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

their opinion about the legitimacy of his campaign from a religious point of view. To put
it more directly, he demanded religious sanction for this campaign. Again, as reflected in
almost all Selim-nāmes, Selim describes Ismail and his followers as in astray and
underscores that he [Ismail] had been damaging the true path of Islam. His
argumentation in demanding religious authorization for the execution of the qizilbashes
was completely established on religious ground. If we rely on contemporary Ottoman
historians, in this assembly he did not even mention the political threat posed by
Ismail. 1756
As will be discussed later, within purely religious context, the qizilbashes’ deeds
seem to have not been enough to promulgate them in astray; thus to wage war against
them – further, to kill a great number of the empire’s own subjects - would not be
approved easily, at least when compared to the treatment of the Ottoman administration
to similar ‘religiously divergent’ groups devoid of political menace. The decision was
obviously taken on a political ground, even though the issue was evaluated fully within
the religious terminology.
1756 SKB narrates the events in verse:
“... Kondı Filçayırı üzre şehriyār Đtti yiğirmi iki gün anda karar
Bunda cem’ itdi mevāli fırkasın Rum ahālisin ü sāhib-kırkasın
Kādı vü müfti müderris bi’t-tamam Geldi dirildi efāzıl hep be-nām
Uş bu āli zümreden itdi sual Hüsrev-i gāzi şāh-ı ferhunde –fāl
K’iy mevāli şarka men azm itdüm uş Hayr dip bir niyyet-i cezm itdüm uş
Şah Đsmail tā itdi hurūc Fıska feshat virdi isyana urūc
Bid’ati ām itdi vü Đslamı ketm Zulmü itmām itdi vü bī-dādı hatm
Her fesāda mazhar oldı ol farīk Koydular zulm ü dalālet-çün tarīk
Đlm ü şer’ ü fi’l ü har ü sarf ü nahv Bunlarun devrinde yek-ser oldı mahv
Sünnet ü icmā ü Kur’an u kıyās Sürhā-serden giydi gūn-a-gūn libās
Hill ü hürmet farkı ma’dūm oldı hep Küfr ile eşyayı yakdı bu Leheb
Katl-i nefs ü sebb-i sühān-ı vebāl Küfr ü kin āsārı ya’ni tāc-ı āl
Uş buna mānend evsāf-ıla Şah Muttasıfdur şah u hem Şāmi-sipāh
Đmdi katl ü mālına fetvā virün Đzn-i şer’ī birle istiftā virün
Ger gazādur izn ü ruhsat hükm idün Mal u esbābın ganimet hükm idün
V’er hatā ise irādet virünüz Bir heves itdüm icāzet virünüz ...” SKB, pp. 143-4. Also see
YSF, pp. 44-45.
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