Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, early modern

Battle of Chaldiran

Battle of Chaldiran was a battle fought on 23 August 1514 at Chaldoran, in what is now Iran. It was part of the Ottoman–Persian wars, which ran from 1505 to 1517. The recorded result: Ottoman victory. Recorded strength: 60,000 or 100,000; 100–200 cannons; 100 mortars against 40,000 or 55,000 or 80,000.

See it on the globe Read the article

Painting of Battle of Chaldiran at the central audience hall of Chehel Sotoun palace
Painting of Battle of Chaldiran at the central audience hall of Chehel Sotoun palace. Amir Pashaei, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought23 August 1514
WhereChaldoran, Iran39.089N, 44.327E
OutcomeOttoman victory
BelligerentsOttoman EmpireagainstSafavid Iran
Casualties and lossesHeavy losses; 3,000; or up to 40,000andHeavy losses; 2,000 to 5,000 or up to 80,000
Part ofOttoman–Persian wars1505 to 1517

Where it sits in the Ottoman–Persian wars

Battle of Erzincan, 1507Capture of Tabriz, 1514battles for Diyarbakır, 1514Battle of Chaldiran, 1514Battle of Dabil, 151715071517Battle of Chaldiran, 1514
5 placed engagements of the Ottoman–Persian wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date23 August 1514
PlaceChaldoran, Iran
39.089N, 44.327E
KindBattle, early modern
Territorial changeOttoman conquest of Eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq; Ottomans briefly occupy and plunder the Safavid capital, Tabriz
Strength60,000 or 100,000; 100–200 cannons; 100 mortars40,000 or 55,000 or 80,000
Casualties and lossesHeavy losses; 3,000; or up to 40,000Heavy losses; 2,000 to 5,000 or up to 80,000
Commanders
  • Selim I
  • Bıyıklı Mehmed Pasha
  • Dukaginzade Ahmed Pasha
  • Ismail I
  • Abd al-Baqi Yazdi
  • Hossein Beg Laleh Shamlu
  • Durmish Khan Shamlu
  • Nur-Ali Khalifa
  • Mohammad Khan Ustajlu
Battle of ChaldiranBattle of ChaldiranBattle of RhandeiaBattle of AvarayrBattle of Qara DarraSiege of AbbasabadBattle of BagavanBattle of RhandeiaBattle of AvarayrBattle of Qara DarraBattle of BagavanYerevanTabrizVanKhvoyAğrıTatvanArtashatYeghegnadzor100 km39.089N, 44.327E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Satellite view of the site of Battle of Chaldiran today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-10-07. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

Today the ground within 5 km is 58% grassland, 33% cropland, 8% bare ground.

grassland: 58%cropland: 33%bare ground: 8%grassland 58%cropland 33%bare ground 8%
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1514

Battle of Chaldiran is one of 1,390 engagements of the 16th century in the atlas and one of 157 in present-day Iran.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q745110, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Chaldiran, revision 1370108848, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.