After
the
misfortunes
and
the
loss
of
Abasabad
Abbas
Mirzawanted
to
do
something
to
alleviate
his
fault
and
extirpate
the
malignant
gossip
ofpeople.
He
was
informed
that
the
Commander-in-Chief
Paskevich's
army-brigade
and
theRussian
army
were
in
Abaran
and,
besides,
big
cannons
were
being
delivered
to
destructfortresses.
So
he
decided
(144a)
to
leave
for
Erevan
to
find
a
solution.
He
took
histroops
and
artillery
and
marched
by
Aghri
Dagh,
a
mount
called
Ararat,
towards
Erevan.
After
his
arrival,
he
met
with
Hoseyn
Khan
Sardar
and
had
a
talk
on
several
issues.
Then
he
introduced
proper
order
in
the
fortress
of
Erevan.
Hoseyn
considered
it
to
be
ofno
use
attacking
the
transport
of
the
Russians
as
well
as
their
fortifications
at
Abaran,
because
their
position
was
impregnable
and
big
cannons
would
be
received
by
then.
Abbas
Mirza
took
two
hundred
of
his
selected
cavalrymen
and
went
to
survey
theirfortifications
and
positions
from
a
slope
of
the
mountain
in
front
of
Abaran.
Soon
afterwards,
he
returned,
and
moved
to
Echmiadzin
(Uch
Kilisa)
andstopped
at
two
farsakhs'
distance
from
Ashtarak
(Hashtarak).
He
sent
Zohrab(Sohrab)
Khan
Gorji,
with
two
sarbaz
infantry
troops
and
two
cannons,
to
attack
andblock
up
the
fortification
of
Echmiadzin.
Five
hundred
soldiers
had
been
left
byCommander-in-Chief
Paskevich
in
order
to
defend
it.
Zohrab
Khan
besieged
Echmiadzin
andfired
from
cannons
upon
it
every
day.
Soon
they
were
short
of
food.
The
monks
wrote
anappeal
and
sent
it
with
a
messenger
to
Krasovskii,
who
was
at
Abaran
then.
They
asked
himeither
to
render
assistance
or
recall
his
soldiers,
thus
preventing
the
temple
beruined
from
cannon
fires
because
of
secular
matters.
(144b)
As
a
result,
General
Krasovskii
took
four
thousand
soldiers,
severalcannons
and
picked
the
way
leading
from
Abaran
to
Echmiadzin.
In
the
evening
the
guards[of
Qizilbashs]
brought
the
news,
that
the
Russians
had
come
out
from
Abaran
and
wereapproaching.
The
Qizilbash
army
was
gripped
with
an
unspeakable
fear.
The
warriors
tooktheir
belongings,
saddled
their
horses
and
waited
through
the
whole
night,
ready
to
fleeimmediately
after
the
Russians's
arrival,
because
the
Qizilbashs
did
not
fight
atnight
considering
the
life-saving
their
primary
task.
But
the
Russians
delayed
a
little
byrepairing
the
bridge
on
their
way,
which
the
Qizilbashs
had
destroyed
to
prevent
from
theRussians'
sudden
night
attacks.
Two
hours
after
the
sunrise
the
news
came
aboutRussian
army's
arrival.
Abbas
Mirza
sent
all
his
cavalry
to
both
sides
of
theroad
leading
to
Echmiadzin,
placed
his
cannons
and
warriors
on
a
hill,
and
set
there.
Although
he
had
the
fear,
that,
God
forbid,
the
Russians
attack
them,
nevertheless
heordered
not
descend
from
the
hill
without
his
permission.
Soon,
the
four
Russian
regular
troops
advancing
serenely
along
theright
road
to
Echmiadzin
were
in
sight.
The
Qizilbash
troops,
with
the
cavalries
of
theQazakh,
Borchallu,
Qarapapakh
tribes
attacked
the
Russians
from
various
sides.
(145a)
Theyfought
a
hard
battle
that
day.
The
noise
of
guns
and
cannons
went
on
from
two
o'clockuntil
late
at
night.
Both
sides
made
efforts
to
overcome
each
other.
When
the
Russiansrealized
that
the
Qizilbash
cavalry
was
suppressing
them,
they
filled
their
carriages
withclothes
and
other
things,
and
left
them
behind
while
advancing.
