The Childiri Battle According To Şecâ’atnâme

Abstract

To some extent, the Childiri battle determined the course of warfare being waged on the territory of Georgia at the initial stage of Ottoman-Safavid war in 1578-1590 years. It laid foundation for the success of the “Eastern Military Expedition” conducted under the command of Lala Mustafa Pasha in the Caucasus. The battle fought between Ottomans and Iranians on the valley of Childiri on the 9 th of August, 1578 is depicted by a number of Ottoman historians of Middle Ages: Gelibolulu Mustafa Ali, Müneccimbaşı Ahmed B. Lütfullah, Ebubekir Bin Abdullah, İbrahim Peçevi, Mustafa Selaniki, etc. The vast narrative about the battle is provided by Âsafî Dal Mehmed Çelebi as well, whose Şecâ’atnâme has been hitherto unknown for Georgian historiography. The author is the eyewitness and direct participant of the military processes occurring in the Caucasian region. It is natural that the accounts represented in the source are worth relying on. The interest for Şecâ’atnâme is increased by the miniatures depicting the warfare, the seizure of fortresses or meetings of historical figures participating in the war. They are singled out by the diversity of content as well as the artistic value. The illustration of the Childiri battle, where the struggle of opposite parties are vividly represented, is of utmost importance to us. Şecâ’atnâme encompasses a lot of interesting information about the Ottoman-Safavid military actions conducted on the territory of Georgia in the 2 nd half of XVI century. It increases and, to some extent, specifies our knowledge about the historical events developed at that time.