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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|British expatriates in Iran}}<br />
'''Charles Christie''' (died 1812) was a British officer, mostly remembered for his endeavours in [[Qajar Iran]]. A member of the first British military mission to Iran (1810), he was killed in action while serving on the Iranian side during the [[Russo-Persian War (1804–1813)|Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813]].<br />
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==Biography==<br />
Charles Christie was the son of [[James Christie (auctioneer)|James Christie]], the founder of [[Christie's]] Auction House.{{sfn|Michael|2019|page=2}} Originally a captain of the [[103rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Bombay Fusiliers)|Bombay Regiment]] of the Anglo-Indian army, in 1810, Christie and Lieutenant [[Henry Pottinger]] were ordered by Sir [[John Malcolm]] to explore the route from [[Bombay]] to [[Baluchistan]], [[Sistan]] and the [[Makran]]. These areas were thought to hold a possible overland route by which a European army could invade India.{{sfn|Ekbal|1991|pages=547–548}} Christie and Pottinger disguised themselves as horse dealers, and travelled north from the Makran coast to [[Nushki]], where the two separated in March of 1810. Christie moved north through Sistan to [[Herat]] and thereafter across the central Iranian desert to [[Yazd]] and [[Isfahan]]. A manuscript of Christie's travel journal is appended to Pottinger's account of his expedition which provided the first reliable information about these territories.{{sfn|Ekbal|1991|pages=547–548}}<br />
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At the request of [[Harford Jones-Brydges]], the British envoy to Iran, Christie and a number of other British officers entered into military service with Iran hence forming the core of the military mission provided for in accordance with the Preliminary Treaty of Friendship and Alliance that Jones-Brydges had negotiated with [[Fath-Ali Shah Qajar]] ({{reign}}1797–1834) on&nbsp;17 June 1809.{{sfn|Cronin|2011}}{{sfn|Ekbal|1991|pages=547–548}}<br />
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Christie was tasked with training the Iranian infantry (''sarbaz'') and had become the commander of the [[Shaqaqi]] Regiment, one of the twelve new regiments (''Nezam-e Jadid'') in the province of [[Azerbaijan (Iran)|Azerbaijan]]. Christie fought on the Iranian side against the [[Russian Empire|Russians]] during the [[Russo-Persian War (1804–1813)|Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813]]. However, in 1812, Britain and Russia had reconciled, which meant that Britain was withdrawing its support from Iran. Christie, two other British officers ([[Henry Lindsay Bethune|Henry Lindsay]] and [[William Monteith]]) and thirteen sergeants were allowed to remain in Iranian service at the request of Crown Prince [[Abbas Mirza]], commander of the Iranian army. Christie and Lindsay both participated in the [[Battle of Sultanabad]] (13&nbsp;February 1812) which ended in an Iranian victory.{{sfn|Atkin|1980|page=137}} During the battle, Christie and Lindsay reportedly threw themselves into the thick of the fighting, thereby gaining the admiration of the Iranians and proving that they would not refrain from attacking fellow Christians.{{sfn|Atkin|1980|page=137}}{{sfn|Ekbal|1991|pages=547–548}}<br />
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Both later participated in the ensuing [[Battle of Aslanduz]] (31 October–1 November 1812) that resulted in an Iranian defeat. During the battle, Christie was shot in the neck, but, as he refused to surrender, was said to have killed six Russian soldiers before being killed himself.{{sfn|Ekbal|1991|pages=547–548}} John Cormick, physician to Abbas Mirza, found Christie's remains and buried them near the spot where he had been killed.{{sfn|Ekbal|1991|pages=547–548}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
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==Sources==<br />
* {{cite book|last1=Atkin|first1=Muriel|title=Russia and Iran, 1780–1828|date=1980|publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]]|isbn=978-0816609246}}<br />
* {{ Encyclopædia Iranica Online | title = ARMY v. Qajar Period ii. Early Qajar military reform. | last = Cronin | first = Stephanie | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/army-v | year = 2011 }}<br />
* {{Encyclopaedia Iranica | title = Christie, Charles | last = Ekbal | first = Kamran | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/christie-captain-charles-d | volume = 5 | fascicle = 5 | pages = 547–548 }}<br />
* {{cite journal |last1=Michael |first1=M. A. |title=Not exactly a connoisseur: A new portrait of James Christie by Benjamin Vandergucht (1752–1794) and the auctioneer's family history |journal=The British Art Journal |date=2019 |volume=19 |issue=1}}<br />
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[[Category:18th-century births]]<br />
[[Category:1812 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:19th-century British Army personnel]]<br />
[[Category:People of the Russo-Persian Wars]]<br />
[[Category:People of Qajar Iran]]<br />
[[Category:British expatriates in Iran]]<br />
[[Category:British East India Company Army officers]]<br />
[[Category:British military personnel killed in action in the Napoleonic Wars]]<br />
[[Category:British explorers]]</div>Bot