The conquest of
Shirvan
Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...
was the first campaign of
Ismail
Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
, the leader of the
Safavid order. In late 1500, Ismail marched into Shirvan, and, despite heavily outnumbered, decisively defeated the then incumbent Shirvanshah
Farrukh Yassar
Farrukh Yasar ( fa, فرخ یسار) was the last independent Shirvanshah of Shirvan (1465–1500). In 1500, the first Safavid ruler, Ismail I, decisively defeated and killed Farrukh Yasar during his conquest of the area. Descendants of Farrukh Ya ...
in a pitched battle, in which the latter and his entire army were killed. The conquest resulted in the toppling of the
Shirvanshahs as autonomous rulers, who had ruled large parts of the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
for centuries, and the incorporation of their domain.
Background and war
Ismail's father
Shaykh Haydar and his grandfather
Shaykh Junayd
Sheikh Junayd (died 1460) ( ''Shaikh Junaid'') was the son of Shaykh Ibrahim, father of Shaykh Haydar and grandfather of the founder of Safavid dynasty, Shah Ismail I. After the death of his father, he assumed the leadership of the Safaviyya from ...
had both been killed in battle by the rulers of Shirvan, in 1488 and 1460 respectively. In the summer of 1500, Ismail rallied a force of 7,000
Qizilbash
Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, t ...
forces at
Erzincan
Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The ...
consisting of the Ustaclu,
Shamlu
The Shamlu tribe (also: Shamloo, Shomloo, Chamlou; fa, ایل شاملو) was one of the seven original and the most powerful Qizilbash tribes of Turcoman origin in Iran.
List of the Khans of Shamlu
*Ahmad Sultan Shamlu
*Abdu Beg Shamlu ( F ...
, Rumlu, Tekelu, Zhulkadir,
Afshar,
Qajar
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
and Varsak tribes.
[Faruk Sümer, ''Safevi Devletinin Kuruluşu ve Gelişmesinde Anadolu Türklerinin Rolü'', Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, Ankara, 1992, p. 15. ] Shortly before initiating his offensive, signalled by the weakness of the fragmented Georgian kingdoms, he looted
Samtskhe
Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) ( Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia.
History
Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were t ...
. At the same time, he induced the Georgian kings
Constantine II and
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
, of respectively
Kartli
Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...
and
Kakheti, to attack the
Ottoman possessions near
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
, on the promise that he would cancel the tribute that Constantine was forced to pay to the Ak Koyunlu once Tabriz was captured. In December 1500, with the intention to avenge his murdered ancestors, Ismail crossed the
Kura River into
Shirvan
Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...
with his 7,000-strong force, and decisively defeated and killed
Farrukh Yassar
Farrukh Yasar ( fa, فرخ یسار) was the last independent Shirvanshah of Shirvan (1465–1500). In 1500, the first Safavid ruler, Ismail I, decisively defeated and killed Farrukh Yasar during his conquest of the area. Descendants of Farrukh Ya ...
, the then incumbent
king of Shirvan and his entire 27,000-strong army in a pitched battle
at Jabani, near the Shirvanshah capital of
Shamakhi
Shamakhi ( az, Şamaxı, ) is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Shamakhi District. The city's estimated population was 31,704. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers, and also for perhaps giving it ...
, or at Gulistan (present-day
Gülüstan, Goranboy
Gülüstan or Gulistan ( hy, Գյուլիստան, lit=rose garden, translit=Gyulistan) is a village in the Goranboy District of Azerbaijan. It is a part of the municipality of Buzluq.
The village had an Armenian majority prior to the First Na ...
,
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...
). He subsequently marched on to reach the
Caspian Caspian can refer to:
*The Caspian Sea
*The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea
*The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea
*Caspian languages, collection of languages and dialects of Caspian peopl ...
coast, and took
Baku.
Aftermath
By this victory, Ismail had toppled the Shirvanshahs, and successfully expanded his domains. After the conquest, Ismail had
Alexander I of Kakheti send his son
Demetre to Shirvan to negotiate a peace agreement. Ismail allowed the Shirvanshah family to remain in power in Shirvan for some more years, under Safavid suzerainty. In 1538, during the reign of Ismail's successor and son,
Tahmasp I
Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after ...
(r. 1524-1576), the Safavids completely removed the Shirvanshahs from power, and turned Shirvan into a
fully functioning province governed by appointed officials.
Ismail's victory alarmed the ruler of the
Aq Qoyunlu,
Alvand
Alvand is a subrange of the Zagros Mountains in western Iran located south of the city of Hamadan in Hamadan Province. Its summit has an elevation of . The main body of the Alvand range extends for about 50 km from east to west, while t ...
, who subsequently proceeded north from Tabriz, and crossed the
Aras River
, az, Araz, fa, ارس, tr, Aras
The Aras (also known as the Araks, Arax, Araxes, or Araz) is a river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan excl ...
in order to challenge the Safavid forces; a pitched battle was fought
at Sarur in which Ismail's army came out victorious despite being outnumbered by four to one. After eventually conquering Tabriz and
Nakhchivan, Ismail broke the promise he had made to Constantine, making the kingdoms of
Kartli
Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...
and
Kakheti his
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
s. In Tabriz, he proclaimed the
Safavid dynasty and declared himself king (
shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
).
See also
*
Siege of Tabriz (1501)
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
* {{cite book, last1=Sicker, first1=Martin, title=The Islamic World in Ascendancy: From the Arab Conquests to the Siege of Vienna, date=2000, publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group, isbn=978-0275968922
Safaviyeh order
16th century in Iran
16th century in Georgia (country)
16th century in Europe
History of Dagestan
Conflicts in 1500
Conflicts in 1501
Wars involving Safavid Iran
Shirvanshahs