The First Treaty of Erzurum (1823): When Empires Fought Over Kurdish Tribes — Without Asking the Kurds

Mehmet Özdemir
May 24
7 min read

Map of the Ottoman-Persian border through Kurdish territories as addressed by the First Treaty of Erzurum 1823

Introduction

On 28 July 1823, the Ottoman Empire and Qajar Persia signed the First Treaty of Erzurum, ending the Ottoman–Persian War of 1821–1823 — a conflict that had been fought, once again, across the Kurdish frontier. The treaty reaffirmed the borders established nearly two centuries earlier at Zuhab (1639), confirmed the partition of Kurdistan between the two empires, and attempted to address the central issue that had triggered the war: the disputed allegiance of Kurdish nomadic tribes whose territories straddled the Ottoman-Persian border.

For Kurdish history, the First Treaty of Erzurum is significant not because it changed anything — it largely confirmed the status quo — but because it reveals how Kurdish territories and Kurdish people were treated by the empires that ruled them. Kurds were not parties to the treaty. They were its subject matter. The central question of the negotiations was not what the Kurdish people wanted, but which empire owned which Kurdish tribes. It was a treaty about Kurds, negotiated without Kurds, that treated Kurdish communities as property to be assigned to one sovereign or another.

What Was the First Treaty of Erzurum?

The Kurdish Question at Erzurum

Timeline

Legacy and Significance

FAQ

References

What Was the First Treaty of Erzurum?

The First Treaty of Erzurum was a bilateral treaty signed on 28 July 1823 between the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Mahmud II and Qajar Persia under Fath-Ali Shah. It ended the Ottoman–Persian War of 1821–1823, the last war between the two empires that had been fighting over the Kurdish frontier for over three centuries. The treaty essentially reaffirmed the borders established by the Treaty of Zuhab (1639), confirming that the Ottoman-Persian partition of Kurdistan remained in force.

The treaty’s primary goal was to re-establish the status quo along the troubled Kurdish frontier, where the Ottoman client emirate of Baban had recently experienced a civil war between pro-Shah and pro-Sultan factions. It also addressed issues of trade, pilgrim access to Shia holy sites in Iraq, and the suppression of Kurdish cross-border raids. However, it failed to resolve the underlying border disputes, leading to continued conflicts and eventually the Second Treaty of Erzurum in 1847.

Key Takeaways

• The central dispute that caused the war was the allegiance of Kurdish nomadic tribes whose territories straddled the Ottoman-Persian border — Kurds were the subject of the treaty, not participants in it.

• The treaty reaffirmed the 1639 Zuhab partition of Kurdistan — confirming that the division of the Kurdish homeland between Ottoman and Persian empires remained the basis of international order.

• The Baban Kurdish emirate was at the heart of the conflict — a civil war within this Kurdish principality, with factions backed by rival empires, was a direct cause of the wider Ottoman–Persian war.

• The treaty included a provision for Ottoman suppression of Kurdish raids on Persian territory — treating Kurdish resistance and movement as a security problem to be managed rather than a political reality to be addressed.

Quick Facts

Treaty Name: First Treaty of Erzurum Date: 28 July 1823 Parties: Ottoman Empire (Sultan Mahmud II) and Qajar Persia (Fath-Ali Shah) Type: Peace treaty and border reaffirmation Key Provision for Kurds: Reaffirmed the 1639 Zuhab partition of Kurdistan; addressed disputed allegiance of Kurdish frontier tribes Conflict Ended: Ottoman–Persian War of 1821–1823 Key Kurdish Issue: Civil war in the Baban emirate between pro-Ottoman and pro-Persian factions Outcome: Failed to resolve border disputes; led to continued tensions and the Second Treaty of Erzurum (1847) Significance: Confirmed Kurdish lands as a permanent borderland between empires, with Kurdish tribes treated as subjects rather than political actors

Historical Context: War Over the Kurdish Frontier

Although the Treaty of Zuhab (1639) had established the boundary between the Ottoman and Persian empires, the border in the mountainous Kurdish regions remained a source of intermittent conflict for nearly two centuries. The fundamental problem was that the Zuhab border was a broad frontier zone, not a precise line — and the Kurdish tribal communities who lived in this zone did not recognise the imperial boundary as legitimate. Kurdish nomadic tribes moved freely across the frontier, and both empires competed for their allegiance.

Tensions escalated in the early 19th century. The Baban Kurdish emirate, centred on Sulaymaniyah, was torn by a civil war between a faction loyal to the Ottoman Sultan and a faction that sought Persian backing. The Ottomans harboured rebellious tribesmen from Persian Azerbaijan, while the Persians exploited Kurdish unrest on the Ottoman side. In 1821, Crown Prince Abbas Mirza of Persia — reportedly at the instigation of the Russian Empire, which sought to pressure the Ottomans — invaded Kurdistan and the areas surrounding Persian Azerbaijan.

The war lasted three years and was fought on two fronts — the Eastern (Kurdish/Azerbaijani) front and the Baghdad front. Persian forces won an important victory at the Battle of Erzurum in 1821, defeating an Ottoman army of over 50,000 with a force of 30,000. The Ottoman viceroy of Baghdad invaded Persia but was driven back. Eventually, both sides were exhausted — the Ottomans by the Greek War of Independence, the Persians by cholera and internal strains — and the First Treaty of Erzurum was the result.

