APersonIndependent states
Uzun Hasan
Aq Qoyunlu ruler (1453-1478): he defeated the Qara Qoyunlu and the Timurids, united Iran, Azerbaijan and Iraq, and allied with Venice.
Uzun Hasan was of the Bayandur clan of the Aq Qoyunlu and took power in Diyarbakır in 1453. He defeated the Qara Qoyunlu Jahan Shah in 1467 and the Timurid Abu Said in 1469 and moved his capital to Tabriz. His state stretched from the Euphrates to Khorasan.
He allied with Venice against the Ottomans, and Venetian envoys came to his court. But in 1473 he was defeated by Mehmed the Conqueror at Otlukbeli. Uzun Hasan died in 1478. His daughter Alamshah Begum was the mother of Shah Ismail, so the Safavids became heirs of the Aq Qoyunlu.
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Updated: November 12, 2026