Capture of Baghdad (1534)

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For other uses, see Battle of Baghdad.
Battle of Baghdad (1534)
Part of Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555)
Ottoman empire.svg
Suleiman's conquests in the 1532–55 Ottoman-Safavid war gave him access to the Persian Gulf.
Date 1534
Location Baghdad, Iraq
Result Ottoman victory
Ottomans capture Baghdad, lower Mesopotamia, the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris, and part of the Persian Gulf coast.
Safavid Flag.png Safavid Empire  Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Safavid Flag.png Tekkelu Muhammad Sultan Khan (Safavid governor of Baghdad) Ottoman Empire Suleiman the Magnificent
300 troops still loyal to the Safavids and the city commander Deserted Safavid troops and army that Suleiman brought in winter to Baghdad

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. It 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 religions 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]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b c World and Its Peoples: The Middle East, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. London: Marshall Cavendish. 2006. p. 193. ISBN 0-7614-7571-0. 
  2. ^ Masters, Bruce Alan (2009). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Facts on File. pp. 280, 428. ISBN 0-8160-6259-5. 
  3. ^ 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.