Erzeroum Conference: The First Debates and Controversies about the Authenticity and Validity of the Zohab treaty (1843-1847)

Iran-Ottoman relations were very vicissitudinous during six centuries. The two states concluded various agreements to end the war and establish peace. Among the treaties, the two treaties of Zohab (1639/1049) and Erzeroum (1847/1263) are very important. Because it was the basis for settling disputes and concluding subsequent agreements. Until the conference of Erzeroum (1259-1263), no doubts were expressed about the “originality and validity” of the Zohab Treaty. Iranian and Ottoman representatives for the first time, in the fifth  session and later in several other sessions of Erzeroum negotiations, while accepting the "authenticity" of the treaty, engaged in a serious debate about the "originality and validity" of the existing copies. In this research, the arguments of the representatives of the parties regarding the originality and validity of the Zohab treaty have been explained using the descriptive-analytical method and relying on unpublished documents. The findings of the research show that Mirza Taghi Khan, insisting on the necessity of presenting the "original" of the treaty by the Ottoman representative, did not accept the "copeies" presented by him and for this reason, it has prevented him from proving her territorial claims in Erzeroum negotiations.