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

the otaga on and prostrated ‘according to their falsified rite.’ 1378 Then the Shah checked
over the rest of the group. He selected those whom he found useful and let the rest free,
confiscating their properties and horses. Hoca Saadeddin points out with pleasure that
they ended up in the streets with their women and children and became beggars. In this
way they found the sentence of their evil action. 1379
Hoca Saadeddin’s account 1380 on the end of rebels is not easy to interpret.
Especially Shah Ismail’s attitude towards the rebellious qizilbashes of the Teke region
seems to be odd for many devoted qizilbash fighters in his army were from the same
region. 1381 Hasan Rumlu explains this ‘unexpected’ action of the shah as a punishment
for killing the tradesmen. 1382 According to Hammer, two concerns led Ismail to punish
the leaders of rebellion. First of all, he wanted to consolidate his absolute suzerainty
over his subjects by showing cruelty against disobedience. Secondly, he wanted to show
Bayezid II that he desired to maintain warm relations with him. 1383 However, Hammer’s
reasoning seems neither satisfactory nor consistent. Before all, he contradicts himself.
He writes that Ismail dispatched an envoy just after punishing the rebels and presented
his good wishes; however, the same envoy presented itself to Bayezid, the head of
Shaybānī Khan. Indeed, Hammer, as he often does, makes mistake in dating the events.
As Fisher determines, Ismail’s envoy arrived at the Porte on May 30, 1511, 1384 more
1378
HSE4, p. 67. The same scene is cited by SLZ. See SLZ1, 457.
1379
For the whole of the conversation in Turkish see HSE4, pp. 66-8. I omitted to quote the original
version of the conversation since it would occupy much space.
1380
Thought not giving details Hasan Rumlu verifies the tragic end of the leaders of this rebellion. See
HR, p. 155.
1381
They are referred in contemporary sources as Tekelü, literally means the man comes from the region
of Teke. Tekelü was a tribal entity within the qizilbash army of Shah Ismail and played effective role in
power-play during the early years of Tahmasb, who was a child then.
1382
HR, p. 155.
1383 HAM2, pp. 383-4.
1384 FSH, p. 99.
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