TNT History Archives: Ottoman Caspian Sea Shipbuilding (1580s)/Part II

//Ed. note: Saffet Bey continues his article, explaining some
of the broader aspects of the Ottoman war with Iran and 
the personalities involved.  

As for Özdemiroğlu Osman Paşa, his forces had  to abandon 
Şamahı in February 1579 and retreat to 'Demirkapı' 
(Derbent), on the Caspian Sea coast.  But help arrived from 
an army of Crimean Tatars, enabling him to re-take Şamahı 
and Şirvan from the Iranians in October the same year - 
coincidentally the time when PM Sokullu Mehmed Paşa 
was assassinated in Istanbul.  

Three months earlier, Sokullu had written to Özdemiroğlu 
Osman Paşa about building 20 'kasırga' (galleys) for use
in Ottoman expeditions against the Iranians around
the Caspian Sea.//


        Sokullu Mehmed Paşa
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Sokullu Mehmed Paşa (Ottoman PM 1565-1579) expanded the empire
quite substantially but he knew the cost of maintaining such gains. As
for the weakened Iran, Sokullu knew, as well, that crushing it would
not be easy and he favored merely preserving the empire he had thus
far won.  His rivals, though, gained the ear of the Sultan (Murad III),
sidelined Sokullu, and the war with Iran began in 1578. 

Koca Sinan Paşa was sent toward Baghdad and Lala Mustafa Paşa
headed for Azerbaijan, with Koca Sinan complaining that "Mustafa
Paşa got the best soldiers and they left the cowards to me."  This
biting remark gives an indication of how bitter their rivalry was.

In any event, with the help of a couple of Georgian princes, the first
days of the war went favorably.  Soon, though, some setbacks closed
off the roads from Anatolia and we began to see action in the
northern Caucasus.  Fortunately, Özdemiroğlu Osman Paşa, a
seasoned commander from his Yemen days, entered the fray in the
summer of 1578. But only he realized that ships would be needed to
take the fight to Iran via the vast Caspian Sea. 

Meanwhile, despite his initial opposition to the Iran war, Sokullu saw
that he might as well support the effort.  He was a man of imperialist
convictions, even believing he could have a Volga-Don canal built to
link the Black and Caspian Seas.  So, Sokullu determined that
defeating Iran would demand grander actions that raids and harassing
attacks. 


The region today. Derbent (Demirkapı) is at upper right on the
Caspian Sea coast.

In consequence, he wrote to Özdemiroğlu Osman Paşa in August 1579,
at the time when he was defending Şirvan, delving into the details, even
to the point of asking him about the availability of oak wood and iron
mines in the region, in connection with building 20 galleys for an
Ottoman Caspian Sea fleet:

"...build a fortress at Demirkapı (Derbent) and 20 'kadırga' (galleys)
in order to conquer the many provinces of the 'Bahr-i Kulzüm' (Caspian
Sea) and its river tributaries by the sword. However, at present the
roads for Demirkapı and Tiflis (Tbilisi) are obstructed and distant, with
regard to one another, so shipping grain is problematic.  Nevertheless,
for the construction of the 'kadıga', 60-70 'kantar' (one kanter = 120 lbs.)
of nails have been loaded but the roads to Şirvan are not safe.  The
ships cannot be built from just any kind of wood.  Are 'pelit' (valonia
oak) trees found in that region?  And what about iron mines in the
mountains?" 

//END of PART II//