The Origins of the Caucasus Campaign: ‘Bellum’ Ante Bellum, Casus Foederis and Casus Belli

This work seeks to establish necessary context or, put another way, to examine details of the time and place that surrounded or influenced the onset of hostilities in the Caucasus. Discussion will focus on three key elements that give context to the campaign’s origins. First is ‘bellum’ ante bellum, or ‘war’ waged in northern Persia and Russia’s Caucasus before the actual war started. Second is the casus foederis, which refers to the Ottoman decision to enter into a military alliance with Germany. And third is the casus belli, the Ottoman provocative attack of Russian naval installations known as Black Sea Raid. This study attempts to demonstrate that the outbreak of the Great War only served as a catalyst for tensions that had been simmering between the Ottoman and Russian empires in the prior years and immediate pre-war months, provoking escalations and warlike preparations into an actual full-scale conflict when the war became real.