Bayram Khwaja

Bayram Khwaja (Azerbaijani: Bayram xoca, ; died 1380, (r. 1351 – 1380)) was the founder of the Qara Qoyunlu, a Muslim Turkoman  tribal confederation, that in a short space of time came to rule the territory comprising present-day Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, northwestern Iran, eastern Turkey, and northeastern Iraq from about 1374 to 1468.

Family
Bayram Khwaja was the son of Qara Mansur. He had a brother named Qara Dursun, whose son, Qara Mahammad, succeeded Bayram. He had two other brothers: Murad, was governor of Baghdad c. 1364; and Berdi Khwaja. He belonged to the Baharlu clan of the Yiva Tribe.

Biography
Under the Mongol rule, Qara Qoyunlu's were subject to the Oirats, and their kishlaks (winter quarters) were near Mosul, while yaylaks were located in the Van region, specifically Erciş. In 1337, Qara Qoyunlu were vassalized by the Sutayids, who gained control of the region. Their head, Pīr Muḥammad was killed by one of his emirs, Ḥusayn Beg, in 1350, who was murdered the next year by Bayram Khwaja, usurping control of the territory. Although Bayram Khwaja was initially unsuccessful in taking Mosul from Ordu Bugha, Ḥusayn Beg’s nephew, he eventually captured the city and made his brother, Berdi Khwaja, its governor.

Bayram is first recorded in service to Huseyin beg, a Turkmen warlord who killed Pir Muhammed of Sinjar and usurped his city. Huseyin beg and his company were attacked by the Ayyubid lord of Hasankeyf, Al-Adil, in 1350; however, they defeated him. Bayram in turn usurped Huseyin Beg's position and declared his independence in 1351.

Bayram besieged Mardin, which at the time was ruled by the Artuqid Mansur Ahmed ((r. 1363 – 1367)), in 1366. Mansur called for Shaikh Awais Jalayir's help. Awais responded and defeated and subjugated Bayram Khwaja in a battle near Muş. He then besieged Mosul in 1371, but retreated on hearing news of the approach of a Mamluk force.

Bayram acted more independently after Awais' withdrawal. He subsequently invaded Mosul, Sinjar, Sürmeli, Tuzluca, Khoy and Nakhchivan in 1374. The new Jalairid sultan, Hussain, moved against Qara Mahammad and attacked Erciş, his new base. Despite Bayram's help, the Kara Koyunlus suffered heavy casualties and were subjugated in 1374, becoming vassals of the Jalairid Sultanate, which was centered in Baghdad and Tabriz.

Succession
Bayram died in 1380 and was succeeded by his brother Berdi Khwaja, about whose reign nothing is known. He was followed by Qara Mahammad.