Abbas Mirza in the context of Russo-Persian War (1804–1813)

The Battle of Ganja or Elisavetpol (also Elizabethpol, Yelisavetpol, &c.) took place on 25 September 1826/13 September 1826, during the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828.

Crown prince and commander-in-chief Abbas Mirza had launched a successful campaign in the summer of 1826, which resulted in the recapture of many of the territories that were lost to the Russians by virtue of the Treaty of Gulistan (1813). Noticing the approach of the Iranian army, many of the locals that had recently come under formal Russian jurisdiction, quickly switched sides. Amongst the swiftly recaptured territories by the Iranians were the important cities of Baku, Lankaran and Quba.

The siege of Lankaran (Persian: محاصره لنکران; Russian: Штурм Ленкорани) took place from 7 January to 13 January 1813 during the Russo-Iranian War of 1804–1813. Lankaran, a city in the Talish region, was previously held by Mir-Mostafa Khan of the Talysh Khanate, a subject of Iran. However, due to his defiance, he was ousted from the city by Iranian forces in August 1812. Now directly held by the Iranians, the city was soon besieged by the Russian commander Pyotr Kotlyarevsky, who had recently defeated the Iranian crown-prince Abbas Mirza at the battle of Aslanduz.

Shortly before the siege, Kotlyarevsky had offered the 4,000 stationed soldiers and their commander Sadeq Khan Qajar the chance to surrender, but they refused. Kotlyarevsky subsequently started the shelling of the city, and by 13 January, the Russians had captured Lankaran. The majority of the defenders, as well as Sadeq Khan, were killed, whilst Kotlyarevsky was wounded. Mir-Mostafa Khan was subsequently reinstated, and thus the Talysh Khanate was once again under Russian suzerainty.

Sadeq Khan Azal-dinlu Qajar (Persian: صادق خان ازل‌الدین قاجار) was a military commander of Abbas Mirza, the Qajar crown prince of Iran. Under the rank of sarhang (colonel), he took part in the Battle of Karabakh in the spring and summer of 1805. He led the cavalry during the Battle of Shusha in 1805, where he suffered injuries. He was later appointed as commander of the Nezam-e Jadid ("The New Army"), a project to build an up-to-date army capable of fighting in a modern environment. He was killed in 1813 during the Siege of Lankaran.

Kamran Mirza Durrani (Pashto/Persian: کامران میرزا دورانی) was the last Durrani ruler of Herat from 1826 to 1842. He was the son and successor of Mahmud Shah Durrani (r. 1801–1803, 1809–1818). During Kamran Mirza's early life, a lengthy struggle for control of the capital Kabul occurred between his father and his father's half-brother, Shah Shujah Durrani (r. 1804–1809). In this period, Kamran Mirza governed the city of Kandahar, while his uncle Firuz al-Din Mirza ruled Herat under Iranian suzerainty. When Firuz al-Din rebelled in 1814, Kamran Mirza suppressed the revolt.

In 1818, the Durrani minister Fateh Khan Barakzai deposed Firuz al-Din as ruler of Herat; his troops then plundered the city, and his brother Dost Mohammad Khan raped Kamran Mirza's sister. In revenge, Kamran Mirza captured Fateh Khan and had him executed, which prompted a rebellion by Fateh Khan's brothers. This forced Mahmud Shah and Kamran Mirza to retreat to Herat, the last Durrani stronghold. In 1826, Kamran Mirza became the ruler of Herat after defeating his father, who then withdrew from politics. In an attempt to strengthen Iranian control of Herat, the Iranian crown prince Abbas Mirza besieged Herat in 1833. Although Abbas Mirza died during the siege, Kamran Mirza acknowledged Iran's nominal suzerainty. A second siege took place in 1837–1838 under Mohammad Shah Qajar (r. 1834–1848), but British intervention forced the Iranians to withdraw. After the British embassy left Herat, Kamran Mirza renewed his allegiance to Iran in 1841.

Mohammad Shah Qajar (Persian: محمدشاه قاجار; born Mohammad Mirza; 5 January 1808 – 5 September 1848) was the third Qajar shah of Iran from 1834 to 1848, inheriting the throne from his grandfather, Fath-Ali Shah. From a young age, Mohammad Mirza was under the tutelage of Haji Mirza Aqasi, a local dervish from Tabriz whose teachings influenced the young prince to become a Sufi-king later in his life. After his father Abbas Mirza died in 1833, Mohammad Mirza became the crown prince of Iran and was assigned with the governorship of Azarbaijan. After the death of Fath-Ali Shah in 1834, some of his sons including Hossein Ali Mirza and Ali Mirza Zel as-Soltan rose up as claimants to the throne. Mohammad Shah soon suppressed the rebellious princes and asserted his authority.

Mohammad Shah dismissed and executed his tactful premier, Abol-Qasem Qa'em-Maqam, and appointed his favourite, Haji Mirza Aqasi, as the grand vizier. The new shah's main goal was to reestablish the rule of the Iranian government in the rebellious city of Herat. In 1837 he marched to Herat and laid a futile siege on the city, which was eventually withdrawn when the British government threatened to invade Iran. On his return, Mohammad suppressed a revolt in Isfahan led by the major clergy figure Mohammad Bagher Shafti. Through British-Russian mediation, he concluded the Second Treaty of Erzurum with the Ottoman Empire, after initially wanting retaliation for the sack of Khorramshahr by the Ottoman governor of Baghdad.