1722, Peter issued a manifesto in several local languages justifying the invasion, drawn up by Dimitrie Cantemir. Peter gathered 22,000 infantry, 9,000 dragoons and 70,000 Cossacks, Tatars and Kalmyks. For transport, he created the Caspian Flotilla at Astrakhan under Fyodor Apraksin. The infantry, artillery and stores were to be shipped by sea to the mouth of the Sulak River while the cavalry went overland from Tsaritsyn and Mozdok. By the time Peter was assembling his forces for the attack, the Safavid state had already entered the final stages of collapse. Campaign All dates old style used in Russian accounts of the time, followed by the new style (N.S.) modern equivalent, 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar. Phase One (1722) The flotilla arrived at the mouth of the Sulak on 27 July 1722 (August 7 N.S.) and Peter, carried ashore by four boatmen, was the first to disembark. There, he learned that some of his cavalry had been defeated by Kumyks and Chechens at Enderey — the first time the two peoples had fought. Peter responded with a punitive expedition using Kalmukh troops. He went south and camped at what later became Petrovsk. On August 12 (August 23 N.S.), he made a state entry into Tarki, the capital of the Shamkhalate of Tarki, where the ruler received him as a friend. Next day, he headed south to Derbent, the flotilla following coastwise. He sent envoys to the next major ruler, the Sultan of Utemish. Sultan Mahmoud Otemishsky killed the envoys and gathered about 16,000 men at Utemish to bar the way. The mountaineers fought valiantly, but could not withstand the disciplined infantry. Utemish was burned and all the prisoners hanged in revenge for the murder of the envoys. On learning of this, the Khan of Derbent offered Peter the keys to the city on August 23 (September 3 N.S.). Derbent is at a narrow point on the coastal plain and has long been considered the northern gateway to Iran. While in Derbent, he learned that the flotilla had been caught in a storm and most of the supplies lost. Since there was no possibility of resupply this late in the season, he left a strong garrison at Derbent, marched back to the Terek River, took ship to Astrakhan and, on December 13 (December 24 N.S.), made a triumphal entry into Moscow. Vakhtang VI of Kartli (central Georgia) was a vassal