The Battle of Merv (1510)

At the start of the 16th century two young Turkic states had arisen: Shah Ismail's Safavid state in the west and Muhammad Shaybani Khan's Uzbek state in the east. Shaybani Khan had driven the Timurids from Transoxiana and Khorasan and taken Herat. Khorasan became contested ground on their border, and their difference in religious school added to the tension.

In the autumn of 1510 Shah Ismail moved swiftly into Khorasan. Shaybani Khan withdrew into the fortress of Merv to wait for reinforcements. The Safavid army feigned retreat, and the Uzbeks came out in pursuit. On 2 December 1510 the Qizilbash cavalry ambushed the Uzbek army far from the fortress, and Shaybani Khan was killed as he tried to flee.

After Merv, Khorasan passed to the Safavids and the Oxus became the border between the two states. Babur used the victory to retake Samarkand for a time. Wars between the Safavids and the Uzbeks went on for a century, and the two Turkic states clashed over Khorasan many times.