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Battle of Merv (1510)
In 1510, Safavid Shah Ismail I defeated Muhammad Shaybani, ruler of the Uzbek Khanate, near Merv (Mary), winning a decisive victory.…
Timeline
- 1510Khwarazm · KhwarazmIsmail I led a large Qizilbash army eastward, facing off against the Uzbek ruler Muhammad Shaybani, who held Khwarazm. Both armies gathered near Merv, and a decisive battle was imminent.
- 1510Merv (Mary) · Mary ProvinceSafavid Qizilbash cavalry launched a fierce charge near Merv, routing the Uzbek army. Muhammad Shaybani was killed in the fighting, and his head was sent to the Safavid court; Uzbek control of Khwarazm quickly collapsed.
- 1510Herat · Herat ProvinceAfter the victory at Merv, the Safavid army rapidly recovered major Khwarazm towns such as Herat, pushing the eastern frontier to the line of the Amu Darya and significantly shifting the balance of power between Central Asia and Iran.
Sources
- The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods — Peter Jackson and Laurence Lockhart (eds.) (1986)
- Encyclopaedia Iranica: Mohammad Shaybani Khan — R. D. McChesney https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/mohammad-shaybani-khan