The Ottoman–Persian War of 1730–1735 was a conflict between the forces of

Safavid Iran 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 ...

and those of the

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 ...

from 1730 to 1735. After Ottoman support had failed to keep the

Ghilzai The Ghiljī (, ; ) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai and Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settled in other regions throughout the ...

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

invaders on the Iranian throne, the Ottoman possessions in western Iran, which were granted to them by the

Hotak dynasty The Hotak dynasty ( ) was an Afghan monarchy founded by Ghilji Pashtuns that briefly ruled portions of Iran and Afghanistan during the 1720s. It was established in April 1709 by Mirwais Hotak, who led a successful rebellion against the declining ...

, came under risk of re-incorporation into the newly resurgent Iranian Empire. The talented Safavid general, Nader, gave the Ottomans an ultimatum to withdraw, which the Ottomans chose to ignore. A series of campaigns followed, with each side gaining the upper hand in a succession of tumultuous events that spanned half a decade. Finally, the Iranian victory at Yeghevard made the Ottomans sue for peace and recognize Iranian territorial integrity and Iranian hegemony over the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

Events

In the spring of 1730, Nader attacked the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

and regained most of the territory lost during the collapse of the Safavid government in the late 1720s. The Abdali Afghans which had been subdued in an earlier campaign rebelled and besieged

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

, forcing Nader to suspend his campaign and save his brother, Ebrahim who was trapped in Mashhad. It took Nader fourteen months to defeat the Abdali Afghans, who put up fierce resistance. Relations between Nader and the Shah had declined as the latter grew jealous of his general's military successes. While Nader was absent in the east, Tahmasp tried to assert himself by launching a foolhardy campaign to recapture

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

. He ended up losing all of Nader's recent gains to the Ottomans, and signed a treaty ceding

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

in exchange for

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

. Nader saw that the moment had come to ease Tahmasp from power. He denounced the treaty, seeking popular support for a war against the Ottomans. In Isfahan, Nader got Tahmasp drunk then showed him to the courtiers, asking if a man in such a state was fit to rule. In 1732 he forced Tahmasp to abdicate in favor of the Shah's baby son,

Abbas III Abbas III (; January 1732 – February 1740) was a son of Shah Tahmasp II and Shahpari Begum of the Safavid dynasty and reigned from 1732 to 1736. After the deposition of his father by Nader Khan (the future Nader Shah) the infant Abbas was ...

, to whom Nader became regent. Nader decided he could win back the territory in Armenia and Georgia by seizing Ottoman

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

and then offering it in exchange for the lost provinces, but his plan went badly amiss when his army was routed by the Ottoman general Topal Osman Pasha near the city in 1733. Nader decided he needed to regain the initiative as soon as possible to save his position because revolts were already breaking out in Persia. He faced Topal again and defeated and killed him. He then besieged

Ganja ''Ganja'' (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for cannabis flower, specifically marijuana or hashish. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi (, IPA: �aːɲd͡ʒa� ...

in the northern provinces, earning a Russian alliance against the Ottomans. Nader scored a great victory over a superior Ottoman force at the

Battle of Yeghevārd The Battle of Yeghevārd, also known as the Battle of Baghavard or Morad Tapeh, was the final major engagement of the Ottoman–Persian War of (1730–1735) where the principal Ottoman army in the Caucasus theatre under Koprulu Pasha's comma ...

and by the summer of 1735, Armenia and Georgia were his again. In March 1735, he signed a treaty with the

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

in Ganja by which the latter agreed to withdraw all of their troops from Persian territory.Elton L. Daniel, "The History of Iran" (Greenwood Press 2000) p.94

Aftermath

The success of Nader's campaigns were such that his prestige swayed many of the Persian elites, and he capitalised on the opportunity to overthrow the Safavids and establish his own, the

Afsharid dynasty The Afsharid dynasty () was an Iran, Iranian dynasty founded by Nader Shah () of the Qirqlu clan of the Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman Afshar people, Afshar tribe, ruling over the Afsharid Empire. List of Afsharid monarchs Family tree ...

. Nader's next campaign took him to Qandahar where he overthrew the

tribe's ruling Hotaki dynasty once and for all before going on to invade North-Western India's foreign origin sunni muslim dynasty. Nader also launched his first campaign against the Lezgis during the Perso-Ottoman war of 1730–1735.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ottoman-Persian War (1730-35) Military operations involving the Crimean Khanate History of the Caucasus Conflicts in 1730 Conflicts in 1731 Conflicts in 1732 Conflicts in 1733 Conflicts in 1734 Conflicts in 1735 1730 in the Ottoman Empire 1731 in the Ottoman Empire 1732 in the Ottoman Empire 1733 in the Ottoman Empire 1734 in the Ottoman Empire 1735 in the Ottoman Empire 1730 in Asia 1730s in Iran 1731 in Asia 1732 in Asia 1733 in Asia 1734 in Asia 1735 in Asia Campaigns of Nader Shah

Events

Aftermath

See also

References

Sources