Sara Khatun () was an influential woman 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'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...
state, as the political adviser of her son,
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 ...
(r. 1457–1478). She was a successful and well-respected diplomatic mediator.
Early life
According to historian
John E. Woods, Sara Khatun was the daughter of Pir Ali Bayandur, the ruler of
Kiğı
Kiğı (; ) is a town and seat of the Kiğı District of Bingöl Province in Turkey. The mayor is Hikmet Özüağ ( AKP).
The town is populated by Kurds of the Giransor tribe and had a population of 2,926 in 2021.
Neighborhoods
The town is d ...
. Pir Ali was himself the son of the Aq Qoyunlu ruler
Fakhr ad-Din Qutlu by his
Pontic wife Maria Comnena, sister of
Alexios III of Trebizond. German orientalist
Franz Babinger
Franz Babinger (15 January 1891 – Durrës, 23 June 1967) was a well-known German orientalist and historian of the Ottoman Empire, best known for his biography of the great Ottoman emperor Mehmed II, known as "the Conqueror", originally published ...
speculates that Sara Khatun was an Aramaic Christian who grew up near
Diyarbakir, but this speculation is based on an earlier assumption by
Vladimir Minorsky
Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsky (; – 25 March 1966) was a White Russian academic, historian, and scholar of Oriental studies, best known for his contributions to the study of history of Iran and the Iranian peoples such as Persians, Lurs, and ...
which he later renounced. Sara Khatun married her paternal cousin
Ali
Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...
, the son of the leader of the Aq Qoyunlu federation
Qara Osman. She widowed in 1444.
Political influence
Sara Khatun came to have great political influence during the reign of her son. She was a skilful diplomat and headed embassies for the purpose of regulating disputed issues. Sara Khatun was well-known in the west, and foreign ambassadors frequently took advantage of her influence over her son. For example, in 1463 Josaphat Barbaro was sent from
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
to the court of Uzun Hasan with the instructions "Meet the ruler’s mother, assure her of respect and present gifts..." in order to persuade her to an "enterprise" beneficial to Venice (war with the Ottoman Empire).
She aided in the reconciliation of Uzun Hasan and her other son Jahangir, who had challenged Uzun-Hasan's rule. Sara Khatun was also sent to negotiate with the mother of
Timurid ruler
Abu Said, but her efforts were futile. She had also travelled to the
Mamluk Sultanate
The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...
, in an attempt to solve Jahangir's problems.
Negotiations with Mehmed II
Sara Khatun's negotiations with the
Ottoman 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 ...
Mehmed II
Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481.
In Mehmed II's first reign, ...
were particularly successful. Negotiations with Mehmed II took place in 1461, during Mehmed II's
Anatolian campaign. The Ottoman army captured
Sinop and headed towards
Trebizond. Fearing that Mehmed was planning an attack on the Aq Qoyunlu, Uzun-Hasan sent his mother to negotiate, accompanied by many sheikhs and princes from the region and expensive gifts.
According to Ottoman historians
Tursun Beg and
Sadeddin Efendi, Sara Khatun met with the influential Grand Vizier
Mahmud Pasha at night and begged him for assistance. Mahmud Pasha responded positively to her request and arranged for her to meet with Mehmed. According to historian
Steven Runciman
Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume '' A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). His works had a profound impact on the popula ...
, Mehmed treated Sara Khatun well because his plans at the time were limited to capturing the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
coast. As a result, Mahmud Pasha accepted the proposals of Sara Khatun for peace. During the negotiations, she referred to Mehmed as "my son", while he referred to her as "mother". Sara Khatun tried to persuade Mehmed to not capture Trebizond as it was the land of her daughter-in-law,
Despina Khatun
Theodora Megale Komnene (), also known as Despina Khatun (; from the Greek title '' despoina'' and Turco-Mongol title ''khatun'', both meaning "lady"), was the daughter of John IV of Trebizond and Bagrationi who married the Aq Qoyunlu ruler U ...
: "Why waste so much effort, my son, because of such nonsense as Trebizond?" she asked. Mehmed, on the other hand, was not inclined to deviate from his plans. As a result, Sara Khatun made an agreement with Uzun Hasan not to interfere with the Ottoman Turks' capture of Trebizond. Despite her gracious reception, Mehmed refused to let her return with his men and detained her until the end of the campaign. This was done to avoid any Aq Qoyunlu attacks during the conquest of Trebizond. Sara Khatun was given piles of jewellery captured by the Ottomans in Trebizond in exchange for her mediation.
Sara Khatun may have granted asylum to the last Emperor of Trebizond,
David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
, and his family for a brief period after Trebizond's capture. Mehmed II promised Sara Khatun that he would not harm the emperor or his family. Mehmed partially fulfilled the promise except for the daughter of Emperor David,
Anna, who was taken into Mehmed's harem, and later married to
Zaganos Pasha. Except for Anna and his nephew Alexei, the former emperor and his children were graciously received by the Sultan and sent on a special ship to
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
with courtiers and personal property. Two years later, however, David was charged with treason and executed alongside his son. The reason for David's execution was his correspondence with his niece, Uzun-Hasan’s wife, Despina-Khatun.
Family
By her husband, Sara Khatun had seven sons and a daughter:
*
Jahangir Mirza Beg
*
Uzun Hasan Beg
* Hussein Beg
* Jahanshah Beg
* Iskander Beg
* Ibrahim Beg
* Uveysh Beg
*
Khadija Beyim Khatun. She married
Shaykh Junayd
Shaykh Junayd (died 4 March 1460; ) was the hereditary leader of the Safavid order, a Sufi order based in Ardabil in northwestern Iran. He was the son of Shaykh Ibrahim, grandson of Shaykh Ali Safavi, father of Shaykh Haydar and grandfather o ...
of
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 ...
between 1456 and 1459. Their son,
Haydar Safavi, married his cousin
Alamshah Halima Khatun, daughter of Uzun Hassan and
Teodora Despina Khatun, and was father of
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 ...
and grandfather of
Tahmasp I
Tahmasp I ( or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 until his death in 1576. He was the eldest son of Shah Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum.
Tahmasp ascended the throne after the ...
.
References
Literature
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Khatun, Sara
15th-century women
Year of birth unknown
People under the Aq Qoyunlu
1465 deaths
1400s births