Capture of Baghdad (1534)

The 1534 capture of Baghdad by Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire from the Safavid dynasty under Tahmasp I was part of the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532 to 1555, itself part of a series of Ottoman–Persian Wars. The city was taken without resistance, the Safavid government having fled and leaving the city undefended. Baghdad's capture was a significant achievement given its mastery of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their international and regional trade. It represented, along with the fall of Basra in 1546, a significant step towards eventual Ottoman victory and the procurement of the lower Mesopotamia, the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, opening a trading outlet into the Persian Gulf. The Ottomans wintered there until 1535, overseeing the reconstruction of Sunni and Shia religious shrines and agricultural irrigation projects. Suleiman returned to Constantinople, leaving a strong garrison force. Over the next few decades, the Ottomans solidified their control over the region, incorporating it into their empire until it was recaptured by the Persians in 1623.