1488 Safawid leader Haydar is killed by Shirwin Turcomens in a raid on the Caucasus area.

1501 Battle of SHARUR. Safawids under Ismail I defeats the Aq Qoyunlu tribes under Alwand. The victory gives the Safawids control of Azerbayjayn.

1501 Uzbeks under Shibani defeat Timurids under Babar and capture Sarmakand.

1502 Timurids + Safawid allies recapture Sarmakand but Babur is unable to hold it.

1503 Battle of HAMADIN. Safawids defeat the Aq Qoyunlu under Murid. The victory gives the Safawids control of western Persia.

1506 Uzbeks under Shibani capture Herat from the Timurid rulers

1507 Several Aq Qoyunlu cities are captured in extreme eastern Anatolia.

1508 Safawid forces gains control of Mesopotamia by capturing Baghdad

1509 Safawid forces capture several towns in eastern Persia

1509 Battle of MARV (Merv). Safawid forces besiege the Uzbek garrison under Shibani and lure them out of their citadel into open battle. The Uzbeks are defeated and the Safawids move into southern Khurasan. 1510 Safawids capture the city of Herat 1511-12 Qizilbash Turcoman allies of Safawid revolt against the Ottomans in eastern Anatolia. 1512 Safawids + Timurids under Najam-e Sani are defeated at Ghujduwan (aka Ghojdovan). Sani is unable to control either faction. The divided forces are defeated by the Uzbeks. The first significant battle lost by a Safawid general. 1512-13 Major Uzbeg invasion of Safawid controlled Khurasan. Uzbeg capture Herat.

1514 Battle of CHALDIRAN.(Aka Jaldiran) The first major loss by Safawid Shah who loses his divinity status among many of the Turcoman tribes. The Ottomans with matchlock armed Jannisaries, field guns and cavalry defeat the Safawid forces that are almost exclusively bow and lance armed cavalry. The Safawids lose control over eastern Anatolia that had been a major recruiting area for them.

1516 Selim the Ottoman sultan attempts to isolate the Safawid. He attacks and defeats the Mamaluk dynasty in Egypt. This eliminates the only major ally of the Safawids.

1517 Ottoman Turks annex the Armenia Cilcia region.

1524 Civil War. Rumlu Qizilbash Turcoman tribes revolt

1525 Uzbegs invade Khurasan. Sack a few towns and depart.

1528 Major Qizilbash Turcoman revolt in Baghdad.

1528 Uzbegs invade Khurasan. Capture Mashhad and siege Harat.

1528 Battle of JAM. Safawid relief force defeats a large Uzbeg army near Harat. The Safawid flanks are routed but the center under Tamasb holds firm. Tamasb attacks with his guard reserve after pounding the Uzbek center with his cannon. The weakened Uzbek lines are shattered and the Uzbek khan flees.

1529 Uzbegs invade Khurasan. Sack a few towns and depart.

1532 Uzbegs invade Khurasan. Sack a few towns and depart

1533 Safawid under Tamasb invade Transoxiana and advances into the Bokhara Khanate. The attack is halted after news is received of the Ottoman invasion.

1534 Ottomans invade Azerbayjan, sack Tabriz then depart

1534 Ottomans move into Mesopotamia and capture Baghdad.

1535 Uzbegs invade Khurasan and capture Harat. Safawid fail to recapture Harat.

1537 Uzbegs invade Khurasan but are soundly defeated by Safawid forces. It ends the frequent Uzbeg invasions for several decades.

1537 Safawid armies invade Afganistan and capture Qanduhar from the Mughuls.

1544 Safawid troops support Timurids under Humayun in their attack on Timurid rebels under Kamran Mirza. The Combined force wins but relations breakdown before the surrounding area is subdued. The Safawids return to Persia and the pro-Humayun troops complete the defeat of the rebels. (Same attack as 1537 ?)

1548 Ottoman invade Azerbayjan and sack Tabriz.

1554-1639 The Great Ottoman-Safawid War. Except for a few brief periods of peace, the entire era involved conflict between the Persian Safawids and the Ottoman Turks. Only skirmishes were fought in some years, while one side or the other conducted major campaigns whenever they could coordinate the manpower and logistics to conduct one.

1554 Ottoman invade Azerbayjan and sack Tabriz. A peace treaty is signed in 1555.

1578-90 Ottomans launch a major campaign into Azerbayjan and capture Tabriz. Instead of sacking and leving the Ottomans establish garrisons throughout the country.

1580 Uzbegs invade Khurasan

1581 Uzbeg supported revolt of the Shamlu tribe occurs in Khurasan. Revolt quelled.

1585 Mughul invasion recaptures Qanduhar (Afganistan).

1587 Second Uzbeg supported revolt of the Shamlu tribe occurs in Khurasan. This one succeeds and the Safawid shah is replaced by Abbas I.

1587-98 The new Safawid shah turns on his overbearing Uzbeg allies. This leads to a long war to regain control of Khurasan.

1597 Safawid Army captures Meshad. Then they defeat the last large Uzbeg army near Herat.

1603-20 The Safawid-Ottoman War: The Safawid Diminate period. Fought for the control of Maespotamia and Azerbayjan. The reorganized and fire-armed equipped army wins several major battles. In 1603 and 1604 the campaigns centered on the Azerbayjan area. In 1614 and 1616, the battle were mainly fought in the Georgia Caucus area.

1605 Battle of SUFIVAN. Safawids defeat the Ottomans outside of Tabriz.

1605 Battle of BASSORA. Safawids defeat a Turk army west of the Euphrates.

1611 Continued Safawid victories force the Ottoman sultan to cede Shiravan and Kurdistan to the Persians.

1618 Battle of SULTANIEH. Safawids defeat an Ottoman army + numerous Tartars

1622 Safawids attack the Portuguese controlled island of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. The Persians receive aid from the local English fleet.

1623 The Safawid-Ottoman war is renewed. The Safawids capture Baghdad and Diyarbakr in Mesopotamia.

1629-38 Another Safawid-Ottoman war. The Ottomans recapture baghdad in 1638.

1629-39 Numerous raids by the Uzbegs of the Khiva and Bokhara Khanates.

1640 Mughul invade the Uzbeg Khanates from the Afgan bases. The Uzbegs win.

1648 The Safawids attack and capture a weakened Mughul garrison at Qanduhar.

1704 The Afgan Ghilzal tribes revolt and capture Qanduhar.

1720 Oman forces attack the Persian forces in Fars.

1721 Afgan forces capture the Safawid capital at Isfahan after a seven month siege.

1722 Afgan tribes defeat a large Safawid army at GULNABAD

1722-47 The campaigns of the puppet Safawid Shah and nadir Shah are covered in a separate article on 1700s Persia.

The Safawid Dynasty of Persia Powerhouse of Central Asia

Introduction and Bibliography
Selected Chronology of Safawid Persian Battles 1488-1747