Adil Giray (Kalga)
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Adil Giray (عادل گیرای), Adil Khan Giray or Adil Giray Khan (died 1579) was a younger brother of the Crimean Khanate ruler and Khan Mehmed II Giray. He was a Kalga, the second highest rank after that of Khan.
Adil had poor relations with his older brother Mehmed, so he moved to the steppe, built the town of Bola-Serai on the Kalmius River and gathered Nogai supporters. The brothers were ultimately reconciled by their father Devlet I Giray before his death.
During the Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590), the Ottoman Empire sultan Murad III ordered the Crimeans to fight the Persians near the southwest corner of the Caspian Sea. In 1551 his predecessor, Sahib I Giray, had been overthrown by the Ottomans for refusing a similar order. Mehmed sent 20,000 men under his brothers Adil, Mubarak and Gazi. After a 3-month march along the north side of the Caucasus and down the Caspian coast in November they reached Safavid Shirvan (approximately modern Azjerbaijan) and joined Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha. They completely defeated 25,000 Persians under Shirvan Beylerbey Aras Khan Rumlu who were besieging Shamakhi. This victory gave control of the Western Caspian region to the Ottomans, giving them access to Azerbaijan and Armenia.[1] They moved south to the Mugan plain where they defeated the Rumlu tribe of Qazilbash nomads. During this period, the Georgians allied with the Ottomans.[1]
In the meantime, the Uzbeks of Abdallah Khan were attacking the central Persian region of Khorasan, but he was soon forced to retreat due to pressure from the Kirghiz-Kazakh tribes of Central Asia.[1]
An Iranian army arrived under Hamza Mirza, the Safavid prince, and Mirza Salman, and on 28 November 1578 the Crimean Khanate forces were completely defeated at the Battle of Mollahasanli. All their booty was captured as was Adil Geray.[1][2] The battle was fought in heavy rain which made their horses slip and weakened their bows. Adil was unhorsed by a spear and saved his life by identifying himself as a valuable captive. Adil was executed in July 1579 in Qazvin during the next campaign, partly as a result of a palace intrigue involving the Shah's wife Khayr al-Nisa Begum.
After these events, the Georgians again allied with the Persians, and massacred numerous Sunnis.[1]
The Persians would suffer a large defeat against the Ottomans at the Battle of the Torches, in 7-11 May 1583.[1] The Ottomans then took back control of the western Caspian.[1] The Persians lost a large part of their frontier territories to the Ottomans and the Uzbeks, until the advent of the new Safavid ruler Abbas I.[1]
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Adil Giray on horse. Şeca'atname (1598) -
Adil Giray with Khayr al-Nisa Begum, wife of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda -
Execution of Adil Giray
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References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h Sicker, Martin (30 October 2000). The Islamic World in Decline: From the Treaty of Karlowitz to the Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-313-00095-9.
- ^ Allen, W. E. D. (5 July 2017). Russian Embassies to the Georgian Kings, 1589–1605: Volumes I and II. Routledge. p. 414. ISBN 978-1-317-06039-0.