Английская Википедия:Battle of Sufiyan

Содержание

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Шаблон:Infobox military conflict The Battle of SufiyanШаблон:Efn took place on 6 November 1605, during the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1603–1618. The Safavids, under King (Shah) Abbas I (Шаблон:Reign1588–1629), beat a numerically superior, fully-fledged Ottoman army.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn It was one of King Abbas I's greatest military victories.Шаблон:Sfn According to Colin Imber: "For the Ottomans the battle of Sufiyan was a greater disaster than anything they had experienced in Hungary, where the war which had begun in 1593 had revealed Ottoman military deficiencies in the face of new European weapons and tactics."Шаблон:Sfn

Prelude

In 1603, Abbas I recaptured Tabriz and Nakhchivan from the Ottomans, territories which the Safavids had been forced to cede in 1590.Шаблон:Sfn In the same year, the Ottomans were already fighting on two fronts—in Hungary against the Habsburgs and in Anatolia against the Jelalis.Шаблон:Sfn Abbas I proceeded to recover Erivan the next year, in June 1604.Шаблон:Sfn In the same month, the Ottomans dispatched Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha (hereafter, simply "Sinan Pasha") from Constantinople, Istanbul, towards Erzurum with a large number of janissaries to fight Abbas and his men.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Around the time of Sinan Pasha's march, Abbas I had reached Kars, at the frontier of Georgia. He ordered the destruction of the countryside between Kars and Erzurum, employing similar scorched earth tactics his grandfather Tahmasp I (Шаблон:Reign1524–1576) had employed against the Ottomans.Шаблон:Sfn When Abbas realized that Sinan Pasha did not intend to spend the winter in the region before continuing the campaign in the spring and was therefore moving straight towards Kars, he ordered the immediate mass evacuation "of the entire population, most of them Armenian Christians, over a wide area to the north of the Aras River, and embracing the three towns of Erivan, Nakhichivan and [Old] Julfa".Шаблон:Sfn

By November 1604, the Turks led by Sinan Pasha reached Kars, which the Iranians had evacuated.Шаблон:Sfn Though Sinan Pasha wanted to continue towards Shirvan, his officers forced him to move south across the Aras. He established his winter encampment at Van, awaiting reinforcements. Safavid spies informed Abbas of Sinan Pasha's decision; he immediately ordered general Allahverdi Khan to attack the town of Van before the reinforcements could arrive.Шаблон:Sfn Upon reaching Van, Allahverdi Khan defeated a Kurdish force outside its citadel, a sortie of Ottoman troops inside, and routed some Ottoman troops who attempted to link up with Sinan Pasha.Шаблон:Sfn Sinan Pasha subsequently withdrew to Northern Mesopotamia. Allahverdi Khan returned to Abbas I with the severed heads of defeated Ottomans. These were paraded at the battlefield of Chaldiran in a symbolic visit by Abbas. This was the very site where the first Safavid ruler, Ismail I (Шаблон:Reign1501–1524), Abbas's great-grandfather, suffered a defeat in 1514 at the hands of the Ottomans.Шаблон:Sfn

After receiving massive reinforcements, Sinan Pasha moved into Azerbaijan.Шаблон:Sfn Abbas's spies reported that Sinan Pasha's army was almost twice as large as his.Шаблон:Sfn Upon hearing this, Abbas considered withdrawing to Tabriz, as he did not want to risk losing the territories he had recovered.Шаблон:Sfn He considered it too dangerous attacking Sinan Pasha's army directly. Instead, he followed "a parallel route from Khoy to Marand, observing the Ottoman advance, but remaining as far as possible unobserved".Шаблон:Sfn He ordered the Safavid governor of Azerbaijan to adhere to the same scorched earth tactics which had been employed in 1604; all the people and food supplies were removed "from the Ottoman line of march".Шаблон:Sfn

Battle

On the eve of the battle, Abbas and his army ascended the top of a nearby hill to make a final assessment of the Ottoman army.Шаблон:Sfn Though his commanders concurred with the number the spies had reported, Abbas I ordered his commanders to tell their soldiers the Ottoman army was numerically inferior to boost their confidence.Шаблон:Sfn Finally, Abbas I consulted his aunt Zeynab Begum, as he frequently did. She soothed his anxieties and encouraged him to fight.Шаблон:Sfn

On 6 November 1605, the section of the Safavid army led by Qarachaqay Beg reached the "top of rising ground" at Sufiyan, becoming visible to the Ottoman army.Шаблон:Sfn Remembering Abbas I's orders to avoid a major confrontation, Qarachaqay and his men retreated. Köse Sefer Pasha and some other commanders, who interpreted this as a sign of weakness, did not hesitate to launch the attack against Sinan Pasha's wishes.Шаблон:Sfn Abbas I led the vanguard himself whereas Allahverdi Khan led "a squadron detached from the main body of the army".Шаблон:Sfn As the massive central part of the Ottoman army consisting of cavalry moved towards the Iranian lines, Abbas ordered his light cavalry to "sweep around the Ottoman left flank and deliver a feint attack in the rear".Шаблон:Sfn Sinan Pasha became confused, thinking "this was the direction of the main Iranian attack and detached a large body of his advancing horse to meet it".Шаблон:Sfn This caused disorientation to both sides, "believing they were fleeing".Шаблон:Sfn Making use of the momentum, Abbas I threw the full weight of his Qizilbash cavalry into the battle. After some hard fighting, they scattered the "dispirited Ottomans" in all directions.Шаблон:Sfn

Aftermath

The Safavids scored a major victory.Шаблон:Sfn Numerous major Ottoman governors and generals had been captured or killed as a result of the battle.Шаблон:Sfn Köse Sefer Pasha, who had started the battle, was captured and executed by the Safavids.Шаблон:Sfn One of the Ottoman captives, a man of reportedly immense stature, suddenly drew a dagger and attacked King Abbas I when he was led before him.Шаблон:Sfn Abbas I wrestled with the man until he dropped the dagger; he was subsequently killed by Abbas' attendants.Шаблон:Sfn But the Sufiyan battle entailed further important consequences. The Ottomans had launched the campaign to recover the territories they had annexed in 1590 but had lost since 1603.Шаблон:Sfn The Ottoman defeat at Sufiyan ensured that the Safavids were able to hold the recovered territories, and enabled Abbas I to reconquer all remaining territories by 1607.Шаблон:Sfn According to Roger Savory, at Sufiyan, King Abbas I "revealed himself to be a general of consummate ability, carefully husbanding his forces, which were inferior to those of the Ottomans in numbers and firepower, and throwing in his reserves at the critical moment."Шаблон:Sfn After the battle, in successive campaigns, he expelled "the last Ottoman soldier from Iranian territory as defined by the Treaty of Amasya".Шаблон:Sfn Sinan Pasha died shortly after his defeat, possibly by suicide.

Sources

• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite encyclopedia