The Battle of Torches ( tr, Meşaleler Savaşı) was fought in 1583 during the Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590). The name of the battle refers to torches used during night clashes. The battle resulted in an Ottoman victory, and had thereby secured Dagestan and

Shirvan Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...

until the end of the war.

Background

In the first phase of the war the Ottomans had been able to conquer most of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha ( ota, اوزدمیر اوغلی عثمان‌ پاشا, lit=Osman Pasha, the son of Özdemir; 1526 – 29 October 1585) was an Ottoman statesman and military commander who also held the office of grand vizier for one ...

(

Özdemir Pasha Özdemir Pasha (died 1561, Sana, Yemen Eyalet) was a Mamluk general for the Ottoman Empire, of Kumyk descent.''Mustafa Müftüoğlu.'' Yalan söyleyen tarih utansın!--. — Çile Yayınevi, 1981. — 384 с. He joined Hadım Süleyman Pasha's c ...

’s son) was appointed as the governor of the newly conquered territories. The capital of his province was Derbend at the Caspian coast. However, after the Ottoman army returned to its main base in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, the

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

under Imam Kulu began to regain some of their former territories. Although an army from the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...

(which was an Ottoman vassal) under Adil Giray was sent to the Caucasus in summer 1579 as a reinforcement, they were routed by Hamza Mirza and Mirza Salman, and Adil Giray was taken prisoner, and put in

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanization, Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Qazvin Province, Province of Qazvin in Iran. ...

, where he was later executed. Consequently, Osman Pasha had to retreat to North Caucasus. In 1582, the

Ottoman Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The name ...

sent a second reinforcing force under Cafer Pasha, the governor of

Caffa uk, Феодосія, Теодосія crh, Kefe , official_name = () , settlement_type= , image_skyline = THEODOSIA 01.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Genoese fortress of Caffa , image_shield = Fe ...

, to restore Ottoman dominance in the area.

Battle

The 50,000-strong Persians under Imam Kulu, together with Georgian irregulars, attacked again in the spring of 1583. In a first clash by the vanguard units of both armies, the Ottomans were defeated (25 April 1583). The main clash occurred in Baştepe near Derbend on 9 May 1583. On the Ottoman side, Osman Pasha was placed in the center, Cafer Pasha was at the left flank and Haydar Pasha, the governor of

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is ...

, was at the right flank. On the Persian side, Imam Kulu was in the center, Rustem Khan was at the right, and Burhaneddin at the left.Joseph von Hammer: ''Osmanlı Tarihi'' Vol II (condensation: Abdülkadir Karahan), Milliyet yayınları, İstanbul. p 100 The result of the battle was inconclusive at the end of the first day, but the battle continued during the night, both sides using torches. In the second day, there was a momentary pause in the combat. But in the third day, an Ottoman general attack marked the end of the battle. The Persian army was defeated and the Persian prisoners of war exceeded 3000.

Aftermath

By this victory, the Ottomans were able to establish control over all of the Caucasus. After further Ottoman victories in the south (conquest of

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

) both sides agreed to conclude peace. By the Treaty of Ferhat Pasha of 1590, Persians acknowledged Ottoman gains in both the Caucasus and modern

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

as well as West Iran. But these gains were not long lasting, as they were reversed in the next Ottoman–Safavid War.

References

{{coord missing, Dagestan Torches Torches Torches 16th century in Iran 1583 in the Ottoman Empire Torches History of Dagestan Night battles Torches