Siege of Lankaran

The siege of Lankaran (Persian: محاصره لنکران; Russian: Штурм Ленкорани) took place from 7 January to 13 January 1813 during the Russo-Iranian War of 1804–1813. Lankaran, a city in the Talish region, was previously held by Mir-Mostafa Khan of the Talysh Khanate, a subject of Iran. However, due to his defiance, he was ousted from the city by Iranian forces in August 1812. Now directly held by the Iranians, the city was soon besieged by the Russian commander Pyotr Kotlyarevsky, who had recently defeated the Iranian crown-prince Abbas Mirza at the battle of Aslanduz.

Shortly before the siege, Kotlyarevsky had offered the 4,000 stationed soldiers and their commander Sadeq Khan Qajar the chance to surrender, but they refused. Kotlyarevsky subsequently started the shelling of the city, and by 13 January, the Russians had captured Lankaran. The majority of the defenders, as well as Sadeq Khan, were killed, whilst Kotlyarevsky was wounded. Mir-Mostafa Khan was subsequently reinstated, and thus the Talysh Khanate was once again under Russian suzerainty.

The war effectively came to an end after the siege of Lankaran, as Iran was soon compelled to accept a unfavourable peace as Britain (who funded their war campaign) decided it was no longer worth continuing the conflict. On 24 October 1813, Iran and Russia signed the Treaty of Gulistan, in which Iran agreed to cede the majority of their holdings in the eastern Caucasus to Russia, including the northern part of Talish.