Nur-Ali Khalifa, also known as Nur-Ali Khalifa Rumlu, was an early 16th-century

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

military leader and official from the Turkoman Rumlu tribe. He served as the governor of

Erzincan Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...

from during the reign of Safavid Shah

Ismail I Ismail I (; 17 July 1487 – 23 May 1524) was the founder and first shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1501 until his death in 1524. His reign is one of the most vital in the history of Iran, and the Safavid period is often considered the beginn ...

(1501–1524). Nur-Ali Khalifa was a pivotal figure in the early days of the Safavid realm. His large-scale campaign in

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 ...

in 1512, with troops levied on the spot from Sufis belonging to the

Safavid order The Safavid order () also called the Safaviyya () was a Kurds, Kurdish Sufism, Sufi order () founded by theNewman, Andrew J., ''Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire'', (I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 2006), 152. ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' Mysticism, ...

and which coincided with the ascension of

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

(r. 1512-1520) to the throne, was one of the ''

casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one bou ...

'' that led to the

Battle of Chaldiran The Battle of Chaldiran (; ) took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed Eastern Anatolia and Upper Mesopotamia from Safavid Iran. It marked ...

(1514). This Safavid force led by Nur-Ali Khalifa penetrated deep into Anatolia, captured and sacked the town of

Tokat Tokat is a city of Turkey in the mid-Black Sea region of Anatolia. It is the seat of Tokat Province and Tokat District.

, had the '' khotbeh'' read there in Ismail I's name, and managed to defeat an Ottoman army led by

Sinan Pasha Koca Sinan Pasha (, "Sinan the Great", ; c. 1506 – 3 April 1596) was an Albanian-born Ottoman Grand Vizier, military figure, and statesman. From 1580 until his death he served five times as Grand Vizier. Early life Sinan Pasha, also known ...

that was sent after them. During the decisive Chaldiran battle, Nur-Ali Khalifa and Mohammad Khan Ustajlu were

's (r. 1501-1524) commanders who had first-hand experience with the Ottoman ways of warfare. They both advised to attack at once, in order to prevent the Ottoman's from establishing their proper defensive positions, but were rudely rebuffed by Durmish Khan Shamlu. Durmish Khan considered it "cowardly to engage an unprepared enemy". Ismail I chose to endorse Durmish Khan Shamlu's suggestion for the attack and thus the Ottomans were allowed to prepare their defenses at their leisure; this would prove costly, contributing to the sound Safavid defeat at Chaldiran.

References

Sources

* * * * {{s-end 16th-century deaths Iranian Turkmen people Safavid generals History of Erzincan Safavid governors Rumlu 16th-century people from Safavid Iran