The Battle of Qara-Derrah Pass was fought between Pir Muhammad of the

Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani (Chagatai language, Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Tu ...

and

Qara Yusuf ''Abu Nasr'' Qara Yusuf ibn Mohammad Barani ( az, Qara Yusif ; c. 1356 – 1420) was the ruler of the Qara Qoyunlu dynasty (or "Black Sheep Turkomans") from c.1388 to 1420, although his reign was interrupted by Tamerlane's invasion (1400–1405 ...

of the Turcoman

Kara Koyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...

confederation in eastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

near

Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...

in 1395.

Background

When the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm ...

collapsed after the death of

Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan (June 2, 1305 – December 1, 1335) (Persian, Arabic: ), also spelt Abusaid Bahador Khan, Abu Sa'id Behauder ( mn, , ''Busayid Baghatur Khan'', ''Бусайд баатар хаан'' / ''Busaid baatar khaan'', in moder ...

, rival Mongol tribes, namely the Chopanids,

Jalayirids The Jalayirid Sultanate was a culturally Persianate, Mongol Jalayir dynasty which ruled over Iraq and western Persia after the breakup of the Mongol khanate of Persia in the 1330s.Bayne Fisher, William. ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', p.3 ...

and

Injuids The House of Inju (Injuids, Injus, or Inju'ids) was an Iranian dynasty of Persian origin that came to rule over the cities of Shiraz and Isfahan during the 14th century. Its members became de facto independent rulers following the breakup of the ...

along with a Persian clan, the Muzaffarids, were involved in conflicts for dominance over

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. This rendered them weak and ideal targets for an invasion by Timur the Lame in 1393. He overran these territories and sacked portions of eastern

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

. But Timur's prolonged absence from his homeland began to worry his nobles and family members and so he sent his grandson Pir Muhammad (son of

Umar Shaikh Mirza I Mu'iz-ud-din Umar Shaikh Mirza (1356 – February 1394) ( fa, عمر شیخ میرزا) was a member of the Timurid dynasty and a son of its founder, the Central Asian conqueror Timur. Known for being a skilled soldier, Umar Shaikh was one o ...

) to

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

in 1395 to provide security in that part of his dominions. Pir Muhammad departed accordingly for Shiraz accompanied by Ghiyasuddin Tarkhan and Amir Shams-ud-din Abbas, who was to move on with his forces to

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

. Having reached

Ardabil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...

, they received intelligence that

at the head of

of superior force was encamped in the neighbourhood of Alahtauk with the design of making an attempt on

Khoy Khoy (Persian and az, خوی; ; ; also Romanized as Khoi), is a city and capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 200,985. Khoy is located north of the province's capital and largest city ...

. Ghiyasuddin Tarkhan and Amir Shams-ud-din Abbas continued their march for Samarkand while Pir Muhammad made the best of his way to

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

in order to assemble the troops of the province and he was shortly afterwards joined at that place by several officers sent by

Miran Shah Mirza Jalal-ud-din Miran Shah Beg (1366 – 20 April 1408), commonly known as Miran Shah ( fa, میران شاہ), was a son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur, founder of the Timurid Empire. During his father's reign, Miran Shah was init ...

as reinforcements.

Battle

Pir Muhammad advanced without further delay to oppose the designs of Qara Yusuf and reached a particular spot without confrontation. He became aware that a detachment of the enemy sent forward by the Kara Koyunlu chief to explore and scour the country had taken post in the Qara-Derrah Pass, a strong defile in the mountains which at a subsequent period formed the boundary between the Turkish and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

dominions. With equal promptitude and decision, the young prince resolved on an attempt to cut off this detachment and accordingly coming upon them with a suddenness which precluded resistance. All those who could escape fled to the Bendimahi river which flows into the

. Qara Yusuf immediately relocated his headquarters and withdrew in dismay on intelligence that the Timurids were approaching. Pir Muhammad came upon the fugitives the town of Bendimahi and from there dispatched a part of his force in pursuit of Qara Yusuf.

Aftermath

Qara Yusuf having disappeared without leaving a vestige to indicate the course of his flight, it was thought advisable to terminate the pursuit and Pir Muhammad, being at liberty to resume his march for Shiraz, now proceeded to

Soltaniyeh Soltaniyeh ( fa, سلطانيه, also Romanized as Solţānīyeh, Solţāneyyeh, Sultaniye, and Sultānīyeh; also known as Sa‘īdīyeh; ) is the capital city of Soltaniyeh District of Soltaniyeh County, Zanjan Province, northwestern Iran. ...

References

External links

{{coord missing, Turkey Battles in medieval Anatolia Qara-Derrah Pass Qara-Derrah Pass 1395 in Asia History of Van Province 1390s in the Middle East Battles involving the Qara Qoyunlu