Qara Qoyunlu

Etymology The name Qara Qoyunlu literally means "[those with] black sheep". They were likely so named because of the black sheep that was painted on their flags. 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. Origins The ruling family descended from the Yıwa tribe of the Oghuz Turks, specifically the Baharlu, who by the fourteenth century possessed territories north of Lake Van and Mosul in Upper Mesopotamia. The tribes that comprised the Qara Qoyunlu besides the Baharlu were the Saadlu in what is now Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the Karamanlu in Ganja and Barda, the Alpaut and the Agacheri in Maraş, the Dukharlu in Erzurum and Bayburt, the Jagirlu in Ardabil, and the Hajilu. According to Faruk Sümer, the Qara Qoyunlu were undoubtedly a sub-tribe (oba "camp, tribe") of the Oghuz, and Vladimir Minorsky's claim that this subtribe belonged to the Yiwa is probably true. By a number of researchers, the Oghuz dialect of Qara-Qoyunlu is connected with the Azerbaijani language. So, for example, Faruk Sumer noted that the East Oghuz dialect, which was spoken by Qara-Qoyunlu, is today called the Azerbaijani dialect. Serdar Gündoğdu and Ali İçeri (Serdar Gundogdu and Ali Icher) call the Azerbaijani language a legacy that came from the Turkoman tribes of Qara-Qoyunlu. Sultan Qara-Qoyunlu in 1435-1467 Jahan Shah is a recognized representative of Azerbaijani poetry. Duharlu Turkmens, a branch of the Qara Qoyunlu, first appeared in the Chronicle of Michael Panaretos of the rump state of the Empire of Trebizond. It is probable that the Duharlu came to Anatolia from Central Asia during the Mongol conquest of Anatolia, as testified by the legendary traditions of the Qara Qoyunlu. Rise During the 14th century, the Qara Qoyunlu had several encounters with the powerful Jalayirid Sultanate, which was based in Baghdad and Tabriz. In 1366, Shaykh Uways Jalayir marched against the Qara Qoyunlu, defeating their leader Birdi Khwaja in Mosul and his brother Bayram Khwaja, at the battle of Mush. The Qara Qoyunlu Turkomans then became vassals of the Jalayirid Sultanate from about 1375, and the leader of their leading tribe ruled from Mosul. The Qara Qoyunlu ruler Qara Mahammad invaded Mardin in 1384 and received the submission of its Artuqid ruler Majd al-Din Isa Al-Zahir (1376-1407), who became a vassal. 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. 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 the fall of 1409, Qara Yusuf entered Tabriz and sent a raiding party to Shirvan, especially Shaki, which was fruitless. In the west, Mardin, the last stronghold of the Artuqids, was taken over by the Qara Qoyunlu in 1409. The Qara Qoyunlu finally secured their independence from the Jalayarid dynasty with the conquest of Tabriz by Qara Yusuf and the execution of Shaykh Uways Jalayir in 1410. Armenia and Georgia (1410) In 1410, Armenia fell under the control of the Qara Qoyunlu. The principal Armenian sources available in this period come from the historian Tovma Metsopetsi and several colophons to contemporary manuscripts. According to Tovma, although the Qara Qoyunlu 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 from a noble family, Rustum, as one of his advisers. When the Timurids launched their final incursion into the region, they convinced Jihanshah, Iskander's brother, to turn on his brother. Jahanshah pursued a policy of persecution against the Armenians in Syunik and colophons to Armenian manuscripts record the sacking of the Tatev monastery by his forces. During the reign of the Georgian king Alexander I of Georgia (r. 1412–1442), the Qara Qoyunlu multiplied raids against the Kingdom of Georgia, such as the raids led by Qara Yusuf in Akhaltsikhe in 1416. They started the Turkoman invasions of Georgia (1407–1502), ultimately participating to the collapse of the Georgian realm. Baghdad , circa 1430 In 1410, the Qara Qoyunlu captured Baghdad. The installation of a subsidiary Qara Qoyunlu line hastened the downfall of the Jalairids they had once served. The Qara Qoyunlu finally took down the Jalayirid Sultanate, which fled in a diminished form to southern Iran. The illustrated manuscript Basatin al-uns (TSMK Ms. R. 1032) seems to have been created at the juncture of these events, and may be one of the last manuscripts created by the Jalayirids in Baghdad. Qara Yusif died in 1420, leading to internal fighting among Qara Yusuf's descendants. 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. Shah Rukh defeated Qara Iskander in 1420–21. The Timurids briefly occupied the Qara Qoyunlu capital of Tabriz in 1421, and Baysunghur, the son of Shah Rukh, brought back to Herat a group of Tabrizi artists and calligraphers, formerly working for Ahmad Jalayir, who he installed in Herat to add to his existing artists from Shiraz. They became the most important school of artists in Iran, merging the two styles. Shah Rukh again defeated Qara Iskander in 1429, only in the third expedition of Shahrukh Mirza in 1434–35 did the Timurids succeed, upon which Shah Rukh entrusted the government to Iskander's own brother, Jahan Shah (1436-1467) as his vassal. (left) in battle against the Timurid Ibrahim Sultan (right) in April 1429. Shahnama (1430), Bodleian Library, ms. Add 176, folios 6r-7v. In 1436 Jahan Shah made peace with the Timurid Shahrukh Mirza, and 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. Southern and Eastern expansion In 1452-1453, Jahan Shah seized the opportunity of the death of Sultan Muhammad bin Baysonqor, Timurid Governor of Fars, to further expand East and South, taking Saveh, Qum, Isfahan, Shiraz and Yazd. He was seconded by his son Pīr Būdāq, who became governor of the region of Shiraz. In the summer of 1458, Jahan Shah advanced as far as Herat and occupied the city for a few months, but ultimately had to turn back because of a revolt by his son Hasan Ali, and also because of Abu Said's march on Tabriz. Hasan Ali was kept in Maku prison for a while for his rebellious nature. He was defeated in winter 1458. But this time, his son Pirbudag rebelled, who was soon joined by Hasan Ali in Fars. However, he was spared at the request of his mother and replaced by Mirza Yusuf, another son of Jahan Shah. By 1468, at their height under Uzun Hasan (1452–1478), the Aq Qoyunlu defeated the Qara Qoyunlu and conquered Iraq, Azerbaijan, and western Iran. ==Religion==

