Siege of Erivan (1804)
| Siege of Erivan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 | |||||||
Fath-Ali Shah's victory over the Russians at Yerevan. Mirza Baba, Iran, 1804–1810 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Erivan Khanate | Russian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar Abbas Mirza Mohammad Khan | Pavel Tsitsianov | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
6,000–7,000 troops inside the citadel 18,000 cavalrymen |
3,000 to 20,000 Georgian and Armenian auxiliaries | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Heavy | ||||||
The siege of Erivan (Yerevan, the capital of modern Armenia) took place from July to September 1804, during the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813). After a difficult advance, the Russians under Pavel Tsitsianov besieged Erivan. The Iranian forces inside Erivan's citadel prevented the Russians from making a direct attack, while those outside the citadel surrounded the Russians and cut the invaders' supply lines. Commanded by Crown-Prince Abbas Mirza and King Fath-Ali Shah Qajar himself (r. 1797–1834), the Iranians successfully defended the city and defeated the Russian attack. Tsitsianov, in order to save his reputation, shifted the blame on a plethora of people and matters, and deliberately left out his own wrongdoings.