The Battle of Merv (Persian: نبرد مرو) occurred on 2 December 1510 as a result of the Uzbek invasion of the Khorasan region of Safavid Persia. It ended with a decisive victory for the Persians. The result was that the Safavids regained control of the Khorasan region.
Battle
Shah Ismail reached Khorasan with great speed; Shaybani Khan retreated to Merv castle to await reinforcement from Uzbek tribes. The Safavid army then pretended to retreat, encouraging the Uzbeks to leave the castle in pursuit, only to be ambushed and destroyed by the Qizilbash ("Red Heads") troops of Shah Ismail once they were too far from the castle to regain its safety. The Safavid forces were reportedly heavily outnumbered by the army of Shaybani Khan, who was caught and killed trying to escape the battle. Shah Ismail had his body parts sent to various areas of the empire for display, while famously having his skull coated in gold and made into a jeweled drinking goblet.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Savory 1998, pp. 628–636.
- ^ Savory 2007, p. 35.
- ^ Ismāʿīl I at Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Savory 2007, p. 36.
- ^ Morgan, David (19 September 2014). Medieval Persia 1040-1797. ISBN 9781317871392. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
Sources
- Savory, Roger (1998). "Esmāʿīl I Ṣafawī". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VIII, Fasc. 6. pp. 628–636.
- Savory, Roger (2007). Iran under the Safavids. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–288. ISBN 978-0521042512.
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