was started in through a foundation established by the wife of Jahan Shah, and was completed in October 1465.During the Qara Qoyunlu period, Shia Islam was being spread, notably through the activities of Shaykh Junayd of the Safavid order in Azerbaijan and Anatolia and the Musha'sha' in Khuzistan. Vladimir Minorsky writes that the Qara Qoyunlu adopted Shia Islam as a unifying ideology for their loose tribal confederation, and that "in trying to unify their adepts on a shīʿa platform, they can be regarded as the forerunners of the Safavids." Their rivals, the Aq Qoyunlu, probably rejected heterodox religious influences out of their enmity towards the Qara Qoyunlu. According to R. Quiring-Zoche, however, it is "doubtful" that there was a definite contrast between the Shia Islam of the Qara Qoyunlu and the Sunni Islam of the Aq Qoyunlu. Some later members of the ruling family had names typical of Shia Muslims, and some rulers minted coins with Shia legends. However, the rulers Qara Yusuf, Iskander and Jihanshah minted coins with the names of the four caliphs (three of whom are rejected by Shia Muslims). C. E. Bosworth writes, "there seems no strong evidence for definite Shi'i sympathies among many Turkmen elements of the time." Additionally, there is no indication in contemporary Aq Qoyunlu, Mamluk and Timurid sources that the Qara Qoyunlu rulers had Shia inclinations. == Governance ==

, son of Jahan Shah, as Governor of Shiraz. Shiraz miniature, The Qara Qoyunlu state organization was based mainly on of its predecessors, Jalayirids, and the Ilkhanids. Qara Qoyunlu rulers used the title sultan since the enthronement of Pirbudag by Qara Yusuf. Sometimes the title bahadur appeared on the coinage. They also used the titles khan, khagan and padishah. and King of Kings of Iran during his reign. 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. ==Culture==

