Exile of Eghbal al-Saltane-ye Makou’ie in the First World War: One Instance of the Interference of Russians in the Internal Affairs of Iran

Morteza Gholi Khan Eghbal al-Saltane-ye Makou’ie, in accordance with the special situation of Makou in its proximity to Russia and the Ottoman Empire, created close relationships during his reign with these two political powers, especially Russia, in order to strengthen his own power in this region of Iran. He followed his predecessor’s policy. At the beginning of the First World War, the situation of Makou became very sensitive due to the entry of Russia and the Ottoman Empire into the war. This was due to the proximity of Makou to the border of those two powers, and the role of this city as the intermediary bridge between those two powers. With regard to his journey to Berlin before the war, the propagation of Islamic unity and on the other hand, intensive persuasions of Ottomans among the Kords of the region (which composed their military power) and their attack on the revenues of Russia, Eghbal al-Saltane favored the Ottmans at the beginning of the World War to maintain his revenues. He expressed this stance in different ways, especially by avoiding extension of the Tabriz-Jolfa railroad as far as Makou. This policy of ruler made the Russians umbrageous and resulted in his exile to Teflis. After the exile of Makou’s ruler, the attempts of the Iranian government to bring him back remained abortive. The Russians returned him to Iran after two and half years of exile. Following this return, and the retreat of Russia from Iran due to the Russian revolution (1917), he continued the policy of favoring the Ottomans more unambiguously. This policy maintained and emphasized favoring the Ottomans by him at the beginning of the World War, but did not achieve a useful result and was repressed, like the tendency that most of Iranians had toward allied parties during the war.