The Treaty Terms

The First Treaty of Erzurum involved no change in territorial borders. It reaffirmed the Zuhab frontier and sought to restore the pre-war status quo. Key provisions included Persian access to Shia holy sites in Ottoman Iraq and Arabia, Ottoman suppression of Kurdish raids on Persian territory, the release of Persian merchant property seized during the war, and an exchange of ambassadors. A joint commission was proposed to survey and demarcate the imprecise Kurdish frontier more precisely.

However, the treaty ultimately failed. The proposed boundary commission never assembled, blocked by Ottoman preoccupation with internal reforms and the Greek War of Independence, and by Persian instability following the death of Crown Prince Abbas Mirza in 1833. Border incidents continued throughout the 1830s, and the underlying disputes — rooted in the unresolved status of Kurdish frontier communities — would eventually require a second treaty at Erzurum in 1847, this time with British and Russian mediation.

The Kurdish Question at Erzurum

What makes the First Treaty of Erzurum so revealing for Kurdish history is the way it framed the Kurdish presence on the frontier. The two empires could not agree on ‘whose subjects’ the nomadic Kurdish tribes were. The treaty treated Kurdish communities not as a people with political rights, but as property to be claimed by one sovereign or another. The question was never ‘what do the Kurds want?’ but ‘which empire do they belong to?’

Meanwhile, Kurdish national consciousness was developing throughout the 19th century. The Encyclopaedia Iranica notes that both the Ottoman and Persian governments experienced increasing difficulty with the Kurds along the frontier during this period, as growing Kurdish awareness of their distinct identity led to intensified resistance and episodes of revolt. The empires were trying to fix a border through a people who did not recognise that border — and the harder they tried to impose it, the more Kurdish resistance grew.

The Baban emirate — the Kurdish principality at the centre of the dispute — is a perfect example of this dynamic. The Baban emirs ruled from Sulaymaniyah and governed a large Kurdish population. Their territory sat directly on the Ottoman-Persian frontier. When internal succession disputes divided the ruling family, both empires intervened — each backing a different faction, turning a Kurdish political question into an imperial proxy conflict. The Kurds did not start this war. They were dragged into it by empires that treated their homeland as a chessboard.

Timeline of Key Events

1639 — Treaty of Zuhab establishes the Ottoman-Persian border through Kurdistan.

Early 1800s — Rising tensions over Kurdish frontier tribes and the Baban emirate succession.

1821 — Crown Prince Abbas Mirza invades Kurdistan; Battle of Erzurum — Persian victory.

1821–1823 — Ottoman–Persian War fought across the Kurdish frontier and around Baghdad.

28 July 1823 — First Treaty of Erzurum signed; reaffirms the 1639 Zuhab border.

1830s — Border incidents continue; proposed boundary commission never assembles.

1847 — Second Treaty of Erzurum signed under British and Russian mediation.

Legacy and Significance for Kurdish History

The First Treaty of Erzurum is a landmark in the long history of Kurdish marginalisation. It demonstrates how Kurdish communities were treated as objects of imperial policy rather than as political actors with rights of their own. The war was caused by Kurdish frontier disputes. The treaty was about Kurdish tribal allegiances. But no Kurd sat at the negotiating table.

The treaty also marks the beginning of a new phase in Kurdish history: the era of European great-power involvement in Kurdish frontier politics. The failure of the First Treaty of Erzurum to resolve border disputes would bring Britain and Russia into the Ottoman-Persian boundary question as mediators, leading to the Second Treaty of Erzurum (1847) and the international boundary commissions that would attempt to fix a precise line through the Kurdish mountains. For the Kurds, this meant that their homeland was now not just contested by two regional empires, but subject to the geopolitical calculations of global powers — a dynamic that would intensify through the 19th and 20th centuries.

Perhaps most importantly, the treaty reveals what both empires feared: Kurdish national consciousness. The Encyclopaedia Iranica notes that developing Kurdish awareness of their distinct identity was leading to intensified resistance and revolt throughout the 19th century. The empires were not just drawing a border — they were trying to contain a people who increasingly refused to be contained. The First Treaty of Erzurum failed precisely because no line on a map could solve the Kurdish question. It could only suppress it temporarily.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the First Treaty of Erzurum?

A peace treaty signed on 28 July 1823 between the Ottoman Empire and Qajar Persia, ending the Ottoman–Persian War of 1821–1823. It reaffirmed the 1639 Zuhab border through Kurdistan and attempted to settle disputes over the allegiance of Kurdish frontier tribes.

How did this treaty affect the Kurds?

Kurdish tribes were the central subject of the treaty but had no voice in negotiations. Their allegiance was disputed between empires, their territories were treated as a border zone to be managed, and the treaty required Ottoman suppression of Kurdish cross-border movements. Growing Kurdish national consciousness was viewed by both empires as a security threat.

Did the First Treaty of Erzurum resolve the border disputes?

No. The treaty failed to resolve the underlying disputes. Border incidents continued, and the proposed boundary commission never assembled. The Second Treaty of Erzurum (1847), with British and Russian mediation, was required to address the same unresolved issues.