The Investigation of Derwish Pasha's Actions in the First Iranian-Ottoman Demarcation Commission (1850-1852)

Iran and Ottoman Empire over the course of centuries, have left a high-tensionrelationship. One of the main issues that still remains to be seriously investigated is the question of how the two state’s boundaries are delimitated. Since the signing of the second Erzrum Treaty in 1263/1847, the delimitation of two states entered a new stage. Right from the middle of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century, numerous commissions, composed of representatives of four states, were set up to resolve border disputes between Iran and the Ottoman Empire. The first delimitation commission (1266/1850) in fact, is considered the turning point of all future commissions. The present research responds with the historical method and analytical-critical approach, relying on documents, in particular the foreign affairs documents, as well as some manuscripts on these questions: How and why the first demarcation commission was formed? What was the actions of the Ottoman representative, Derwish Pasha, during the first demarcation commission? Two works of Moshirdouleh and Derwish Pasha, along with Iranian and Ottoman documents, have been the basis of the present research.