a time must elapse before any considerable concentration can take place. Every preparation, however, was made during the spring months to augment the military forces of the empire, and communicate a warlike spirit to the inhabitants. The army stationed in Poland was in great part moved to the Pruth, and the troops there augmented by a fresh levy of twentyfive thousand men, calculated, with the forty thousand already in arms in that kingdom, to form an imposing reserve. General DIEBITCH was appointed adjutant-general of the army on the Danube, which by the beginning of April mustered on paper 108,000 men, though its effective force probably never exceeded 100,000, and it certainly never produced 80,000 men in the field. This force was augmented by the guards and 2d corps, which arrived in the end of August, in all, 158,800. A grand review of the guards in presence of the Emperor, the Princeroyal of Prussia, and the Prince of Orange, took place in St. Petersburg in the beginning of April, at which the most unbounded enthusiasm was evinced. They defiled, with the Grand Duke Constantine at their head, amidst the cheers of an innumerable crowd of spectators, and took their departure for their distant This outbreak in Asia hardly suspended for a moment the approaching hostilities in Europe. As usual in such criminations cases, the hostile powers published manifestoes, in which they mutually accused each other of having given occasion for the rupture of pacific relations. There was too much truth in both sets of complaint. The Porte accused the Russians of having secretly fomented the insurrection of Greece, and openly attacked and destroyed their fleet at Navarino, with having violated the treaties of Bucharest and Ackerman, and established connections with the malcontents in every part of the empire. The Russians replied by accusing the Porte of having excited the mountaineers of Caucasus to revolt, and invited them to embrace Islamism; with having violated or delayed the execution of all the treaties in favor of its Christian subjects, and arbitrarily closed the Bosphorus on various occasions, and deeply injured thereby the southern provinces of the empire. It must be confessed that the balance of injuries inflicted was here decidedly in favor of Russia, as might have been anticipated in a contest between the -Table in Annuaire Historique, xi. 371. "Les demandes faites par les Russes, l'an passé à Ackerman, au sujet des indemnités, et surtout à l'égard des Serviens, ne furent aucunement susceptibles d'être admises; néanmoins, les circonstances étant pressantes, on y acquiesça bon gré mal gré, et par nécessité, afin de saisir l'occasion de conclure un traité pour le salut de la nation Mahometane."-Circulaire aux Ayams de l'Europe et d'Asie, 20 Decembre, 1827. Ann. Hist. x. 120; Documens Historiques. + Wittgenstein's army consisted of three corps d'armée and a reserve, in all eight divisions of infantry and five of cavalry, which should have presented 100,000 men and 80,000 effective under arms. Their numbers on paper stood thus: 3d Corps, Gen. Roudzewitch. Arrived in end of August. Infantry. Cavalry. Artil. Guns. 38,400 8,300 3,800 228 19,200 4,900 1,600 96 2.400 400 16 19,200 5,300 4,800 144 16,200 3,150 1,600 96 2d Corps, Gen. Tcherbutoff. 28,800 2,400 1,650 88 121,800 26,450 (13,850 668 Making a total of 158,800. xi. 367, 368; mencement The bad weather retarded the commence31. ment of military operations till the Passage of beginning of May; but on the 7th the Pruth, of that month, the sun having broke and com- forth, and the ground beginning to of the cam- be covered with the first verdure of paign. spring, the armed multitude began to cross the Pruth. The spectacle was grand and imposing in the extreme. As far as the eye could reach, the left bank was crowded with infantry, cavalry, and artillery, which, at a signal given after singing Te Deum, began to defile in admirable order to the bridges which had been previously thrown across at Skouleni, Faltchy, and Ipatska, amidst cheers which resounded over the vast expanse. The Turks, who were in no force to resist such a crusade, and had resolved on making their first stand on the Danube, had merely a few videttes of cavalry on the spot, which retired as the Russians advanced, and left the entire principalities to the invaders. In a few weeks the level country was overrun, Jassy and Bucharest oceupied; Galatz, with its valuable harbor, taken; their advanced guards observed Bra223, 224; hilov and Widdin, and the entire left Ann. Hist. bank of the Danube was occupied by xi. 372, 373. the Muscovite troops.3 destination to defend "the holy cause in which | able description, and twenty thousand gunners, 1 Ann. Hist. they were engaged," amidst the who already had been brought to a surprising tears and enthusiasm of the entire degree of efficiency and skill. The fortresses Valentini, 