Qara Koyunlu
Tales of the Black Sheep
The lands of the Black Sheep (green), with neighbouring Timurids (red), Georgians (blue) and Mongols (gold)
The Qara Koyunlu are a tribal federation of semi-nomadic Turkomen, who after spending some time in the east near Herat, migrated to the lands of Azerbaijan, whereupon we became vassals of the Jalayrids of Baghdad. Thankfully we had a powerful strong leader called Qara Yusuf, who captured the city of Tabriz and secured our independence, and we now rule from the Caspian port of Baku. We follow the Shi'ite faith, which despite its name is really awesome, and are still ruled by the magnificent Qara Yusuf, which is great because that happens to be me. Hello.
Here are the “great men” of my court. Excuse the quote marks, but let’s just say I only keep them around for decoration. Our court artist, Zaydin Behar, insists that Qara Koyunlu, the Black Sheep, should appear as green on the maps he draws. The nincompoop. I would have him executed but that would probably just end up costing money.
I decree that we should be more centralised, so that I can have more power. I like power. We have also implemented a policy of “national” conscription, which means more cannon fodder for our armies...hmm actually I don't know what a cannon is, but it sounds cool and I want one.
The year is, as you may have guessed, 1399, and war rages all around us. The vast Timurid Empire is fighting a war against both Georgia and the Ottoman Empire, but for the time being the Black Sheep remain at peace. This is lucky, as not one of our cities maintains a fortification, not even Baku. Our army is paltry.
But we have the funds to recruit more sheep, and I decide to pick on my smallest, weakest neighbour...
...the Timurid Empire.
Haha, no I kid. Of course I mean Georgia. Although the rich and unfortified trading centre of Astrakhan lies just across the border with the Golden Horde, we have also heard that there is gold in the mountains of Alania, and so preparations are made to invade Georgia, the province of Alania and maybe some loot being my goal. The Timurids already have a force inside Georgia, so we must be swift! On November 25th of the year those strange Christians call 1399, war is declared.
Invading Georgia. It's what all the cool kids are doing.
The "war" turns out to be very simple. On 21st December, our glorious federation occupies the gold mines of Alania facing no resistance whatsoever. It is assumed that we have caught the Georgians off-guard, and that they're army is currently in the south fighting the Timurids. We paint a picture commemorating this glorious victory with the use of some rather fetching green stripes. They should be black, but our artist likes green apparently.
It is obvious to the Georgians that we have completely overwhelmed them, and we are offered the lands of Alania for peace. We would quite like some loot to go along with it, but since the gold of Alania will pay for itself, the deal is accepted.
Black Sheep Forever!
Hell yeah.
