Overview

al-Sallabi's book on the Ottoman state says that Sultan Selim I realised that the plan of Shah Ismail of the Safavids was to delay until winter came, so he hastened to set the conflict in motion. ¹

The battle

Selim reached the plain of Chaldiran in August 1514 CE, and occupied the important positions and the high ground. He inflicted a great defeat on the Safavid army, and Ismail fled. Selim entered Tabriz, the capital of the Safavids. ¹

The outcome

Selim returned after taking Kurdistan, Diyarbakir and Marash. Anatolia became safe from the east, and the roads to Azerbaijan and the Caucasus were opened. ¹

Ismail I (Shah Ismail Safavi)

Shah Ismail, founder of the Safavid state; al-Salabi traces the Safavids to Shaykh Safi al-Din al-Ardabili (650–735 AH), Ismail's great ancestor, whose Sufi following spread through Iran, Ottoman lands, Iraq and Syria, and claims Safi al-Din practised dissimulation, appearing outwardly Shafi'i. When Ismail contended with Selim I, Selim sent him a dervish's rag, beads, bowl and staff to mock his roots, killed his envoy after the shah sought a truce, then crushed him at Chaldiran in August 1514 and entered Tabriz. The book says the defeat pushed Ismail toward the Portuguese, conceding Hormuz in exchange for help against Bahrain and Qatif.

The battle of Chaldiran and the entry into Tabriz

At a glance

In time

Overview

The battle

The outcome

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Time

Ismail I (Shah Ismail Safavi)