Battle of Mosul (1745)

The Battle of Mosul (1745) was a set-piece battle fought between the Persian and Ottoman Empires during the war of 1743-1746. After receiving news of the approach of two Ottoman armies from the west towards his borders, the Shah of Persia, Nader Shah, also divided his forces in two. A contingent was put under the command of Nader's son, Nasrollah Mirza, as he was named after his victory at Karnal, and another was commanded by his person. Nasrollah Mirza set out south west in order to find and destroy the Turkish army.

The battle
The Ottoman commander marched into Mosul Eyalet where he was joined by the local Ottoman forces as well as a significant body of Kurdish auxiliaries. However, when the Persian army gave battle it inflicted a crushing defeat. The severity of the Ottoman defeat was such that Nassrollah Mirza wrote to his father, Nader, requesting permission to escalate the situation into a full-scale invasion of Ottoman Iraq. The letter reached Nader Shah on the last day of the Battle of Kars where the Nader had also gained an overwhelming victory against Yegen Pasha.

Aftermath
The overall outcome of both victories forced the Ottomans to concede to negotiating under unfavourable circumstances. Having both its armies destroyed, Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) lost all possibility for gaining any military leverage against the Persians. However, Nader Shah chose not to launch a counter invasion of the Ottoman Empire, despite annihilating any Ottoman offensive capabilities, putting them completely on the defensive. Instead he pursued a diplomatic solution for the cessation of hostilities. Soon after an exchange of diplomats, the treaty of Kerden was signed which officially ended the war in 1746.