The Peace of Amasya (1555)

From the early 16th century the Ottoman and Safavid states had fought repeatedly over eastern Anatolia, the Caucasus and Iraq. In the long war of 1532-1555 Sultan Suleiman took Baghdad and entered Tabriz several times, while Shah Tahmasp avoided pitched battle and preserved his army by withdrawing.

Safavid envoys came to Amasya, where Suleiman was wintering, and peace was concluded on 29 May 1555. Baghdad and most of Iraq stayed Ottoman; Tabriz, Azerbaijan and Shirvan stayed Safavid. Georgian and Armenian lands were divided between the two states, and Kars was declared neutral and its fortress pulled down. The Ottomans guaranteed safe passage for pilgrims from Iran to Mecca, Medina and the shrines of Iraq.

The Peace of Amasya was the first document in which the two Turkic dynasties formally recognised each other, and about twenty years of peace followed. The border it drew also became the basis of the 1639 Treaty of Zuhab.