Qara Qoyunlu
Qara Qoyunlu قره قویونلو | |||||||||||||
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1374–1468 | |||||||||||||
Status | Confederation | ||||||||||||
Capital | |||||||||||||
Common languages | |||||||||||||
Religion | Shia Islam (possibly) | ||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||
Ruler | |||||||||||||
• 1374–1378 | Bayram Khwaja (first) | ||||||||||||
• 1467–1468 | Hasan Ali (last) | ||||||||||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||||
• Established | 1374 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1468 | ||||||||||||
Currency | Tanka[7] | ||||||||||||
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The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu (Azerbaijani: Qaraqoyunlular, قره قویونلولر; Persian: قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman[8][9][10] monarchy that ruled over the territory comprising present-day Azerbaijan, Armenia, northwestern Iran, eastern Turkey, and northeastern Iraq from about 1374 to 1468.[11][12]
History
Etymology
The name Qara Qoyunlu literally means "[those with] black sheep".[13] It has been suggested that this name refers to old totemic symbols, but according to Rashid al-Din Hamadani, the Turks were forbidden to eat the flesh of their totem-animals, and so this is unlikely given the importance of mutton in the diet of pastoral nomads. Another hypothesis is that the name refers to the predominant color of their flocks.[14]
Origins
The ruling family descended from the
Duharlu Turkmens, a branch of Qara Qoyunlu first appeared in the Chronicle of Michael Panaretos. It is probable that the Duharlu tribe came to Anatolia from Central Asia during the Mongol invasions, as testified by the legendary tradition of Qara Qoyunlu.[19]
Rise
The Qara Qoyunlu Turkomans were initially vassals of the Jalayirid Sultanate in Baghdad and Tabriz from about 1375, when the leader of their leading tribe ruled Mosul. However, they rebelled against the Jalayirids and secured their independence from the dynasty with the conquest of Tabriz by Qara Yusuf.
In 1400, the Timurid Empire under Timur defeated the Qara Qoyunlu, and Qara Yusuf fled to Egypt, seeking refuge with the Mamluk Sultanate. Qara Yusuf was welcomed by Sheikh Mahmud, the nāʾib of Damascus. Not long after, the Jalayirid sultan Ahmad Jalayir also came to Damascus. Not wanting to worsen relations with Timur, An-Nasir Faraj agreed to capture Qara Yusuf and Ahmad Jalayir and hand them over to him. Together in prison, the two leaders renewed their friendship, making an agreement that Ahmad Jalayir should keep Baghdad while Qara Yusuf would have Azerbaijan. Ahmad also adopted Qara Yusuf's son Pirbudag. When Timur died in 1405, an-Nasir Faraj released them both. However, according to Faruk Sümer, they were released on the orders of rebellious wali of Damascus, Sheykh Mahmud.[20][21][22][23]
Qara Yusuf, having returned from exile, forced Timur's governor of Van, Izzaddin Shir, to submit, while capturing Altamış, another viceroy set up by Timur, and sending him to Barquq. He later moved on to the territories of Azerbaijan. He defeated the Timurid Abu Bakr at the Battle of Nakhchivan on 14 October 1406 and reoccupied Tabriz. Abu Bakr and his father Miran Shah tried to recapture Azerbaijan, but on 20 April 1408, Qara Yusuf inflicted a decisive defeat on them at the Battle of Sardrud in which Miran Shah was killed. In 1409 fall, Qara Yusuf entered Tabriz and sent a raiding party to Shirvan, especially Shaki, which was fruitless.[24]
