Treaty of Serav ( fa, عهدنامه سراب, tr, Serav Antlaşması) was a treaty between

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and Safavid Persia after the war of 1615–1618. (signed on 26 September 1618 in Sarab)

Background

By the

treaty of Nasuh Pasha Treaty of Nasuh Pasha ( fa, عهدنامه نصوح پاشا, tr, Nasuh Paşa Antlaşması) was a treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia after the war of 1603–1612, signed on 20 November 1612. It was made after a decisive Safavid ...

in 1612 Ottoman Empire had agreed to turn back

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 ...

and Northwest Iran to Safavid Persia. Safavid Empire on the other hand agreed to pay an annual tribute of 200 loads of silk as a part of reparations. However,

Shah Abbas I Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third so ...

the Great of Persia refused to pay the tribute. The war renewed in 1615.

The war

The Ottoman commander in chief Grand Vizier Öküz Kara Mehmed Pasha tried to capture

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

(modern

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

) which was recently abandoned by the treaty of Nasuh Pasha, but he lifted the siege after 44 days as no improvements were booked. The target of the next commander in chief

Damat Halil Pasha Damat Halil Pasha (died 1629, Istanbul), also known as Khalil Pasha, was an Ottoman Armenian statesman. He was grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire in 1616–1619 and 1626–1628.İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Türkiye Yay� ...

was

Ardabil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...

. This time Abbas sued for peace.

The terms

The terms of the treaty was similar to those of treaty of Nasuh Pasha with several minor rectifications of the border line. Also, the annual tribute of the Persian side was reduced from 200 loads to 100 loads.

Aftermath

This treaty proved that a stalemate between Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia had been reached and neither side might gain substantial territories in the long run. In the following decades there were times when the Ottomans succeeded to storm

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 ...

, and there were times when the Persians successfully captured

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

. But these victories were all temporary and the balance of power between the two states continued up to the 20th century.

References

Sources