Battle of Chapakchur

Battle of Chapakchur
Part of Qara Qoyunlu–Aq Qoyunlu Wars

Battle of Chapakchur (1467). A severed head, claimed to be Jahānshāh's, is being shown to Uzun Hasan. Folio 402v. Rawzat al-Safa, 1599, Turkey (British Library, Or. 5736)
DateOctober 30[1] (or November 11[2]), 1467.
Location
Near the sanjak of Çapakçur,[3][4] now known as Bingöl Province in eastern Turkey.
Result

Aq Qoyunlu victory

  • Decline of Qara Qoyunlu
Belligerents
Aq Qoyunlu Qara Qoyunlu
Commanders and leaders
Uzun Hasan Jahan Shah  †
Muhammedi Mirza †
Pirzad Beg (POW)
Rüstem Beg (POW)
İskender Beg (POW)
Kılıç Arslan Beg (POW)
Shah Veli Beg (POW)
Yusuf Mirza (POW)
Strength
10,000[5] 30,000[6]
Casualties and losses
Unknown 5,000

The Battle of Chapakchur (Turkish:Sancak Muharebesi; Azerbaijani:Səncəq döyüşü), also Battle of Muş, was a decisive battle fought between Qara Qoyunlu (Black Sheep Turkomen) under the leadership of Jahan Shah and Aq Qoyunlu (White Sheep Turkomen) under the leadership of Uzun Hasan. Jahan Shah was defeated by Uzun Hasan in a battle near the sanjak of Çapakçur[3][4] in present-day eastern Turkey on October 30[1] (or November 11[2]), 1467.

Background

The conflict between Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu had reached its zenith under the leadership of the former group named Jahan Shah and latter group named Uzun Hassan. Aq Qoyunlu and Qara qoyunlu had been vying for power and regional supremacy for most of the 14th century and 15th century. Both groups were Turkmen. Qara qoyunlu were vassals of the Jalayirid dynasty in Baghdad and Tabriz from about 1375, when the leader of their leading tribe, ruled over Mosul. Aq Qoyunlu was brought to the region by the invasions of Timur the Lame and Kara Koyunlu were uprooted from power. However, after the death of Timur, they returned and hastened the downfall of the Jalayirids whom they had once served.

During Jahan Shah's reign the Kara Koyunlu's territory reached its largest extent, including huge swaths of land in Anatolia, most of present-day Iraq, central Iran, and even eventually Kerman. Uzun Hasan, meanwhile, was restricted initially to Diyarbakir but gradually expanded his territory in Anatolia. After clever diplomacy and regional alliances he managed to stave off the Ottoman Turks and even fought several battles against Qara qoyunlu defeating Jahan Shah on the river Tigris in May 1457. Uzun Hasan avoided all out war with the Ottoman Empire by allowing them to conquer his ally Empire of Trebizond, while he consolidated his power and prepared for the defense of his territory. It was during this time that Jahan Shah wanted to defeat the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan and make him his vassal. So with that in mind he secured his eastern borders with a peace treaty with the Timurid leader of Samarkand, Abu Sa'id Mirza and then invaded Aq Qoyunlu territory to his west.

Battle

Jahan Shah set out from Tabriz with a great army on May 16, 1466, and came to the basin of Lake Van. While there, he was furious to learn that Uzun Hassan was raiding his lands with 12,000 cavalry. Meanwhile, Uzun Hassan, worried that Jahan Shah was planning to attack him, had carefully guarded the mountain passes. Envoys went back and forth between them, but because of Jahan Shah's heavy demands, an agreement could not be reached. Having advanced as far as Muş, Jahan Shah had to postpone his attack because of the onset of winter. As his troops began to mutiny, he decided to withdraw to a winter residence.[7]

On November 10th in the afternoon (or possibly October 30[1] or November 11[2]), Uzun Hassan caught Jahanshah army of about 6,000 men by surprise, as Jahanshah was asleep in his tent.[8] Jahanshah's army was totally defeated.[1][2] Jahan Shah was killed by an unknown assaillant while trying to flee, and was decapitated.[8] With his death the era of Qara Qoyunlu history came to an end.[8]

