Lala Mustafa Pasha's Caucasian campaign was a military expedition launched in 1578 by Lala Mustafa Pasha, a grand-vizier of the expanding

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. It is also considered a part of the larger conflict, Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–90).

History

The main objective of the campaign was to conquer the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

, most of which, at the time, belonged to or was subject to the

Safavid Empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

. On August 7, the Ottomans crossed what is nowadays the Georgian border, namely the Samtskhe-Saatabago principality. The Georgians fought fiercely, but political fragmentation rendered them incapable of stopping the Ottoman advance. On August 9, 1578, Turkish armies defeated the coalition of Irano-Georgian forces in the Battle of Çıldır. On August 10, some Samtskhian nobles, including the brother of the ruler, accepted Ottoman vassalage and in so doing, greatly aided them in the conquest of their

Principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

. The Ottomans continued their expansion against the Safavids, and by the August 24 took the Georgian capital of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, the capital of the

Kingdom of Kartli The Kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლის სამეფო, tr) was a late medieval and early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centred on the province of Kartli, with its capital at Tbilisi. It emerged in the process of a tripar ...

as well, which was subordinate to Safavid Iran. The Turks also established territorial units with Ottoman officials in the conquered areas, for example - Beylerbeylik of Tbilisi (Kartli),

Sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

of Gori, Eyalet of Childir, and others. King of Kakheti,

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

acted wisely and made peace with the Ottomans on September 1, agreeing on the payment of annual tribute. Because of this agreement, the Kingdom of Kakheti managed to escape the war completely unharmed. After this, Lala Mustafa Pasha headed to

Shirvan Shirvan (from ; ; Tat: ''Şirvan'') is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, as known in both pre-Islamic Sasanian and Islamic times. Today, the region is an industrially and agriculturally developed part of the Republic of Azerbaijan ...

and

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

, which he sought to conquer as well from the Safavids. After campaigning in the eastern Caucasus, Mustafa returned to

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

by crossing

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

Samtskhe Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი ) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე ), also known as Moschia in ancient sources, is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mo ...

. The Georgians started a number of uprisings against their new Ottoman overlords. The Shah of Iran, exploiting the weakness of the Ottomans, released

Simon I of Kartli Simon I the Great ( ka, სიმონ I დიდი, tr), also known as Svimon ( ka, სვიმონი, tr; 1537 – 1611), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a Georgia (country), Georgian List of monarchs of Georgia, king (''mepe'') of Kingd ...

, who earlier fought against Safavid domination, from captivity. The

Safavids The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

hoped that Simon would now start a war against the Turks and their expectations came true, ending the short-lived Ottoman domination in the Caucasus and allowing them to install their puppet David XI on the throne of Kartli. The campaign, which was part of the greater war that lasted between 1578-1590, was largely successful. For around two decades after the end of the war, most of the regions conquered from the Iranian Safavids in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

, remained in Ottoman hands.

References

* {{Invasions of Georgia (country) Wars involving Georgia (country) Invasions of Georgia (country) Wars involving the Ottoman Empire Battles involving Safavid Iran Conflicts in 1578 16th century in Georgia (country) 1578 in the Ottoman Empire 16th century in Iran Battles involving Georgia (country) Battles involving the Ottoman Empire

History

See also

References