In 1410, the Qara Qoyunlu captured Baghdad. The installation of a subsidiary Qara Qoyunlu line there hastened the downfall of the Jalairids they had once served. Despite internal fighting among Qara Yusuf's descendants after his death in 1420, The Qara Qoyunlu state collapsed after Qara Yusif. After the death of Qara Yusuf in December 1420, Shah Rukh tried to take Azerbaijan from Qara Yusuf's son Iskander, using the fact that none of his sons was accompanying his father. Despite defeating Iskander, twice in 1420–21 and 1429, only in the third expedition of Shahrukh Mirza in 1434–35 did the Timurids succeed, when he entrusted the government to Iskander's own brother, Jahan Shah (1436-1467) as his vassal. In 1436 he obtained the help of Shah Rukh to defeat Iskander and seize the throne for himself. He was also adopted by Gawhar Shad and crowned on 19 April 1438, taking the epithet Muzaffar al-Din.[9][21]
Due to the mistakes of his predecessor, the Timurid Shah Rukh, was the first to convene a party in the palace. They brought the Timurids to the capital. But he went to war with his enemies, the Aq Qoyunlular. Jahanshah Haqiqi died in the battle of Mus. Qara Qoyunlu was almost destroyed. This time Hasanali Mirza came to power, but was killed by Uzun Hasan and the Qara Qoyunlu state collapsed.[25]
Decline
In 1410,
When the Timurids launched their final incursion into the region, they convinced Jihanshah, Iskander's brother, to turn on his brother. Jihanshah pursued a policy of persecution against the Armenians in
Religion
The argument that there was a clear-cut contrast between the Sunnism of the Āq Qoyunlū and the Shiʿism of the Qara Qoyunlū and the Ṣafawīya rests mainly on later Safavid sources and must be considered doubtful.[31]
— R. Quiring-Zoche, Encyclopædia Iranica
As to the religious affiliations of the Qara Qoyunlu, although some of the later members of the family had Shi'i-type names and there were occasional Shi'i coin legends, there seems no strong evidence for definite Shi'i sympathies among many Turkmen elements of the time.[32]
— C. E. Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties
During the Qara period, Shi'ism became widespread. Successful activities of Shaykh Junayd-i Safavi in Azerbaijan and Anatolia, and the Musha'sha'iyyah in Khuzestan are the most important pieces of evidence that Shi'ism was spread by the sword. It can be said, like Yar Ali (brother of Qara Yusuf) in the Qara Qoyunlu dynasty, there is a conscious love for Ali (caliph). However, the names of four caliphs are seen on the coins of Qara Yusuf, Isqandar and Jahan Shah. In addition to that, there is no record in the contemporary Aq Qoyunlu, Mamluk and Timurid sources that the Qara Qoyunlu rulers were inclined to Shi'ism.[1]
— Faruk Sümer, İslâm Ansiklopedisi
Governance
The Qara Qoyunlu state organization was based mainly on of its predecessors,
Keeping with a Persianate culture,[33] the Qara Qoyunlu used the Persian language for diplomacy, poetry,[34] and as a court language.[2] Diplomatic letters to the Timurids and Ottomans were written in Persian, while the correspondence with the Mamluk sultans were in Arabic.[6] Official internal documents (farmān, suyūrghāl) were also written in Persian.[6]
As for the provincial organization, the provinces were governed by şehzade and beys, who had smaller divans in each of the provinces. The governance by military governors (beys) generally passed on from father to son. In the cities there were officials called darugha, that looked after financial and administrative affairs, and also had political powers. The şehzades and beys had their own soldiers which were called nökers, who were trained and salaried.[1]
Culture
Under Timur, the cultural entity of Iran was renewed by Persian literature, art and culture being patronized throughout the Timurid Empire.[35] Consequently, Qara Qoyunlu art was notably influenced by the Timurids.[36] Jahan Shah wrote his poetry in Azerbaijani and Persian, while the Kitab-i Diyarbakriyya, a history of the Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu, was written by Abu Bakr Tehrani in Persian.[37]
See also
History of Azerbaijan | |
---|---|
c.700 BC–c.590s BC | |
Achaemenid Empire | 550 BC–330 BC |
• Satrapy of Media | c.550 BC – 323 BC |
Seleucid Empire | 312 BC – 63 BC |
Parthian Empire | 247 BC – AD 224 |
Caucasian Albania | c.200 BC – c.AD 800 |
Roman Empire | 27 BC – AD 395 |