Iran and Ottoman Wars in Yerevan (1143 AH/1731): A Study Using Source Analysis

With the fall of Isfahan and the gradual collapse of the Safavids, the stage was set for the Russian and Ottoman aggression. Things changed with the rise of Nader and when Afghan invaders were repelled. So conditions were set for the defeat of the Russians and the Ottomans. Nader Shah freed parts of the West, but inevitably led his army to Herat. In his absence, Shah Tahmasp II proceeded to the Caucasus to free Yerevan. A series of wars between the Safavid and the Ottoman Empire occurred in 1731/1143 AH, culminating in the defeat of Shah Tahmasp and his withdrawal. Despite its importance, apparently this war has not yet been taken into scholarly consideration, which is largely due to the weakness of domestic sources that suffer from incomplete and sometimes inaccurate data. External sources of data, especially Ottomans, are beneficial. The present study thus tries to analyze Iranian, Armenian, European and Ottoman sources in a comparative way and answer the question that which of these sources can aid the proper understanding of the dimensions and nature of the Safavid-Ottoman wars in Yerevan in 1731/1143 AH. The present paper was written using text and data mining and an analytical-critical approach based on first-hand sources. The results show that among the four sources, the Ottoman ones, especially the Nevres Chronicle, the author of which was present in the battle scenes, contribute to the understanding of the subject of this research.