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

Khalifa, just like the office of āmir al-umarā, which was appointed to Lala Husayn
Shamlu.
As indicated above, the founders of the state, namely the qizilbashes, were
gradually excluded from the officially approved ideological sphere. Shaykh Ali Karaki,
the influential shi’ite mujtahid or jurisconsult at the court of Shah Tahmasb I, brought
the dominance of the shi’te shari’a into the religio-ideological sphere of the state for the
first time. He issued a fatwa (injunction) allowing the cursing of Abu Muslim, one of the
most admired heroes of the qizilbashes, and wrote one of the earliest polemics against
ghulāt-Sufism. 1985 Towards the end of the sixteenth century, especially during the reign
of Shah Abbas I, even the term “sufi”, once the foremost honorable epithet of Safavi
adherents, fell into disrepute. 1986 Since the office of khalīfat al-khulafā intimately linked
to the Turkoman-qizilbash subjects of the Safavid State, one can observe the decreasing
favor of the shahs with the qizilbashes on the declining prestige of this office. As Savory
puts, “the prestige of the khalīfat al-khulafā , since this office was an integral part of the
Sufi organization of the Safawiyya movement in its early stages, naturally declined pari
passu with the general decline in the status of the sufi organization as a whole.” 1987
During the reign of Shah Abbas I (1588-1629), the office was totally discredited. “The
Shah gave to the Sufis ever baser types of employment. From being in attendance on the
Shah, and acting as his guards, they degenerated to being sweepers of the palace
buildings, gate-keepers, and jailers. … The khalīfat al-khulafā himself, under Shah
Abbas I, was reduced to the position of a tame religious official at the court.” 1988 After
1985 Babayan, p. 144.
1986 Savory, “The Principle Offices of the Safavid State during the Reign of Ismā’īl I”, p. 92.
1987 Savory, “The Office of Khalīfat al-Khulafā under the Safavids”, p. 498.
1988 Savory, “The Office of Khalīfat al-Khulafā under the Safavids”, p. 501.
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