Nasir al-Din Shah’s Visit to Istanbul (1873): The Problem of the Legal Status of the Iranians

Authors : Başak Kilerci

Pages : 61-81

Doi:10.26650/jes.2024.1438107

View : 25 | Download : 63

Publication Date : 2024-04-05

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article examines the visit of the Iranian ruler Nasir al-Din Shah to Istanbul within the context of the problem of the legal status of the Iranians. The legal status of Iranians living in the Ottoman Empire had been a problem for the Ottoman State since the mid-nineteenth century. The article first discusses this problem and its history before explaining how it came to be on the agenda before the shah’s visit to Istanbul. Prior to his arrival in Istanbul, the shah claimed that unless this problem was resolved, he would not visit Istanbul, despite Sultan Abdülaziz’s invitation. The shah travelled to Istanbul only after receiving assurances that an agreement on the issue would be signed. The article then describes the shah’s days in Istanbul and discusses how and in what ways the two states showed goodwill towards each other and how the Ottoman state attached special importance to the shah. Despite the ongoing problem, the Ottoman State and the sultan treated the shah with special care. The shah was personally received by the sultan at the port, and numerous ceremonies and dinners were held in his honour. During the shah’s visit to Istanbul, he and his bureaucrats met privately with the sultan and Ottoman bureaucrats to discuss the issue of Iranian legal status, and they signed a protocol on the subject before leaving. Subsequent agreements in 1874 and 1875 confirmed and finalised this protocol, which classified the Iranians as foreigners. This article finally examines the agreements signed by the two states and discusses how and in what ways the legal status of Iranians in the Ottoman Empire changed.
Keywords : Kaçar, İran, Nasreddin Şah, Sultan Abdülaziz, Hukuki statü, Ziyaret, Ecnebi