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

Arguably more significant than its damage on economy, the Şahkulu rebellion
created deep cracks in the social structure of the empire. I have already evaluated that,
starting with the activities of Shaykh Junayd in the mid-fifteenth century, a large group
of Safavid followers, principally from nomadic tribes, emerged in Anatolia. In the
course of time, we can observe a two-fold process regarding this social segment of
Ottoman Anatolia: on one hand their number increased through gaining new recruits,
and on the other hand, the religious doctrine and practices that they followed was
developed further. By the first decade of the sixteenth century, the new synthesis of the
Safavid Order, which can be called ‘qizilbash way of Islamic mysticism’, for its most
essential parts, had already appeared. Thus the adherents of this ‘path’, or the original
word in Turkish ‘yol’, already formed an identifiable relio-social entity. The socio-
cultural background of this group was constituted mostly by Turkoman nomadic tribal
element, who had already been alienated from the Ottoman regime. By the Şahkulu
revolt, however, the qizilbash society of Anatolia, which was still congealing its
religious-political identity, was not only alienated from the Ottoman state agents but also
from the sunni population of Anatolia as well.
The outcomes of this rebellion in both domestic and international politics were
decisive. In the domestic affairs, before all, Ahmed lost his most valuable and influential
supporter: the grand vizier Ali Pasha. This rebellion’s consequence in the domestic
politics was quite paradoxical. It would not be an exaggeration to assert that the Şahkulu
rebellion facilitated greatly Selim’s capture of the throne. A passage in Künhü’l-Ahbār,
even if it was later fabrication, reveals how Selim used Ahmed’s passive stand against
Shahkulu to legitimize his dynastic claims. ‘Āli states that Selim defeated his brother
Ahmed and captured him. Ahmed beseeched Selim, “Oh my sultan! Do not kill me!
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