In 1532, Sultan Suleiman had declared war on Safavid Persia following two decades of peace after the climactic Battle of Chaldiran, when the Persian Shah Tahmasp wanted to take advantage of the Sultan's preoccupation with Hungary and started making armed incursions into Ottoman territory. Sokollu Mehmed was dispatched to spend the winter of 1553/1554 in Tokat to take charge of the final stages of the war against Persia. In June 1554, Mehmed Pasha and the Rumelian troops joined the Sultan's army and took part in the Safavid Campaign (1554–55).