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

each other and to the center. Contemporary sources commonly reports that the main
body of Ismail’s troops stemmed from the Turcoman tribes of Anatolia. 848 Since the
deputies (halife) of his ancestors were diffused in Anatolia, Hoca Saadeddin reports,
Ismail’s disciples and ‘friends of ‘Ali’ proliferated very rapidly; their number was
uncountable. 849 Indeed, as Solakzāde points out, the overwhelming majority of Ardabil
deputies were working in Anatolia 850 , for the main source of the ‘new type disciple’
existed there. He sent letters to these Anatolian disciples ordering them to gather under
his banner. Many people warmly welcomed Ismail’s invitation and flowed to his
entourage. 851
Ismail. 852
Aşıkpaşazāde vividly describes the enthusiastic devotion of his disciples to
Sonra Haydar’un bir oğlı dahī zāhir oldı, Đsmail adlu. Müridleri ana tābi oldılar.
Şol kadar oldılar kim cemi’ memleketde olan müridleri birine buluşıcak
‘selāmun alekkūm’ deyecek yerde ‘Şāh’ derler idi. Hastalarını görmeğe varıcak
dua yerine ‘Şāh’ derler idi. Ve bu vilāyet-i Rūm’da olan müridlerine ehl-i sünnet
eyidürler idi: ‘Bunca zahmet çaküb Ardabil’e varacağına Mekketullah’a
varsanuz, Hazret-i Resūl sallallāhu ‘aleyhi ve sellemi ziyaret itsenüz yeğrekdür’
derler idi. Bunlar cevab virürler idi ki ‘Biz diriye varuruz ölüye varmazuz’
derler. Ve dahī biri birinin ağzına lafzıyile söğüb yürüler idi. Latīfeleri işbu
vechileydi. Namaz dahī kılmazlar idi. Ve oruç dahī dutmazlar idi. Ve dahī rafza
müte’allik kelimātı çok iderler idi. Velhāsıl rafzı āşıkāre eder oldılar. Memleket-i
Rūm’da olan sofuların hülefāsını ve Ardabil’e varan sofuları Sultan Bayezid
tahkīr idüb Rum Eli’ne sürdü. Đsmail dahī asker çeküb Tebriz’e yürüdü. Tebriz’in
848
See, for example, HSE3, 345; SLZ1, p. 428; ANMH, p. 45. Hans R. Roemer, in addition to many other
scholars, stresses the nomadic way of life of these tribes and argues that the “elements were tied together
not only by ethnic origin and a common language, but much more so by their way of living, namely
nomadic features peculiar to their vast majority. … The Qizilbash are mostly descendants of Turcoman
tribes who lived in smaller or bigger unions of federations, mainly as cattle-breeding nomads…” See Hans
R. Roemer, “The Qizilbash Turcomans: Founders and Victims of the Safavid Theocracy”, Intellectual
Studies in Islam, eds., M. M. Mazzaoui-V. B. Moreen, Utah, 1990, p. 28.
849
HSE3, p. 345 ; SLZ1, p. 428.
850
SLZ1, p. 428.
851
HSE3, p. 345; SLZ1, p. 428.
852
Aşıkpaşazāde was the first Ottoman historian who attributed religious heresy (rafaza) to the adherents
of Safavid order during the opening years of the sixteenth century. I would like to remind that the last
chapter of Aşıkpaşazāde’s history, which pertains to Junayd and later sufis of Ardabil, was finished in
Safer 908 (August-September 1502), as recorded by Aşıkpaşazāde himself.
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