Apart from the execution of Sultan Jahan Shah, many people such as his sons Prince Mirza Muhammedi and Yusuf Mirza, as well as Pirzad Beg, Şehsuvaroğlu İskender Beg, Kılıç Arslan Beg, Shah Veli Beg were also captured. In this way, approximately 5,000 people, including Mirza Muhammadi, who constituted the main army force under the rule of Sultan Jahan Shah's sons Mirza Muhammadi and Yusuf Mirza, were destroyed in the war.[9] Prince Mirza Muhammedi was executed, and Yusuf Mirza was later blinded.[10]

The decapitated body of Jahanshah was recovered on the battlefield, but there are various accounts about the fate of his head, which may never have been found, or may have been sent as a trophy to the Timurid court according to some sources, or to the Mamluk court in Cairo.[11]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Edward Granville Browne (2009). A History of Persian Literature Under Tartar Dominion (A.D, 1265–1502). Cambridge: The University press Publication. p. 89. Retrieved 2013-02-04.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  2. ^ a b c d Peter Jackson, Lawrence Lockhart (1986). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 6. Cambridge University Press. p. 1120. ISBN 9780521200943. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  3. ^ a b Alexander Mikaberidze (2011). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 907. ISBN 9781598843361. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  4. ^ a b Peter Jackson, Lawrence Lockhart (1986). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 6. Cambridge University Press. p. 173. ISBN 9780521200943. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  5. ^ Paydaş, Kazım. Uzun Hasan ve Otlukbeli Savaşı. Bilge Kültür•Sanat. p. 125.
  6. ^ Paydaş, Kazım. Uzun Hasan ve Otlukbeli Savaşı. Bilge Kültür•Sanat. p. 126.
  7. ^ Woods, John E. (1 January 1999). The Aqquyunlu: Clan, Confederation, Empire. p. 96.
  8. ^ a b c Woods, John E. (1 January 1999). The Aqquyunlu: Clan, Confederation, Empire. p. 96. A little after noon on 10 November/ra Rabi'Il, Uzun Hasan and 6,000 men fell upon the half-deserted Qaraquyunlu camp in the plain of Mus. True to his nickname, "the bat," Jahanshah was fast asleep when the attack carne. ln the ensuing confusion, Jahanshah was farally wounded by an unknown assailant, who then decapitared his corpse. A search of the battlefield later turned up Jahanshah's body, but his head was apparently never found.
  9. ^ Paydaş, Kazım. Uzun Hasan ve Otlukbeli Savaşı. Bilge Kültür•Sanat. p. 133.
  10. ^ Woods, John E. (1 January 1999). The Aqquyunlu: Clan, Confederation, Empire. p. 96. The princes Abu Yusuf and Muharnmadi were captured along wich many orher important Qaraquyunlu and Timurid leaders, including the prince Yadigar Muhammad b. Sultan-Muhammad Shahrukhi, Jahanshah's grandson, who was later to play an important part in Uzun Hasan's Timurid policy. Although the bulk of the defeaced army was allowed to return home, Muhammadi was executed -probably in revenge for his role in the first Diyar Bakr campaign- and Abu Yusuf was lacer blinded.
  11. ^ Woods, John E. (1 January 1999). The Aqquyunlu: Clan, Confederation, Empire. p. 96. A search of the battlefield later turned up Jahanshah's body, but his head was apparently never found. According to one group of sources, it was dispatched to the Timurid court of Sultan-Abu Sa'id, Jahanshah's nominal overlord. While another contends that it was sent to the Mamluks in Cairo, the historian 'Abd Allah al-Baghdadi even claiming to have seen the head in Aleppo on 4 Decernber/v Jumada I.38. Ibn Taghribirdi quotes some of the many rumors that spread in Cairo after Uzun Hasan's defeat of Jahanshah, one of which denied that the head that arrived in Cairo on 18 December Jumada I or 31 December 4 Jumada Il belonged to Jahanshah. But writers agree, however, that the trophy, whoever it may have belonged to and whenever it may have reached Cairo, was displayed for several days on the Zuwaylah Gate as the head of Jahanshah Qara-quyunlu.

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