Battles of the Ottoman and the Safavid Empires
The Middle East has long been seen as one of the richest regions in the world, not just for its riches, but it was also rich of centuries-old traditions and history that has shaped mankind. The region became known as the epicenter of world trade with the establishment of the Silk Road and sea-lanes connecting Eurasia together. It was also in the Middle East wherein religions and ethnicities were created and diversified, transforming societies and cultures throughout the globe. Many nations have attempted to take this very diverse and rich land, however, the region was only controlled by a select number of groups. Within these select groups, the Ottoman and the Safavid Empires reigned supreme as both had managed to control Mesopotamia and several parts of Africa and Asia for a long period of time. However, both nations had seen each other as rivals to their dominance and went into war five times since 1515 to 1639. The conflicts between the two Empires concentrated on territorial control in order to assert their power as the dominant Empire in the Middle East.
The establishment of both Empires, their religion and structure are similar in nature, but were also unique in its own way. According to Duiker and Spielvogel (2006) the Ottoman Empire was born around the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in Asia Minor or the Anatolian peninsula. Prior to this, the Ottoman Turks were already in the region starting the ninth century through the Seljuk Turks, serving as administrators or warriors for the Byzantine Empire. Under tribe leader Osman, the Osman Turks slowly released its power throughout the Anatolian region and slowly conquered the weakening Seljuk Empire. Throughout the fourteenth century, the Osmanlis or the Ottomans slowly expanded their control throughout the peninsula and established the Ottoman Empire. Their control over the Meditterenean-Black Sea areas of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles enabled the Ottomans to have easy access to the Byzantine territories. Since the Byzantine Empire had been weakened severely due to the Fourth Crusade that had ransacked Constantinople in 1204, the Ottoman forces easily swept the region and placed it under Ottoman controls. Turkish beys or provincial governors were placed in strategic points of former Byzantine nations to collect tax and perform administrative activities. The leader of the Ottomans were called the sultan and his word is always deemed final. The Ottomans mostly concentrated on territorial conquests to ensure their military dominance. Murad I had built up a powerful military arm for the Ottomans through the Janissaries or elite Christian guards, accountable only to the sultanate. The Janissaries also introduced changes to modern warfare as they introduced firearms and explosives to aid the Empire’s expansion agenda.
On the other hand, the Safavids rose into power after the collapse of the Tamerlane Empire in the fifteenth century. The dynasty was founded by Shah Ismail (1487-1524) who hailed from a long line of imams and from a sheikh known as Safi al-Din (where the name Safavid came from). Safi al-Din was the leader of a Turkic-speaking tribe in Azerbaijan and had been one of the Sufi religious groups present in the area since the region had slowly embraced Shi’ite Islam throughout the century. In 1501, Ismail’s group slowly made its way to Iran and Iraq and declared himself as the new leader or the shah of the Persian Empire. Both Iran and Iraq slowly fell into Ismail’s group in 1508, placing the capital in Bokhara in Uzbekistan. Similar to the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire consisted a mixed society of Turkic-speaking nomads and minorities. Majority of the population were Iranian farmers or townsfolk who were still adhering to pre-Safavid Iran. However, the presence of the Turkic-nomads caused conflict within the Safavid territories and the Safavids ordered that the Shi’ite faith is to be practiced by all. The members were known as the qizilbash, who wore red tarks to identify their adherence to the Safaviyya movement. The Shah was worshiped similar to the imams or spiritual leaders of Islam much like Prophet Mohammed. The Shah also had significant control over its aristocracy as the Shah has the capacity to confiscate estates and force the aristocrats under the shah’s command. Positions were also given based on merits rather by birthright and the Empire was mostly concentrated in improving its economy. The Safavid shah also regularly checks on his people much like the Ottoman sultan and would punish his subjects if they have lied to him and to the other people.
Although both share similarities in terms of history and even religion, the Ottomans and the Safavids do not meet eye to eye as both see the other as a threat to their territorial dominance. Prior to their first skirmish, Ahmed (2000) stated that both were suspicious of the other’s movements especially as Persia, under Shah Ismael I slowly conquered territories surrounding the Ottoman Empire. They slowly advanced towards Anatolia and conquered many surrounding territories to ensure Safavid stability and control. The Ottomans saw the large migration movements of the Safaviyya followers alarming as they were already close to its borders, and when Tabriz was claimed in 1501 as Safavid territory and capital, they had immediately cracked down any supporter of the Safavids and deported them out of Istanbul. Further agitation from the Ottoman Empire increased when Ismail claimed the province of Zulqadir in 1507, implying a possible movement to Istanbul.
