Relations of Iran and Ottoman in Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar period

Iran and Ottoman relations had started from the victory of Timūr Gurkānī on Bayezid I, the Ottoman king, in the battle of Ankara in 804. These relations continued with a mixture of peace and war until the end of the Qajar dynasty. The relations between Iran and the Ottoman during the Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar period have not been much considered due to the new political and social interactions in both countries. Therefore, this research through a descriptive-analytical method and relying on historical documents seek to answer the questions of what were the relations between Iran and the Ottoman in the Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar period and what consequences it had. Findings indicate that the Ottomans increased their hostility against the Iranian government by inciting the Kurds and Nestorians in border areas, taking illegal taxes from Iranians living in the holy shrines, humiliating Iranian pilgrims, and imposing restrictions on them. Despite some attempts by the Iranian government to prevent the Ottomans encroachment and even leading military troops against them, the internal conflicts and instability, Mohammad Ali Shah negligence and his confrontations with the constitutionalists, caused no benefit for the Iranian government's position against the Ottomans. Finally, with Russian and British interventions, Iran’s border problems were postponed to the joint Iranian-Ottoman commission to determine the definite borders.