Ottoman forces under Selim I defeat Shah Ismail I’s Safavid army at Chaldiran, demonstrating the battlefield impact of Ottoman firearms and artillery and inaugurating a prolonged frontier rivalry.
In the aftermath of Chaldiran, the Ottoman army enters and occupies Tabriz, underscoring Safavid vulnerability in the northwest even though the occupation proved temporary.
A new major phase of Ottoman–Safavid fighting opens amid contested frontier politics and shifting allegiances in eastern Anatolia and Mesopotamia, drawing both empires into decades of campaigning.
Suleiman I’s forces capture Baghdad, a strategic and symbolic prize that anchors Ottoman power in Mesopotamia and becomes central to later Ottoman–Safavid settlement negotiations.
During renewed campaigning, the Ottomans besiege and take Van, highlighting the importance of fortified frontier cities and logistics in the war’s eastern Anatolian theater.
The Peace of Amasya establishes a negotiated frontier and ends the long 1532–1555 conflict, leaving the Ottomans with Baghdad and much of Iraq while the Safavids retain key northwestern Iranian territories.
After roughly two decades of relative peace, large-scale fighting resumes—especially in the Caucasus—during a period of Safavid internal strain and opportunistic Ottoman offensives.
Safavid forces under Hamza Mirza defeat the Crimean Khanate’s army (an Ottoman ally) in Shirvan, demonstrating the multi-party character of the Caucasus front.
The war ends with the Treaty of Constantinople (also called the Peace of Istanbul), forcing the Safavids to concede extensive lands in the Caucasus and northwest Iran to the Ottomans.
Shah Abbas I’s forces retake Tabriz, a major step in overturning the 1590 settlement and reopening sustained hostilities aimed at restoring Safavid positions in the northwest.
After Safavid successes, the Treaty of Nasuh Pasha compels the Ottomans to return territories gained in 1590 and reaffirms the earlier Amasya frontier framework, while setting silk tribute terms that soon unravel.
The Treaty of Serav ends another short but costly round of fighting and largely reiterates prior arrangements, reflecting how recurring disputes over tribute and border control repeatedly reignited war.
Safavid forces seize Baghdad, triggering the decisive final phase of Safavid–Ottoman conflict over Mesopotamia and putting the city at the center of repeated Ottoman reconquest efforts.
An Ottoman attempt to retake Baghdad becomes a prolonged siege that ultimately fails, showing the limits of Ottoman campaigning when supply and relief operations favored Safavid defense.
Ottoman forces under Sultan Murad IV capture Baghdad after a major siege, reestablishing Ottoman control of Iraq and setting the stage for the final peace settlement.
The Treaty of Zuhab (Qasr-e Shirin) ends the 1623–1639 war and is widely treated as the culminating settlement of the Safavid–Ottoman wars, confirming Ottoman control over Iraq and solidifying a long-lasting imperial boundary.
Safavid–Ottoman Wars (1514–1639)
