The threat emanated from two different sources, Afghanistan and France. Afghan designs on India dated back to the establishment of Afghanistan by Ahmad Khan (1743-73), but the Afghan threat increased during the reign of Zamän Shah (1793-1800). Following his grandfather’s policy toward India, Zamân Shah invaded the Punjab in 1797, reached Lahore, and prepared to march on Delhi.
A simultaneous threat to India was posed by Napoleon. He landed troops in Egypt in 1798, took Alexandria and Cairo, and subsequently planned an invasion of India. Napoleon conceived the plan in collaboration with Paul I of Russia. According to the plan, a large force of Cossacks and Russian irregulars would march by way of Turkistan, Khiva, and Bokhara to the Upper Indus Valley. At the same time French troops would descend the Danube and, going by way of the Black and the Caspian seas, would attack Iran and unite with the Russians near the Indus.
Fath Ali Shah and his courtiers favored the British-Indian move for an alliance with Iran. The Shah was influenced by two major considerations. First, the British proposals for an offensive alliance against Afghanistan were in full accord with his irredentist expeditions against that country. The Shah had personally led the army against Afghanistan in 1799 before the British proposals reached the Court. Second, the Shah and his Vizier, Haji Ibrahim, found it difficult to turn down the British proposals, which were accompanied by lavish expenditures, generous gifts, and bribes on the part of Captain Malcolm, the British agent.
The major provisions of this treaty of alliance follow : 1) Afghanistan : Iran would attack Afghanistan if it invaded India. Iran would also obtain an Afghan promise to abandon aggressive designs on India in any peace treaty that it might sign with Afghanistan. 2) France: Iran and Great Britain would take joint action against any attempt by France at gaining a foothold in Iran. 3) Military Aid: Great Britain would assist Iran with military equipment and technicians in case Iran was attacked by Afghanistan or France.
Modernization, Rule of Law and Formation of Civil Society in the Age of Nasir al-Din Shah
