The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu (, ; ), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman monarchy that ruled over the territory comprising present-day Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, northwestern Iran, eastern Turkey, and northeastern Iraq from about 1374 to 1468. History Etymology The name Qara Qoyunlu literally means "[those with] black sheep". It has been suggested that this name refers to old totemic symbols, but according to Rashid al-Din Hamadani, the Turks were forbidden to eat the flesh of their totem-animals, and so this is unlikely given the importance of mutton in the diet of pastoral nomads. Another hypothesis is that the name refers to the predominant color of their flocks. Origins The ruling family descended from the Yıwa tribe of the Oghuz Turks, specifically, the Baharlu, who by the fourteenth century possessed territories north of Lake Van and Mosul in Upper Mesopotamia. The tribes that comprised the Qara Qoyunlu besides Baharlu were Saadlu, Karamanlu, Alpaut, Dukharlu, Jagirlu, Hajilu, Agacheri. According to Faruk Sümer, the Qara Qoyunlu tribe was undoubtedly a sub-tribe (oba) of the Oghuz, and Minorsky's claim that this sub-tribe belonged to the Yiwa is probably true. Duharlu Turkmens, a branch of Qara Qoyunlu first appeared in the Chronicle of Michael Panaretos. It is probable that the Duharlu tribe came to Anatolia from Central Asia during the Mongol invasions, as testified by the legendary tradition of Qara Qoyunlu. Rise The Qara Qoyunlu Turkomans were initially vassals of the Jalayirid Sultanate in Baghdad and Tabriz from about 1375, when the leader of their leading tribe ruled Mosul. However, they rebelled against the Jalayirids and secured their independence from the dynasty with the conquest of Tabriz by Qara Yusuf. In 1400, the Timurid Empire under Timur defeated the Qara Qoyunlu, and Qara Yusuf fled to Egypt, seeking refuge with the Mamluk Sultanate. Qara Yusuf was welcomed by Sheikh Mahmud, the nāʾib of Damascus. Not long after, the Jalayirid sultan Ahmad Jalayir also came to Damascus. Not wanting to worsen relations with Timur, An-Nasir Faraj agreed to capture Qara Yusuf and Ahmad Jalayir and hand them over to him. Together in prison, the two leaders renewed their friendship, making an agreement that Ahmad Jalayir should keep Baghdad while Qara Yusuf would have Azerbaijan. Ahmad also adopted Qara Yusuf's son Pirbudag. When Timur died in 1405, an-Nasir Faraj released them both. However, according to Faruk Sümer, they