Kara Koyunlu
Encyclopedia
The Kara Koyunlu or Qara Qoyunlu, also called the Black Sheep Turkomans (Persian
/Azeri: قرا قویونلو), were a Shi'ite Oghuz Turkic
tribal federation that ruled over the territory comprising the present-day Armenia
(1406), Azerbaijan
, north-western Iran
, eastern Turkey
and Iraq
from about 1375 to 1468.
The Kara Koyunlu Turkomans at one point established their capital in Herat
in eastern Persia, and were vassal
s 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 Mamluk
s. 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 Timurid
s, the Black Sheep Turkomans maintained a strong grip over the areas they controlled.
, 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 autonomous rulers of Baghdad, whom he expelled in 1464. In 1466, Jahān Shāh attempted to take Diyarbakir
from the White Sheep Turkomans, however, this was a catastrophic failure resulting on Jahān Shāh's death and the collapse of the Black Sheep Turkomans' 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.
fell under the control of the Kara Koyunlu in 1410. The principal Armenian sources available in this period come from the historian Tovma Metsopetsi
and several other contemporary colophon
s. According to Tovma, although the Kara Koyunlu levied heavy taxes against the Armenians
, the early years of their rule were relatively peaceful and some reconstruction of towns took place. This peaceful period was, however, shattered with the rise of Qara Iskander
, who reportedly made Armenia a "desert" and subjected it to "devastation and plunder, to slaughter, and captivity." Iskander's wars with and eventual defeat by the Timurids invited further destruction in Armenia, as many Armenians were taken captive and sold into slavery and the land was subjected to outright pillaging, forcing many of them to leave the region. Iskander did attempt to reconcile with the Armenians by appointing an Armenian, Rustum, from a noble family, as one of his advisers.
When the Timurids launched their final incursion into the region, they were able to get Jihanshah, Iskander's brother, to turn on his brother. Jihanshah pursued a policy of persecution against the Armenians in Syunik
and Armenian colophons record the sacking of the monastery of Tatev
by his forces. But he, too, attempted a rapprochement
with the Armenians, allotting land to feudal lords, rebuilding churches, and approving the relocation of the Armenian Catholicos
ate to Echmiadzin
in 1441. For all this, Jihanshah continued to attack Armenian towns and take Armenian captives as the country saw further devastation in the final years of Jihanshah's failed struggles with the Aq Qoyunlu.
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Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
/Azeri: قرا قویونلو), were a Shi'ite Oghuz Turkic
Oghuz Turks
The Turkomen also known as Oghuz Turks were a historical Turkic tribal confederation in Central Asia during the early medieval Turkic expansion....
tribal federation that ruled over the territory comprising the present-day Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
(1406), Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, north-western Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, eastern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
from about 1375 to 1468.
The Kara Koyunlu Turkomans at one point established their capital in Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
in eastern Persia, and were vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s of the Jalayirid dynasty
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...
in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
from about 1375, when the leader of their leading tribe, ruled over Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
. However, they rebelled against the Jalayirids, and secured their independence from the dynasty with the conquest of Tabriz by Qara Yusuf
Qara Yusuf
Abu Nasr Qara Yusuf Nuyan ibn Muhammad was the ruler of the Kara Koyunlu or Black Sheep Turkomans from c.1388 to 1420, although his reign was interrupted by the Timurid invasion .-The Jalayirid vassalage broken:...
. In 1400, the armies of Tamerlane defeated the Kara Koyunlu, and Qara Yusuf fled to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
seeking refuge with the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s. He gathered an army and by 1406 had taken back Tabriz. In 1410, the Kara Koyunlu captured Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. 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 Timurid
Timurid Dynasty
The Timurids , self-designated Gurkānī , were a Persianate, Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Iran, modern Afghanistan, and modern Uzbekistan, as well as large parts of contemporary Pakistan, North India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the...
s, the Black Sheep Turkomans maintained a strong grip over the areas they controlled.
Jahān Shāh
Jahān Shāh made peace with the Timurid Shāh Rukh MirzāShah Rukh (Timurid dynasty)
Shāhrukh Mīrzā was the ruler of the eastern portion of the empire established by the Central Asian warlord Timur - the founder of the Timurid dynasty - governing most of Persia and Transoxiana between 1405 and 1447...
, 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
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
, as well as Timurid controlled western Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Though much territory was gained during his rule, Jahān Shāh's reign was troubled by his rebellious sons and the almost autonomous rulers of Baghdad, whom he expelled in 1464. In 1466, Jahān Shāh attempted to take Diyarbakir
Diyarbakir
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
from the White Sheep Turkomans, however, this was a catastrophic failure resulting on Jahān Shāh's death and the collapse of the Black Sheep Turkomans' 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.
