| Safavid conquest of Shirvan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofCampaigns of Ismail I | |||||||
 The battle between the young Ismail and ShahFarrukh Yassar ofShirvan.Shāhnāmah Shāh Ismaʿīl (Tabriz, 1541) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Safavid order | Shirvanshahs | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Ismail I Hossein Beg Laleh Shamlu Mohammad Beg Ustajlu | Farrukh Yassar † Bahram Beg Gazi Beg | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 7,000Qizilbash | 27,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Entire army | ||||||
Theconquest ofShirvan was the first campaign ofIsmail, the leader of theSafavid order. In late 1500, Ismail marched into Shirvan, and, despite heavily outnumbered, decisively defeated the then incumbent ShirvanshahFarrukh Yassar in a pitched battle, in which the latter and his entire army were killed. The conquest resulted in the toppling of theShirvanshahs as autonomous rulers, who had ruled large parts of theCaucasus for centuries, and the incorporation of their domain.
Ismail's fatherShaykh Haydar and his grandfatherShaykh Junayd had both been killed in battle by the rulers of Shirvan, in 1488 and 1460, respectively.[1] In the summer of 1500, Ismail rallied a force of 7,000Qizilbash fighters atErzincan consisting of the Ustajlu,Shamlu, Rumlu, Tekelu, Dulkadir,Afshar,Qajar and Varsak tribes.[2] Shortly before initiating his offensive, seeing the weakness of the fragmented Georgian kingdoms, he lootedSamtskhe.[3] At the same time, he induced the Georgian kingsConstantine II andAlexander I, of respectivelyKartli andKakheti, to attack theOttoman possessions nearTabriz, on the promise that he would cancel the tribute that Constantine was forced to pay to theAq Qoyunlu once Tabriz was captured.[3] In December 1500, with the intention to avenge his murdered ancestors, Ismail crossed theKura River intoShirvan with his 7,000-strong force, and decisively defeated and killedFarrukh Yassar, the then incumbentking of Shirvan and his entire 27,000-strong army in a pitched battleat Jabani, near the Shirvanshah capital ofShamakhi,[4] or at Gulistan (present-dayGülüstan, Goranboy,Nagorno-Karabakh).[5][1] He subsequently marched on to reach theCaspian coast and tookBaku.[1]
By this victory, Ismail had toppled the Shirvanshahs, and successfully expanded his domains. After the conquest, Ismail hadAlexander I of Kakheti send his sonDemetre to Shirvan to negotiate a peace agreement.[3] Ismail allowed the Shirvanshah family to remain in power in Shirvan for some more years, under Safavid suzerainty. In 1538, during the reign of Ismail's successor and son,Tahmasp I (r. 1524-1576), the Safavids completely removed the Shirvanshahs from power, and turned Shirvan into afully functioning province governed by appointed officials.[6]
Ismail's victory alarmed the ruler of theAq Qoyunlu,Alvand, who subsequently proceeded north from Tabriz, and crossed theAras River in order to challenge the Safavid forces; a pitched battle was fought atSharur in which Ismail's army came out victorious despite being outnumbered by four to one.[1] After eventually conquering Tabriz andNakhchivan, Ismail broke the promise he had made to Constantine, making the kingdoms ofKartli andKakheti hisvassals.[3] In Tabriz, he was crowned king (shah), marking the beginning of theSafavid dynasty's rule.