Capture of Baghdad (1534)
The 1534 capture of Baghdad by Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire from the Safavid dynasty under Tahmasp I was part the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532 to 1555, itself part a series of Ottoman–Persian Wars. The city was taken without resistance, the Safavid government having fled and leaving the city undefended.[1] Baghdad's capture was a significant achievement given its mastery of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their international and regional trade.[2] It represented, along with the fall of Basra in 1546, a significant step towards eventual Ottoman victory and the procurement of the lower Mesopotamia, the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, opening a trading outlet into the Persian Gulf.[3] The Ottomans wintered there until 1535, overseeing the reconstruction of Sunni and Shia religious shrines and agricultural irrigation projects. Suleiman returned to Constantinople, leaving a strong garrison force.[1] Over the next few decades, the Ottomans solidified their control of the region, incorporating it into their empire until it was recaptured by the Persians in 1623.[1]
Battle of Baghdad (1534) | |||||||||
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Part of Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–55) | |||||||||
Suleiman's conquests in the 1532–55 Ottoman-Safavid war gave him access to the Persian Gulf. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Strength | |||||||||
300 troops still loyal to the Safavids and the city commander | Deserted Safavid troops and army that Suleiman brought in winter to Baghdad |
See also
- Growth of the Ottoman Empire
- Campaigns of Suleiman the Magnificent
- History of Baghdad
Notes
- World and Its Peoples: The Middle East, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. London: Marshall Cavendish. 2006. p. 193. ISBN 0-7614-7571-0.
- Masters, Bruce Alan (2009). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Facts on File. pp. 280, 428. ISBN 0-8160-6259-5.
- Matthee, Rudolph P. (1999). The politics of trade in Safavid Iran: silk for silver, 1600-1730. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-521-64131-4.