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

7.1.3. Second Confrontation: Assault on Erzincan, 1507-8
Upon hearing the capture of Erzincan by Selim, Ismail’s anger was stirred up. He
immediately summoned an army of 12.000 men whose command was assigned to one of
his chief disciples. Yusuf’s assessment regarding the assignment of a disciple to the
command of this army is worthy to underscore. He says, ‘Ismail assigned one of his
disciples to the command of his army, for it was a tradition of the Qizilbash.’ 1426 Fisher,
relying on Italian sources, also briefly mentions Ismail’s campaign. He says that after
Selim had taken the region of Erzincan, Ismail gathered an army. But Bayezid II
intervened in affairs to settle the disagreement. He sent an envoy to Persia with valuable
presents and the difficulty was settled. 1427 According to Fisher, all these happened in
1510. As will be discussed in the following paragraphs, however, this date does not
seem right. On the other hand, as Ottoman sources indicate, the disagreement between
Ismail and Selim was not settled, and indeed would never be settled.
Tansel argues on the authority of Gelibolulu ‘Ali that Ismail aimed to pillage
around Trabzon with this army. 1428 According to ‘Ali, Ismail sent 3.000 men to pillage
the province of Trabzon, which was being governed by Selim. Upon hearing Ismail’s
approaching forces, Selim alarmed his army. At the end of the battle, Selim’s soldiers
1426 “Đş bu dehşetlü haber Ardabiloğlu Şah Đsmail’e vardıkda gazaba gelüb ve fevren şark arkerin derüb
içinden oniki bin er seçüb, surh-i ser resmi üzere ol askere bir müridin başbuğ idüb Erzincan’a gönderdi.”
YSF, p. 25.
1427 FSH, p. 97.
1428 TNSB, p. 246. Though not being clear enough, Celalzāde also mentions such intentions of Ismail. See
CLZ, p. 86. Solakzāde repeats the same idea by reciting from ‘Ali. But some details in his account are
noteworthy. He states that Ismail composed an army of 3.000 men in order to pillage the Province of
Trabzon. His brother Ibrahim was also in this army. According to SLZ, Selim was ready to meet
qizilbashes; he defeated them near Erzincan and captured the city. Ibrahim was snatched in the battle. He
states that it is said that Ibrahim was imprisoned in Trabzon but this hearsay is not verified. SLZ1, pp.
438-9.
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