Capture of Baghdad (1534)
| Battle of Baghdad (1534) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–55) | |||||||||
Suleiman's conquests in the 1532–55 Ottoman-Safavid war gave him access to the Persian Gulf. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Safavid Empire | Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Tahmasp I |
Suleiman I Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha | ||||||||
The 1534 capture of Baghdad by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent from the Safavid Shah Tahmasp I was part of his Campaign of the Two Iraqs during the Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555).[3] The city was taken without resistance, the Safavid government having fled and leaving the city undefended.[4]
Baghdad's capture was a significant achievement given its mastery of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their international and regional trade.[5] It represented, along with the fall of Basra in 1546, a significant step towards eventual Ottoman victory and the procurement of the lower Mesopotamia, the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, opening a trading outlet into the Persian Gulf.[6]
The Ottomans wintered there until 1535, overseeing the reconstruction of Sunni religious monuments destroyed by the Safavids and initiating agricultural irrigation projects. Suleiman returned to Constantinople, leaving a strong garrison force.[4] After the capture, Suleiman adopted the title “Shah of Baghdad in Iraq”.[8] Hadım Suleiman Pasha was designated as Governor of Baghdad from 1535 to 1536, starting a long list of Ottoman governors of Baghdad.[9]
Over the next few decades, the Ottomans solidified their control over the region, incorporating it into their empire until it was temporarily recaptured by the Persians in 1623.[4] Baghdad again belonged to the Ottomans from 1638 until 1917, with its last governor Halil Kut.
See also
References
- ^ Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity Through the Twenty-First Century. Vol. 1: A-E. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-313-33537-2.
- ^ Nasiri, Mirza Naqi (2008). Floor, Willem (ed.). Titles & Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration. Translated by Willem Floor. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers. ISBN 978-1-933823-23-2.
- ^ Matthee, Rudi (2006). "IRAQ iv. RELATIONS IN THE SAFAVID PERIOD". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. XIII. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers. pp. 556–561. ISBN 0-933273-95-9.
- ^ a b c World and Its Peoples: The Middle East, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. London: Marshall Cavendish. 2006. p. 193. ISBN 0-7614-7571-0.
- ^ Masters, Bruce Alan (2009). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Facts on File. pp. 280, 428. ISBN 978-0-8160-6259-1.
- ^ Matthee, Rudolph P. (1999). The politics of trade in Safavid Iran: silk for silver, 1600-1730. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-521-64131-4.
- ^ Green, Alexandra (1 January 2013). Rethinking Visual Narratives from Asia: Intercultural and Comparative Perspectives. Hong Kong University Press. p. 100, figure 5.5. ISBN 978-988-8139-10-1.
- ^ Dimitri Korobeinikov (2021). "These are the narratives of bygone years: Conquest of a Fortress as a Source of Legitimacy". medieval worlds comparative & interdisciplinary studies (PDF). Vol. 14. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. p. 180.
That the Ottomans might have had a different view was demonstrated by Sultan Sulaymān the Magnificent, who called himself the shah of Baghdad in 'Iraq (Shah-i Bagdād-i 'Irāq).
- ^ Taner 2020, p. 62, note 147.
Sources
- Taner, Melis (2020). "Illustrated Manuscripts Attributed to Baghdad". Caught in a whirlwind: a cultural history of Ottoman Baghdad as reflected in its illustrated manuscripts. Leiden ; Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-9004412699.