Thinking
that
thecarriages
were
full
of
treasures
and
wealth,
the
Qizilbashs,
gathered
round
them
andstarted
plundering
them.
The
Russians
started
firing
from
the
cannons
filled
withgun-bullets
at
once.
As
a
result
a
number
of
them
were
killed.
At
the
meantime,
when
the
Russian
troops
approached
Echmiadzin,
ZohrabKhan,
hearing
the
voice
of
cannons,
withdrew,
thence,
and
moved
his
sarbazs
andartillery
towards
Abbas
Mirza's
camp.
On
the
way
his
detachment
ran
into
theRussian
vanguard
and
was
attacked.
They
were
forced
back
and
had
to
withdraw
to
a
hillockon
the
edge
of
the
road.
The
Russians
murdered
most
of
them.
Then
the
sarbaz
detachment
of
Khoy,
under
the
command
of
Ibrahim
Khalil
Beg,
fortified
on
a
hill
nearby,
hastened
to
assist
them
and
saved
the
rest
from
the
Russians.
There
Ibrahim
Beg
got
thetitle
of
a
khan,
for
having
as
he
had,
accomplished
a
deserving
service
without
wastingtime.
Thus,
the
Russians
reached
Echmiadzin
fighting.
The
three
troops
(145b)got
inside
the
fortifications.
The
fourth,
reaching
the
river,
broke
its
rows
and
starteddrinking
water,
because
of
the
great
heat
and
severe
thirst.
The
Qizilbash
cavalryimmediately
rushed
in
this
direction
and
started
to
massacre
the
Russian
soldiers.
There,
many
of
the
Russians
were
killed
and
captured.
On
the
whole,
more
than
five
hundredmen
were
murdered
and
imprisoned
in
that
dreadful
battlefield.
Abbas
Mirza
was
veryhappy.
He
sent
the
prisoners
to
shah
and,
thence,
moved
to
Erevan
stopping
on
the
way
atTokhmakh
for
several
days.
Suddenly,
news
was
received
that
the
Commander-in-ChiefPaskevich
had
taken
a
Russian
regiment
of
fifteen
thousand
men
and
was
coming
in
greathaste.
Hearing
of
this
Abbas
Mirza
was
alarmed
and
moved
from
his
station
towardsKhoy.
At
midday
he
passed
beyond
the
fortress
of
Erevan,
beforehand
calling
upon
theinhabitants
to
show
firmness
and
defend
the
fortress.
Late
in
the
evening
he
crossed
theArax,
moved
towards
Ararat
with
his
army
and
ammunition
and
stopped
on
the
other
bank
ofthe
river.
When
the
warriors
had
just
dispersed
to
find
hay,
suddenly
word
spread
that
theRussian
army
was
coming.
A
bustle
fell
in
the
army,
its
people
left
their
tents
and
seizedtheir
belongings.
Then
in
the
night
a
cannon
fired
(146a)
to
summon
the
dispersed
people.
However,
they
thought
it
was
a
Russian
cannon
and
they
started
to
fire.
Many
of
them
lefttheir
things,
mounted
their
horses
and
fled
alone.
Some
of
them
were
so
scared
that
theymixed
their
own
horses
with
those
of
their
friends
and
escaped.
They
spent
in
turmoil
andflight
till
dawn.
Nobody
was
aware
of
what
was
going
on.
At
dawn
they
realized
that
nofight
had
taken
place.
Guards
had
seen
a
few
horsemen
and
took
them
for
the
Russianvanguard
and
reported
as
if
the
Russian
troops
had
arrived.
Abbas
Mirza
went,
thence,
to
Nakhichevan
hoping
to
cause
damageto
the
Commander-in-Chief
and
his
men.
But
there
he
heard
that
the
Commander-in-Chief
hadput
Prince
Eristov
in
command
of
the
army
ordering
him
to
proceed
across
Nakhichevan
toTabriz.
The
courage
of
the
general
was
known
with
the
Qizilbash
troops.
Abbas
Mirzadelayed
no
more.
He
crossed
the
Arax
River
with
great
speed
and
hastened
towards
Khoy.
Heencamped
at
hereabouts
of
Evoghli.
