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Aq Qoyunlu

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The White Sheep Turkmen (Turkish: Akkoyunlular) were a Turkmen tribal federation that ruled present day eastern Anatolia, northern Iraq, western Iran, and Azerbaijan from 1378 to 1508.

According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, White Sheep Turkmen were present in Anatolia since at least 1340, and most White Sheep Turkmen leaders, including the dynasty's founder, Kara Osman, married Byzantine princesses.

The White Sheep Turkmen officially first acquired land in 1402, when Tamerlane granted them all of Diyar Bakr, in northern Iraq. For a long time, the White Sheep Turkmen were unable to expand their territory, as the rival Black Sheep Turkmen kept them at bay. However, this changed with the rule of Uzun Hasan, who defeated the Black Sheep Turkmen leader, Jihan Shah, in 1467.

After the defeat of a Timurid leader, Abu Sai'd, Uzun Hasan was able to take Baghdad, along with territories around the Persian Gulf. He expanded into Iran as far west as Khorasan. However, around this time, the Ottoman Empire sought to expand westwards, a serious threat that forced the White Sheep Turkmen into an alliance with the Qaramanids of central Anatolia.

As early as 1464, Uzun Hasan had requested military aid from one of the Ottoman Empire's strongest enemies, Venice, however, despite Venetian promises, this aid never arrived, and as a result, Uzun Hasan was defeated by the Ottomans at Tercan in 1473, though this did not destroy the White Sheep Turkmen.

Ya'qub, who reigned from 1478 to 1490, sustained the dynasty for a while longer, but following his death the White Sheep Turkmen began to destroy themselves from within, and thanks to years of infighting, they ceased to be a threat to their neighbours.

The Safavids, who were Shi'ites, began to undermine the alleigance of many White Sheep Turkmen, particularly Sunnis. The Safavids and the White Sheep Turkmen met in battle at Nakhichevan in 1501, and the Safavid leader Esma'il I forced the White Sheep Turkmen to withdraw.

In his retreat from the Safavids, the White Sheep Turkmen leader Alwand destroyed an autonomous White Sheep Turkmen state in Mardin. The last White Sheep Turkmen leader, Murad, brother of Alwand, was also defeated by the same Safavid leader. Though Murad briefly established himself in Baghdad in 1508, he soon withdrew back to Diyar Bakr, signalling the end of the White Sheep Turkmen.

White Sheep Rulers:

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