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

sometimes by local officials or qādis – and letters, which are preserved in TSA. In these
documents, we find detailed descriptions of the adherents of both parties (parties of
Selim and Ahmed), as well as many details of the contemporary developments.
Furthermore, as the Qizilbash Movement directly menaced the Ottoman rule as
well as playing significant role in the Ottoman domestic politics, there are many reports
of local governors and spies on qizilbashes and their acts. Especially the Şahkulu
Rebellion and subsequent acts of qizilbashes in Anatolia are well-documented in TSA.
Of course there is a heavy prejudice against qizilbashes in the accounts of these
documents. Therefore one should be careful in using them. On many occasions,
especially when describing the religious stand of qizilbashes, they rather reflect the
picture that the Ottoman administration attempted to create regarding qizilbashes than
their real situation. From this point of view, these documents are quite informative on
the ‘official’ attitude of the Ottoman state. In the meantime, as being the documentation
of official correspondence within the Ottoman state, they provide invaluable historical
facts pertaining to details and dates of events.
Unfortunately the archival evidence proliferates only towards the year 1510.
Before then, we have quite a few number of documents. The history of the Qizilbash
Movement in Anatolia before the 1510s can only be traced through narratives, both
Ottoman and Safavid. Luckily, however, there is an exception. A register including the
copies of the decisions made by the Ottoman Imperial Council (Dīvan) between evāhir-i
Zilkāde 906 and evāhir-i Zilhicce 906 (8-17 June 1501/ 8-17 July 1501) is preserved in
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (BOA), Bāb-ı Asāfi Dīvān (Beylikçi) Kalemi, BA, A.DVN,
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