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Aq Qoyunlu

Ağ Qoyunlu
آق قویونلو
1378–1501
The Ag Qoyunlu confederation at its greatest extent
Capital Diyarbakır: 1453 – 1471
Tabriz:1468 – January 6, 1478
Languages Oghuz Turkic, Arabic, Persian, Armenian, Kurdish
Religion Sunni Islam
Government Monarchy
Ruler
 •  1378–1435 Kara Yuluk Osman
 •  1501–1501 Murad ibn Ya'qub
Historical era Medieval
 •  Established 1378
 •  Disestablished 1501
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kara Koyunlu
Safavid dynasty
Today part of  Azerbaijan
 Iran
 Turkey
 Iraq
 Syria
 Armenia
 Pakistan
 Georgia
 Russia

The Ağ Qoyunlu or Ak Koyunlu, also called the White Sheep Turkomans (Persian: آق‌ قویونلو‎‎ Āq Quyūnlū), was a SunniOghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled present-day Azerbaijan, Armenia, Eastern Turkey, part of Iran, and northern Iraq from 1378 to 1501.

According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, the Ag Qoyunlu are first attested in the district of Bayburt south of the Pontic mountains from at least the 1340s, and most of their leaders, including the dynasty's founder, Qara Osman, married Byzantine princesses.

The Ağ Qoyunlu Turkomans first acquired land in 1402, when Timur granted them all of Diyar Bakr in present-day Turkey. For a long time, the Ağ Qoyunlu were unable to expand their territory, as the rival Kara Koyunlu or "Black Sheep Turkomans" kept them at bay. However, this changed with the rule of Uzun Hassan, who defeated the Black Sheep Turkoman leader Jahān Shāh in 1467.

After the defeat of a Timurid leader, Abu Sa'id, Uzun Hassan was able to take Baghdad along with territories around the Persian Gulf. He expanded into Iran as far east as Khorasan. However, around this time, the Ottoman Empire sought to expand eastwards, a serious threat that forced the Ağ Qoyunlu into an alliance with the Karamanids of central Anatolia.


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