Safavid conquest of Shirvan

Shah Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid Empire, embarked on a series of significant military campaigns between 1501 and 1524 to establish and expand his realm. His reign was marked by a series of key conflicts that shaped the political and religious landscape of the region. This article provides an overview of these major military engagements, highlighting Shah Ismail I’s strategic initiatives and their impact on the consolidation of the Safavid state and the expansion of its territories.

Quick Facts Date, Location ...

Safavid conquest of Shirvan
Part of Campaigns of Ismail I
The battle between the young Ismail and Shah Farrukh Yassar of Shirvan
Date December 1500[1] – 1501 Location Shirvan (present-day Azerbaijan Republic and southern Dagestan) Result Decisive Safavid victory Territory of the Shirvanshahs is incorporated by the Safavids Dynastic Shirvanshah line is allowed to remain in power under Safavid suzerainty for some more years
Belligerents
Safavid order	Shirvanshahs
Commanders and leaders
Ismail (leader of the Safavid order) Hossein Beg Laleh Shamlu Mohammad Beg Ustajlu	Farrukh Yassar † Bahram Beg (Shirvanshah's son) Gazi Beg (Shirvanshah's son)
Strength
7,000 Qizilbash	27,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Entire army

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The conquest of Shirvan was the first campaign of Ismail, the leader of the Safavid order. In late 1500, Ismail marched into Shirvan, and, despite heavily outnumbered, decisively defeated the then incumbent Shirvanshah Farrukh Yassar in a pitched battle, in which the latter and his entire army were killed. The conquest resulted in the toppling of the Shirvanshahs as autonomous rulers, who had ruled large parts of the Caucasus for centuries, and the incorporation of their domain.

Ismail's father Shaykh Haydar and his grandfather Shaykh Junayd had both been killed in battle by the rulers of Shirvan, in 1488 and 1460 respectively.^[1] In the summer of 1500, Ismail rallied a force of 7,000 Qizilbash forces at Erzincan consisting of the Ustaclu, Shamlu, Rumlu, Tekelu, Zhulkadir, Afshar, Qajar and Varsak tribes.^[2] Shortly before initiating his offensive, signalled by the weakness of the fragmented Georgian kingdoms, he looted Samtskhe.^[3] At the same time, he induced the Georgian kings Constantine II and Alexander I, of respectively Kartli and Kakheti, to attack the Ottoman possessions near Tabriz, on the promise that he would cancel the tribute that Constantine was forced to pay to the Ak Koyunlu once Tabriz was captured.^[3] In December 1500, with the intention to avenge his murdered ancestors, Ismail crossed the Kura River into Shirvan with his 7,000-strong force, and decisively defeated and killed Farrukh Yassar, the then incumbent king of Shirvan and his entire 27,000-strong army in a pitched battle at Jabani, near the Shirvanshah capital of Shamakhi,^[4] or at Gulistan (present-day Gülüstan, Goranboy, Nagorno-Karabakh).^[5][1] He subsequently marched on to reach the Caspian coast, and took Baku.^[1]

By this victory, Ismail had toppled the Shirvanshahs, and successfully expanded his domains. After the conquest, Ismail had Alexander I of Kakheti send his son Demetre to Shirvan to negotiate a peace agreement.^[3] Ismail allowed the Shirvanshah family to remain in power in Shirvan for some more years, under Safavid suzerainty. In 1538, during the reign of Ismail's successor and son, Tahmasp I (r. 1524-1576), the Safavids completely removed the Shirvanshahs from power, and turned Shirvan into a fully functioning province governed by appointed officials.^[6]

Ismail's victory alarmed the ruler of the Aq Qoyunlu, Alvand, who subsequently proceeded north from Tabriz, and crossed the Aras River in order to challenge the Safavid forces; a pitched battle was fought at Sarur in which Ismail's army came out victorious despite being outnumbered by four to one.^[1] After eventually conquering Tabriz and Nakhchivan, Ismail broke the promise he had made to Constantine, making the kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti his vassals.^[3] In Tabriz, he proclaimed the Safavid dynasty and declared himself king (shah).

• Siege of Tabriz (1501)