Kara Yülük Osman
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Uthman Beg or Osman Beg (
Ajami Turkic Ajem-Turkic or Ajami Turkic (; ''Türkī-yi ʿacemī'', 'Persian Turkic' or 'Persian Turkish'), also known as Middle Azeri or Middle Azerbaijanian, is the Turkic language, Turkic vernacular spoken in Iran between the 15th and 18th centuries. The ...
and ; 1356 – 1435) was a late 14th and early 15th-century leader of the Turkoman
tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
of
Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...
in what is now eastern
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
and
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
.


Name

He was born Baha-ud-Din Uthman and was later given the nickname Qara Iluk or Qara Yuluk meaning ''The Black Leech''. However, John E. Woods argues that this interpretation is doubtful since "leech" in modern Turkish is ''sülük'', not ''yülük'', which means cleanshaven or smooth.


Early life

Uthman Beg was the son of
Fakhr al-Din Qutlugh Fakhr al-Din Qutlugh-bey ( Azerbaijani and ; died 1389) was the second Aq Qoyunlu bey, ruling from 1362-1389. His full name was ''Haji Fakhr al-Din Kutlug ibn Tur Ali-bey''. Biography Qutlugh was the son and successor of Bey Tur-Ali and grands ...
, likely by his Greek wife, Maria, sister of
Alexios III of Trebizond Alexios III Megas Komnenos (; 5 October 1338 – 20 March 1390), or Alexius III, was Emperor of Trebizond from December 1349 until his death. He is perhaps the best-documented ruler of that country, and his reign is distinguished by a number of ...
. He is estimated to have been born 1356. According to
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
and Aq Qoyunlu sources, he later married his maternal cousin, a daughter of Alexios III and his consort
Theodora Kantakouzene Theodora Komnene Kantakouzene (; – after 1390) was Empress of the Empire of Trebizond as the consort of Emperor Alexios III Megas Komnenos from their marriage in 1351 until her retirement after her husband's death in 1390. Family Theodora is ...
. He was afraid of the intentions of his brothers, Ahmed and Pir Ali when they joined
Kadi Burhan al-Din Kadi Ahmad Burhan al-Din (8 January 1345, Kayseri – 1398, Sivas) poet, scholar, and statesman. He was vizier to the Eretnid rulers of Anatolia. In 1381, he took over Eretnid lands and claimed the title of sultan for himself. He is most often ...
of
Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...
. He eventually killed his opponents and took over their territories in 1398 but retreated from
Erzinjan Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni with a ...
on the arrival of the
Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...
under
Süleyman Çelebi Süleyman Çelebi (also Emir Süleyman; – 17 February 1411) was an Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire for several years during the Ottoman Interregnum. There is a tradition of western origin, according to which Suleiman th ...
.


