The Battle of Otlukbeli or Otluk Beli was fought between

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 ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

on August 11, 1473.

Background

In autumn of 1463, the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

opened negotiations with Uzun Hasan. In 1464,

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 ...

intervened in central Anatolian affairs. Although Mehmed occupied

Karaman Karaman is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the seat of Karaman Province and Karaman District.Turkoman tribes living in the mountains which extended to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast. These tribes were not subdued for the next fifty years, and from time to time rose in revolt around pretenders to the throne of

Karamanids The Karamanids ( or ), also known as the Emirate of Karaman and Beylik of Karaman (), was a Turkish people, Turkish Anatolian beyliks, Anatolian beylik (principality) of Salur tribe origin, descended from Oghuz Turks, centered in South-Centra ...

. After the Ottoman occupation of Karaman, Uzun Hasan adopted a more aggressive policy. By 1471, the problem of Karaman had become a serious threat to the Ottoman power. Uzun Hasan formed alliance with the Venetians and established contacts with the

Knights of Rhodes The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

Kingdom of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (; ) was a medieval kingdom of the Crusader states that existed between 1192 and 1489. Initially ruled as an independent Christian kingdom, it was established by the French House of Lusignan after the Third Crusade. I ...

and the Bey of

Alaiye Alaiye () is the medieval Seljuq name for Alanya (on the southern coast of Turkey). It refers to the Turkish city-state in a specific period and the beylik (principality) which developed around there, at times under the Karamanid dynasty. After ...

. He also intended to establish a direct contact with Venice by marching on the Mediterranean coast through the

Taurus mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

, then controlled by the Turkoman tribes. Although a few Venetian ships landed on the coast, they could not find Uzun Hasan's men. In 1472, a crusader fleet attacked the Ottoman coasts. Uzun Hasan with Karamanid forces drove the Ottomans from Karaman and marched on

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

. However, Mehmed repulsed the invasion, and formed an army of 70,000 men. In addition to his regular army, he had

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

from his Muslim and Christian subjects.

Letters and developments

At this time when the war preparations began, Uzun Hasan increased his courage and sent a letter to the Ottomans, asking for

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

and

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

to be given to him. Thereupon, in a letter sent by the sultan to Uzun Hasan: In this letter, Mehmed also informed Uzun Hasan when he would move. Mehmed, who had always taken care to hide his wars from even his closest friends, did the exact opposite this time. He did not hesitate to announce this not only to Uzun Hasan but also to others.

Walking and battle

Preparations for war began in all provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans, who spent the autumn and winter of 1472 making preparations, decided on

Yenisehir as the meeting place of the main army. The forces gathered from

Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...

passed to

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 ...

from

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

. Just as their collection was over, the

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

set out at the head of his forces in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and came to Yenişehir on April 11, 1473. The governor of Karaman, Prince Mustafa, and the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Amasya Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol ...

, Prince Bayezid, joined the army with their forces. In this way, the Ottoman army reached 85,000 people. The army's arrival in Sivas created great satisfaction in the people of

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

. But after that things got difficult. Because from now on, the army entered a very mountainous and steep terrain. While the high mountains were being crossed, the Ottoman army was caught in a

snowstorm A winter storm (also known as snow storm) is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, Rain and snow mixed, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In Continental cl ...

. Even though the army traveled for more than 40 days, there was still no news from Uzun Hasan. However, Turkish raiders were attacked by Uzun Hasan's forces in Niksar. The Ottoman army, which threw them back, came to Koyulhisar and Şebinkarahisar, whose inhabitants had fled to the mountains, and after making some raids in this vicinity, came to

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 ...

