The Battle of Nakhchivan was fought between

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 ...

under their Bey,

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 ...

and 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 ...

under the leadership of

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...

's grandson Abu Bakr ibn Miran Shah, for control of

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 th ...

on October 14, 1406. Qara Yusuf decisively defeated the Timurids in this battle and took over

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...

, the capital of the region.

Background

After Khalil Sultan became king of the

, his brother, Abu Bakr ibn Miran Shah returned with his army to Azerbaijan and expelled the forces of Sultan Ahmed Jalayir from Tabriz. Sultan Ahmed went to Aujan and after a consultation with Aujan's local ruler, he determined to return to Baghdad. Because Abu Bakr forces can not got into Tabriz, he went to Nakhchivan and summoned Malik Izuddin from Kurdistan, before they jointly agreed to attack the forces of Kara Koyunlu under Qara Yusuf.

Battle

The battle between the belligerents was fought on the bank of

Aras River , az, Araz, fa, ارس, tr, Aras The Aras (also known as the Araks, Arax, Araxes, or Araz) is a river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan excl ...

on October 14, 1406 (1

Jumada al-awwal Jumada al-Awwal ( ar, جُمَادَىٰ ٱلْأَوَّل, Jumādā al-ʾAwwal, lit=The initial Jumada), also known as Jumada al-Ula ( ar, جُمَادَىٰ ٱلْأُولَىٰ, Jumādā al-ʾŪlā, lit=The first Jumada), or Jumada I, is the ...

809). Qara Yusuf side emerged victorious. The demoralised Abu Bakr's troops retreated and on their way back, they pillaged the city of Tabriz. This enraged notable Tabrizi which then invited Qara Yusuf to their city. Meanwhile, Abu Bakr's side continued their retreat to Sultania and passed their time there during the winter.

Aftermath

As Abu Bakr's side was in Sultania, Tabriz fell into the grip of Qara Yusuf. The fall of Tabriz marked Qara Yusuf's as the undisputed master of

. In Tabriz, Qara Yusuf attracted some support against the rule of Timurid Empire, one of the supporter was Sultan Mu'tasim. After consolidating power, Qara Yusuf led the army to march into Sultania where forcefully captured and transferred Sultania's inhabitants to Tabriz, Maragha, and Erbil. On 21 April 1408 (24

Dhu al-Qadah Dhu al-Qa'dah ( ar, ذُو ٱلْقَعْدَة, ', ), also spelled Dhu al-Qi'dah or Zu al-Qa'dah, is the eleventh month in the Islamic calendar. It could possibly mean "possessor or owner of the sitting and seating place" - the space occupied w ...

810), Abu Bakr was planning to launch a surprise attack towards Kara Koyunlu, but Qara Yusuf moved more quickly, then decisively defeated Abu Bakr forces in the Battle of Sardrud. Qara Yusuf became a powerful ruler in the region and established his stronghold immediately by making alliances with other Turkmen tribes, such as with Bistam Jagir. He occupied

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. ...

, Ardabil, and

Maragheh Maragheh ( fa, مراغه, Marāgheh or ''Marāgha''; az, ماراغا ) is a city and capital of Maragheh County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Maragheh is on the bank of the river Sufi Chay. The population consists mostly of Iranian Azerba ...

; and moved the population to Tabriz. This would allow Qara Yusuf to face a counterattack in 1408 by the Timurids who intended on retaking Azerbaijan but would be disappointed as they were defeated decisively. The alliances between Bistam and Qara Yusuf turned sour by 1412/1413. There is no clear explanation regarding the rift, but seems likely to be connected with a wider crisis of authority.

Reference

{{reflist Jalayirids Nakhchivan 1406 Medieval Azerbaijan Nakhchivan (city) Nakhchivan 1406 History of Nakhchivan Battles involving the Kara Koyunlu