Ottoman-Safawid Relations (16th-17th cc) in the Light of Both Ottoman Sources and Modern Turkish Historiography

Abstract

The rivalry and struggle between the Safawid polity founded in the early 16th century and the Ottoman Empire can be quite easily detected in the sources of both parties. The following article is limited to a presentation of the nature of the information furnished by Ottoman sources concerning their contention and conflict and a brief description of the nature of these sources. Following a survey of the chief various types of sources (archival records, diplomatic correspondence, manuscripts with miscellaneous contents, chronicles, and various unofficial treatises), the author turns his attention to the approach adopted by modern Turkish historiography. The writer concludes that Ottoman-Safawid relations appear to have been largely overlooked in Turkish historiography and that the existing works seldom utilize Persian sources.