Tahmasp's Consolidation and the First Turko-Persian War
Though he expanded the influence of the Persian Empire to the East, Tahmasp I also spent much time consolidating his realm. Already by the end of Shah Ismail's reign, Persia was a highly centralized state such as never had existed in the region. Although the old aristocracy held a great deal of power and influence, in the final analysis all authority derived from Isfahan and the Shah himself. During his reign Tahmasp, though truly no match for his father in the diplomatic and administrative arenas, was able to apply this control to good effect.
His most important effort for much of his reign was the conversion of the Sunni majorities that still existed in many provinces of the empire. Shi'a Imams were dispatched from Isfahan and given as much funding as they desired, though Tahmasp's marginally competent oversight lowered their efficiency somewhat. His best contribution was an order that his missionaries should avoid the Arab-speaking Sunni parts of the empire until some time later; the people of these places (Awhaz and Kerbala) were less than receptive and would have likely rendered the evangelism a wasted effort. Instead, the Imams were sent to Afghanistan and Baluchistan, as well as to the Kurds of Mosul.
In time, the people of Mosul, as well as in various provinces on the eastern fringes of Persia, came to embrace Shi'ism, though some proved more resistant than others. The Baluchis of the coast clung to Sunni Islam rather more fervently that those in the interior, and the people of Kuhistan also resisted conversion. Tahmasp swore to redouble his efforts, though more pressing matters soon took his attention.
In the period of 1559-61 the sons of Suleiman I Kanuni, Caliph and Ottoman Emperor, were locked in a succession struggle. Selim and Bayezid both contended for the throne, until eventually Selim proved himself the stronger and Bayezid fled from Turkey. He sought refuge and support in the court of Tahmasp I, but Tahmasp would have nothing to do with this intrigue and sent Bayezid back to his brother, where he was strangled in accordance with the Ottoman custom. Tahmasp included with this repatriation a request that representatives be sent from Istanbul to discuss a resolution of the disputed region of Azerbaijan around Baku (claimed by Persia but held by Turkey), but his missive garnered no response from Selim.
Insulted by this omission, Tahmasp made diplomatic maneuvers. He founded an alliance of Shi'a states, including the Uzbek Khanate and the Sultanates of Oman and Sindh, and soon enough both Uzbek and Sindh swore to be vassals of Persia, though Oman was geographically isolated from Persia, and would not consent. This alliance offered a bulwark for Persian interests in the east, and this secured offered Tahmasp a chance to settle the issue of Baku.
Thus it was in February of 1569 that the aging Tahmasp sent his declaration of war to Istanbul (he did not request the aid of his allies) and dispatched an army to besiege Baku even as he took command of his defending army in Baghdad. The Ottomans and their Algerian allies in their turn marched out of Anatolia and Syria. Tahmasp marched to meet them in Mosul, and quickly found the measure of his forces.
Though both armies were of roughly equal size and possessed similar technology, the Ottoman armies were better organized and disciplined and deployed a greater weight of artillery. The horde of Kizilbashis that had availed Ismail so well against so many foes was a poor match for the crack Janissaries of the Sublime Porte. He fell back on Baghdad with his army largely intact, but subsequent attacks on the Ottomans were no more successful, and he was driven as far back as Teheran before he changed strategies.
Meanwhile, the Persians entered Baku, and in turn the Turks took control of Mosul, Kerbala, and Tabriz, and advanced to the walls of Baghdad. The emissaries of Selim II visited Tahmasp at his camp outside Teheran and arrogantly demanded that they be ceded Tabriz. Saying only that Persia was a very large country and would not be defeated merely by capturing a handful of cities, Tahmasp sent his guests back to Istanbul, though not before they were allowed to witness the assembly of the vast armies that had been raised to retake what Persia had lost. For though the Persian army might not be a match for the Ottomans in the field of battle, Tahmasp had a vast resource of manpower and money with which to make good his losses, and they could concentrate all their energies on a single foe while the attention of the Ottomans was divided in all directions.
With these enlarged forces Tahmasp marched on Baghdad, where he shattered the Ottoman siege of that city just as it neared success. He pursued the main Ottoman army to Hamadan, where he annihilated it in its totality. After this victory, he dispatched a letter to Selim II, who spent his drunken days lazing about his harem, saying that had Selim had the bravery to lead his own army into battle, then Tahmasp would have had the pleasure of his company. Selim II executed the messenger in a fit of pique and ordered that a new army be assembled to destroy the Persians once and for all.
For his own part Tahmasp divided his army into several smaller parts to retake the cities that the Ottomans had captured, while he himself led the majority of his army across northern Iraq towards Damascus. He met only small Ottoman armies along the way and annihilated them piecemeal, and finally by the winter of 1572 he settled into a seige of Damascus.
Simultaneously, instability within the Ottoman Empire cripplied Selim's ability to respond. With the armies so far away on the Persian frontier, breakaway groups took their opportunity. A Mamluke rebellion in Egypt was joined by a revolt of Bulgarians in the Lower Balkans, and Selim's new army spent its strength averting disaster in the very heartlands of the Ottoman Empire. With no forces available to resist Thamasp, Syria and the Levant lay defenseless; the principle advisor of Selim II, Mehmet Sokullu, convinced the Caliph to offer Baku and a tribute of some one-hundred thirty-six chests of gold to Tahmasp in exchange for peace. The Shah readily accepted this offer.
