Eastern Transcaucasia on the eve and during the Persian campaign of Peter the Great

The study examines little-studied issues of the socio-political history of Eastern Transcaucasia on the eve and during the Persian campaign of Peter the Great. Based on the analysis of a wide range of narrative and archival sources, the influence of the military campaign of Peter the Great on the socio-political situation in the studied region is shown. The relations of the Russian authorities with the Christian rulers of the Transcaucasia in the international context are considered. As a result, the conclusion is substantiated that during his Persian campaign, Peter I paid special attention not only to representatives of the Dagestan political elite, but also to the Christian rulers of the Eastern Transcaucasia, to the Georgian and Armenian rulers, in particular, which gave him a great advantage in the struggle for domination in the Caucasus. The results of the Persian campaign of Peter for the Russian state were successful. The campaign put the western part of the Caspian region under the control of the Russian state, such cities of Derbent and Baku were occupied. In general, this campaign marked the beginning of the process of the accession of the Transcaucasia to the Russian Empire.