Under Timur, the cultural entity of Iran was renewed by Persian literature, art and culture being patronized throughout the Timurid Empire. Consequently, Qara Qoyunlu art was notably influenced by the Timurids. 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. The rule of the Qara Qoyunlu and other Turkoman dynasties speeded up the process—well underway by that time—by which Azerbaijan and parts of Fars became ethnically and linguistically Turkic. Architecture Jahan Shah is known for several architectural contributions through western Iran. The Northern Iwan of Darb-e Imam in Isfahan is attributed to him. He commissioned and dedicated the monument in 1453, two years after conquering the city. The gate is considered as "a masterpiece of tile decoration", and "among the finest specimens of such work in Persia". It has a monumental inscription in Persian recording the rule of Jahanshah and the local governorship of his son Moḥammad: "When the ruler of the greatest domain, lord of the mightiest realm, and sovereign protector of the world Abu’l-Moẓaffar Mīrzāda Jahānšāh, may God perpetuate his stewardship, entrusted the government of this province to the care and direction of the prince, the support of the pillars of the religion of Moḥammad Abu’l-Fatḥ Moḥammadī...". Jahanshah is also known for renovation work on the Eastern entrance iwan of the Jameh Mosque of Yazd in 1457. The portal has a central dedication in the name of Jahanshah: "the structure of this lofty arch (taf) was restored during the reign of . . . Abu’l-Muzaffar Sultan Jahanshah, Nizam al Dawlah wa’l-Din al-Hajj Qanbar, in Dhu’l-Hijjah 861." It is thought that the contribution was specifically related to the muqarnas of the portal. The Blue Mosque in Tabriz was started through a foundation established by the wife of Jahanshah, and was completed in 1465. The entrance gate also has a monumental inscription in the name of Jahan Shah. Tilework The celebrated tilework of the Blue Mosque consists in "unrivalled" underglaze painted tile and mosaics, using shades of cobalt blue and incized gold and white patterns, which covered both the interior and the exterior of the mosque, as well as its dome. Qara Qoyunlu architecture is often richly decorated, but the designs of the Blue Mosque are particularly innovative, and may have been influenced by architects from the Timurid capital of Herat having moved to Tabriz following the 1458 capture of Herat. The Turkmen style of tilework appears to have been an influential precursor throughout the Middle-East. Manuscript production and his court. Frontispiece from a Kalila wa Dimna, Baghdad (likely), c. 1465. Jahan Shah's constant military struggles limited his involvement in artistic pursuits, apart from monumental architectural contributions such as the Blue Mosque in Tabriz. The beautiful tilework displayed in the decorations of the Blue Mosque can be considered as a precussor of the manuscript frontispieces later made in Herat. Many of the miniatures produced during the period tended to be somewhat "provincial" in taste, using bright colors and standardized figures, known as the "Turkmen style". On the contrary, Jahan Shah's son Pir Budaq, who became Governor of Fars and Baghdad, was extremely active in the production of refined manuscripts. Under Pir Budaq, several innovations were made in the calligrapgy of ''nasta'liq'' writing, and manuscripts were finely illustrated along Khorasan pictorial conventions. File:Two folios from a Persian manuscript, Persia, Qaraqoyunlu Turkmen, 1460-1480.jpg|Two folios from a Persian manuscript, Persia, Qaraqoyunlu Turkmen, 1460-1480. File:Qara Qoyunlu hunting scene. Upper binding cover, 1455, Baghdad, Dīwān-i Qāsim-i Anwar (TSMK, R. 991).jpg|Qara Qoyunlu hunting scene. Upper binding cover, 1455, Baghdad, Dīwān-i Qāsim-i Anwar (TSMK, R. 991). File:The battle of the crows and the owls. Kalila wa Dimnah, for Pir Budak Kara-Koyunlu. Tabriz c. 1460 (Gulistan Library, MS 827).jpg|The battle of the crows and the owls. Kalila wa Dimna, for Pir Budak c. 1460 ==Qara Qoyunlus in India==

Sultan Quli Khawas Khan Hamdani (r.1518-1543), the founder of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of the Sultanate of Golconda in southern India, belonged to the Qara Qoyunlu and was a fourth-generation direct descendant of Qara Iskander (r.1421-1436). In the 16th century, he migrated from Iran to Delhi with his uncle, Allah-Quli, some of his relatives and friends. Later he migrated south, to the Deccan and served the Bahmani sultan, Mahmood Shah Bahmani II, who was of Afghan Origin. He established and declared the independence of the Sultanate of Golconda after the disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate into the five Deccan sultanates. In the 16th century, other Qara Qoyunlus played a prominent role in the service of the Mughals in India, such as Bairam Khan (Bahārlū clan of the Qara Qoyunlū, Commander-in-chief of the Mughal army), his son Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, or his nephew Khan Jahan I. ==See also==