Battle of Chapakchur
| Battle of Chapakchur | |||||||||
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| Part of Kara Koyunlu – Aq Qoyunlu Wars | |||||||||
 Location of Çapakçur Province now known as Bingöl Province in Turkey |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Aq Qoyunlu
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 Kara Koyunlu
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Uzun Hasan | Jahan Shah † | ||||||||
The Battle of Chapakchur (Turkish:Çapakçur) was a decisive battle fought between Kara Koyunlu (Black Sheep Turkomen) under the leadership of Jahan Shah and Aq Qoyunlu (White Sheep Turkomen) under the leadership of Uzun Hasan. Jahan Shah was defeated by Uzun Hasan in a battle near the sanjak of Çapakçur in present-day eastern Turkey on October 30 (or November 11), 1467.
The conflict between Kara Koyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu had reached its zenith under the leadership of the former group named Jahan Shah and latter group named Uzun Hassan. Aq Qoyunlu and Kara Koyunlu had been vying for power and regional supremacy for most of the 14th century and 15th century. Both groups were Turkmen. Kara Koyunlu were vassals of the Jalayirid dynasty in Baghdad and Tabriz from about 1375, when the leader of their leading tribe, ruled over Mosul. Aq Qoyunlu was brought to the region by the invasions of Timur the Lame and Kara Koyunlu were uprooted from power. However, after the death of Timur, they returned and hastened the downfall of the Jalayirids whom they had once served.
During Jahan Shah's reign the Kara Koyunlu's territory reached its largest extent, including huge swaths of land in Anatolia, most of present-day Iraq, central Iran, and even eventually Kerman. Uzun Hasan, meanwhile, was restricted initially to Diyarbakir but gradually expanded his territory in Anatolia. After clever diplomacy and regional alliances he managed to stave off the Ottoman Turks and even fought several battles against Kara Koyunlu defeating Jahan Shah on the river Tigris in May 1457. Uzun Hasan avoided all out war with the Ottoman Empire by allowing them to conquer his ally Empire of Trebizond, while he consolidated his power and prepared for the defense of his territory. It was during this time that Jahan Shah wanted to defeat the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan and make him his vassal. So with that in mind he secured his eastern borders with a peace treaty with the Timurid leader of Samarkand, Abu Sa'id Mirza and then invaded Aq Qoyunlu territory to his west.
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