223. inhabitants.1 on the Danube had all been armed and provisioned, and for the most part provided with adequate garrisons; and a reserve force was already beginning to be formed at Adrianople, from whence to strengthen any part of the front line which might be menaced. Schumla had been greatly strengthened with outworks, and already contained a garrison of thirty thousand men, in a position equally difficult to force and incapable of being left behind; and in addition to this, the irregular hordes of the Albanians, the Bosniacks, the Roumelians, and the Bulgarians, had been called out; and as every Turk is trained to arms, and an accomplished horseman, they formed, though not regularly disciplined, a very formidable force, especially for the defense of walled cities. It was calculated that, with the aid of these rude but brave and effective auxiliaries, the Turkish force in Schumla might, if the barrier of the Danube was forced, be raised to a hundred thousand men. In Asia Minor, where the Mussulman population constituted three-fourths of the entire inhabitants, and the religious spirit was at its height, the preparations, so far as numbers were concerned, were still more formidable; and it was calculated that the commander-in-chief, the Pacha of Erzeroum, could collect a hundred thousand men round his banners—a force triple any which Paskewitch could bring against him. But they were the old feudal militia of the country, with a very slender intermixture of regular troops; and though most formidable in the defense of 1 Ann. Hist. fortresses, or in detached cavalry xi. 374, 375; actions, could not be trusted to Fonton, move under fire in the open field, Guerre de l'Asie Mineur, and were liable to disperse on any 174, 177. serious reverse.1 * Valentini, The Divan on their part made the most vig32. orous efforts to maintain their indePreparations pendence. Though taken at a manof the Turks. ifest disadvantage, from the old military force of the empire having been destroyed, and the new one not yet organized, they succeeded, by rousing the religious zeal of the Mussulmans, in putting themselves, in a short time, in a surprisingly respectable posture of defense. The ships which had escaped the disaster of Navarino were equipped anew, and got ready for sea; the forts on the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus armed and garrisoned with trusty troops; war proclaimed against the Russians with the utmost solemnity in the mosques, and all Mussulmans called on to take up arms in defense of their holy religion and national independence; a manifesto published June 4. against the Czar, embodying with great ability all their grounds of complaint against the cabinet of St. Petersburg; and at length the sacred relic, the Sandjak-sheriff, was solemnly brought forth, and the well known symbol of war to the death-the horse-tails, which recalled the pristine conquests 34 of the Osmanlis-were displayed on xi.374,375. the gates of the Seraglio.3 33. rope and Asia. By these means, acting upon the naturally intrepid and warlike spirit of the Forces they Ottomans, a very considerable force had collect was in a short time got together, ed in Eu- though but a small part was sufficiently disciplined to be able in the open field to contend with the formidable legions of the Muscovites. In the beginning of May, when the campaign commenced, the Turks had got together in Europe fifty thousand regular infantry (Massouris), several squadrons of regular cavalry, fifteen thousand spahis or feudal horsemen, of the most admir dangers. By the Russian plan of the campaign, General Roth's corps was to occupy 34. the two principalities, and extend Russian plan itself to the upper Danube; while of the camthe seventh corps, under the orders paign, and its of the Grand Duke Michael, was to undertake the siege of Brahilov, and having reduced it, to push on to Schumla; and Roudzewitch, with the third corps, should pass the Danube at Isaktchi, and move along the Black Sea to Varna, lending a hand at the same time to the seventh corps, which had advanced to Schumla. But this plan of operations, which was analogous to all those which the Russians had adopted in former wars, was open to very serious difficulties, owing to the peculiar conformation of the country, and the nature of the positions which the Turks occupied in it. Whoever will cast his eyes on the map will perceive that the Muscovite army extended in this manner from the shores of the Euxine to the frontiers of Austria, and, having its communications extending from the Pruth to Widdin, over a distance of above five hundred miles, exposed its long flank, in a most hazardous manner, to the Ottoman forces, comparatively concentrated, and resting on the fortified towns, which gave them the command of both banks of the Danube. As long as the latter were in possession of the triangle of which Silistria and |