Upon the death of Sultan Bayazid II, the deported and persecuted Safaviyya supporters saw that it was a chance to take revenge against the Ottomans. The rebels were quickly removed from the Ottoman territory, but some of them were able to enter the Safavid armies. With the Safavids close to Ottoman borders in Azerbaijan and Anatolia and the eventuality of war, Salim I was crowned the new sultan in order to stop the continuous territorial and religious expansion of the Safavids. Salim knew that supporters to the Safavids were overzealous and their inclusion to Safavid ranks only proves that a military clash is inevitable. Salim led the janissars to Azerbaijan and met in Chaldiran in August 23, 1514. With the help of their advancement in artillery and firepower, the Ottomans immediately claimed victory over the Safavids and claimed not just Shah Ismail’s favored wives, but also control to the capital of Tabriz. The Safavids immediately retreated to the capital of Isfahan, however, their leader Shah Ismail had been shattered by their defeat and isolated himself from the others until his death in 1525. With the Safavids contained in Persia, the Ottomans continued to conquer the remainder of the Anatolian region, as well as southwest Europe. The Ottomans became known as the most powerful Empire throughout Eurasia and controlled two of the most important cities to the Islamic community: Mecca and Madina.
According to Pitcher (1968), as Selim I and his successor Suleiman continued to push on to territorial dominance and expansion, the accession of Shah Tahmasp (1524-1576) enabled Persia to recover from its losses and successfully launch an attack on Baghdad in 1530 as the Ottomans parried with Shi’i rebellions in Anatolia. With Baghdad claimed, Tahmasp fortified Iraq to lure the Ottomans and spark the second war between the two Empires. The War of 1532-1555 had been divided into three campaigns. The first campaign in 1534-1536 was caused by the treason done by two vassals as they joined the other Empire: Ulama Khan of Azerbaijan fled to Sultan Suleiman while Seref-Han of Bitlis went to Shah Tahmasp. Suleiman sent his vizier Ibrahim Pasha in Kurdistan in order to diffuse the tensions in the region, successfully claiming the area surrounded by Erzurum and Lake Van in 1534. As the Ottoman procession moved to Tabriz, Sultan Suleiman joined the attack in order to return their control over the region. Two more vassals submitted to the Ottomans as the Ottomans pursued Tahmasp’s forces around Iraq. However, as he reclaimed Baghdad, Tahmasp recovered Tabriz and Azerbaijan, while securing the Tiflis and Georgian vassals. Suleiman was approached by the leaders of Kartli and Kakhetiin 1535 when Samtskhe was taken by Persia and pleaded for an expedition to be sent to area. Suleiman had acquiesced to the request and send two expeditions to reclaim Samtskhe. Meanwhile, Tahmasp reattempted to reclaim Samtskhe after Suleiman’s reacquisition of the area. Both forces marched to the second campaign in 1548-1549, causing Tabriz, Lakes Van and Urmiya, including Samtskhe to fall into Ottoman control to stop the Safavids. The Safavids continued to reclaim the lands gotten by Suleiman through the defeat of the beylerbeyi of Erzurum and the Van region in 1553. Suleiman personally led his forces in Northern Aras and acquire the areas of Nahcivan, Karabag, Kars and Arpacay to ensure that the Ottoman frontiers are secured. The conflict ended in 1555 when both Empires signed the Treaty of Amasya to define the borders between Iran and the Ottoman Empire, their claims to the acquired territories and to open borders to enable religious pilgrims to enter their territories.
