Qara Yusuf

Abu Nasr Qara Yusuf Nuyan ibn Muhammad Qara Yusuf for short (* 1357 ; † 1420 ) was the ruler of the Qara Qoyunlu tribal federation in eastern Anatolia from around 1388 to 1420, with his rule being interrupted between 1400 and 1405 by an invasion of Timur .

The end of vassalage

At the beginning of Qara Yusuf's rule, the Qara Qoyunlu were nominally the vassals of the Jalairids from Baghdad and Tabriz . Timur threatened both of them from the east. In 1396 Timur appointed his son Miran Shah as the Timurid viceroy of Azerbaijan . Qara Yusuf worked with the ruler of the Jalairids Ahmad as an equal partner against the Timurids and was able to make the Qara Qoyunlu independent.

The Timurid Invasion

The Timurids began a new campaign in 1400 and defeated the Qara Qoyunlu and Jalairids. Qara Yusuf and Sultan Ahmad sought protection from the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I. In 1402 they returned with an army and fought with the Ottomans in the battle of Ankara against Timur, but lost. The Ottoman Sultan was even captured by Timur. After regaining control of Baghdad, they began arguing and Qara Yusuf expelled Ahmad from the city. Ahmad sought refuge with the Mamluks , but they locked him up for fear of Timur. In 1403 the Timurids drove Qara Yusuf from Baghdad again. He also sought protection with the Mamluks and was also imprisoned. Together in captivity, the two leaders renewed their friendship and agreed that Ahmad Baghdad and Qara Yusuf should receive Azerbaijan. When Timur died in 1405, the Mamluks released both of them.

Qara Yusuf returned to Azerbaijan from his exile in Egypt and defeated the Timurid Aba Bakr near Naxçıvan and got Tabriz back in 1406. Aba Bakr and his father Miran Shah tried to retake Tabriz, but were defeated on April 20, 1408, and Miran Shah died. This battle, which was one of the most important battles in the history of the Orient, nullified the results of Timur's conquests in the west.

According to the Timurids

After Qara Yusuf had firmly established himself as ruler in Azerbaijan with the capital Tabriz, he came into conflict with his former ally Ahmad. Ahmad tried to conquer Azerbaijan and temporarily occupied Tabriz, but was defeated near Tabriz on August 30, 1410. After handing Iraq over to Qara Yusuf, he and his son Ala al-Dawla were murdered. Ahmad's nephew Sultan Valad quickly succeeded him, but in 1412 Qara Yusuf conquered Baghdad and established the rule of the Qara Qoyunlu family there. This put an end to the rule of the Jalairids. Within a few months, Qara Yusuf ruled over an empire that stretched from Georgia to Basra and whose centers were Tabriz and Baghdad. After Qara Yusuf's death in 1420, Shah Ruch tried to wrest Azerbaijan from his son Qara Iskander. Although he defeated him twice in 1421 and 1429, only the third expedition was successful when he replaced Iskander with his brother Jahan Shah .

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} René Grousset : The Empire of the Steppes. A History of Central Asia. Translated by N. Wallford. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick NJ et al. 1970, ISBN 0-8135-1304-9 , p. 458.

predecessor	Office	successor
Qara Muhammad	Ruler of the Qara Qoyunlu approx. 1388–1420	Qara Iskander