. Here Uzun Hasan's force of 5,000 men was encountered. But an Ottoman force of 5,000 men under the command of

Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey (; 1435–1484) was an Ottoman general and governor. The son of the famed Turahan Bey, he was active chiefly in southern Greece: he fought in the Morea against both the Byzantines in the 1440s and 1450s and against the ...

defeated the Aq Qoyunlu. When it came to Tercan, many people who had taken refuge in the mountains came and surrendered to the Ottomans, who took booty and captives from them. At this time, while the Ottoman army was marching eastwards following the Euphrates, Uzun Hasan's forces appeared on the opposite shores. But there were also some sandy shores in these places where the river widened. The Ottoman camp was established on the edge of one of them. Because it was estimated that Uzun Hasan's forces, encamped on the opposite shore, would pass back from one of these sandy places. The Ottomans decided to cross without leaving time for this. Has Murat Pasha would pass through the gate first. However, since he was very young and enterprising, Mahmud Pasha became his companion. But a disagreement started between Mahmud Pasha and Has Murad Pasha. Because when Uzun Hasan's forces made a fake retreat in front of the Ottoman forces that crossed to the opposite shore, Mahmud Pasha, thinking that this was a trick, told Murad Pasha to stay in place. When Mahmud Pasha retreated against the enemy's superior forces, he could not find Murad Pasha where he left him. Because he had gone forward recklessly, deceived by the enemy's fake draw. The enemy was ambushed in several places.Their aim was to turn Murat Pasha's back, but on the other hand, Aq Qoyunlu made a fake retreat against Murat Pasha's forces. Murad Pasha could not understand the meaning of this and started to attack. Meanwhile, Uzun Hasan's forces, which surrounded him from behind, suddenly appeared and the retreating forces turned back. Murad Pasha now understood the situation. However, he had no choice but to fight. Murad Pasha's army had reached 3 hours in the face of superior forces. This victory was an important event for the Aq Qoyunlu. Because it caused a terrible demoralization on the Ottomans. After this incident, Uzun Hasan and his forces disappeared again. That's why Mehmed headed towards

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 ...

. This place was narrow and difficult to pass. Even the animals were no longer able to walk. Therefore, they had to camp and rest in this place, which was difficult to pass, narrow and surrounded by high mountains. Here, while the army was still out of order, some forces appeared on the hill called Otlukbeli at noon. These were the soldiers given to Uzun Hasan's command of Gavur İshak. Faced with this situation, the Ottomans immediately took action to establish war order. The task of countering Gavur İshak was given to Davud Pasha. Mahmud Pasha was also with these forces. Meanwhile, Uzun Hasan's forces held the Otlukbeli ridge and forced the Ottomans to accept the war there. Davud Pasha attacked Gavur İshak's forces with the Anatolian soldiers, preventing them from coming down the hill and connecting the roads. In the face of this attack, Gavur İshak retreated to join the main forces. Now Davud Pasha went to the plains with the Anatolian soldiers and took battle order. Opposite Davud Pasha were the forces of Zeynel Mirza, who commanded the right wing of Uzun Hasan's army. When they attacked Davud Pasha, a bloody war suddenly broke out on this plain. At this time, Mehmed and his Princes climbed the hill to reach the battlefield. Prince Mustafa managed to get to the plain a little later and fell on Zeynel's forces with all the Anatolian soldiers. Now a terrible war was taking place. When the Ottoman soldiers saw the Akkoyunlu soldiers coming down from the mountains like a flood, they had no difficulty in understanding what they were up against. On the right and left wings, 60,000 people began to harass Uzun Hasan's forces with all their efforts. The surroundings were not visible due to the dust rising from the ground. So many people and horses were dying that their blood flowed like a flood from the hills to the stream. Zeynel fell among the Ottoman soldiers and was killed. His severed head was sent to Prince Mustafa by Mahmud Agha, and Mustafa sent it to the Sultan. Thus, the right wing of Uzun Hasan's forces collapsed. The Ottoman forces advancing on Zeynel now attacked in the direction of Uzun Hasan. Uzun Hasan's other son, Uğurlu Mehmed, left the battlefield almost without fighting. Because when Prince Bayezid marched on Uğurlu Mehmed, Uğurlu Mehmed withdrew avoiding facing the Ottoman forces and Prince Bayezid started to fight with Mehmed Bakır's forces. Uğurlu Mehmed would prevent those who fled if the Ottoman army was defeated and returned, and if his father's forces were defeated, he would hit the

