Jahánsháh, with the support and approval of Sháh-rukh,
now succeeded to the throne vacated by his brother's death
Jahánsháh
in 839/1435-6, and considerably enlarged the
realm which he had inherited. In 856/1452 he
overran 'Iráq-i-'Ajam, made a massacre of the people of
Iṣfahán, and invaded Fárs and Kirmán. In 862/1457-8 he
conquered Khurásán, and in the month of Sha'bán in that
year (June-July, 1458), was enthroned at Herát, and
remained there for six months, when Sulṭán Abú Sa'íd,
the great-grandson of Tímúr, prepared to attack him. At
the same time news reached him that his son Ḥasan, who
was imprisoned in Ádharbáyján, had escaped and was in
rebellion against him, so he was compelled to make peace
with Abú Sa'íd and hasten westwards at the average rate
of twelve parasangs (some forty-five miles) a day, losing in
this forced march 20,000 camels and 10,000 horses. Having
subdued and expelled his son Ḥasan, he dismissed his other
son Pír Budáq from the government of Fárs and transferred
him to Baghdád, where he also shortly revolted. Jahánsháh
thereupon besieged Baghdád for a whole year, and finally
succeeded in killing Pír Budáq and replacing him by another
son, Muḥammad Mírzá, after which he returned to Ádhar-
<text in Arabic script omitted>
“The army of Jahánsháh Bahádur Núyán, notwithstanding all the
materials of mastery and strength,
On the twelfth of the month of the second Rabí' perished, and the
date [of the year was] ‘Ḥasan Beg slew [him]’.”*
Of the character of Jahánsháh the Turkish historian Munajjim-báshí, from whom the above sketch of the Qára- Character of Jahánsháh qoyúnlú dynasty is taken, * gives a most unfavourable account. According to this writer, he was “a dissolute, immoral, blood-thirsty tyrant, a malignant inclined to heresy and atheism, who paid no heed to the Sacred Law, passed his nights until dawn in revelry and vice, and slept like a dog during the day; for which reason he was called ‘the Bat.’” He died at the age of 70 after a reign of 32 years, was buried at Tabríz, and Ḥasan 'Alí was succeeded by Ḥasan 'Alí, the son whom he had cast off, and who had at one time been protected by Úzún Ḥasan. This son, whose mind is said to have been disordered by his captivity, reigned but a short while in Tabríz ere he was driven thence by Úzún Ḥasan to Hamadán, whither he was pursued and put to death by Úzún Ḥasan's son Oghúrlú Muḥammad in Extinction of the “Black Sheep” Dynasty 873/1468-9 873/1468-9. With him the Dynasty of the “Black Sheep,” or Qára-qoyúnlú, came to an end, and was replaced by that of the “White Sheep,” or Áq-qoyúnlú.
Diyár Bakr was the original centre of activity of the “White Sheep” or Báyandarí Turkmáns, of whose amírs
The “White Sheep” Dynasty. Qára 'Osmán Bahá'u'd-Dín Qára 'Osmán, known as Qára Íluk (“the Black Leech”) from his greedy and bloodthirsty character, was the first to achieve fame. Having defeated Qára Yúsuf of the rival “Black Sheep” Turkmáns, he was driven by the envy of his less capable brothers Aḥmad and Pír 'Alí to seek service with Qáḍí Burhánu'd-Dín * at Síwás. In 800/1397-8 Qára 'Osmán killed his host and seized his territory, but retired, on learning that an Ottoman army under Prince Sulaymán was advancing on Síwás, to Erzinján. He joined Tímúr in his campaign against Asia Minor and Syria, and received as a reward for his services the town of Diyár Bakr. Shortly afterwards Qára Yúsuf, the “Black Sheep” Turkmán, escaped from Egypt and made war on Qára 'Osmán, but died, as already mentioned, in Dhu'l-Ḥijja 823 (December 1420), and was succeeded by his son Iskandar, who suffered defeat at the hands of Sháh-rukh in the following year. 'Alí Beg b. Qára 'Osmán Qára 'Osmán died in 838/1434-5, and was succeeded by his son 'Alí Beg, who was compelled by a revolt of his brother Ḥamza to take refuge for a time with the Ottoman Sulṭán Murád II.'Alí Beg was succeeded by his son Jahángír, who was soon displaced (857/1453) by his more resolute and capable Jahángír. Úzún Ḥasan (“Ussun Cassano” or “Assambei” of the Venetian ambassadors) brother Úzún Ḥasan (the “Ussun Cassano” or “Assambei” of Josafa Barbaro), who was by far the most powerful and celebrated of the “White Sheep” Dynasty. He was the grandson of “the Black Leech,” and succeeded to the throne at Ámid (Diyár Bakr) in the year mentioned above, which was the year in which the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople. To the fear inspired in Europe, and especially in Italy, by this fresh evidence of Ottoman power and prowess were due the efforts made by successive Venetian ambassadors to Persia to win the support of Úzún Ḥasan against the Turks, whom it was hoped he might harass on their Eastern frontier and so distract their attention from further conquests in the West. Thus once again since the Mongol Court at Qára-qorum had attracted emissaries from Rome with a similar object, the “Eastern Question” assumed a new importance, and the good will of Persia began to be assiduously sought after by European Powers. These Venetian ambassadors have left descriptions of their voyages and adventures which shed a welcome side-light on the condition of Persia and the character of Úzún Ḥasan, of whom Ramusio, in his Preface to Caterino Zeno's Travels, speaks in the highest terms, even declaring that “amongst all the kings of the East, who existed since the government was taken away from the Persians and transferred to the Greeks, there have been none who equalled the glory of Darius Hystaspes and Ussun Cassano.” “It is to be regretted,” he adds, “that some Eastern kings, great in power and intellect, have not had historians to celebrate their deeds, since among the Sultans of Egypt and among the Kings of Persia there have been men most excellent in war, and worthy not only of being compared with ancient barbarian kings famous in arms but even with the great Greek and Roman commanders in all those things which constitute able generals of armies.” * He further speaks with admiration of “the manner in which this Ussun Cassano, a poor nobleman and the weakest in condition of many brothers,…not possessing more than thirty soldiers, besides a small castle, afterwards raised himself to such grandeur that he had the courage to dispute the empire of all Asia with the Ottoman House, which under Muḥammad II (A.D. 1451-1481) was a terror to the East.” Contarini, who was with Úzún Ḥasan in 1474-5,
Contarini's description of Úzún Ḥasan says that he “always drank wine with his meals,” and “appeared to be a good liver, and took pleasure in inviting us to partake of the dishes which were before him.” “There were constantly present,” he continues, * “a number of players and singers, to whom he commanded whatever he wished to be played or sung, and His Majesty appeared to be of a very merry disposition. He was tall and thin, and had a slightly Tartar expression of countenance, with a constant colour on his face. His hand trembled as he drank. He appeared to be seventy years of age. * He was fond of amusing himself in a homely manner; but when too far gone was sometimes dangerous. Take him altogether, however, he was a pleasant gentleman.”No such vivid portrait of this remarkable man is to be found in the pages of any Oriental historian with whom I am acquainted, but the following estimate of his character by Munajjim-báshí is worth quoting:*