The Peace of Amasya (1555): The Treaty That Tore Kurdistan in Half
- Hojîn Rostam
- May 24
- 6 min read
Introduction
On 29 May 1555, the two most powerful Islamic empires in the world signed a treaty that would define the map of the Middle East for centuries — and tear Kurdistan in half. The Peace of Amasya, agreed between Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Safavid Shah Tahmasp I, was the first formal peace treaty between the Ottoman and Safavid empires. It ended over two decades of devastating warfare and established borders that carved directly through the heart of Kurdistan, dividing western Kurdistan (Ottoman) from eastern Kurdistan (Safavid).
For the Kurdish people, the Peace of Amasya is one of the most consequential treaties in history. It formalised the partition of Kurdistan into eastern and western zones — a division that persists to this day in the borders between Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. No Kurd was consulted. No Kurdish voice was present at the negotiating table. Two empires drew a line through a people’s homeland, and the Kurdish nation has lived with the consequences ever since.
Contents
What Was the Peace of Amasya?
The Peace of Amasya was a treaty signed on 29 May 1555 between Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire and Shah Tahmasp I of Safavid Iran. It was the first formal peace agreement between the two empires and concluded the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555 — over two decades of intermittent but devastating conflict across Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, and the Kurdish highlands.
The treaty divided the contested territories between the two empires on a roughly east-west axis. The Ottomans retained Iraq (including Baghdad), western Armenia, western Kurdistan, and western Georgia. The Safavids retained Azerbaijan, Tabriz, eastern Armenia, eastern Kurdistan, and eastern Georgia. Kurdistan — a single geographic, cultural, and ethnic homeland — was split in two by an imperial border drawn without Kurdish consent.
Key Takeaways
• The Peace of Amasya was the first formal partition of Kurdistan — splitting the Kurdish homeland into ‘western Kurdistan’ (Ottoman) and ‘eastern Kurdistan’ (Safavid), a division that persists today.
• No Kurdish representative was present at the negotiations — Kurdistan was divided by two empires without Kurdish consent, setting a precedent that would repeat at Lausanne, Sykes-Picot, and beyond.
• The treaty turned Kurdish lands into a permanent battlefield — borderlands where both empires deployed military forces, conducted raids, and fought proxy conflicts using Kurdish tribal loyalties.
• This came just 41 years after the Chaldiran Agreement — in which Suleiman’s father Selim I had promised Kurdish autonomy in exchange for military support. By 1555, those promises were already broken.
Quick Facts
Treaty Name: Peace of Amasya Date: 29 May 1555 Parties: Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Safavid Shah Tahmasp I Type: Peace treaty and border settlement Key Provision for Kurds: Division of Kurdistan into western (Ottoman) and eastern (Safavid) zones Conflict Ended: Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555 Ottoman Gains: Iraq (Baghdad), western Armenia, western Kurdistan, western Georgia Safavid Gains: Azerbaijan, Tabriz, eastern Armenia, eastern Kurdistan, eastern Georgia Duration: Followed by approximately twenty years of peace Significance: First formal partition of Kurdistan between two empires
Historical Context: Two Decades of War Across Kurdistan
The Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555 was rooted in both territorial ambition and sectarian rivalry. The Sunni Ottoman Empire and the Shia Safavid Empire competed for control of Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, and the Kurdish highlands. The war saw Ottoman forces capture Baghdad in 1534, establishing Ottoman control over Iraq, while the Safavids used scorched-earth tactics and guerrilla warfare to deny the Ottomans permanent gains in the east.
Kurdistan was the primary theatre of this war. Kurdish cities were besieged, Kurdish villages were burned, Kurdish populations were displaced, and Kurdish tribal loyalties were exploited by both sides. The allegiance of Kurdish principalities like Bitlis was contested — both empires sought Kurdish support, and the Kurdish highlands became a permanent frontier of violence. By the time both empires were ready for peace in 1555, Kurdistan had been devastated by over two decades of imperial warfare fought on Kurdish soil.
The Treaty Terms and the Division of Kurdistan
The Peace of Amasya divided the contested regions along a broad frontier zone running from the Caucasus through Armenia and the western Zagros Mountains to the area near Basra. Western Kurdistan — including the key cities of Diyarbakır, Van, and the territories of the Kurdish emirates that had allied with the Ottomans at Chaldiran — fell under Ottoman sovereignty. Eastern Kurdistan — including Ardalan and the Kurdish-inhabited regions of western Iran — remained under Safavid control.
