Capture of Tbilisi and Gökçe war

Capture of Tbilisi and Gökçe war occurred as a progressive combats in 1616. The capture of Tbilisi was a conflict between the army of Shah Abbas I against Georgian soldiers and the general populace. After the capture of Tbilisi, Abbas I confronted an Ottoman army. The battle took place near Lake Gökçe and resulted in a Safavid victory.

Background
In 1612, Shah Abbas I was informed that Teimuraz I of Kakheti with a couple of Christian citizens assaulted the Karabakh governor and killed him. Shah Abbas decided to confront him but Teimuraz I fled to Georgia towards Ahmed I in order to shelter from Safavid forces. This event brought an end to the Treaty of Nasuh Pasha.

Massacre and capture of Tbilisi
In 1616, Shah Abbas I dispatched his troops to Georgia. He aimed to suppress the Georgian revolt in Tbilisi, however the Safavid soldiers were defeated by the citizens of Tbilisi. Enraged, Shah Abbas ordered a massacre of the public. A large number of Georgian soldiers and people were killed and as many as 100,000 Georgians were deported to Persia. The Persians supposedly massacred 6,000 Georgian monks and destroyed their temples.

Conquest of Nakhchivan and Gökçe battle
This event caused Sultan Ahmed I to send an Ottoman army to confront the Safavid troops. He appointed Mehmet Pasha commander of the army. In 1616, the Ottoman army reached Aleppo. Numerous soldiers joined them from Asia Minor and parts of Iraq. Shah Abbas I's military strategies kept the Ottoman army in famine among other difficulties. Although Ottoman troops captured Nakhchivan, they failed to conquer Yerevan.

After the capture of Tbilisi, Abbas I moved to engage the Ottoman army. The battle occurred near Lake Gökçe and resulted in a Safavid victory.