Battle of Sufiyan

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Battle of Sufiyan
Part of the
Ottoman–Safavid War of 1603–1618
Date6 November 1605
Location
Sufiyan, near Tabriz
Result Safavid victory
Belligerents
Safavid dynasty Safavid Iran Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Shah Abbas
Safavid dynastyAllahverdi Khan
Safavid dynastyQarachaqay Beg
 Cığalazade Yusuf
Köse Sefer Pasha Executed
Tekkeli Mehmed
Karakaş Pasha
Kaçar Mehmed Pasha
Strength
~ 60,000[1] ~ 100,000 (including large amount of
janissaries)[2]
Casualties and losses
Unknown ~20,000 killed
Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–1612)

The Battle of Sufiyan

Abbas I (r. 1588–1629), beat a numerically superior, fully-fledged Ottoman army.[1][4] It was one of King Abbas I's greatest military victories.[5] According to Colin Imber: "For the Ottomans the battle of Sufiyan was a greater disaster than anything they had experienced in Hungary, where the war which had begun in 1593 had revealed Ottoman military deficiencies in the face of new European weapons and tactics."[6]

Prelude

In 1603, Abbas I recaptured

janissaries to fight Abbas and his men.[7][8] Around the time of Sinan Pasha's march, Abbas I had reached Kars, at the frontier of Georgia. He ordered the destruction of the countryside between Kars and Erzurum, employing similar scorched earth tactics his grandfather Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576) had employed against the Ottomans.[8] When Abbas realized that Sinan Pasha did not intend to spend the winter in the region before continuing the campaign in the spring and was therefore moving straight towards Kars, he ordered the immediate mass evacuation "of the entire population, most of them Armenian Christians, over a wide area to the north of the Aras River, and embracing the three towns of Erivan, Nakhichivan and [Old] Julfa".[8]

By November 1604, the Turks led by Sinan Pasha reached Kars, which the Iranians had evacuated.

Northern Mesopotamia. Allahverdi Khan returned to Abbas I with the severed heads of defeated Ottomans. These were paraded at the battlefield of Chaldiran in a symbolic visit by Abbas. This was the very site where the first Safavid ruler, Ismail I (r. 1501–1524), Abbas's great-grandfather, suffered a defeat in 1514 at the hands of the Ottomans.[1]

After receiving massive reinforcements, Sinan Pasha moved into Azerbaijan.[1] Abbas's spies reported that Sinan Pasha's army was almost twice as large as his.[1] Upon hearing this, Abbas considered withdrawing to Tabriz, as he did not want to risk losing the territories he had recovered.[1] He considered it too dangerous attacking Sinan Pasha's army directly. Instead, he followed "a parallel route from Khoy to Marand, observing the Ottoman advance, but remaining as far as possible unobserved".[9] He ordered the Safavid governor of Azerbaijan to adhere to the same scorched earth tactics which had been employed in 1604; all the people and food supplies were removed "from the Ottoman line of march".[9]

Battle

On the eve of the battle, Abbas and his army ascended the top of a nearby hill to make a final assessment of the Ottoman army.[1] Though his commanders concurred with the number the spies had reported, Abbas I ordered his commanders to tell their soldiers the Ottoman army was numerically inferior to boost their confidence.[1] Finally, Abbas I consulted his aunt Zeynab Begum, as he frequently did. She soothed his anxieties and encouraged him to fight.[10]

On 6 November 1605, the section of the Safavid army led by Qarachaqay Beg reached the "top of rising ground" at Sufiyan, becoming visible to the Ottoman army.[9] Remembering Abbas I's orders to avoid a major confrontation, Qarachaqay and his men retreated. Köse Sefer Pasha and some other commanders, who interpreted this as a sign of weakness, did not hesitate to launch the attack against Sinan Pasha's wishes.[9] Abbas I led the vanguard himself whereas Allahverdi Khan led "a squadron detached from the main body of the army".[9] As the massive central part of the Ottoman army consisting of cavalry moved towards the Iranian lines, Abbas ordered his light cavalry to "sweep around the Ottoman left flank and deliver a feint attack in the rear".[11] Sinan Pasha became confused, thinking "this was the direction of the main Iranian attack and detached a large body of his advancing horse to meet it".[11] This caused disorientation to both sides, "believing they were fleeing".[11] Making use of the momentum, Abbas I threw the full weight of his Qizilbash cavalry into the battle. After some hard fighting, they scattered the "dispirited Ottomans" in all directions.[11]

Aftermath

The Safavids scored a major victory.

Treaty of Amasya".[15]
Sinan Pasha died shortly after his defeat, possibly by suicide.

Notes

  1. ^ Also transliterated as "Sufian".

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Blow 2009, p. 81.
  2. ^ Blow 2009, pp. 79, 81.
  3. ^ Tucker, Spencer. "Middle East Conflicts from Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century." p. 8 (under "Abbas the Great")
  4. ^ a b c d Imber 2012, p. 92.
  5. ^ Blow 2009, p. 173.
  6. ^ a b c Imber 2012, p. 98.
  7. ^ Imber 2012, p. 93.
  8. ^ a b c Blow 2009, p. 79.
  9. ^ a b c d e Imber 2012, p. 96.
  10. ^ Blow 2009, pp. 81, 173.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Blow 2009, p. 82.
  12. ^ Kia 2017, p. 101.
  13. ^ Imber 2012, p. 97.
  14. ^ Blow 2009, pp. 82, 155.
  15. ^ a b Savory 1982, pp. 71–75.

Sources

  • Blow, David (2009). Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who became an Iranian Legend. London, UK: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd.
    LCCN 2009464064
    .
  • ISBN 978-1780769905
    .
  • Kia, Mehrdad (2017). The Ottoman Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia (Vol. 1). ABC-CLIO.
    ISBN 978-1610693899
    .
  • Savory, R.M. (1982). "ʿABBĀS I". Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 1. pp. 71–75.

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