The war of Otlukbeli

The ruler of the Karaman’s Ibrahim died in 1464 and his successors had fallen into a throne struggle. At last, Ishak Bey accessed the throne by the support of Uzun Hasan the ruler of the Akkoyunlu State. However, Pir Ahmed (brother of Ishak) rejected Ishak’s accession and asked for an Ottoman support. Mehmet the Conqueror helped Pir Ahmed and enthroned him by dethroning his brother Ishak. But, Pir Ahmed made an agreement with the Venetians and ruined his relations with the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Mehmed organised a campaign to the Karaman State immediately. He captured Konya and Karaman, the people of these regions had immigrated to Istanbul. Pir Ahmed escaped to Akkoyunlu State and the Akkoyunlu-Ottoman relations had ruined.

Akkoyunlu State was located in the Eastern Anatolia, Caucasusia, Iran and Iraq. The Ottoman Empire’s land was on the West Anatolia and Europe. On 11th August 1473 in Otlukbeli, two armies came across. The Ottoman Army was very well organised and they had the most powerful weapons of the time. In few hours, the Akkoyunlu Army was defeated and the Akkoyunlu threat had disappeared.