Reign

When
Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...
invaded the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
and eastern
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
, the
Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...
sided with him in support and fought alongside the
Timurids The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of contem ...
against the
Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...
. For his services, Uthman Beg was given
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...
in 1402. After this expedition, he tried to consolidate his dominance in Southeastern and Eastern Anatolia. In 1407, further increased his reputation by defeating
Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...
emirs. However, he failed against
Qara Yusuf ''Abu Nasr'' Qara Yusuf ibn Mohammad Barani ( 1356 – 1420) was the ruler of the Qara Qoyunlu dynasty (or "Black Sheep Turkomans") from 1388 to 1420, although his reign was interrupted by Tamerlane's invasion (1400–1405). He was the son of ...
, who conquered
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
by defeating Timur's grandson Abu Bakr. In 1412, he was defeated by Qara Yusuf near
Ergani Ergani (, ), formerly known as Arghni or Arghana, is a municipality and district of Diyarbakır Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,510 km2, and its population is 136,099 (2022). Ergani District is located in the administrative as the Southeastern ...
. When he was defeated by Qara Yusuf again in 1417, he made a peace agreement with him, which lasted one year. In 1418, he besieged and pillaged
Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...
causing Qara Yusuf to march on him again. He was defeated and fled to
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
. Two years later, he besieged
Erzincan Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...
and defeated Yakub, son of Qara Yusuf. In 1421, he tried to take Mardin again but was defeated by Qara Iskandar. He further expanded his territory by talking
Urfa Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic period, Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain abo ...
and Erzincan. He divided his land by giving
Bayburt Bayburt () is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the Çoruh River. It is the seat of Bayburt Province and Bayburt District.Tercan Tercan (formerly Mama Hatun, and Derzene; , in the Byzantine era; ; ) is a town and seat of Tercan District of Erzincan Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. It had a population of 4,846 in 2021. Located on the north bank of the ...
to his other nephew and
Şebinkarahisar Şebinkarahisar is a town in Giresun Province in the Black Sea region of northeastern Turkey. It is the administrative seat of Şebinkarahisar District.
to his son Yaqub. He also took
Harput Harpoot () or Kharberd () is an ancient town located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. It now forms a small district of the city of Elazığ. p. 1. In the late Ottoman period, it fell under the Mamuret-ul-Aziz Vilayet (also known as the Harpu ...
from the
Dulkadirids The Beylik of Dulkadir () was one of the Turkish Anatolian beyliks (principality) established by the Oghuz Turk clans Bayat, Afshar, and Begdili after the decline of Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm. Etymology The meaning of Dulkadir is unclear. ...
, which he gave to his son Ali Beg. In 1429,
Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...
plundered
Urfa Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic period, Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain abo ...
and its surrounding, and even captured one of Uthman's sons, Hâbil Beg, who died in the capital
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
in 1430. The same year Mamluk Sultan
Barsbay Al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Dīn Barsbāy () was the ninth Burji dynasty, Burji Mamluk sultan of Egypt from AD 1422 to 1438. He was Circassians, Circassian by birth and a former slave of the first Burji Sultan, Barquq. Early career A former slave of the i ...
marched on Amid, however Mamluks did not achieve a significant success. In 1432, he conquered Mardin. In 1434, upon Qara Iskandar's plunder of
Shirvan Shirvan (from ; ; Tat: ''Şirvan'') is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, as known in both pre-Islamic Sasanian and Islamic times. Today, the region is an industrially and agriculturally developed part of the Republic of Azerbaijan ...
,
Khalilullah I Khalilullah I (), also known as Sultan-Khalil (), was the Shirvanshah (king of Shirvan) from 1418 to 1465. He was the son and successor of Ibrahim I (). He was succeeded by his son Farrukh Yasar. Reign After the death of the Qara Qoyunlu ruler ...
asked help from Uthman Beg. He besieged and took
Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...
from the
Qara Qoyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu (, ; ), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, English Black Sheep, Turkmen tribal federation tha ...
and gave the city to his son Sheikh Hasan. In August 1435, he was defeated by Qara Iskandar in the vicinity of Erzurum, and died soon after.


Legacy

The transformation of the Aq Qoyunlu tribal confederation into a regional power took place under Uthman Beg. As he augmented his power, he also started to develop the foundations of a Perso-Islamic administration. However, at the same time, he maintained a strong attachment to his own nomadic roots, as well to his Turkic roots from
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
. This is exemplified in the occurrence where he urged his followers to respect the validating force of Oghuz heritage, quoting the ''yasak'' (a traditional body of unwritten laws) in the process. This message of caution by Uthman Beg to his followers bears similarities to
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...
's ''yasa'', or the concept of the Mongol ''törah'' that
Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...
referred to when he made mention of some inherited Mongol traditions of his Timurid cousins. Uthman Beg also warned his followers not to adopt a sedentary city life, for he believed it would lead to the disappearance of "sovereignty, Turkishness and liberty". Genghis Khan had once warned his Mongol followers with the same sort message. These remarks by Uthman Beg were contemporaneous with Ottoman Sultan
Murad II Murad II (, ; June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1421 to 1444 and from 1446 to 1451. Early life Murad was born in June 1404 to Mehmed I, while the identity of his mother is disputed according to v ...
's attempts aimed at re-energizing his own dynasty's Central Asian Oghuz roots, which, in light of the devastating Ottoman defeat at Ankara, was deemed necessary by him in order to strengthen Ottoman authority. Uthman Beg's grandson
Uzun Hasan Uzun Hasan or Uzun Hassan (; February or March 1425 – January 6, 1478) was a ruler of the Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu state and is generally considered to be its strongest ruler. Hasan ruled between 1452 and 1478 and presided ove ...
would be the first Aq Qoyunlu ruler to openly disembark on a campaign aimed at transforming the Aq Qoyunlu tribal confederation into a Perso-Islamic sultanate.


Issue

He had seven known sons: * Ibrahim Bey (died 1408); * Abel Bey - was captured by the Mamluks in 1429; * Ali Bey; * Hamza Bey; * Uveys Bey; * Hasan Bey; * Yakub Bey; He had a known daughter: * Ruqaya Sultan, married in 1401 to Siddi Ahmad, son of
Miran Shah Mirza Jalal-ud-din Miran Shah Beg (1366 – 20 April 1408), commonly known as Miran Shah (), was a son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur, founder of the Timurid Empire. During his father's reign, Miran Shah was initially a powerful regio ...
;İlhan Erdem - Akkoyunlu devletini meydana getiren aşiretler
s.256


References


Sources

* 14th-century Aq Qoyunlu rulers 1350s births 1435 deaths 15th-century Aq Qoyunlu rulers {{Aq Qoyunlu leaders