The Battle Of Marv

December, 2, 1510 A.D.:
The Battle Of Marv

By: Mir M.Hosseini

The Battle of Marv took place on Dec, 2, 1510 and ended with a decisive victory for the Safavid Dynasty over the Uzbek invasion of Khorasan. As a result, Persia regained control of the Greater Khorasan: north-eastern and east of present Iran, southern parts of present day Turkmenistan, and western and northern Afghanistan.
After the Sheybani Uzbeks began to rise to power in Transoxiana around 1495, Mohammad Sheybak Khan was waiting for a chance to annex the Teimurid territory in Herat. In 1507, Herat fell into the hands of Uzbek khan. Shah Ismail started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1502, and had re-unified all of Iran by 1509. Badiazzaman, the son and heir of Hossein Bayqara, sought asylum at the Safavid court and led him to launch a campaign in the east.
Shah Ismail reached Khorasan with great speed and Sheybak Khan had only a small body of troops near Marv, so he retreated to Marv castle to await reinforcement from Uzbek tribes. Shah Ismail then pretended to retreat, encouraging the Uzbeks to leave the castle in pursuit, only to be confronted and destroyed by the Persian army once they were too far from the castle to hide.

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KEY TERMS:Afghanistan , Azerbaijan , Dynasty , Greater Khorasan , Herat , Hossein Bayqara , Iran , Khan , Khorasan , Marv , Persia , Persian , Safavi , Safavid , Safavid Dynasty , Shah , Shah Ismail , Sheybak Khan , Sheybani , Teimurid , Transoxiana , Tur , Turk , Turkmenistan , Uzbek

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