leadership of Tur Aly, who was one of the begs of Akgoýunly. The Akgoýunly people were of the Baýyndyr tribe of the Oguz. Later, by uniting with the Düker, Baýat and Çepni tribes, they increased their power.

During the period of Tur Aly Beg’s leadership, a military campaign was organized against the Trabzon Rum Pontus State. The king of Trabzon Rum Pontus State gave his daughter in marriage to Kutlu Beg, son of Akgoýunly Beg in order to prevent these attacks.

Under Gutly Beg’s son, Ahmet Beg, the Akgoýunly people fought with the Garagoýunly several times. In one of these battles, Ahmet Beg escaped from the hands of the Garagoýunly with the assistance of Sivas’ Emir[1] Kadi Burhaneddin. The prestige of the Akgoýunly State increased during the reign of Ahmet Beg’s brother, Gara Osman Beg. It is Gara Osman who is seen as the real founder of the Akgoýunly State. In 1389, Gara Osman captured the city of Sivas from Kadi Burhaneddin. In order to acquire full independence, the Akgoýunlys had to leave the Ottoman patronage. The Akgoýunly people therefore made an alliance with Berkuyarik, Memluk Soltan of Egypt against the Ottoman Empire. After that they sought the protection of Tamerlane. In this way, they took authority over Diyarbakir, Malatya and the surrounding areas.

The most famous of the Akgoýunly Rulers was Gara Osman’s son, Uzyn Hasan. Uzyn Hasan recaptured Diyarbakir in 1453. In 1457, he defeated Jihan Şah, who was the ruler of the Garagoýunly people. Later the Akgoýunlys added Khorasan, Bagdat, Şiraz and Isfahan to the territory under their rule.