The Ottoman–Safavid conflict was viewed by the countries of Europe as being beneficial to their interests and there was therefore a subsequent hunger for up-to-date intelligence of events in that part of the world. As resident physician to the Venetian legation, Giovanni-Tommaso Minadoi he made use of his wide contacts within the community to gather this vital commercial and diplomatic intelligence. This book provides a detailed and lively account of the war between the Ottoman and Safavid dynasties in the late sixteenth century, when Ottoman sultan, Murad III, sought to extend his sphere of influence at the expense of the Safavids under Shah Mohammad Khodabandeh. There are very few western accounts of the conflict and Minadoi's is both highly informative and reliable and provides a valuable addition to non-western sources. Now rare, this edition is published with a new introduction from one of the foremost authorities on the history of Iran, Rudi Matthee.