Qara Iskander ibn Yusuf ruled the Kara Koyunlu

Kara Koyunlu

The Kara Koyunlu or Qara Qoyunlu, also called the Black Sheep Turkomans , were a Shi'ite Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled over the territory comprising the present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan, north-western Iran, eastern Turkey and Iraq from about 1375 to 1468.The Kara Koyunlu Turkomans at one...

 or Black Sheep Turcoman tribe from 1420-1436. His struggles with 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...

 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

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:...

 and his reign saw the decline and attenuation of the Kara Koyunlu.

The succession crisis

Qara Yusuf’s death in 1420 left his sons Ispend, Iskander, Jahan Shah

Jahan Shah

Muzaffar al-Din Jahan Shah ibn Yusuf ‎ was the leader of the Kara Koyunlu Turkmen tribal federation in Azerbaijan and Arran who reigned c.1438-1467. During his reign he managed to expand the Kara Koyunlu’s territory to its largest extent, including Western Anatolia, most of present day Iraq,...

 and Abu Sa’id fighting over the succession. The Sa’dlu tribe, one of the main sub-tribes of the Kara Koyunlu, declared Ispend as the new chief. Abu Sa’id had to flee and Jahan Shah went to 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...

. Iskander and Ispend joined together to fight the Ak Koyunlu

Ak Koyunlu

The Aq Qoyunlu or Ak Koyunlu, also called the White Sheep Turkomans , was an Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled parts of present-day Eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, and Iran from 1378 to 1508.-History:According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, the Aq Qoyunlu...

 who were invading from the west, and defeated them.

Timurid invasions

The Timurid Shah Rukh took advantage of the weakened state of the Kara Koyunlu to invade their land, crossing the Aras River and defeating the forces of Iskander and Ispend in a battle at Yahsi (28–29 July 1421). He briefly occupied 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...

 and Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

 but then withdrew once more to Khorasan

Greater Khorasan

Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...

. At this point, Ispend quickly re-occupied 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...

. However Iskander followed him and fought with him, taking the city and establishing himself as ruler of the Kara Koyunlu. In 1429 Shah Rukh returned and occupied Tabriz, installing the Kara Koyunlu prince Abu Sa’id as his vassal. However, two years later Qara Iskander reoccupied Tabriz and had Abu Sa’id executed.

Qara Iskander ousted by Jahan Shah

In 1436 Shah Rukh once more installed a Timurid governor in Tabriz, this time Qara Iskander’s brother Jahan Shah. Iskander marched on Tabriz but was defeated by Jahan Shah at Sufiyan to the north of the city, having been betrayed by some of his emirs. He then fled and took refuge in the castle of Alincak. Jahan Shah besieged the castle, and during the siege Iskander was murdered by his own son Shah Kubad.

See also

• Rulers of Kara Koyunlu
  Rulers of Kara Koyunlu
  This 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:...