Murad IV's Recapture of Baghdad

Timeline

1. 1638from Istanbul along the Tigris · West AsiaOttoman sultan Murad IV personally led some 80,000–100,000 Ottoman troops out of Istanbul, advancing east along the Tigris determined to recapture Baghdad, which had been taken by Safavid Persia in 1624. The army carried heavy artillery, and Murad IV ruled the troops with great personal authority, enforcing strict discipline.
2. 1638Baghdad · MesopotamiaOttoman forces built siege works outside Baghdad and bombarded the Safavid defenders' positions with heavy artillery. The Safavid commander Bektaş Khan resisted stubbornly, but reinforcements failed to arrive in time. Murad IV personally supervised the siege, and Ottoman sappers dug trenches forward, gradually breaking through the outer defenses.
3. 1638–1639Baghdad · MesopotamiaOn November 25, 1638, Ottoman forces breached Baghdad's defenses and the Safavid garrison surrendered. After entering the city, Murad IV ordered retaliatory massacres against part of the garrison but generally maintained control of the city. In 1639 the two sides signed the Treaty of Zuhab (also known as the Treaty of Qasr-e Shirin), in which the Safavids formally ceded Baghdad; the Ottoman–Safavid border was fixed and the two states entered a relatively stable period.