Though he expanded the influence of the Persian Empire to the East, Tahmasp I also spent much time consolidating his realm. Already by the end of Shah Ismail's reign, Persia was a highly centralized state such as never had existed in the region. Although the old aristocracy held a great deal of power and influence, in the final analysis all authority derived from Isfahan and the Shah himself. During his reign Tahmasp, though truly no match for his father in the diplomatic and administrative arenas, was able to apply this control to good effect.
His most important effort for much of his reign was the conversion of the Sunni majorities that still existed in many provinces of the empire. Shi'a Imams were dispatched from Isfahan and given as much funding as they desired, though Tahmasp's marginally competent oversight lowered their efficiency somewhat. His best contribution was an order that his missionaries should avoid the Arab-speaking Sunni parts of the empire until some time later; the people of these places (Awhaz and Kerbala) were less than receptive and would have likely rendered the evangelism a wasted effort. Instead, the Imams were sent to Afghanistan and Baluchistan, as well as to the Kurds of Mosul.
In time, the people of Mosul, as well as in various provinces on the eastern fringes of Persia, came to embrace Shi'ism, though some proved more resistant than others. The Baluchis of the coast clung to Sunni Islam rather more fervently that those in the interior, and the people of Kuhistan also resisted conversion. Tahmasp swore to redouble his efforts, though more pressing matters soon took his attention.
In the period of 1559-61 the sons of Suleiman I Kanuni, Caliph and Ottoman Emperor, were locked in a succession struggle. Selim and Bayezid both contended for the throne, until eventually Selim proved himself the stronger and Bayezid fled from Turkey. He sought refuge and support in the court of Tahmasp I, but Tahmasp would have nothing to do with this intrigue and sent Bayezid back to his brother, where he was strangled in accordance with the Ottoman custom. Tahmasp included with this repatriation a request that representatives be sent from Istanbul to discuss a resolution of the disputed region of Azerbaijan around Baku (claimed by Persia but held by Turkey), but his missive garnered no response from Selim.
Insulted by this omission, Tahmasp made diplomatic maneuvers. He founded an alliance of Shi'a states, including the Uzbek Khanate and the Sultanates of Oman and Sindh, and soon enough both Uzbek and Sindh swore to be vassals of Persia, though Oman was geographically isolated from Persia, and would not consent. This alliance offered a bulwark for Persian interests in the east, and this secured offered Tahmasp a chance to settle the issue of Baku.
Thus it was in February of 1569 that the aging Tahmasp sent his declaration of war to Istanbul (he did not request the aid of his allies) and dispatched an army to besiege Baku even as he took command of his defending army in Baghdad. The Ottomans and their Algerian allies in their turn marched out of Anatolia and Syria. Tahmasp marched to meet them in Mosul, and quickly found the measure of his forces.
Though both armies were of roughly equal size and possessed similar technology, the Ottoman armies were better organized and disciplined and deployed a greater weight of artillery. The horde of Kizilbashis that had availed Ismail so well against so many foes was a poor match for the crack Janissaries of the Sublime Porte. He fell back on Baghdad with his army largely intact, but subsequent attacks on the Ottomans were no more successful, and he was driven as far back as Teheran before he changed strategies.
Meanwhile, the Persians entered Baku, and in turn the Turks took control of Mosul, Kerbala, and Tabriz, and advanced to the walls of Baghdad. The emissaries of Selim II visited Tahmasp at his camp outside Teheran and arrogantly demanded that they be ceded Tabriz. Saying only that Persia was a very large country and would not be defeated merely by capturing a handful of cities, Tahmasp sent his guests back to Istanbul, though not before they were allowed to witness the assembly of the vast armies that had been raised to retake what Persia had lost. For though the Persian army might not be a match for the Ottomans in the field of battle, Tahmasp had a vast resource of manpower and money with which to make good his losses, and they could concentrate all their energies on a single foe while the attention of the Ottomans was divided in all directions.
With these enlarged forces Tahmasp marched on Baghdad, where he shattered the Ottoman siege of that city just as it neared success. He pursued the main Ottoman army to Hamadan, where he annihilated it in its totality. After this victory, he dispatched a letter to Selim II, who spent his drunken days lazing about his harem, saying that had Selim had the bravery to lead his own army into battle, then Tahmasp would have had the pleasure of his company. Selim II executed the messenger in a fit of pique and ordered that a new army be assembled to destroy the Persians once and for all.
For his own part Tahmasp divided his army into several smaller parts to retake the cities that the Ottomans had captured, while he himself led the majority of his army across northern Iraq towards Damascus. He met only small Ottoman armies along the way and annihilated them piecemeal, and finally by the winter of 1572 he settled into a seige of Damascus.
Simultaneously, instability within the Ottoman Empire cripplied Selim's ability to respond. With the armies so far away on the Persian frontier, breakaway groups took their opportunity. A Mamluke rebellion in Egypt was joined by a revolt of Bulgarians in the Lower Balkans, and Selim's new army spent its strength averting disaster in the very heartlands of the Ottoman Empire. With no forces available to resist Thamasp, Syria and the Levant lay defenseless; the principle advisor of Selim II, Mehmet Sokullu, convinced the Caliph to offer Baku and a tribute of some one-hundred thirty-six chests of gold to Tahmasp in exchange for peace. The Shah readily accepted this offer.
