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Qara Yusuf

Type Figure Region Azerbaijan Time c. 1356–1420 Also known as Turkmen sultan of the Black Sheep

Qara Yusuf, foremost ruler of the Qara Qoyunlu (r. c. 1389–1420, interrupted 1400–1405), seized Azerbaijan and Baghdad, warred with Timur and Ahmad J…

Timeline

  1. 1356–1389Erzish · Van ProvinceBorn at Erzish near Lake Van, son of Qara Muhammad; he succeeded in 1389 after his father was killed by a mutinous general and began consolidating Black Sheep power around Lake Van and Mosul.
  2. 1389–1400Tabriz · AzerbaijanHe took Tabriz from the Jalairs, alternately allying and clashing with Ahmad Jalair, making the Black Sheep the dominant power in western Iran.
  3. 1400–1410Syria and Damascus · SyriaAfter Timur's 1400 invasion he fled, was imprisoned in Damascus with Ahmad Jalair, and agreed to partition Azerbaijan and Iraq; after Timur died in 1405 he restored his rule, and in 1410 defeated and executed Ahmad Jalair, taking Baghdad.
  4. 1410–1420Azerbaijan · AzerbaijanHe consolidated control over Iraq and Azerbaijan, clashing continuously with the White Sheep and Timur's successors; in 1420 he fell ill and died while marching against Shahrukh, and was buried at Erzish.

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