User:Rupert Clayton/Mausoleum of Zeynel Bey

The Mausoleum of Zeynel Bey (Zeynel Bey Türbesi) also known as the Tomb of Zeynel Bey is a mausoleum in Hasankeyf, Eastern Anatolia, Turkey erected in for Zainal (Zeynel in modern Turkish), the son of the Aq Qoyunlu Turkmen ruler Uzun Hassan. It was likely commissioned by Uzun Hassan, or possibly by Zainal's elder brother, Khalīl. According to the German historian of Islamic art Michael Meinecke, "In form and decoration, the mausoleum of Zainal is without parallel in the region".

Background
During the second half of the 15th century, Hasankeyf was governed by Ayyubid Kurdish rulers who owed allegiance to the Turkmen Aq Qoyunlu confederation. The Aq Qoyunlu dynasty was headed by Uzun Hassan from 1452 to 1478.

Uzun Hassan's initial capital was at Amida (modern Diyarbakır), which he gained from his brother Jihangir in 1452. From there, Uzun Hassan embarked on a campaign of expanding his territory at the expense of the Kara Koyunlu. Hasankeyf was one of the first towns to acknowledge Uzun Hassan's overlordship, in an agreement signed by the Ayyubid emir in 1455. While Uzun Hassan managed to extend his influence throughout much of the Diyar Bakr and Jazira during the 1450s, the emir of Hasankeyf rebelled in 1460, attempting to take control of Siirt. Uzun Hassan responded by attacking Hasankeyf in 1461; he finally captured the town in 1462 after a six-month seige.

Following his defeat of the Kara Koyunlu in Iran (1467–69), Uzun Hassan moved his capital to Tabriz. Encouraged by the Venetian ambassador Caterino Zeno, Uzun Hassan engaged the Ottoman army near Erzincan in 1471 and at Tercan in 1473. This campaign concluded with Uzun Hassan's defeat by Mehmed II at the Battle of Otlukbeli (also near Erzincan) in August 1473. Hassan's army was primarily composed of light cavalry, whereas the Ottoman forces were also armed with rifles and cannon. The result was an almost total rout of the Aq Qoyunlu forces. While Uzun Hassan survived, his son Zeynel Bey was killed in battle. Hassan agreed not to attack the Ottomans again, and retreated to Tabriz. Following the defeat at Otlukbeli, it seems that Hassan was challenged by insurrections from several of his sons, including Ogurlu Mohamed, who captured Shiraz around 1473. But it appears that his son Khalil remained loyal and was appointed successor upon Hassan's death in 1478.