Armenia
ArmeniaArmenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
fell under the control of the Kara Koyunlu in 1410. The principal Armenian sources available in this period come from the historian Tovma Metsopetsi
Thomas of Metsoph
Thomas of Metsoph was an Armenian churchman and chronicler who left an account of Timur’s invasions of the Caucasus . What we know of Thomas’s life comes from a biography written by his own student Kirakos Banaser as well as a number of 15th-century colophons.Born in Aghiovit, north of Lake Van,...
and several other contemporary colophon
Colophon
Colophon was a city in the region of Lydia in antiquity dating from about the turn of the first millennium-BC. It was likely one the oldest of the twelve Ionian League cities, between Lebedos and Ephesus and its ruins are in the eponymously named modern region of Ionia.The city's name comes from...
s. According to Tovma, although the Kara Koyunlu levied heavy taxes against the Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, the early years of their rule were relatively peaceful and some reconstruction of towns took place. This peaceful period was, however, shattered with the rise of Qara Iskander
Qara Iskander
Qara Iskander ibn Yusuf ruled the Kara Koyunlu or Black Sheep Turcoman tribe from 1420-1436. His struggles with the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh show that he was a brave leader, but he was not able to continue developing what he inherited from his father Qara Yusuf and his reign saw the decline and...
, who reportedly made Armenia a "desert" and subjected it to "devastation and plunder, to slaughter, and captivity." Iskander's wars with and eventual defeat by the Timurids invited further destruction in Armenia, as many Armenians were taken captive and sold into slavery and the land was subjected to outright pillaging, forcing many of them to leave the region. Iskander did attempt to reconcile with the Armenians by appointing an Armenian, Rustum, from a noble family, as one of his advisers.
When the Timurids launched their final incursion into the region, they were able to get Jihanshah, Iskander's brother, to turn on his brother. Jihanshah pursued a policy of persecution against the Armenians in Syunik
Syunik
Syunik is the southernmost province of Armenia. It borders the Vayots Dzor marz to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave to the west, Karabakh to the east, and Iran to the south. Its capital is Kapan. Other important cities and towns include Goris, Sisian, Meghri, Agarak, and Dastakert...
and Armenian colophons record the sacking of the monastery of Tatev
Tatev
The Monastery of Tatev is a 9th century Armenian monastery located in the Tatev village in Syunik Province in southern Armenia. The term "Tatev" usually refers to the monastery. It stands on a plateau on the edge of the deep gorge of the Orotan River...
by his forces. But he, too, attempted a rapprochement
Rapprochement
In international relations, a rapprochement, which comes from the French word rapprocher , is a re-establishment of cordial relations, as between two countries...
with the Armenians, allotting land to feudal lords, rebuilding churches, and approving the relocation of the Armenian Catholicos
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
ate to Echmiadzin
Echmiadzin
Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin is a 4th century Armenian church in the town of Ejmiatsin, Armenia. It is also the central cathedral of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church....
in 1441. For all this, Jihanshah continued to attack Armenian towns and take Armenian captives as the country saw further devastation in the final years of Jihanshah's failed struggles with the Aq Qoyunlu.
See also
- Rulers of Kara KoyunluRulers of Kara KoyunluThis is the list of rulers of Kara Koyunlu dynasty . The dynasty ruled the territory now part of present-day Iran, Iraq and eastern Turkey. Their capital was the city of Tabriz.-Kara Koyunlu rulers:...
- List of Shi'a Muslims dynasties
- Qutb Shahi dynastyQutb Shahi dynastyThe Qutb Shahi dynasty was a Turko-Persian dynasty ; its members were collectively called the Qutub Shahis. They were the ruling family of the kingdom of Golkonda in modern-day Andra Pradesh, India. They were Shia Muslims and belonged to Kara Koyunlu...
Further reading
- Bosworth, Clifford. The New Islamic Dynasties, 1996. Khachikyan, Levon. ԺԵ դարի հայերեն ձեռագրերի հիշատակարաններ, մաս 1 (Fifteenth Century Armenian Colophons, Part 1). Yerevan, 1955.
- Morby, John. The Oxford Dynasties of the World, 2002.
- Sanjian, Avedis K. Colophons of Armenian manuscripts, 1301-1480: A Source for Middle Eastern History, Selected, Translated, and Annotated by Avedis K. Sanjian. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1969.
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