The siege of Tabriz (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: فتح تبریز) was a military conflict during the Ottoman–Safavid war of 1603–1612. As a result of a successful Persian siege initiated by Shah Abbas the Great,

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

was returned to the Safavids after 18 years of Ottoman rule.

Background and prelude

The previous Ottoman–Safavid War of 1578–1590 had ended with

Shah Abbas I Abbas I (; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the fifth Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered one of the most important rulers ...

being forced to cede their possessions in the

Southern Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

and western Iran to the Ottomans. The Ottomans began to treat their control of Tabriz seriously from that point on. The Ottoman historian

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

mentions the numerous buildings they had constructed in Tabriz and the surrounding area, particularly that of the governor, Ja'far Pasha. However, the Iranians were closely monitoring their former capital. In 1602, with the eastern front at least temporarily stabilized and internal stability reestablished, Shah Abbas's focused on regaining

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and

Shirvan Shirvan (from ; ; Tat: ''Şirvan'') is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, as known in both pre-Islamic Sasanian and Islamic times. Today, the region is an industrially and agriculturally developed part of the Republic of Azerbaijan ...

, two of the most significant provinces that the Ottomans had gained. His advisors had always emphasized the strength of the Ottoman sultans and the size of their troops whenever he had brought up the prospect of regaining his lost land. In September 1603, Shah Abbas attacked the Ottomans, thus initiating the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1603–1618. Shah Abbas benefited greatly from the timing of the war. Despite his defeat at

Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...

, the Uzbek threat had ended for the time being, and his authority was no longer in question within Iran. On the other hand, war and internal uprisings significantly had damaged the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman army had been fighting the Austrians in Hungary for the last ten years in an persistent cycle of sieges and battles. Large-scale uprisings in Ottoman

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

had been sparked by discontent with the war and worsening economic conditions, and they persisted practically nonstop from 1596 to 1608. As soon as one insurrection was put down, another one started. Abbas first destroyed the Ottoman fortress at

Nahavand Nahavand () is a city in the Central District of Nahavand County, Hamadan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is south of the city of Hamadan, west of Malayer and northwest of Borujerd. Inhabited ...

, which they used as a staging area for upcoming attacks into Iran.

Capture of Tabriz

In the meantime, the Kurdish chieftain Ghazi Beg had rebelled against Ali Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Tabriz. The latter left the city largely undefended when he took a large number of his forces to punish Ghazi Beg, who had made a secret alliance with Shah Abbas and quickly informed him of this. Shah Abbas gathered the available soldiers, but hid his true motives by promoting the rumor that he was going south to thwart a Portuguese assault on

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. On 14 September 1603, he quickly marched to the city of

Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...

. He stopped for a moment, then continued toward Tabriz, instructing the governor of

Ardabil Ardabil (, ) is a city in northwestern Iran. It is in the Central District (Ardabil County), Central District of Ardabil County, Ardabil province, Ardabil province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The ...

and ''

darugha ''Darugha'' (, , from Mongolian language, Mongol: ''daru-'', 'to press, to seal') was a territorial subdivision in the Mongol Empire. A ''darugha'' was ruled by a ''darughachi''. Later, the term was used for the province, particularly in Kazan Kha ...

'' (constable) of Qazvin to reinforce him. The Ottoman soldiers in Tabriz was caught off guard by Shah Abbas. When he arrived in the city, several of them were already shopping at the market. Since Tabriz, like many other Iranian cities, had no protective wall surrounding it, conquering it was an easy task now that there was no Ottoman force to fight him.

References

Sources

* * * {{coord missing, East Azerbaijan Province 1600s in the Ottoman Empire Tabriz 1603 1603 in Asia

History of Tabriz 1600s in Iran