A diplomatic history of the Caspian Sea : treaties, diaries, and other stories

In a series of short stories that both inform and amuse, this book transports the reader across the windswept shores of the Caspian Sea and provides a provocative view of the wars, peace, intrigues, and betrayals that have shaped the political geography of this important and volatile region. The demise of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the eclipsing of the old Iranian-Soviet regime of the sea have given rise to new challenges for the regional actors and unprecedented opportunities for international players to tap into the area's enormous oil and gas resources, third in size only behind Siberia and the Persian Gulf. This book explores the historical themes that inform and animate the more immediate and familiar discussions about petroleum, pipelines, and ethnic conflict in the Caspian region. Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-4 The Price of Survival (1721–1724)....Pages 5-12 Persian Restoration (1724–1735....Pages 13-15 A Russian Lake (1735–1781)....Pages 17-21 Catherine and Agha Mohammad (1781–1797)....Pages 23-24 Creeping South to Astara-Chay (1797–1829)....Pages 25-27 On to Ashuradeh! (1835–1841)....Pages 29-33 Melgunov’s Field Trip (1858–1860)....Pages 35-40 The Royal Playground (1866–1870)....Pages 41-43 The Voyager King (1873)....Pages 45-48 Ballantine’s Travels (1875)....Pages 49-51 To Qizil Su and Beyond (1869–1876)....Pages 53-55 The Shah’s Second European Tour (1878)....Pages 57-58 Taming of the Turkmens (1879–1881)....Pages 59-60 Hemming of Persia at Gudri (1881–1893)....Pages 61-62 Curzon’s Complaint (1892)....Pages 63-65 The Mortgaging of Persia (1872–1896)....Pages 67-69 Savage-Landor’s Lament (1901)....Pages 71-74 Surf and Turf (1901–1903)....Pages 75-77 Mozaffar ed-Din’s Concessions (1898–1907)....Pages 79-80 At the Water’s Edge (1902)....Pages 81-83 The Lords of Northern Persia (1907–1917)....Pages 85-93 Seeing Red (1917)....Pages 95-96 The Fisher of Troubled Waters (1917–1918)....Pages 97-98 Baku or Bust! (1918–1920)....Pages 99-102 The Persian Socialist Soviet Republic (1920)....Pages 103-105 The League’s Legalese (1920)....Pages 107-111 Mending Fences (1921)....Pages 113-118 The Sinclair Squeeze Play (1922–1924)....Pages 119-124 Fish Stories (1927)....Pages 125-129 Peripheral Developments (1923–1936)....Pages 131-133 The Shah’s Northern Navy (1924–1935)....Pages 135-138 The Iranian and Soviet Sea (1931–1940)....Pages 139-145 Making Virtue of Necessity (1939–1943)....Pages 147-155 Lingering Imperialism (1943–1947)....Pages 157-163 Good Neighborliness (1953–1971)....Pages 165-170 Peace on Land, Peace at Sea (1952–1977)....Pages 171-173 Imaginary Line, Real Limits (1962–1991)....Pages 175-179 A Secret Covenant (1962)....Pages 181-182 Death and Succession (1991)....Pages 183-186 New Players, New Game, New Rules (1991–1997)....Pages 187-194 Diplomacy and Betrayal (1997–1999)....Pages 195-201 Our Sea, 2000....Pages 203-205 Conclusion....Pages 207-213 Back Matter....Pages 215-261