TURKOMANS BETWEEN TWO EMPIRES: THE ... - Bilkent University

idüb tarīka-i Đslamdan ihrac ve idlāl eyledi diyu buyurdular. Fi’l-vāki’ ..... ve
‘ahd-i ba’īd mürūr itmeden Şeyh Haydar’ın umūr-ı diniyede ve i’tikadiyātda
eslāf-ı eşrāfın i’tikādatını tağyīr ve tebdīl ve adāb ve ahvallerini tahvīl itdüği ve
tarīk-i zığ ve dalālete gitdüği haberi istima’ olındı. 495
A similar account is seen in a letter of Shaykh Bālī Efendi 496 adressed to Rüstem
Pasha (d. 1561), the Ottoman grand vizier under Suleyman I. 497 Shaykh Bālī Efendi
dedicates most part of his letter to draw a brief sketch of the history of the Safavid
family. 498 Indeed his account is full of invention and historical error. However, it truly
reflects the established picture of the Safavid family line among Ottoman intellectuals.
Bālī Efendi begins with Shaykh Safī. After stating some doubts on the authenticity of his
family line, which was alleged to trace back the seventh Imam Musa al-Kazim, he
continues, “Sayyid or not, the faith of Islam should be respected. In any case, it is known
that Shaykh Safī is a perfect murshid and one of God’s men (ehl Allah).” 499 Then he
recites an attributed dream of Shaykh Safī, which is most probably a sunnī invention.
Shaykh Safī is said to have witnessed in a visionary world that in his loins tiny puppies
were yapping and calling to one another. He interprets this dream in such a manner that
he imagined that from his descendants a tyrannous band would rise up and uproot the
495 Mecdî, p. 78.
496 He was learned and pious man and enjoyed the favor of Sultan Suleyman I whom he accompanied on
several campaigns and recited prayers for his victories. He died in 1553 and was buried in Sofia. See
Minorsky, “Shaykh Bālī-Efendi on the Safavids”, p. 442.
497 He occupied the post twice, first from 1545 to 1553, and second from 1555 to 1561.
498 At least two copies of this letter are available. One is preserved in Ecole des Languages Orientales
Vivantes in Paris (No. 103, f. 10r) and the other one is preserved in Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi in Istanbul
(Halet Efendi, 818, ff. 97a-98b). The English translation of the full text of the first copy, with a brief
introductory note, is published by Minorsky in his article “Shaykh Bālī-Efendi on the Safavids”. The
content of the letter indicates that it was written after 1550.
499 Minorsky, “Shaykh Bālī-Efendi on the Safavids”, pp. 444-5. “Şeyh Safī bu tāyifenin dedesidür.
Meşāyih silsilesindendür. Ve biz gördüğümüz silsilelerde seyyiddür deyü kayd olunmamış. Bazı mürşidler
seyyiddür deyu kayd itmişler.Bā-seyyid evliya olmıya, itibar-ı din-i Đslamdır. Beher-hal meşhur budur ki
Şeyh Safī mürşid-i kāmildür ve ehlullahdandur.” Manuscript, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Halet Efendi,
818, f. 97a.
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