Although the Qara Qoyunlu rulers spent most of their lives in wars, they attached importance to science and art. Before the Qara Qoyunlus, many artists, poets and scholars worked in Tabriz, which was the center of the Jalairi and Teymurid successors for some time.
After defeating all his enemies, Qara Yusuf created conditions for artists, poets and scholars not to leave Tabriz, and they resumed their activities.
The Qara Qoyunlu rulers paid attention to the field of architecture, and the architectural objects they built in Tabriz and other areas still remain. The Blue Mosque built by Jahan Shah in Tabriz, the madrasa and mansion of Jahan Shah's wife Beyim Khatun, the Great Mosque in Van, and the Juma Mosque in Isfahan are the best examples of the religious architecture of the Qara Qoyunlus. The tomb of Pir Huseyn, built near Yerevan, is also one of the pearls of Qara Qoyunlu architecture. The height of the tomb erected over the tomb of Qara Qoyunlu emirs is 12 meters. The 22-meter-long Arabic inscription surrounding the tomb from above shows the emirs of the Saatlu Turkic tribe of Chukursaad province.
The reign of Jahan Shah is one of the most politically and culturally powerful states of the Qara Qoyunlus after Gara Yusif. The occupation of Isfahan and Shiraz, two of the great cultural centers of the Teymurids, by Jahan Shah in 1452-53 gave a great impetus to the development of Qara Qoyunlu culture. Jahan Shah wrote poems in Azerbaijani Turkish and Persian under the nickname "True". Jahan Shah corresponded with one of the famous poets of the time, Abdurrahman Jami. Well-known scholars of his time taught in the Blue Mosque. The famous Islamic scholar Jalaleddin al-Dawwani taught here and wrote the Risale-i Zawra and Shawakul al-Khurj. Sheikh Shujaaddin ibn Kamaladdin Kirmani dedicated his Gulshan-i Raz and Hadiqatul Maarif, which he completed in 1462, to Jahan Shah. The poet Mevlana Tusi served in the palace of Shahbudag, the son of Jahan Shah.
Jahan Shah's son Pibudag also attached great importance to science and art. When he was deputy in Baghdad and Shiraz, he gathered and patronized famous scholars and artists. With the support of Pirbudag, the works of Nizami's Khamsa, Haji Kirmani's Khamsa, Iskhtakhri's Masalik wal-Mamalik and others were copied.
One of the most valuable examples of Azerbaijani architecture of the Shirvanshahs 'period is the Shirvanshahs' Palace, the Baku residence of the Shirvanshahs. The complex includes the Shirvanshahs 'Palace, Divankhana, Keykubad Mosque, Shirvanshahs' Tomb, Shah Mosque, Seyid Yahya Bakuvi's Tomb, Murad Gate, Palace Bath and hunting lodge.
In Azerbaijan, the manuscript book, as in the whole Muslim East, was a real work of art created by a number of artists. The paper of the manuscript was made and polished in a special way. Then skilled calligraphers copied the text of the manuscript with eloquence. After the Timurid dynasty entered into trade relations with the Ming Dynasty, high-quality papers began to be imported from China, during which time the art of handwriting developed in the Shirvanshah state. Thus, Kamal Khojandi's "Divan" was rewritten in Shamakhi in October 1468 by Farrukh Yasar's palace painter Sharaf al-Din Hussein Sultani, and in the introduction to a divan book in 1468, Farrukh Yasar himself was painted.
The Aq Qoyunlu rulers patronized science and art. Uzun Hasan gathered the most advanced scholars of his time in his palace. About 60 scholars worked in the ruler's personal library.Calligraphy and miniature painting were among the most interesting areas of Azerbaijani cultural life at this time. In the palace libraries of the Aq Qoyunlu rulers, the pages of scientific, artistic, philosophical, religious and historical works were copied, and miniatures were drawn on their manuscripts. Four miniatures depicted in the manuscript of the poet Hidayat's "Divan" were compiled by Sultan Khalil in 1478 This manuscript is in Azerbaijani Turkish. During this period, such skilled calligraphers as Mirali Tabrizi, Mirabdulla Tabrizi, Suleyman Ali Yagubi, Nizameddin Ali Ardabili, Jafar Tabrizi, Azhar Tabrizi, Abdurrahim al-Yagubi worked in different cities of Azerbaijan. Fazlullah ibn Ruzbahan Khunji came to Tabriz in 1487 and began to write the history of the Aq Qoyunlu state.
Known as the patron of science and culture, the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Sultan Yagub himself wrote poems in Azerbaijani Turkish. In 1483, he built the "Happy Paradise" palace in Tabriz. The palace complex included a 1,000-bed hospital and a pharmacy selling medicines prepared by the palace doctors. During the reign of Jacob, large centers were opened in the country's major cities to provide food and accommodation for the poor on a daily basis (there were four such centers in Tabriz). In 1481, by the order of Yagub, miniatures were painted on the work of the great Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi "Khamsa".
The activity of Sultan Yagub is reflected in the work of historian Fazlullah ibn Ruzbakhan Khunaji (XV century) "Historical world-amiin amini". 15th century Azerbaijani poet Khatai Tabrizi dedicated his poem "Yusif and Zuleykha" written in Azerbaijani to Sultan Yagub.