Kara Koyunlu

Infobox Former Country
native_name = "Garagoýunly"
conventional_long_name = Black Sheep
Kara Koyunlu
common_name = Kara Koyunlu
continent = Asia
region = Middle-East
country =
era = Medieval
status =
status_text =
empire =
government_type = Monarchy
year_start = 1375
year_end = 1468
event_start =
date_start =
event_end =
date_end =
p1 = Jalayirids
flag_p1 =
s1 = Ak Koyunlu
flag_s1 =




flag_type =




image_map_caption = Kara Koyunlu of the Turkomans, lighter blue shows their greatest extent in Iraq and Arabian East Coast for a small period of time
capital = Tabriz
common_languages = Oghuz
religion = Shi'ite
currency =
leader1 = Qara Muhammad
leader2 = Hasan ’Ali
year_leader1 = 1378-1388
year_leader2 = 1467-1468
title_leader = Ruler

The Kara Koyunlu or Qara Qoyunlu, also called the Black Sheep Turkomans (Turkmen: "Garagoýunly"; Azeri: "Qaraqoyunlu"; Turkish: "Karakoyunlu"; PerB|قرا قوینلو), were a Shi'ite [Firearms of the Islamic World by Robert Elgood, p114] Turcoman tribal federation that ruled over the territory comprising the present-day Armenia, Republic of Azerbaijan, Iranian Azerbaijan, western Iran, eastern Turkey and Iraq from about 1375 to 1468 [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9044666/Kara-Koyunlu Encyclopedia Britannica. "Kara Koyunlu". Online Edition, 2007] ] .

The Kara Koyunlu Turkomans at one point established their capital in Herat in eastern Persia [Patrick Clawson. "Eternal Iran". Palgrave Macmillan. 2005 ISBN 1-4039-6276-6 p.23] , and were vassals of the Jalayirid dynasty in Baghdad and Tabriz from about 1375, when the leader of their leading tribe, ruled over 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 armies of Tamerlane defeated the Kara Koyunlu, and Qara Yusuf fled to Egypt seeking refuge with the Mamluks. He gathered an army and by 1406 had taken back Tabriz. In 1410, the Kara Koyunlu captured Baghdad. The installation of a subsidiary Black Sheep Turkomans line there hastened the downfall of the Jalayirids whom they had once served. Despite internal fighting amongst Kara Yusuf's descendants after his death in 1420, and the increasing threat of the Timurids, the Black Sheep Turkomans maintained a strong grip over the areas they controlled.

Jahān Shāh made peace with the Timurid Shāh Rukh Mirzā, however, this soon fell apart. When Shāh Rukh died in 1447, the Black Sheep Turkomans annexed portions of Iraq and the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, as well as Timurid controlled western Iran.

Though much territory was gained during his rule, Jahān Shāh's reign was troubled by his rebellious sons and the almost rulers of Baghdad, whom he expelled in 1464.

In 1466, Jahān Shāh attempted to take Diyar Bakr from the White Sheep Turkomans, however, this was a catastrophic failure resulting on Jahān Shāh's death and the collapse of the Black Sheep Turkoman's control in the Middle East. By 1468, at their height under Uzun Hasan (1452-1478), Aq Qoyunlu Turkomans defeated the Qara Qoyunlu and conquered Iraq, Azerbaijan, and western Iran [cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of World History |last=Stearns |first=Peter N. |authorlink= |coauthors=Leonard, William |year=2001 |publisher=Houghton Muffin Books |location= |isbn=0395652375 |pages=122 ] .

References

ee also

* Rulers of Kara Koyunlu

ources

*Bosworth, Clifford. "The New Islamic Dynasties", 1996.
*Morby, John. "The Oxford Dynasties of the World", 2002.