Treaty of Zuhab
Qasr-e Shirin, Kermanshah province, Iran
What happened
The Safavid Empire of Iran and the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman and Safavid empires had fought on and off for almost 150 years. At Qasr-e Shirin they agreed a peace that divided the Caucasus between them and gave all of Mesopotamia, including Baghdad, to the Ottomans. It ended the war of 1623-1639.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was the most lasting of all the Ottoman-Safavid treaties and the starting point for nearly all later agreements between them. The border it set roughly outlines today's frontier between Iran and its western neighbours, Turkey and Iraq.
What came next
Many later treaties adjusted the border, and in the 19th century work began to mark it exactly. The Ottoman-Iranian border ended in 1918, when the Ottoman Empire lost its lands in the region.
Did you know?
Qasr-e Shirin means 'Shirin's Palace', after Shirin, wife of the Sasanian king Khosrow II.
Timeline
- 1555The Peace of Amasya is signed.
- 1623A new Ottoman-Safavid war begins.
- 17 May 1639The Treaty of Zuhab is signed.
- 1918The Ottoman-Iranian border ends after the First World War.