The Ottoman–Safavid Temporary Truce of 1554

The Ottoman–Safavid Temporary Truce of 1554 was concluded in Arzrum on September 26, 1554, at the final stage of the First Ottoman–Safavid War (1514–1555). In 1549–1550, the Turks captured the western part of Samtskhe-Saatabago – the Tao-Klarjeti region. In response, Tahmasp I invaded Georgia again in 1551. He attempted to seize the territories occupied by the Ottomans in southwestern Georgia. In the early summer of 1553, Sultan Suleiman I launched a counter-campaign against the Safavid Empire. He captured the Yerevan and Nakhichivan regions. After that, the Ottomans entered Samtskhe and defeated the Safavids at Olti. The Shah was forced to send an ambassador to the Sultan and ask for a truce. This temporary truce was not concluded in the form of an official diplomatic document. Nevertheless, Ottoman archival documents have reached us, which revealed the conditions of the temporary truce of Arzrum and its progress. These documents made it clear that the territories of Kartli, Kakheti and Akhaltsikhe-Borchalo belonged to the Safavids, while the Kingdom of Imereti, the principalities of Samegrelo and Guria, the Tao region and Olti-Tortum were under the control of the Ottomans. The Ottomans created twenty administrative units — Sanjaks, in Georgia and Arzrum, in the territories under their influence. In addition, the principalities of Guria and Samegrelo and the Kingdom of Imereti were ordered to pay an annual tribute to the Sultan.

 

Literature: ურუშაძე ლ., ირან-ოსმალეთის 1554 წლის დროებითი ზავის შესა­ხებ, «საქართვ. მეცნ. აკადემიის მოამბე», 1988, ტ. 131, №1; ჩოჩიევი ვ., ირან-ოსმალეთის 1554 წლის დროებითი ზავი, «აღმოსავლური ფილოლოგია», [ნაკვ.] 3, თბ., 1973; Kirzioğlu F., Osmanlilarin Kafkas-Ellerini fethi (1451– 1590), Ankara, 1976.

 

L. Urushadze