After the Ottoman–Safavid war (1603–1612), the Ottomans and Safavids had signed the Treaty of Nasuh Pasha, in which their borders were changed back to the previous one under Selim I and Shah Ismail I.

[5] At the end of August 1616, a sizable Ottoman army led by the grand vizier Öküz Mehmed Pasha besieged Erivan.

Abbas harassed the Ottoman supply lines, and by the time winter was nearing, Mehmed Pasha ended the siege and retreated, leading to death of many of soldiers due to the cold weather.

Even after the emissary dropped the territorial demands and urged Abbas only to pay the silk tribute and surrender his son to Istanbul as a hostage, he refused to consider a peace proposal.

[7] Abbas' new commander-in-chief, Qarachaqay Khan, an Armenian gholam, was given orders to raze the countryside and target enemy gathering groups while avoiding a major battle until the winter was upon them and the Ottomans were starving and cold.