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

already discussed the despising attitude of the Ottoman ulemā towards the nomadic
tribes and their religion. Nevertheless, despite all their denigration, they never
sanctioned killing these religiously fallacious people for the sake of God, unless they
posed political threat against the government, which was the case in the revolt of Shaykh
Bedreddin.
Indeed, some expressions in the text partly reveal the stimulus that made Hamza
to pursue such a stern attitude and to give a fetvā with a political background. According
to Hamza, not only the qizilbashes were disbelievers but those people whoever inclined
to them, agreed upon their beliefs, and helped them were also disbelievers. (Ve dahi her
kimesne ki anlara meyl idüb ol batıl dinlerine razı ve muavin olalar anlar dahi kafirler
ve mülhidlerdür.) Perhaps a more interesting expression is the following. He says,
(Ve bir nāhiye ehli ki bunlardan ola) Sultan-ı Đslam e’ezze’l-lahu ensārehu içün
vardur ki bunların (ricāllerin katl idüb) mallarını ve nisālarını ve evlādlarını
guzāt-ı Đslam arasında kısmet ide ve bunların ba’de’l-ahz tevbelerine ve
nedāmetlerine iltifat ve itibar olunmayub katl oluna ve dahī bir kimse ki bu
vilāyetde olub anlardan idügi biline ve yahud anlara giderken dudula katl oluna!
Ve bilcümle bu tā’ife hem kāfirler ve mülhidlerdür ve hem ehl-i fesāddur, iki
cihetden katlleri vacibdür. 1798
It is obvious that this statement is not related to the actual war involving the
qizilbash warriors. Rather, it clearly refers to the villagers or rural population of the
empire, i.e. the qizilbashes living in the Ottoman country. If people of a village would
become qizilbash then the Sultan-ı Islam should execute their men and distribute their
women, children, and property among gāzis of Islam as booty. Hamza further advises
that even if the qizilbashes express regret upon their capture, the sultan should not accept
their repentance but execute them all. Whoever in the Ottoman territories is known as
gerekse ok ile ve gerekse kelb ile olsun murdardur ve ve dahi nikahları gerekse kendülerden ve gerekse
gayrden olsunlar batıldur ve dahi bunlar kimseden miras yemek yokdur. …” See TSA, document E 6401.
1798 TSA, document E 6401. The phrases in parenthesis are added from the other copies of the fetvā.
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