Battle of Shamakhi

Taking advantage of the internal unrest in the Safavid state, the Ottoman Empire unleashed yet another war against the Safavids. The purpose of the next campaign was the complete conquest and rejection of the entire Transcaucasia from the Safavids. In 1578, the Ottoman army forced the Kura to enter Shirvan. Beglarbek Shirvan Aras Khan Rumlu, not having the strength to resist the Turks, retreated to Arran. The Turks managed to take all the major cities of Shirvan. The Turks divided Shirvan into two regions (beglibarstvo), Shemakha and Derbent. Despite successes in the war, the position of the Turks remained difficult. According to a Turkish historian, a contemporary of those events, Rahimizade, none of the commanders wanted to take the title of Beglyarbek Shirvan, knowing the imminent threat from the Safavids, who did not accept the loss of Shirvan ^[1] .

The 50,000th army of Safavids ( kyzylbashi ) (according to other sources the 30,000th) under the command of Crown Prince Hamza-Mirza and the great vizier, crossed the pontoon bridge over the Kura, entering Shirvan , and on November 26 approached Shemakha. On the very first day of the battle, encircling the city from all sides, the Kyzylbash managed to break the resistance of the Ottoman troops, and during the assault take control of the city. The battle resulted in street battles that lasted until the very morning of the next day. Seeing the hopelessness of his situation, even before the start of the battle, Osman Pasha sent messengers for reinforcements to the Crimean prince Adil Girey, heading for Salyan . Having learned about the proximity of the approach of the Crimean army, and not wanting to be surrounded, as happened in the first battle for the city on November 17, when, thanks to the approach of the Crimean Tatars, they managed to not only defend the city, but also inflict a major defeat on the Kyzylbash led by Aras Khan, command Kyzylbashi decided to lift the siege, leaving about 3,000 people to cover the rear and blockade of the city, the main forces leaving the city, headed towards the Crimean Tatars. During the ensuing battle , which took place on November 28, in the town of Mollahasan, the army of the Crimean prince Adil Giray was defeated, and he was captured. Having learned about the defeat of the Crimean Tatars and the capture of the Tsarevich, Turkish troops suffered catastrophic losses, who had no reserves and provisions, and knowing about the return of the Kyzylbash to continue the battle for the city, Osman Pasha decided to evacuate from the city, leaving for Derbent. The Kyzylbash troops, who returned after the victorious battle at Mollahasan , occupied the abandoned city without a fight.

The Safavids, despite a decisive victory, and the liberation of most of the whole Shirvan, failed to fully consolidate their successes. Refusal to march on Derbent, and internal unrest among the Kyzylbash nobility, gave the Turks the opportunity to organize a new campaign to Shirvan and nullify all the previously gained successes of the Safavids. According to the agreement of 1590, Shirvan passed under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

• Safavids
• Kyzylbashi
• Shirvan
• Turkish-Persian War (1578-1590)

• "The Ottoman-Safavid War of 1578-1590." F. A. Huseyn. Baku. 2005