Launch app →

Middle East · Mongols to gunpowder empires

Qara Qoyunlu

Turkmen tribal confederation / sultanate · 1374–1468

The Qara Qoyunlu — "those of the Black Sheep," probably after the emblem on their banners — were an Oghuz Turkmen confederation whose ruling family came from the Yıwa (Baharlu) tribe, grazing the country north of Lake Van and around Mosul. In the mid-fourteenth century they were rivals, then vassals, of the Jalayirid sultans, who defeated them at the battle of Mush in 1366.

See it on the map → Wikipedia ↗
Type
Turkmen tribal confederation / sultanate
Existed
1374–1468
Shown on the map
1375–1401, 1407–1467 (2 periods)
Capital
Tabriz; nomadic seats at Erciş (summer) and Mosul (winter)
Peak area
~524,000 km²
Region
Middle East

Origins & rise

The Qara Qoyunlu — "those of the Black Sheep," probably after the emblem on their banners — were an Oghuz Turkmen confederation whose ruling family came from the Yıwa (Baharlu) tribe, grazing the country north of Lake Van and around Mosul. In the mid-fourteenth century they were rivals, then vassals, of the Jalayirid sultans, who defeated them at the battle of Mush in 1366. Under Qara Muhammad Turmush (c. 1375–1390) they consolidated around Mosul and reduced the Artuqids of Mardin to vassalage. His son Qara Yusuf (r. 1390–1400, 1406–1420) made the confederation an independent power, but was routed by Timur in 1400 and spent years in Mamluk captivity — imprisoned, famously, alongside the Jalayirid sultan Ahmad, with whom he struck a bargain dividing Iraq and Azerbaijan between them.

History & key rulers

Released after Timur's death in 1405, Qara Yusuf returned to Azerbaijan, smashed the Timurid princes at Nakhchivan (1406) and Sardrud (1408) — killing Timur's son Miran Shah — retook Tabriz, and in 1410 defeated and killed his old jail-mate Ahmad Jalayir, taking Baghdad and absorbing the Jalayirid inheritance. After his death in 1420 his sons fought among themselves while the Timurid Shah Rukh repeatedly invaded Azerbaijan; only in 1436–38 did Jahan Shah (r. 1438–1467), with Shah Rukh's support, secure the throne. After the Timurid's death in 1447, Jahan Shah ruled independently as sultan, khan and "Padishah of Iran," annexing Iraq, western Iran, Isfahan, Shiraz and Yazd, and briefly occupying Herat itself in 1458. But his reign was plagued by rebellious sons, and his 1466–67 bid to seize Diyarbakır from the rival Aq Qoyunlu ended in catastrophe: he was defeated and killed at the battle of Chapakchur (1467), and within two years Uzun Hasan's Aq Qoyunlu had destroyed the confederation (1468), killing its last chief, Hasan Ali.

Government, religion & culture

A loose tribal sultanate whose administration copied the Jalayirid and Ilkhanid models, the Qara Qoyunlu used Persian as court and diplomatic language while the dynasty and army spoke an Oghuz Turkic ancestral to Azerbaijani — Jahan Shah himself wrote poetry in both under the pen-name Haqiqi. Their religious stance is debated: coinage with the four caliphs suggests Sunnism, though some scholars see Shi'i leanings that would make them forerunners of the Safavids. Their great monument is the Blue Mosque of Tabriz (completed 1465), whose blue-and-gold tilework became a benchmark for Turkmen art; the "Turkmen style" of manuscript painting also flourished, especially under Jahan Shah's bibliophile son Pir Budaq in Shiraz and Baghdad.

Peak & territory

At its height under Jahan Shah (c. 1458) the confederation ruled Azerbaijan, Armenia, eastern Anatolia, Iraq and western Iran to the gates of Khorasan — some 524,000 km².

Decline & legacy

Erased by the Aq Qoyunlu in 1468, the Black Sheep nonetheless Turkified Azerbaijan durably, transmitted Jalayirid Perso-Islamic statecraft, and seeded later states: the Qutb Shahi sultans of Golconda in India descended from the Qara Qoyunlu, and Baharlu clansmen such as Bairam Khan served the Mughals.

Common questions

What was the Qara Qoyunlu?
The Qara Qoyunlu — "those of the Black Sheep," probably after the emblem on their banners — were an Oghuz Turkmen confederation whose ruling family came from the Yıwa (Baharlu) tribe, grazing the country north of Lake Van and around Mosul. In the mid-fourteenth century they were rivals, then vassals, of the Jalayirid sultans, who defeated them at the battle of Mush in 1366.
When did the Qara Qoyunlu exist?
The Qara Qoyunlu existed 1374–1468. On this map it is drawn 1375–1401, 1407–1467.
What was the capital of the Qara Qoyunlu?
The Qara Qoyunlu was ruled from Tabriz; nomadic seats at Erciş (summer) and Mosul (winter).
How large was the Qara Qoyunlu at its height?
At its height under Jahan Shah (c. 1458) the confederation ruled Azerbaijan, Armenia, eastern Anatolia, Iraq and western Iran to the gates of Khorasan — some 524,000 km².
Who ruled the Qara Qoyunlu?
Released after Timur's death in 1405, Qara Yusuf returned to Azerbaijan, smashed the Timurid princes at Nakhchivan (1406) and Sardrud (1408) — killing Timur's son Miran Shah — retook Tabriz, and in 1410 defeated and killed his old jail-mate Ahmad Jalayir, taking Baghdad and absorbing the Jalayirid inheritance.
How did the Qara Qoyunlu end?
Erased by the Aq Qoyunlu in 1468, the Black Sheep nonetheless Turkified Azerbaijan durably, transmitted Jalayirid Perso-Islamic statecraft, and seeded later states: the Qutb Shahi sultans of Golconda in India descended from the Qara Qoyunlu, and Baharlu clansmen such as Bairam Khan served the Mughals.
How was the Qara Qoyunlu governed?
A loose tribal sultanate whose administration copied the Jalayirid and Ilkhanid models, the Qara Qoyunlu used Persian as court and diplomatic language while the dynasty and army spoke an Oghuz Turkic ancestral to Azerbaijani — Jahan Shah himself wrote poetry in both under the pen-name Haqiqi.

Sources

Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.

This entry was written from the sources above and last updated .

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

Around the same time

See the Qara Qoyunlu in its world

Open the atlas at 1437 and every neighbour, rival and successor is on screen with it — then drag the slider and watch what happens next.

Open the map at 1437 →