With the agreement in Amasya, the two Empires concentrated mostly in their other exploits to assert their supremacy over the region. The Ottomans turned into controlling the coastal regions to open up a naval base to stop possible attacks from the Portuguese and the Spanish fleets. Savory () stated that the Safavids were also slowly settling their internal issues as Shah Ismail II (1576) had ordered the death of all possible contenders to the throne, unsettling the qizilbash. Planning his death was easy as the Shah was a narcotic, enabling the qizilbash to work with the Shah’s sister Pari Khan Khanum to murder the Shah through opium poisoning. The Shah died in November 24, 1577, enabling the royal house to select the next Shah from the family of Muhammad Khudabanda and his sons Hamza, Abu Talib and Abbas. Muhammad’s family fled Persia when he was ordered to be assassinated by his brother, escaping the fate of his relatives. The qizilbash had no choice but to place Muhammad Khundabanda as the new Shah. Under his reign, he tried to gain the support of his people through lavish grants that had drained the royal treasury and fostered the lack of organized governance and security. The weakened capital and administration throughout the Safavid territories enticed Ottomans and the Ozbegs (Oz Beg Khan of the Golden Horde) to attack Khrusan and Azerbaijan. Murad III sent 100,000 men to invade Azerbaijan in 1578 and easily claimed the region, including the Georgian territories. This enabled the Ottomans to control the entire Azerbaijan and the Caucasus territories, opening the Empire to the Caspian Sea. Hamza Mirza and Mirza Salman launched a counter-attack against the invaders in 1579 and caught Ottoman ally Adil Giray Khan of the Crimean Tatars.
The war continued on to the Battle of Torches in 1583 as the Persians led by Imam Kulu attacke the Ottoman stronghold in Derbend, held by Osman Pasha for the Ottoman Empire. The first onslaught from the Persians disabled the Ottomans on April 25th, however it was in the main battle in Bastepe on May 9th that decided the battle. Osman Pasha was surrounded by Cafer Pasha and Haydar Pasha who also were appointees of the Ottoman forces to protect the Caucasus region. Imam Kulu had Rustem Khan and Burhaneddin as his supporting army and the war had ensued for three days through the use of torches. By the third day of the attack, the Ottoman troops gained the upper hand, trouncing the Persian forces into defeat. The Safavids slowly experienced several issues with the death of Hamza Mirza in 1586 and the invasion by the Ozbegs in Khrusan the year after. Abbas Mirza, who was being protected by Murshid Quli Khan of the Ustajlu faction, was being called by the qizilbash to return back to Qazvin to succeed to the throne. Murshid and Abbas returned to Qazvin and on October 1, 1588, Abbas I was crowned the Shah while Murshid was called the vakil of the Supreme Divan. Sadly, the Safavids lost their control over Harat through the Ozbegs in February 1589 while Tabriz fell to the hands of the Ottomans. The Treaty of Constantinople or the Treaty of Istanbul marked the end of the third war between the Safavids and the Ottomans as it had outlined the terms in which the Safavids had to adhere. The Ottomans would keep their conquests – Caucasus, Tabriz and northwest Iran – without contest and the Persians would pay obeisance to the Sunnis.
While the Ottomans celebrated their success in their third major war against the Safavids, Abbas I slowly assessed their losses and remaining resources before creating an attack to reclaim what they have lost. According to Newman (2009), he revised the Empire’s structure and law, especially its army and domestic issues. He had also worked on cleaning his territories and reclaiming what was loss from the previous war. Abbas’ reforms were influencing the Safavid centre slowly as they still had to contend to the barriers placed after their loss in Chaldiran such as even welcomed the West to Persian territory. Englishman Anthony Sherley helped Abbas to divert trading to the Europeans and even supported the English East India Company and the Dutch East Indian Company to create new alliances. The Ottomans had been agitated over Abbas’ partnership with the West and Abbas, in his end, had continuously revitalized its economy. Once the reforms have revitalized the Safavids, in 1603, they immediately held a campaign against the Ottomans led by Hasan Khan Ustajlu. Finkel (2007) stated that Shah Abbas’ western supported forces could not be left alone as pulling out a particular force would open the area to Abbas’ forces. Sinan Pasha, who was sent to the battlefield, noticed that Abbas was utilizing the same scorched-earth tactics used against Suleiman in the past. Sinan and his troops were cornered in Diyarbakir and Van, before they were pushed to Erzurum and Tabriz. The Ottoman issue on Anatolia also caused the Ottoman force to dwindle, enabling the Safavids to claim everything without getting a retaliation. A truce was agreed by both parties, and Abbas has requested the return of the Ottoman-Safavid borders as it was in the Treaty of Amasya in 1555 and the Ottomans will give away their control over the territories they got from the previous conflict. Before the treaty could have been agreed, the Ottomans were approached by two Georgian princes. Abbas attacked the Ottomans as a result and the sieges sent by the Ottoman Empire were lost through an ambush in Tabriz in September 1618. The treaty was signed between the two parties, securing the Safavids their control over the Ottoman’s claimed territories.
