The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Abbas-Mirza

ABBAS-MIRZA, Persian prince and warrior, favorite son of the shah Feth-Ali: b. 1783; d. 1833. He was early convinced of the advantages of Western civilization, and with the help of European officers he first of all applied himself to the reform of the army. He led the Persian armies with great bravery, but with little success, in the war with Russia ended by the peace of Gulistan, when Persia lost her remaining Caucasus districts and ceded to Russia the sovereignty of the Caspian; and in that of 1826–28, ended by the peace of Turkmanchai, when she lost most of Persian Armenia. In 1829 he visited St. Petersburg, to ward off punishment for the murder of the Russian ambassador in a riot at Teheran; and was sent back to Persia loaded with presents. His eldest son acceded to the throne in 1834.