Capture of Tbilisi and Gökçe war

Capture of Tbilisi and Gökçe war Part of Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–1618) Date 1616 Location Tbilisi, Nakhchivan, some districts of Armenia, near Lake Sevan (Gökçe) Result Decisive Safavid victory Tblisi recaptured but devastated Belligerents Safavid Empire Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Kakheti Commanders and leaders Shah Abbas I Giorgi Saakadze Ganj Ali Khan Sultan Ahmed I Ahmet Pasha Mehmet Pasha Teimuraz I Casualties and losses Not reported In Capture of Tbilisi: 70,000 Ottoman warriors and Georgian people were killed.[1] 130,000[2] - 200,000[3] Georgian captives moved to Persia. In Gökçe conflict: 4,000 Ottoman warriors were killed.

Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–18) Tabriz Battle of Urmia (1604) Tbilisi and Gökçe war

The Capture of Tbilisi and Gökçe war took place in 1616 during the Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–18). The capture of Tbilisi occurred as a conflict between the suzerain Shah Abbas I and his Georgian subjects, most notably Tahmuras Khan (Teimuraz I of Kakheti). After the complete devastation of Tblisi and the deportation of masses of Georgian captives to Iran, Abbas I confronted an Ottoman army. The battle took place near Lake Gökçe and resulted in the Ottomans being decisively defeated by the Safavids.

Background

In 1612, Shah Abbas I was informed that Teimuraz I of Kakheti with a couple of Christian citizens assaulted the Karabakh governor and killed him. Shah Abbas decided to confront him but Teimuraz I fled to Georgia towards Ahmed I, in order to shelter from Safavid forces. This event brought an end to the Treaty of Nasuh Pasha.

Massacre and capture of Tbilisi

In 1616, Shah Abbas I dispatched his troops to Georgia. He aimed to suppress the Georgian revolt in Tbilisi, however the Safavid soldiers met heavy resistance by the citizens of Tbilisi. Enraged, Shah Abbas ordered a massacre of the public. A large number of Georgian soldiers and people were killed and as many as between 130,000 and 200,000 Georgians from Kakheti were deported to Persia.^[4][5]

Conquest of Nakhchivan and Gökçe battle

This event caused Sultan Ahmed I to send an Ottoman army to confront the Safavid troops. He appointed Mehmet Pasha commander of the army. In 1616, the Ottoman army reached Aleppo. Numerous soldiers joined them from Asia Minor and parts of Iraq. Shah Abbas I's military strategies kept the Ottoman army in famine among other difficulties. Although Ottoman troops briefly captured Nakhchivan, they failed to conquer Yerevan.

After the capture of Tbilisi, Abbas I moved to engage the Ottoman army. The battle occurred near Lake Gökçe and resulted in a crushing defeat of the Ottomans. The capture of Tblisi also marked another stage in the deportations of huge amounts of Georgians and other ethnic Caucasian groups such as the Circassians and Armenians, to Persia.

See also

• Treaty of Nasuh Pasha
• Treaty of Serav
• List of conflicts in the Middle East

References

Sources

• Blow, David (2009). Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who became an Iranian Legend. London, UK: I. B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84511-989-8. LCCN 2009464064. 
• Matthee, Rudi (2011). Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–371. ISBN 0857731815. 
• Parizi, Mohammad-Ebrahim Bastani (2000). "GANJ-ʿALĪ KHAN". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 3. pp. 284–285. 
• Ghafouri Ali History of the Iran's battles, from the Medes up to today 2009 ISBN 9789644237386.
• Asadollah Matoufi 4000 years history of Iran army, Persian title: Tārīkh-i chahār hazār sālah-i artish-i Īrān 2003 ISBN 9646820034.
• Roemer, H.R. (1986). "The Safavid period". The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Timurid and Safavid periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 189–351. ISBN 9780521200943.