ABSTRACT
In the western part o f the old Ilkhanid territories, M ongol rule was replaced neither by that o f local city-based dynasties nor, except very temporarily, by Temur. The effective successors to the Ilkhans were three tribal groups: the Jalayirids, initially the most important, of M ongol origin; and the two Turkm en groups, the Qara-Q oyunlu (“Black Sheep”) and the Aq-Qoyunlu (“White Sheep”). It was these latter - two nomadic, or at least semi-nomadic, Turkm en confedera tions - that, starting from very insignificant beginnings, were to dominate the political history o f western Persia, Iraq and eastern Ana tolia between the death o f Tem ur in 807/1405 and the accession o f the first Safawid shah in 907/1501. They evolved in parallel and in rivalry with one another, reaching the height o f their power in succession and very largely at the other’s expense. The Qara-Q oyunlu were a more short-lived power than the Aq-Qoyunlu, and they achieved hegemony earlier. Their history, as is often the case with losers, is less well documented than that o f their more successful rivals. It will be discus sed first.
