The Battle of Otlukbeli or Otluk Beli was fought between Aq Qoyunlu and the Ottoman Empire on August 11, 1473.

Although Mehmed occupied Karaman in 1468, he was unable to subjugate a number of Turkoman tribes living in the mountains which extended to the Mediterranean coast.

Uzun Hasan formed alliance with the Venetians and established contacts with the Knights of Rhodes, Kingdom of Cyprus and the Bey of Alaiye.

He also intended to establish a direct contact with Venice by marching on the Mediterranean coast through the Taurus mountains, then controlled by the Turkoman tribes.

Uzun Hasan with Karamanid forces drove the Ottomans from Karaman and marched on Bursa.

At this time when the war preparations began, Uzun Hasan increased his courage and sent a letter to the Ottomans, asking for Cappadocia and Trabzon to be given to him.

Despite this, we are aware that he tortured people by forgetting about my privacy and living comfortably under my just will by sending soldiers to Tokat and then to Karaman countries.

Mehmed, who had always taken care to hide his wars from even his closest friends, did the exact opposite this time.

The Ottomans, who spent the autumn and winter of 1472 making preparations, decided on Bursa Yenisehir as the meeting place of the main army.

The Ottoman army, which threw them back, came to Koyulhisar and Şebinkarahisar, whose inhabitants had fled to the mountains, and after making some raids in this vicinity, came to Erzincan.

But an Ottoman force of 5,000 men under the command of Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey defeated the Aq Qoyunlu.

At this time, while the Ottoman army was marching eastwards following the Euphrates, Uzun Hasan's forces appeared on the opposite shores.

Because it was estimated that Uzun Hasan's forces, encamped on the opposite shore, would pass back from one of these sandy places.

That's why Mehmed headed towards Bayburt and although he traveled for 6 days, he did not receive any news from Uzun Hasan.

Therefore, they had to camp and rest in this place, which was difficult to pass, narrow and surrounded by high mountains.

Davud Pasha attacked Gavur İshak's forces with the Anatolian soldiers, preventing them from coming down the hill and connecting the roads.

Opposite Davud Pasha were the forces of Zeynel Mirza, who commanded the right wing of Uzun Hasan's army.

Prince Mustafa managed to get to the plain a little later and fell on Zeynel's forces with all the Anatolian soldiers.

In order to escape, Uzun Hasan had to resort to trickery and leave someone very similar to him, Pir Mehmed Bey, in his place.

Soon Pir Mehmed Bey was captured and Uzun Hasan's standard was brought to the presence of the sultan.

From Şebinkarahisar he sent a series of letters announcing his victory, including an unusual missive in the Uyghur language addressed to the Turkomans of Anatolia.

[20] The decree (yarlık) had 201 lines and was written by Şeyhzade Abdurrezak Bahşı on 30 August 1473:[21] Completed when Karahisar was reached on the date of eight hundred and seventy eight, 5th day of the month Rebiülahir, the year of the Snake.Ibn Kemal made the following statement on the capture of Şebinkarahisar:[22] On Wednesday 24 August we, the Ottomans, marched to Şebinkarahisar.

When we set up cannon and began to destroy the fortifications ... (the governor) Dara Bey came out, seeking peaceful surrender ... We did not remove the existing townspeople ..., but we left there one-thousand of our men with abundant supplies.Abu Bakr Tihrani in the Kitab-i Diyarbakriyya:[23] When the Karahisar area became the accommodation place of countless armies, Darab Beg-i Purnak, the owner of that castle, took shelter in the castle.

Darab Beg surrendered the castle out of fear of the Rums.Ottomans nearly destroyed the power of the Aq Qoyunlu in the East.