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

Sultan Junayd and the nephew of Hasan Padishah; and because of these two
considerations, the luster of sovereignty and guidance radiated from his august brow.” 655
4.3.2. Becoming “Qizilbash”
The name “qizilbash” for the adherents of the Safavid Order, together with the
introduction of the twelve-gored hat, undoubtedly goes back to the time of Haydar. The
word is not used in Kitāb-ı Diyārbakriyya 656 of Abū Bakr-i Tihrānī, completed in 1470,
but used by Khunjī, who finished his work towards 1490. The invention of the red head-
gear by Shaykh Haydar is explained by later Safavid sources through a genuine dream of
Shaykh Haydar. 657 According to the tradition, in a dream Haydar was visited by some
messengers from the unseen world and was instructed to make his disciples wear a hat
with twelve-gores, indicating the twelve immaculate Imams, as a sign of distinction for
his followers. 658 On awakening, he joyfully changed his ordinary Turkoman hat, which
655 Recited in Woods, The Aqquyunlu, p. 168.
656 This is the history of Uzun Hasan written by Tihrānī, a court historian of his. The Persian text is
published by Necati Lugal and Faruk Sümer, while a Turkish translation of the work was published by
Mürsel Öztürk. See Abū Bakr-i Tihrānī, Kitāb-i Diyārbakriyya, I-II, yay., Necati Lugal-Faruk Sümer,
Ankara: TTK, 1993; Ebu Bekr-i Tihranī, Kitab-ı Diyarbekriyye, çev. Mürsel Öztürk, Ankara: Kültür
Bakanlığı Yayınları, 2001.
657 This tradition in the Safavid historiography is equally reflected in the famous Histoire generale de la
religion des Turcs of Michel Baudier. According to his account, “Scheidar” for the first time put red headgears
on heads of his disciples so that by then they were called “Tête-rouge” or kızılbaş. Baudier also
states that all their “Emirs” and “Sheriphes” were bearing this Turban. See Michel Baudier, Histoire
generale de la religion des Turcs, Paris, 1625, p. 216. It should be noted that Baudier mistakenly tends to
regard Shaykh Haydar and his followers as ordinary “Etnazery” shi’ism or Twelver sch’ism. As already
put by several prominent modern scholars and evaluated throughout the present study one can hardly
deem the religious stand of Haydar and of the early Qizilbas as ordinary Twelver schi’ism. Yet, a careful
reading of his account may reveal some peculiar features of the Qizilbash systhesis. On explaining
contrasts and similarities between the religion of “Perses” (of Safavids or Qizilbash) and Turks (sunni
Islam), Baudier says regarding the belief in the Supreme Creator and the prophecy of Muhammad both
parties are the same. However, immediately after Muhammad the “Sofians” add ‘Ali: “leurs inoucations
portent fouuent ces mots, Halla, Mehemet, Haly, Dieu, Mahomet, Haly [‘Ali].” See Baudier, p. 217. When
remembered that this expression “Allah-Muhammed-Ali” is known as the ‘motto’ of the Qizilbash way of
Islam, still today, Baudier’s account becomes rather meaningful.
658 AA, p.31. The Anonymous History of Shah Ismail, better known as Ross Anonymous, gives a slightly
different account. “One night the Prince of the throne of Guidance and Sanctity, that is to say the
Commander of the Faithful (‘Alī), upon whom be the prayers of God, appeared in a vision to Sultan
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