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

Junayd to legitimize his already embarked on political project. 620 From then on the
Safavid dynasty would not be the master of only the spiritual world but the material
world as well. A contemporary author marks the importance and echo of this marriage
that “Junayd’s marriage became known even in the farthest corners of Rūm and Syria
and, in view of this honor, the Khalifas of the earlier shaykhs wanted to wait on him.” 621
Gaining the favor of Uzun Hasan, Junayd continued his propaganda dispatching
khalifas to nearby countries while staying in Diyarbakir, but in quite comfortable
conditions for this time. 622 He must have considerably broadened the hinterland of the
‘new sufi message’ of Safavids during the Diyarbakir days under the protection of Uzun
Hasan. On the other hand, his armed disciples, who were proliferating day by day,
engaged in successful battles with the Akkoyunlu troops, naturally by the order of their
Shaykh. Haniwaldanus Anonym says numerous people and considerable wealth from
Ottoman territories flowed to Uzun Hasan’s country for the sake of Junayd. 623 After
spending 3 or 4 years in this manner Junayd decided that it was time to return home. 624
He left Diyarbakir for Ardabil with his prominent disciples in 1459. 625 Aşıkpaşazāde
620
Compare Savory, Iran under Safavids, p. 17.
621
TA, p. 64.
622
See Youssef-Jamālī, pp. 23-4.
623
ANMH, p. 36. According to ANMH especially the military support of Junayd’s disciples was so
important for Uzun Hasan that upon Mehmed II’s decision he also got angry. ANMH deems this anger as
one of the reasons that lead to war between Mehmed II and Uzun Hasan. ANMH insistently underscores
the warm relation between Uzun Hasan and Safavid Shaykhs – first Junet then his son Haydar. Hasan-ı
Rumlu says in Diyarbakir, 12.000 devoted and sincere sufis trod the right path under the auspice of
Shaykh Junayd. See Ahsenü’t-tevārih,IX, p. 395.
624
Hasan-ı Rumlu says he lived there for four years. See Ahsenü’t-tevārih,IX, p. 395. According to ‘Ālamārā-yi
Shāh Ismā’īl, he stayed there for three years. See Youssef-Jamālī, p. 23. HS and HT say after living
there for a while, having grown homesick, he set out for Ardabil. See HS, p. 561; HT, 153. See Also
Savory, Iran under Safavids, p. 17. According to Savory he stayed in Diyarbakir for three years.
625
According to Khunji, Junayd’s deportation from Diyarbakir was because of his worldly desires. His
account reads, “Junayd was not exempt from temerity and showed signs of vehement folly. Every moment
some evil fancy took hold of him; for example his mind was perpetually haunted by the dream of
conquering Sharvān. Consequently, after the new honor bestowed on him [establishing kinship with the
royal family of Aqqoyunlu], he decided to return to Ardabil.” See TA, p. 64. Also consider Yinanç, p.
244; Yazıcı, p. 124.
214