Submission, defiance, and the rules of politics on the Mamluk sultanate's anatolian frontier

This article examines the relationship between the leader of the Aqquyunlu Turkman confederation, ‘Uthma ̄n Beg Qara ̄ Yulu ̄k, and the Mamluk Sultanate, with an eye to the ways in which the Mamluks sought to define the limits of sultanic sovereignty on the frontier, as well as the ways in which Qara ̄ Yulu ̄k sought to pursue his own interests and those of his tribal followers within the framework of the Mamluk political order. What becomes apparent is that while the interests of the Turkmans ultimately clashed with those of the Mamluk sultans on the Anatolian frontier, both Qara ̄ Yulu ̄k and the Mamluks shared a common interest in maintaining a relationship in which formal recognition of Aqquyunlu autonomy was exchanged for ritual submission to the sultan