Lankaran

Lankaran stands on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, between the coastal plain and the forested Talesh mountains. In the eighteenth century it became the chief town of the Talesh Khanate, one of the small states that emerged after the death of Nader Shah. Its fortress became a focus of the struggle between Russia and Persia for the Caspian lands. During the Russo-Persian War, Russian troops stormed Lankaran's citadel in 1813 after a brief siege. The Treaty of Gulistan later that year recognized Russian possession of the area. The khanate continued under Russian protection for a time, amid renewed conflict over the frontier between the two empires.