TABRIZ: The
Dignified Capital of Southern Azerbaijan
In this article
we will talk about Tabriz, the capital city of
Ildenizogullari, Aghkoyunlular and Gharakoyunlular.
Semsuddin Ildeniz, the governor of Azerbaijan of the Iraqi
Seljuk State, established the Ildenizogullari State in 1146.
Its capital was Tabriz. The Ildenizogullari State, of which
the other cities were Nahjevan and Genje, became the most
strongest state of the region until the end of 13th
century. However it had to unite with the Kharzemshah, which
invaded Tabriz in 1225. We will talk about Tabriz and its
historical importance as a capital city of the Aghkoyunlu
and Gharakoyunlu states and as a center of Southern
Azerbaijan.
Tabriz is an
important Turkish city and a great cultural center. Today it
is the center of Southern Azerbaijan, which is under Iranian
administration and the 4th largest city in Iran.
It is located on the northern slopes of the Sehend
Mountains, with an altitude of 1.748 meters, and between the
Urumiyah Lake and the Caspian Sea and to the northwest of
Iran.
With the
division of the Southern Azerbaijan region of 106.605 km2
into two, two regions were formed under the names Eastern
Azerbaijan and Western Azerbaijan. The central city of
Eastern Azerbaijan is Tabriz and the central city of Western
Azerbaijan is Urumiyeh. Tabriz became a large city with the
conquest of the Seljuk ruler Tugrul Bey in 1055. The city,
which was invaded by the Mongolians in 1230, gained
importance again as the crown city of the Il-khanid Empire.
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The city was
invaded by the Celayirli’s in 1336 and by Teymur in 1392 and
later by the Gharakoyunlu and Aghkoyunlu and in 1500 it
became the city of the Safevi Turkish Empire. In 1514 Tabriz
had a population over one million and became one of the most
densely populated cities in the world. With the Chalderan
War in 1514 Sultan Selim invaded Tabriz once and later in
the years 1534, 1535 and 1548 Suleyman the Magnificent
invaded Tabriz thrice. The Persian Turkish Empire abolished
the crown city of Tabriz and declared Ghazvin as the crown
city and later Esfehan was declared the crown city. Tabriz
was recovered by Shah Abbas on October 21, 1603. The
population of Tabriz is estimated to have been 550 thousand
at that time. Re-included in the territories of the Ottoman
Empire by Ahmed Pasha on August 3, 1725, Tabriz again
became the center of the state. Nader Shah Afshar regained
the city in July 1730. Tabriz that was re-added to the
Ottoman territories by Hekimoghlu Ali Pasha later on
December 4, 1731 was submitted to Iran by the Ottoman Empire
on January 10, 1732. Although the Province of Tabriz, which
remained under Ottoman sovereignty for 25 years, receded
very much in 19th century, it maintained its
status as the biggest center of Iran. The population of
Tabriz that was calculated to be 250 thousand in 1825 fell
down to 183 thousand between 1850 and 1875. The population
of it was 240 thousand in 1915; 220 thousand in 1925; 214
thousand in 1940. With its 250 thousand of population, it
was the third biggest Province of Iran in 1950. Temporarily
invaded by Russia in 1827, Tabriz remained under Russian
invasion between 1908 and 1914.
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Tabriz has
about a 2800-year- old history. In Turkish, Tabriz means
“the camp of migrants on a plateau”. The Province of Tabriz
has been a land to nomadic Turkish tribes for nearly three
thousand years. In the time of Qajar Dynasty, despite not
being the capital, Tabriz was the second most important
Province of the country called Iran. The prince had to be
from Tabriz so as to deserve the throne. Today, Tabriz is a
big Turkish Province with its approximate population of 2.5
million. The Lake Shah, one of the most important places for
excursion; the Open Mosque, alias Ark Small Mosque, where
people perform their Friday prayer; the Madrasa of Islamic
Sciences are among the other historical and tourist places.
The Streams Acı and Maydan pass through Tabriz. The only
transit route between Tbilisi, Yerevan, Jolfa and Merend is
Tabriz.
Bayram Khodja
was the one who first made Tabriz capital was the first
monarch of Gharakoyunlu State established in 1365 in the
territories including eastern and southeastern Turkey,
Caucasia, Iran and Iraq. The successor of Bayram Khodja, his
son Ghara Mehmed defeated Artukogulları and restrained
Teymurid forces. He traveled to Tabriz in 1388 and declared
it as the capital. Ghara Yousuf succeeded Ghara Mehmed and
made big conquers. The monarch who regained its former power
to the state that was weakened during the reign of the sons
of Ghara Yousuf was the Jehan Shah who had come to the
throne in 1437. Jehan Shah lost the war fought in Mardin
against the Monarch of Aghkoyunlu, Uzun Hasan. After this
defeat in 1457, Gharakoyunlular was completely destroyed by
Uzun Hasan in 1469. Jehan Shah is famous for his justice and
the importance it attached to the development of the
province. It made the province a prosperous one. The Gok
Madraseh and Mozaffariyeh Madraseh that were built of
completely marble stones and ornamented with flowery china
are two important works of Gharakoyunlu. The wife of Jehan
Shah had the Great Mosque and its Madraseh built in Tabriz.
Established in
1398, Aghkoyunlular state is also named as Bayındırıyah
State, since they come from the Bayındır Tribe of Oghuzlar.
While the first ruler of Aghkoyunlular is Tur-Ali Bey, later
his son Fakhreddin Kutlu succeded him. But he became
dependent on the ruler of Sivas, Cadi Burhaneddin, and upon
his death, Ghara Yuluk Osman Bey replaced him as the Head of
the Aghkoyunlu State. Uzun Hasan succeeded Ghara Yuluk Osman
Bey, who is regarded as the real founder of the Akkoyunlu
State. Uzun Hasan turned the Aghkoyunlular into a big state
and soon dominated Iran, Iraq, Caucasia and the east of
Turkey. He chose Tabriz as the center of the State. He
started to fight against the Ottoman Empire. In 1473, he
lost Otlukbeli war against the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the
Conqueror. He withdrew to the capital, Tabriz, and engaged
in the public works of the province. The Aghkoyunlular State
was destroyed by the Safavids, which was a Turkman State.
