Qara Yusuf

Abu Nasr Qara Yusuf Nuyan (died 1420) was the ruler of the Kara Koyunlu dynasty (or "Black Sheep Turkomans") from c.1388 to 1420, although his reign was interrupted by Tamerlane's invasion (1400–1405). He was the son of Qara Muhammad.

At the beginning of Qara Yusuf's reign, the Kara Koyunlu established an alliance with the Jalayirid dynasty in Baghdad and Tabriz, however, both were threatened by the Timurids from the east. In 1396 Tamerlane appointed his son Miran Shah as viceroy of Azerbaijan. By collaborating on equal terms with the Sultan Ahmed Jalayir against the Timurids, Qara Yusuf effectively secured the independence of the Kara Koyunlu.

The Timurids began another campaign in 1400 and defeated both the Kara Koyunlu and the Jalayirids. Qara Yusuf and Sultan Ahmed Jalayir both fled and took refuge with the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I. In 1402 they returned together with an army. However, once they had retaken control of Baghdad they quarreled, and Qara Yusuf expelled Sultan Ahmed Jalayir from the city. Sultan Ahmed Jalayir took refuge with the Nasir-ad-Din Faraj the Sultan of Mamluk Egypt, but he imprisoned him out of fear of Timur. In 1403 the Timurids defeated Qara Yusuf at the Battle of Algami Canal and drove him out of Baghdad again. He too sought asylum with Nasir-ad-Din Faraj, and was imprisoned by them along with Ahmed. Together in prison, the two leaders renewed their friendship, making an agreement that Sultan Ahmed Jalayir should keep Baghdad while Qara Yusuf would have Azerbaijan. When Timur died in 1405 Nasir-ad-Din Faraj released them both.

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