Ottoman army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

from behind. But he could not fulfill his duty when he was confronted by the forces of Prince Bayezid. But he started to defend a stream between himself and the Ottomans. Uzun Hasan saw his son Zeynel die and his right wing collapse. He turned to Pir Ahmed, who was next to him, and shouted, "May the Karamanoğlu dynasty be ruined, what did I do with the Ottoman?" Seeing that the war was won, Sultan Mehmed mobilized the 25,000

janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...

he had with him. Seeing these on the battlefield, Uzun Hasan's hope was completely crushed. Uzun Hasan realized that it was unnecessary to resist and left the battlefield. In order to escape, Uzun Hasan had to resort to trickery and leave someone very similar to him, Pir Mehmed Bey, in his place. In this way, he provided himself with the opportunity to escape. Soon Pir Mehmed Bey was captured and Uzun Hasan's standard was brought to the presence of the sultan. The war became one-sided when Uğurlu Mehmed could not resist and started to run away. Aq Qoyunlu were running away and the Ottomans were killing them. If the Ottomans had not gone into plunder, almost none of the Aq Qoyunlu forces would have survived.

Aftermath

Following the defeat of Uzun Hasan, Mehmed took over Şebinkarahisar and consolidated his rule over the area. From he sent a series of letters announcing his victory, including an unusual missive in the

Uyghur language Uyghur or Uighur (; , , or , , ), formerly known as Turki or Eastern Turki, is a Turkic languages, Turkic language with 8 to 13 million speakers (), spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western ...

addressed to the Turkomans of Anatolia. The decree ('' yarlık'') had 201 lines and was written by on 30 August 1473:

Ibn Kemal Şemseddin Ahmed (1469–1534), better known by his pen name Ibn Kemal (also Ibn Kemal Pasha) or Kemalpaşazâde ("son of Kemal Pasha"), was an Ottoman historian,''Kemalpashazade'', Franz Babinger, ''E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1 ...

made the following statement on the capture of :

Abu Bakr Tihrani Abu Bakr Tihrani (; died after 1481) was an Iranian secretary, who served under the Timurid, Qara Qoyunlu, and Aq Qoyunlu dynasties in the 15th century. Initially serving in the provincial ''divan'' of the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh (), Tihrani shi ...

in the ''

Kitab-i Diyarbakriyya ''Ketāb-e Dīārbakrīya'' () is a book on the history of 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'', ...

'': Ottomans nearly destroyed the power of the Aq Qoyunlu in the East. Aq Qoyunlu would later be destroyed completely by

Ismail I Ismail I (; 17 July 1487 – 23 May 1524) was the founder and first shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1501 until his death in 1524. His reign is one of the most vital in the history of Iran, and the Safavid period is often considered the beginn ...

, founder of the

Safavid Empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

. This victory would create a new enemy for the Ottoman Empire in the East. The race between the two empires ended with the fall of the

Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from Safavid Iran, 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder em ...

from power in the 18th century.

Primary sources

* ''Târîh-i Ebü’l-Feth'',

Tursun Beg Tursun Beg (; probably born in mid-1420s in Edirne)Woodhead, Christine. "Ṭūrsūn Beg." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill, 2011. was an Ottoman bureaucrat and historian who wrote a chronicle dedicated to Mehmed II. Tursun Beg's l ...

* ''Tevārīḫ-i Āl-i ʿOsmān'',

Aşıkpaşazade Dervish Ahmed (; "Ahmed the Dervish; 1400–1484), better known by his pen name Âşıki or his family name Aşıkpaşazade, was an Ottoman historian and a prominent representative of the early Ottoman historiography. He was a descendant (the g ...

* ''Tevārīḫ-i Āl-i ʿOsmān'',

* ''Cihannümâ'',

Neşri Mevlânâ Mehmed Neşri (born c. 1450 – died circa 1520), also commonly referred to as Neshri (), was an Ottoman historian, a prominent representative of early Ottoman historiography. Very little is known about Neşri, which suggests that he ...

References

{{Authority control

Otlukbeli Otlukbeli is a municipality (belde) and seat of Otlukbeli District of Erzincan Province in Turkey. It had a population of 2,036 in 2021. It is divided into the neighborhoods of Fatih, Mehmet Akif Ersoy and Şehitler. History In 1835, the village o ...