The treaty also included provisions for the free passage of Iranian pilgrims to Mecca through Ottoman territory and a requirement that the Safavids cease the ritual cursing of the first three Rashidun Caliphs — a concession on the sectarian front. But for the Kurds, the only provision that mattered was the one that was never written: the division of their homeland into two imperial zones, with no mechanism for Kurdish self-governance, no recognition of Kurdish territorial integrity, and no Kurdish voice in the negotiations.
Impact on Kurdish Life
The partition created by the Peace of Amasya had immediate and devastating consequences for Kurdish communities. Families, tribes, and trading networks that had operated across the Kurdish highlands for centuries were now divided by an imperial border. Kurdish tribes whose territories straddled the frontier were forced to choose sides or face reprisals from both empires. The border zone became a militarised frontier where both Ottoman and Safavid forces maintained garrisons, conducted raids, and competed for the loyalty of Kurdish chiefs.
Western Kurds were subject to the Ottoman system of centralised governance that Suleiman was already imposing — stripping Kurdish emirs of their hereditary rights and replacing them with Ottoman administrators. Eastern Kurds lived under the Safavid policy of Shia conformity, which pressured Sunni Kurdish populations to convert or face marginalisation. In both zones, Kurdish autonomy was eroding — and the division itself made it harder for Kurds to coordinate resistance across the new imperial border.
Timeline of Key Events
1514 — Battle of Chaldiran; Kurdish emirs ally with Ottomans against Safavids.
1520 — Suleiman the Magnificent takes the Ottoman throne; begins dismantling Kurdish autonomy.
1532 — Ottoman–Safavid War begins; Kurdish lands become the primary theatre of conflict.
1534 — Ottomans capture Baghdad; Ottoman control over Iraq established.
29 May 1555 — Peace of Amasya signed; Kurdistan formally divided into western (Ottoman) and eastern (Safavid) zones.
1555–1578 — Approximately twenty years of peace on the Ottoman–Safavid frontier.
1639 — Treaty of Zuhab makes the Ottoman–Safavid partition of Kurdistan permanent.
Legacy and Significance for Kurdish History
The Peace of Amasya is widely regarded as the first formal partition of Kurdistan. Historians have described it as the moment when the geography of Kurdistan was first officially divided by treaty between two empires. The regions under Iranian control became known as East Kurdistan (Rojhelat), while the Ottoman-controlled regions would later be further subdivided by the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Treaty of Lausanne into what are now North Kurdistan (Bakur, in Turkey), South Kurdistan (Başûr, in Iraq), and West Kurdistan (Rojava, in Syria).
The treaty established a precedent that would define Kurdish political life for half a millennium: the division of Kurdistan by outside powers without Kurdish participation. The Kurds were not a party to the Peace of Amasya. They were not consulted. Their homeland was treated as a borderland to be divided between empires, not as a territory belonging to a distinct people with their own political rights.
The irony is inescapable: just forty-one years before the Peace of Amasya, the same Ottoman Sultan’s father had promised Kurdish princes autonomy and self-governance at Chaldiran. Suleiman himself had revoked those promises and centralised Ottoman control over western Kurdistan. Now, at Amasya, he formalised the division of the rest. The Kurds had given the Ottomans their military support, their strategic knowledge, and their territorial cooperation. In return, they received partition, centralisation, and the destruction of their political autonomy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Peace of Amasya?
The first formal peace treaty between the Ottoman and Safavid empires, signed on 29 May 1555. It divided the contested territories of the Near East and Caucasus between the two powers, splitting Kurdistan into western (Ottoman) and eastern (Safavid) zones — the first formal partition of the Kurdish homeland.
How did the Peace of Amasya affect the Kurds?
It formally divided Kurdistan between the Ottoman and Safavid empires without Kurdish consent. Kurdish families, tribes, and trade networks were split by an imperial border. Western Kurds faced Ottoman centralisation, eastern Kurds faced Safavid Shia conformity, and Kurdish political unity was shattered.
Is the partition of Kurdistan from 1555 still relevant today?
Yes. The east-west division of Kurdistan established at Amasya was made permanent by the Treaty of Zuhab (1639) and forms the basis of the modern Turkey-Iran border. The further subdivision of Ottoman Kurdistan by the Sykes-Picot Agreement and Treaty of Lausanne created the four-part division of Kurdistan (Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria) that exists today.
References and Further Reading
Shaw, S.J., History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Cambridge University Press, 1976.
McDowall, D., A Modern History of the Kurds, I.B. Tauris, 2004.
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