Tahmasp was only ten when he came to the throne in 1524, yet he reigned for 52 years — longer than any other Safavid shah. In his time the Ottoman army marched on Azerbaijan three times and Tabriz was occupied twice. Even so, the state did not collapse; it annexed Shirvan and Shaki and completed the unification of the Azerbaijani lands. How was that possible?
A child shah and the Qizilbash feuds
Because the shah was a child, real power passed to the Qizilbash emirs. The chiefs of the Rumlu, Ustajlu, Takkalu and Shamlu tribes fought one another for the offices of vakil and amir al-umara and seized power in turn. Neighbours took advantage of these feuds: the Uzbeks raided Khorasan, and some discontented emirs, such as Ulama Takkalu, went over to the Ottomans. In the early 1530s the grown-up Tahmasp removed the most ambitious emirs and took power into his own hands. The place of the Qizilbash in the state is explained in the lesson «Political structure, administration and army of the Safavid state».
Sultan Suleiman’s three campaigns
The Ottoman sultan Suleiman I the Lawgiver (1520–1566) wanted to exploit the Safavids’ inner weakness. In the campaign of 1534–1535 Ottoman troops took Tabriz and then Baghdad: the Safavids lost Arab Iraq. Tahmasp knew the forces were unequal and avoided open battle. He had the food and fodder on the enemy’s path destroyed and struck at its rear with small detachments (the «scorched earth» tactic). Hunger and cold forced the Ottoman army to withdraw from Tabriz.
The cause of the second campaign was treason at the Safavid court. The shah’s brother, the beylerbeyi of Shirvan Alqas Mirza, rebelled in 1547, was defeated, fled to the Ottomans and urged the sultan to march on Azerbaijan. In 1548 the Ottomans again took Tabriz and captured the fortress of Van, but the scorched-earth tactic forced them to withdraw once more. In the third campaign of 1553–1555 the Ottoman army laid waste the lands of Nakhchivan, Iravan and Karabakh. The long war exhausted both sides.
| Campaign | Years | Main events | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 1534–1535 | Tabriz and Baghdad taken | Arab Iraq lost |
| Second | 1548–1549 | Alqas Mirza’s treason; Tabriz taken again, Van captured | the Ottomans withdrew because of hunger |
| Third | 1553–1555 | Nakhchivan, Iravan and Karabakh laid waste | both sides exhausted → Peace of Amasya |
Shirvan and Shaki: unification completed
Under Shah Ismail I the Shirvanshahs, though vassals of the Safavids, kept their dynasty and their internal independence and leaned towards the Ottomans. In 1538 Tahmasp sent an army to Shirvan under Alqas Mirza. The last Shirvanshah, Shahrukh, was defeated, the Shirvanshah state ceased to exist, and Shirvan became a beylerbeylik. Tahmasp was not the first Azerbaijani ruler to march on Shirvan: back in 1412 Qara Yusif had also defeated the Shirvanshahs (see «The Qaraqoyunlu state»).
In the north-west the principality of Shaki was still independent. In 1551 Safavid troops marched on Shaki, the Gelesen-Goresen fortress was taken, the ruler of Shaki Darvish Muhammad Khan was killed, and Shaki was joined to the Safavid state. With this, the unification of the Azerbaijani lands in one state was completed: the process begun with the battle of Sharur was finished half a century later (see «The founding of the Safavid state of Azerbaijan: Shah Ismail I»).
The Peace of Amasya and Tahmasp’s home policy
On 29 May 1555 the Peace of Amasya was signed — the first official peace treaty between the Safavid and Ottoman states. Its terms: Azerbaijan (together with Shirvan) remained Safavid; Arab Iraq with Baghdad went to the Ottomans; Georgia was divided — Western Georgia went to the Ottomans and Eastern Georgia (Kartli, Kakheti) to the Safavids. The Safavids undertook to stop their insulting propaganda against the first three caliphs. The peace opened more than twenty years of calm between the two states.
At home Tahmasp tried to strengthen the central power. Because Tabriz lay too close to the Ottoman border, the capital was moved to Qazvin in the middle of the 16th century. To ease the burden on townspeople, the shah abolished the tamgha, a tax on trade and crafts. His court was a centre of culture: the masters of the Tabriz school of miniature worked there. The Mughal padishah Humayun, driven out of India, also took refuge at Tahmasp’s court and regained his throne with his help. Tahmasp died in 1576, and his death opened a new struggle for the throne — see the lesson «The last quarter of the 16th century: the struggle for the throne and the defence of Tabriz».
