Ottoman Sultan Selim I decisively defeated Shah Ismail I on the Chaldiran plain, demonstrating the battlefield advantage of Ottoman artillery and firearms and checking Safavid westward expansion into Anatolia.
Following Chaldiran, Ottoman forces entered and briefly held Tabriz, underscoring Ottoman operational reach into Safavid Azerbaijan even though the occupation proved temporary.
During Süleyman I’s first major Iraq campaign, Ottoman forces took Baghdad, a strategic and symbolic prize that anchored long-term Ottoman power in Mesopotamia and intensified frontier rivalry with the Safavids.
The Peace of Amasya concluded the long Ottoman–Safavid conflict of 1532–1555 and stabilized a negotiated frontier: the Ottomans retained Baghdad and much of Iraq while the Safavids kept key Iranian and Caucasian holdings.
Exploiting Safavid instability after Shah Tahmasp I’s death, the Ottomans launched a major offensive into the Caucasus and Azerbaijan, beginning a twelve-year war that shifted control of key frontier provinces.
Early in the 1578 renewal of war, Ottoman forces defeated an Irano-Georgian coalition at Çıldır, opening the way for deeper Ottoman penetration into the South Caucasus.
Safavid forces besieged the Ottoman-held stronghold of Shamakhi but failed to dislodge the defenders, reflecting the hard-fought struggle for control of Shirvan during the early phase of the 1578–1590 war.
The Treaty of Constantinople (also called the Peace of Istanbul/Treaty of Ferhad Pasha) ended the 1578–1590 war and forced major Safavid territorial concessions in the Caucasus and northwestern Iran.
Shah Abbas I launched a major offensive to reverse the 1590 losses, recapturing Tabriz and initiating the broader Ottoman–Safavid war of 1603–1612 that restored Safavid control in much of the Caucasus and Azerbaijan.
Near Tabriz, Abbas I’s army defeated a larger Ottoman force at Sufiyan, a landmark Safavid victory that helped consolidate the gains of the 1603–1612 conflict.
The Treaty of Nasuh Pasha ended the 1603–1612 war by largely returning borders to the Amasya (1555) line; the Safavids also agreed to send an annual silk tribute, a clause that soon became contentious.
After renewed fighting driven in part by disputes over the silk tribute, the Treaty of Serav (Sarab) concluded the 1616–1618 war and reaffirmed a negotiated settlement between the empires.
Safavid forces under Abbas I took Baghdad, a major blow to Ottoman prestige and a pivotal escalation in the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1623–1639 over control of Iraq.
Sultan Murad IV’s forces retook Baghdad, reestablishing Ottoman rule in Iraq and setting the stage for a final peace that would make Ottoman control of Mesopotamia permanent.
The Treaty of Zuhab (Qasr-e Shirin) ended the 1623–1639 war and broadly confirmed a lasting partition: the Ottomans retained Iraq while the Safavids held much of Iran and the eastern Caucasus, shaping later regional frontiers.
Ottoman–Safavid Wars (16th–17th centuries)
