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

within the Ottoman imperial regime, which rose upon a political philosophy that
premises the accumulation of the political power in the hands of one person and his
agents. Consequently, as the Ottoman state evolved from the tribal chieftaincy to the
bureaucratic empire, the tension between the Turkoman subjects of the Ottomans and the
central administration triggered. Although the alienation between the nomadic-tribal
elements – in addition to some recently settled peasants who maintained nomadic and
tribal habits – and the Ottoman regime was a gradual and comprehensive process,
including differentiation in culture, religious understanding and practice, mentality, and
mode of life, the main reason behind the harsh measures of the Ottoman administration
against Turkomans was, without doubt, their political and military ability to resist the
expansion of the Ottoman regime. As a result, in every stage of the formation process of
the Qizilbash Identity, the dominance of the political considerations is clearly visible.
Towards the mid-fifteenth century, the tension between the Turkomans of
Anatolia and the Ottoman administration turned into antagonism. Interestingly, during
the same period, the Sufi Order of Safavids underwent an essential transformation in its
esoteric doctrine. While a quietist, contemplative Sunni – as long as one can speak of
sects regarding Sufism – order until then, the order pursued an extremist-shi’ite teaching
and militant-popular form of Sufism. What is more noteworthy is that Shaykh Junayd
was exiled from Ardabil, most probably by the traditional disciples of the order headed
by Shaykh Ja’far, and carried out a long journey in Anatolia. This journey marked one of
the most significant turning points of the qizilbash history. The places Shaykh Junayd
visited were by no means accidental for these regions were densely populated by the
Turkoman tribespeople. Likewise, the regions that Shaykh Junayd visited soon appeared
627