| Person | Who he was | Remembered for |
|---|---|---|
| Shah Tahmasp I | 1524–1576 | completed unification, made the Peace of Amasya |
| Sultan Suleiman I | 1520–1566 | led three campaigns against Azerbaijan |
| Alqas Mirza | the shah’s brother, beylerbeyi of Shirvan | rebelled in 1547 and fled to the Ottomans |
| Shahrukh | the last Shirvanshah | defeated in 1538 |
| Darvish Muhammad Khan | ruler of Shaki | killed in 1551; Shaki annexed |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| the shah’s youth | the Qizilbash emirs’ struggle for power |
| Ottoman superiority in numbers and cannon | Tahmasp avoided open battle and chose the scorched-earth tactic |
| Alqas Mirza’s revolt and flight (1547) | Sultan Suleiman’s second campaign (1548) |
| Tabriz occupied again and again | the capital moved to Qazvin |
| both sides worn out by the long war | the Peace of Amasya (1555) |
| Feature | Shah Ismail I | Shah Tahmasp I |
|---|---|---|
| Against the Ottomans | open battle (Chaldiran, 1514) | avoiding open battle, scorched earth |
| Shirvan | the Shirvanshahs became vassals | Shirvan annexed (1538) |
| Peace with the Ottomans | none | Peace of Amasya (1555) |
| Capital | Tabriz | Tabriz, then Qazvin |
- 1524
Ten-year-old Tahmasp comes to the throne
- 1534
The Ottomans take Tabriz and Baghdad
- 1538
Shirvan is annexed to the Safavid state
- 1547
Alqas Mirza’s revolt
- 1548
Second campaign: Tabriz taken again, Van captured
- 1551
Shaki is annexed: unification completed
- 1553–1555
Third campaign: Nakhchivan and Karabakh laid waste
- 1555
Peace of Amasya
The first official Safavid–Ottoman peace: Azerbaijan stays Safavid, Baghdad goes to the Ottomans.
- mid-16th century
The capital moves from Tabriz to Qazvin
- 1576
Death of Shah Tahmasp I
Interactive
Source (adapted): based on the memoir («Tadhkira») of Shah Tahmasp I.
My brother, whom I had sent to govern Shirvan, rebelled, and when he was defeated he fled to the padishah of Rum and urged him to march on our land. The padishah came to Tabriz with a countless army and cannon. Some of my emirs proposed to give battle, but I knew his troops outnumbered ours many times over. I ordered that neither grain nor fodder for the horses be left on their road, and that our detachments attack their rear day and night. The padishah’s army could not stay long in Tabriz and, suffering from hunger, turned back.
Source tasks
Problem
1. Which campaign does the text describe? Who are the «brother» and the «padishah of Rum»?
2. Explain one military and one economic reason for the tactic the shah chose.
3. Name two consequences not stated in the text.
Show solutionHide solution
Solution
2. Military: Ottoman superiority in numbers and cannon made open battle dangerous (the lesson of Chaldiran). Economic: a huge army had to find its food locally, and supplying it over long distances was hard. Marks: both — 1; one — ½.
3. For example: the Ottomans took the fortress of Van; the exposed position of Tabriz led to the move of the capital to Qazvin; the long war brought both sides to the Peace of Amasya in 1555. Marks: two correct consequences — 1; one — ½.
DIM-type task: process → result
Problem
«The Ottoman army entered Azerbaijan for the third time and laid waste the lands of Nakhchivan, Iravan and Karabakh. The Safavid troops avoided open battle and struck at the enemy’s rear. The war exhausted both sides.»
The result of the process described:
A) the battle of Chaldiran took place
B) Baghdad passed to the Ottomans
C) the Peace of Amasya was signed
D) Shirvan was annexed
E) Alqas Mirza rebelled
Show solutionHide solution
Solution
Answer: C.
DIM-type task: what two rulers share
Problem
What did Qara Yusif and Shah Tahmasp I have in common?
A) he made a peace treaty with the Ottoman sultan
B) he fought the Timurids
C) in his time the Shirvanshahs were defeated
D) he moved the capital to Qazvin
E) he joined Shaki to his state
Show solutionHide solution
Solution
Answer: C.
Remember
- Tahmasp (1524–1576) came to the throne at ten; during his childhood the Qizilbash emirs fought for power.
- Suleiman’s campaigns: 1534–1535 (Tabriz; Baghdad lost), 1548–1549 (Alqas Mirza’s treason; Van), 1553–1555 (Nakhchivan and Karabakh laid waste).
- Tahmasp avoided open battle and used the scorched-earth tactic to force the Ottomans to withdraw.
- Shirvan (1538) and Shaki (1551) were annexed — the unification of the Azerbaijani lands in one state was completed.
- 29 May 1555 — the Peace of Amasya: the first official Safavid–Ottoman peace; Azerbaijan stayed Safavid, Baghdad went to the Ottomans, Georgia was divided. The capital moved to Qazvin.