Battle of Chāldirān

Battle of Chāldirān, (August 23, 1514), military engagement in which the Ottomans won a decisive victory over the Ṣafavids of Iran and went on to gain control of eastern Anatolia. Although possession of artillery ensured a decisive victory for the Ottomans, the battle heralded the start of a long war between the rival Muslim powers for control of Anatolia and Iraq.

Sultan Selim I (Selim the Excellent or Brave) had deposed his father, Bayezid II, in 1512 and consolidated his rule by executing many of his cousins, who had rival claims on the throne. Selim set about turning the attention of the Ottoman Empire from the West to the East by embarking on a campaign to overcome the threat posed to Sunni Islam by the Shia Islamic Safavid Persian Empire, which had become a power in the region after the demise of the Timurid Empire.

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Ancient Anatolia

Selim assembled a huge army—more than 100,000 strong—and marched into Iran, where they engaged the shah’s smaller and less well-equipped army at Chāldirān, a county in the northwestern West Azerbaijan province. Drawing on lessons gained in wars against European armies, the Ottoman army was disciplined, equipped with heavy cannon, and deployed musket-armed Janissary infantry. In contrast, the Safavid army relied on the cavalry charge and possessed no artillery.

As they repeatedly attacked the Ottoman positions, the Safavid cavalry took heavy losses from the Ottoman cannon and were repulsed by banks of musket fire. The Safavid army was routed, and the Ottomans advanced to take the Safavid capital at Tabriz, forcing future shahs to move their capital farther to the east. Thenceforth Ottomans not only had a rampart against eastern invaders but also controlled the Tabrīz-Aleppo and Tabrīz-Bursa silk trade routes. The battle and subsequent Ottoman advance was instrumental in forging a frontier between the two empires that defines the modern-day border between Turkey and Iran.

Losses: Ottoman, 3,000 of 100,000; Safavid, 6,000 of 20,000.