empire by the end of Uzun Hassan's reign in 1478
Timur, the founder and ruler of the
Timurid Empire, had appointed Uzun Hasan's grandfather,
Kara Yülük Osman, as a governor of
Diyarbakır, with the cities of
Erzincan,
Mardin,
Ruha (or
Urfa), and
Sivas. Later, Persia was divided between two
Timurid rulers,
Jahan Shah of
Qara Qoyunlu (the Black Sheep Turkoman) and Uzun Hasan. After twenty years of fighting, Uzun Hasan eventually defeated Jahan Shah in a
battle near the
sanjak of
Çapakçur in present-day eastern
Turkey on October 30 (or November 11), 1467. Upon the defeat of the latter, another
Timurid ruler,
Abu Sa'id Mirza, answered Jahan Shah's son's request for aid, taking much of Jahan Shah's former land and going to war with Uzun Hasan despite the latter's offers of peace. Uzun Hasan then ambushed and captured Abu Sa'id at the
Battle of Qarabagh, whereupon he was executed by
Yadgar Muhammad Mirza, a rival. In 1463, the Venetian Senate, seeking allies in its
war against the
Ottomans, sent
Lazzaro Querini as its first
ambassador to
Tabriz, but he was unable to persuade Uzun Hassan to attack the Ottomans. Hassan sent his own envoys to
Venice in return. Zeno, whose wife was the niece of Uzun Hassan's wife, was able to persuade Hassan to attack the Turks. Hassan was successful at first, but there was no simultaneous attack by any of the western powers. In 1473,
Giosafat Barbaro was selected as another Venetian ambassador to
Persia, due to his experience in the
Crimean,
Muscovy, and
Tartary. Although Barbaro got on well with Uzun Hassan, he was unable to persuade the ruler to attack the Ottomans again. After yet another Venetian ambassador,
Ambrogio Contarini, arrived in Persia, Barbaro was the last Venetian ambassador to leave Persia after Uzun Hassan died in 1478. While Hassan's sons fought each other for the throne, Barbaro hired an
Armenian guide and escaped. According to Contarini, ambassador to Uzun Hasan's court from 1473 to 1476, "The king is of a good size, with a thin visage and agreeable countenance, and seemed to be about seventy years old. His manners were very affable, and he conversed familiarly with everyone around him, but I noticed that his hands trembled when he raised the cup to his lips." His name means "tall" and Contarini reported that he was also "very lean". ,
Viaggio al signor Usun Hassan re di Persia ("Voyage to Sir Usun Hassan King of Persia"), 1487 Contarini also wrote, "The empire of Uzun-Hassan is very extensive and is bounded by
Turkey and
Caramania, belonging to the
Sultan, and which latter country extends to
Aleppo. Uzun-Hassan took the kingdom of
Persia from
Causa, whom he put to death. The city of
Ecbatana, or
Tauris, is the usual residence of Uzun-Hassan;
Persepolis or
Shiras ..., which is twenty-four days journey from thence, being the last city of his empire, bordering on the
Zagathais, who are the sons of
Buzech, sultan of the
Tartars, and with whom he is continually at war. On the other side is the country of
Media, which is under subjection to
Sivansa, who pays a kind of yearly
tribute to Uzun-Hassan. It is said that he has likewise some provinces on the other side of the
Euphrates, in the neighbourhood of the
Turks. The whole country, all the way to
Ispahan... is exceedingly arid, having very few trees and little water, yet it is fertile in grain and other provisions. "His eldest son, named
Ogurlu Mohamed, was much spoken of when I was in
Persia, as he had rebelled against his father. He had other three sons;
Khalil Mirza, the elder of these was about thirty-five years old, and had the government of
Shiras. Yaqub Beg, another son of Uzun-Hassan, was about fifteen, and I have forgotten the name of a third son. By one of his wives, he had a son named Masubech, or
Maksud beg, whom he kept in prison because he was detected corresponding with his rebellious brother Ogurlu, and whom he afterward put to death. According to the best accounts which I received from different persons, the forces of Uzun-Hassan may amount to about 50,000 cavalries, a considerable part of whom are not of much value. It has been reported by some who were present, that at one time he led an army of 40,000 Persians to battle against the Turks, for the purpose of restoring
Pirameth to the sovereignty of
Karamania, whence he had been expelled by the infidels. == Legacy ==