Suleiman's Nakhchivan campaign

Timeline

1. 1553–1554Erzurum · Ottoman EmpireIn 1553 the Safavid prince Ismail Mirza invaded eastern Anatolia and captured Erzurum and other places, prompting Suleiman to launch his twelfth and final campaign against Persia. The sultan traveled via Konya and Diyarbakır to Erzurum and sent a challenge letter to the shah, but the Safavid main force consistently avoided battle.
2. 1554Nakhchivan · AzerbaijanIn summer 1554 the Ottoman army entered the direction of Karabakh and Nakhchivan. Suleiman captured Nakhchivan, Yerevan, and Karabakh, destroying Safavid palaces and gardens and taking thousands captive. Hasan, chieftain of the Van Mahmudi tribe, defected to the Ottomans. Chief Mufti Ebu's-Suud issued a fatwa on the enslavement of Safavid captives, and Suleiman threatened to destroy the shrine at Ardabil if raids continued.
3. 1554–1555Amasya · Ottoman EmpireBecause the shah consistently refused a decisive battle, Suleiman decided to withdraw after inflicting major destruction. During the winter of 1554–1555 the sultan stayed at Amasya, where the shah's envoys arrived with gifts and new proposals. Both sides felt the war's costs were heavy, and on May 29, 1555, the Treaty of Amasya was formally signed, ending the Ottoman–Safavid war that had lasted over twenty years.