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Kara Koyunlu of the Turkomans, lighter blue shows their greatest extent in Iraq and Arabian East Coast for a small period of time

Flag of the Kara Koyunlu

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The Kara Koyunlu or Qara Qoyunlu, also called the Black Sheep Turkomans (Turkmen: Garagoýunly; Azeri: Qaraqoyunlu; Turkish: Karakoyunlu; Persian: قراقویونلو), were an Turkmen tribal federation that ruled Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Southern Caucasus, and Iraq from about 1375 to 1468 ^[1].

The Black Sheep Turkomans at one point established their capital in Herat in eastern Persia ^[2], and were vassals of the Jalayirid dynasty in Baghdad and Tabriz from about 1375, when the leader of their leading tribe, ruled over Mosul. However, the Turkomans rebelled against the Jalayirids, and secured their independence from the dynasty with the conquest of Tabriz by Qara Yusuf.

However, in 1400, the armies of Tamerlane defeated the Black Sheep Turkomans, and Kara Yusuf fled to Egypt and sought refuge with the Mamluks. He gathered an army and by 1406 had taken back Tabriz.

In 1410, the Black Sheep Turkomans took 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 Timurids, the Black Sheep Turkomans maintained a strong grip over the areas they controlled.

History of Greater Iran
Empires of Persia · Kings of Persia
Pre-modern
Before Islam  BCE Zayandeh River Civilization prehistoric–? Sialk civilization 7500–1000 Jiroft civilization (Aratta) 3000–? Proto-Elamite civilization 3200–2800 Bactria-Margiana Complex 2200–1700 Elamite dynasties 2800–550 Kingdom of Mannai 10th–7th cent. Median Empire 728–550 Achaemenid Empire 550–330 Seleucid Empire 330–150 Greco-Bactrian Kingdom 250-125 Parthian Empire 248–CE 224 CE Kushan Empire 30–275 Sassanid Empire 224–651 Hephthalite Empire 425–557 Kabul-Shahi dynasty 565–670
After Islamic Conquest  Patriarchal Caliphate 637–651 Umayyad Caliphate 661–750 Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258 Tahirid dynasty 821–873 Alavid dynasty 864–928 Saffarid dynasty 861–1003 Samanid dynasty 819–999 Ziyarid dynasty 928–1043 Buyid Dynasty 934–1055 Ghaznavid Empire 975–1187 Ghori dynasty 1149–1212 Seljuk Empire 1037–1194 Khwarezmid dynasty 1077–1231 Kartids dynasty 1231-1389 Ilkhanate 1256–1353 Muzaffarid dynasty 1314–1393 Chupanid dyansty 1337–1357 Jalayerid dynasty 1339–1432 Timurid Empire 1370–1506 Qara Qoyunlu Turcomans 1407–1468 Aq Qoyunlu Turcomans 1378–1508 Safavid Empire 1501–1722* Mughal Empire 1526–1857 Hotaki dynasty 1722–1729 Afsharid dynasty 1736–1802 * or 1736
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Iraq  Ottoman Empire 1632–1919 Hashimite monarchy 1920–1958 Coup and Republic 1958–2003 Republic of Iraq since 2004
Tajikistan  Emirate of Bukhara 1785–1920 Bukharan / Uzbek SSR 1920–1929 Tajik Autonomous SSR 1929 Tajik SSR 1929–1991 Republic of Tajikistan since 1991
Uzbekistan  Emirate of Bukhara 1785–1920 Uzbek SSR 1924–1991 Independence 1991 Republic of Uzbekistan since 1991
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Jahān Shāh made peace with the Timurid Shāh Rukh Mirzā, 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 Diyar Bakr from the White Sheep Turkomans, however, this was a catastrophic failure resulting on Jahān Shāh's death and the collapse of the Black Sheep Turkoman's control in the Middle East. By 1468, the White Sheep Turkomans had swept away the last vestiges of the Black Sheep Turkomans.

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1. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica. "Kara Koyunlu". Online Edition, 2007
2. ^ Patrick Clawson. Eternal Iran. Palgrave Macmillan. 2005 ISBN 1-4039-6276-6 p.23

• Rulers of Kara Koyunlu

• Bosworth, Clifford. The New Islamic Dynasties, 1996.
• Morby, John. The Oxford Dynasties of the World, 2002.