Upon their loss from the Safavids, the Ottomans found themselves in a verge of collapse as the sultan’s role had shifted through time. Expansion slowed considerably and the selection of the next successor became more of a game for their respective councils. However, Osman had slowly seized the chance to prove that the sultan is still capable of fighting in the field, however, he did through regicide. The one who replaced him was Murad IV, and his ascension was met with several revolts from the public. Abaza Mehmed Pasha and Hafiz Ahmed Pasha were formerly against the throne due to the death of Sultan Osman, but had sought pardon after their defeats by other expeditions from Istanbul. Hafiz Pasha had been ordered to reclaim Baghdad, however, the Safavids had anticipated the attack and attacked the forces from the behind. With their recent victory, the Safavids were unstoppable as they also had the Ottoman strongholds under their possession. Murad had to contend with several personal issues that shook his leadership in 1932 such as the death of Abaza Mehmed. Slowly, he took a more active role in reinforcing the power of the sultanate and the military, leading his armies directly against the Safavids. Murad knew the problems in Anatolia, as well as the possibilities of further strife may impact the Ottomans but he knew they have to face it head on. His grand vezir Tabaniyassi Mehmed Pasha enabled Murad to have control over the factions and revised the entire government system. Murad also utilized military offensive and administrative reforms to ensure that the conflicts within the region are stopped.
Most of Murad’s tenure was mostly concentrated on stopping the Safavids from further claiming Ottoman territories and restore the image and power of the sultanate. Upon the death of Shah Abbas in 1629 and be replaced by Shah Safi, Murad was unable to easily fight against the force because of their siege against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They had only fought with the Safavids in 1635 and it was there that Murad sent his troops to counter the Safavids. He sent Tabaniyassi Mehmed Pasha to aid the Anatolian troops and hold the fort until Murad himself can lead the forces. They had successfully led several campaigns to reclaim areas such as Yerevan, Tabriz and returned back to Van. In December 1635, the Ottomans welcomed Murad back in full honors and moved on to counter the Safavids in Revan. The Sultan led his army to Uskudar to reach to Iraq by November and with the Safavids already anticipating their attack, the entire city was fortified against the attack. The siege lasted 39 days and the Ottomans took back the city by returning the Ottoman version of Islam to the region. The victory of the Ottomans enabled the creation of a final and permanent frontiers for both regions and distributed the contested territories on May 17, 1639. The treaty, known as the Treaty of Zuhab, ended the long struggle between the two parties and established the balance of power in the region.
Looking at the two conflicts, it is visible that territorial expansion had been the main root of the five major conflicts between the two nations as both tried to gain new territories to expand their beliefs and power like other Empires in history. From the Battle of Chaldiran to the War of 1623, both the Ottomans and the Safavids either reclaimed or claimed contested territories back to their control. The Ottomans mostly gained the advantage in four of these conflicts due to the domestic issues influencing the Safavid leadership, however, it is possible that the ties may have turned differently should the Safavids proceeded with a battle plan much like Abbas I’s strategy. Regardless of this, the wars had enabled change to come within the Middle East and define the course of its development even after the decline of both Empires. Throughout these clashes, it is visible that both the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire proved that they have the right to be classified as two of the only few Empires that had managed to claim the Middle East as their own.
Bibliography
Ahmed, Nazeer. Islam in Global History: From the Death of Prophet Muhammed to the First World War. Concord: American Institute of Islamic History and Culture, 2000.
Duiker, William, and Jackson Spielvogel. The Essential World History. 3rd. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006.
Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Basic Books, 2005.
Newman, Andrew. Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire. London: I.B. Tauris, 2009.
Pitcher, Donald Edgar. An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire: From the Earliest Times to the End of the Sixteenth Century. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1968.
Savory, Roger. Iran Under the Safavids. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
