The first set piece battle between the Ottoman and the Ṣafawid rulers, the battle of Chāldirān was, on the one hand, the result of both immediate causes and more general conditions, and on the other, it marked the beginning of a change in attitude on the part of the newly formed Ṣafawid state towards its Western neighbour.

The confrontation which took place at Chāldirān arose out of the confrontation between the Ottoma…