Div-Sultan Rumlu’s Military Expeditions to Georgia (1516, 1518, 1521) and their Results

• Nana Gelashvili ^[1]
  1. [1] Tbilisi State University

     Tbilisi State University

     Georgia

     
• Localización: Actas del X congreso de la Sociedad Española de Iranología (SEI): celebrado en Tbilisi los días 20 y 21 de octubre de 2022 / Tea Vardosanidze (ed. lit.), Gerardo Matallana Medina (ed. lit.), 2024, ISBN 978-9941-36-204-0, págs. 152-163
• Idioma: español
• Enlaces
  • Texto Completo Libro (pdf)
• Resumen

  • The paper discusses the military campaigns of Div-Sultan Rumlu, a commander-in-chief of the Safavid Iran, to Georgia and important issues, related to them; the dates of the mentioned invasions are specified, their causes and consequences are also analyzed. Shah Ismail I (1501-1524), the founder of the Safavid dynasty, after unifying the country and solving internal problems, began to pursue an aggressive invading foreign policy. His target was, first of all, Transcaucasian countries, especially Georgia. The interests of the newly formed Safavid state in the region from the very beginning violently opposed to the Ottoman Empire, which was already powerful by that time. One of the main objectives of their antagonism was Georgia, which became an arena of endless wars between the two countries from the 16th century. Georgia and the entire Transcaucasia region were attractive to them because of their special strategic location, trade and transit routes, the abundance of diverse natural resources, highly developed agriculture and rich cities.After the defeat in the first Iran-Ottoman War (August 23, 1514), Shah Ismail waited for the right chance to take revenge. Such an opportunity arose by 1516, when the Ottoman government, backed by the victory in the battle with Iran, launched a war of conquest in the West, and at that time its focus towards the Transcaucasian region was relaxed. Shah Ismail conveniently exploited this circumstance; in particular, from 1516 began a series of permanent Qizilbash expeditions against Georgia, led by Div-Sultan Rumlu, the famous Commander-in-Chief of Shah Ismail. Abundant information about these expeditions and the dramatic events associated with them, is preserved in Georgian, Persian and European written sources, which, despite some differences, complement each other’s data to some extent. Persian historical sources of the sixteenth century are especially important and noteworthy, as their authors were contemporaries and in some cases even eyewitnesses of the events or facts described in their works.By comparing the data of different written sources and their critical analysis, it is possible to restore a clear picture of the development of historical events we are interested in.Namely, Div-Sultan Rumlu invaded Georgia 3 times: in 1516, 1518 and 1521; and in the Spring of 1524, Shah Ismail himself led the Qizilbash army towards Georgia, specifically towards Kakheti. The reason for this expedition was the anti-Iranian misbehavior of the king of Kakheti – Levan (1518-1574), in particular, his raid on Shaki, which was considered at that time as a vassal of the Safavid Iran.Despite the repeated expeditions of the Qizilbashs, the political domination of Safavid Iran in Georgia was not established in the first quarter of the 16th century. It is true that as a result of the invasions of Div-Sultan, some Georgian kings agreed to pay tribute to Iran, but this circumstance did not infringe on Georgia’s political independence. The point was that at that stage the instability of the Safavid state, its economic weakness, the ongoing civil wars between the Qizilbash tribes, their separatist aspirations and other factors did not allow Shah Ismail I to conquer Eastern Georgia. It is possible that the occupation of Georgia by Shah Ismail was to some extent hindered by a diplomatic factor as well. In particular, it was clear to him that he was incapable of confronting a force equal to the aggressive intentions of the Ottomans. Moreover, he already had the experience of war with them, which ended in a tragic outcome for the Safavids. Therefore, Shah Ismail tried not to aggravate the relations with the Ottomans, as the annexation of Georgia by Iran would provoke a sharply negative reaction from the Ottoman authorities. In consequence of all the above said, it was more acceptable for Shah Ismail to accept taxes from Georgia, and in case of disobedience of the Georgians, he was forced to be satisfied with the arrangements of the ravaging campaigns in Georgia.