TURKOMANS BETWEEN TWO EMPIRES: THE ... - Bilkent University

The Ottomans, on the other hand, kept up the preparations to defend the empire
against an invasion by Ismail in 1508. The fortification in frontier cities was
reinforced. 1127 As Fisher deduces from Italian sources,
Camps remained at Bursa and various places in Anatolia and all the sanjakbeys
of Rumelia were ordered to be in readiness to cross to Asia if the need warranted
it. Guards were posted along the southern and eastern frontiers to keep a vigilant
eye on the movements of the Sofis and to report and punish any defection of the
border tribes. Within the empire the heterodox Sofis were ferreted out and either
executed or deported to Europe. 1128
As observed in contemporary Ottoman and Italian sources, Ottoman cautions
against Safavid danger reached its peak during and after the Dulkadir campaign of the
shah. Although the Ottoman administration had always perceived Ismail’s movement as
a threat from its very beginning, until then their primary concern was rather isolating the
qizilbash sympathizers of Anatolia from Persia. But in six years until 1507 Ismail gained
brilliant victories in Persia and consolidated his power. Although he passed through both
Ottoman and Mamluk territories during his invasion of the Dulkadir, neither the
Ottomans nor Mamluks were decisive to wage war against Ismail. Rather they preferred
to employ diplomacy to seek a peaceful solution. It is clearly seen that Ismail had
already become a decisive power of the region in 1507. Thus, realizing this fact, Bayezid
II saw that there was no choice for him other than to pursue more a vigilant and
offensive policy against Ismail. The mobilization of a large-scale army and all the
preparations were part of this changing policy. But, the great chance of Ismail was that
Ottomans could not successfully carry on this policy since Bayezid II’s health was
1127 KPZ records, for example, the fortress of Sivas was repaired and reinforced after the shah’s capture of
Bagdad in 1508. KPZ8a, pp. 278-9.
1128 FSH, p. 96.
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