Logistic support of Van province in the Ottoman-Iranian Wars (18th century)

Since the beginning of the 16th century, the Safavid State, founded by Shah Ismail, has been engaged in a struggle for power and competition with the Ottoman Empire since the reign of Yavuz Sultan Selim. Although the Ottoman-Safavavid rivalries that started in the 16th century were sometimes interrupted, they continued with hot conflicts from the beginning of the 18th century. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the province of Van, which came under the Ottoman rule for good, came to the forefront as an important border base, especially in the struggles that began in the 17th century and continued towards the end of the 18th century. Due to its location, Van Province came to the forefront in the Eastern campaigns of the Ottoman Empire, sometimes as an advanced border outpost and sometimes as a warehouse to meet the needs of the army.During its campaigns against Iran, the Ottoman Empire mainly transported its logistical supplies by land. For this reason, there were centers that were designated to ensure the security of the roads prior to the campaigns and were prominent in this regard. One of the leading centers in this context was the Van Province. In this study, the strategic importance of Van Province as an important epicenter for the logistics supply line and the support it provided to the army before and after the campaigns during the Ottoman-Iranian wars, which continued intermittently from the late 17th century until the last quarter of the 18th century, will be discussed. When we look at the studies on Van Province, which was an extremely important province in the Ottoman-Iranian wars, it was noted that there were no studies that directly addressed the strategic and logistical support it undertook in the Ottoman-Iranian wars. In the books and articles, there are sources on the position and importance of Van Province in the Ottoman administration. In our study, the logistical and strategic importance of Van Province in the Ottoman-Iranian Wars that took place in the XVIIIth century will be emphasized. Keyword: Van Province, Fortress, Army, Border, Ottoman, Safavid, Expedition Logistics, Expedition Route.