Adel Allouche. The origins and development of the Ottoman – Ṣafavid conflict (1983)

Adel Allouche. The origins and development of the Ottoman – Ṣafavid conflict: 906-962 / 1500-1555. Series: Islamkundliche Untersuchungen, Band: 91. Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1983, VIII+202 p. ISBN 3922968317

The Ottoman-Safavid conflict is considered “within the framework of the entire geopolitical pattern of the Middle East and Transoxania at the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth rather than within the simplistic framework of Shi’ism versus Sunnism.” Examines relations between three of the major Muslim powers of the time –Ottomans, Safavids, Mamluks– while touching upon issues related to the Uzbeks, Mughals, and Christendom where relevant. Begins with Ottoman relations with eastern Anatolian and Iranian tribes following the capture of Constantinople (1453) and the development of the Safaviya Sufi Order culminating with the coronation of Ismail I in 1501. The bulk of the work then focuses on Ottoman-Safavid relations from Ismail’s accession to the Treaty of Amasya (1555), paying particular attention to events leading up to Selim I’s defeat of the Safavids at Chaldiran (1514) and the repeated clashes between Shah Tahmasb and Sultan Sulayman that led to Amasya and the surrender of Arab Iraq to the Ottomans. Also given attention is Selim’s conquest of the Mamluk Empire in 1517, an effort to prevent a Mamluk-Safavid alliance, and Ottoman concerns over repeated Shi’ite rebellions in Anatolia.