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

without doubt, fiction, simply because of this feature it has a value of utmost importance
for it perfectly reflects the qizilbash mentality and approaches. 841
Returning to the content, the first point to be realized is the position of Ismail in
the qizilbash cosmology. As Glassen notices, he is depicted neither as God, nor as
Prophet, but as a contemporary representative and deputy of twelfth Imam. 842 His
legitimacy and spiritual power rests on the blessing of the Hidden Imam, who
commissioned Ismail to rise against the oppressors of the time, fastening, “with his own
blessed hands”, Ismail’s girdle, taking his cap from his head and replacing it after he
raised it, and putting his sword on his belt. Thus the ideological background of Ismail’s
advent (huruj) rests on the assignment by the Hidden Imam; Ismail was appointed by the
Hidden Imam as his deputy to fight against the enemy of the faith and to overcome the
oppression all over the world. As Glassen puts, “Doch Schah Ismā’īl ist nur ein Glied in
der Kette der Empörer gegen die unvollkommene muslimische Gessellschaft, die immer
wieder ungerechten und glaubensschwachen Herrschern anheimfällt. Endgültiges Heil
wird erst die Wiederkehr des verborgenen zwölften Imāms über die Welt bringen.” 843
Here I should draw attention to the role of the Anatolian disciples, who were
represented by Dede Mohammed in the dream. Dede Muhammad witnessed the blessing
of Ismail by the Lord of the Age. He had a present (imānat) to give to Ismail, the
entrusted one of the Hidden Imam on the world. And lastly, the Hidden Imam gave the
dagger of Ismail to Dede Muhammad giving him (to Ismail) his own sword. Ismail
841 One should remember that most of the Safavid chronicles, thus the history of qizilbashes, were written
by Persian or ‘persianized’ bureaucrats rather than by qizlbashes themselves. Thus one can hardly
penetrate to the mentality, world-view, sentiments, and the nature of religious thought of qizilbashes
through these chronicles. All those Safavid chroniclers, starting with Khwandamir and even including
Hasan Rumlu, who himself was son of a qizilbash, are apathetic with the cultural and ideological world of
qizilbash Turkomans.
842 Compare Glassen, p. 69.
843 See Glassen, p. 69.
265