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the Turkish and Kurdish-speaking Alevis are not to be confused with the Alawi of Syria, with
[citation needed]
whom they have little in common other than a shared veneration for Hazrat 'Ali.
An alternative (and less accepted) explanation for the name "Alevi" is that it comes from the
Turkish word alev, meaning "flame."
Alevi are sometimes called "Qizilbashi" (see "History" for an explanation), and some embrace this
name. Others view this as a pejorative (implying that their allegiance lies with Iran rather than
Turkey). Many other names exist (often for subgroupings), among them: Tahtacı ("Woodcutters");
Abdal ("Bards"), Çepni.
History
Main article: Alevi History
"Be a child of your times!"--attributed to 'Ali
Attempts to identify the origin of Alevism are inherently controversial. Many Alevis trace their
tradition to primitive Islam and the Twelve Imams. Others see Alevism as a pre-Islamic substrate
which acquired a veneer of Shi‘i theology, and disagree as to whether to describe this folk culture
as Turkic or Persianate. Still others detect Orthodox Christian influence, perhaps Armenian. More
than one of these viewpoints might be true simultaneously.
During the Seljuk period (eleventh and twelfth centuries), northern Iran and eastern Anatolia fell
under the domination of nomadic Turkic tribes migrating out of Central Asia. Their conversion to
Shi‘i Islam came during the Mongol period by means of charismatic Sufi missionaries, who
typically established family-based lineages. The poet Yunus Emre and wonder-working saint Hajji
Bektash Wali, whose names would later become associated with Alevism, lived during this period
(or shortly after), if the latter figure is not entirely legendary.
The forms of Shi‘ism which arose in such groups typically neglected practices emphasized by the
Shi‘i mainstream (such as daily prayer). At the same time, religious practices, beliefs, and
institutions would have become difficult to distinguish from secular ones such as folk dances, or
the tribal leadership structure. It is likely that elements of nomadic Turkish society such as these
have survived into later Alevism as well. For example, shamanic influences have been detected in
the Alevi "Crane Dance."
Another theory (favored particularly by Kurdish Alevis) is that, as these Turkic tribes migrated
across the Iranian cultural sphere they adopted various elements of pre-Islamic Iranian religions.
As evidence they point to similarities between Alevism and Kurdish religious movements such as
Yarsanism and Yazidism.
In any case, these nomadic Turkic groups came to occupy the borderlands between two great
sedentary societies, the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia, which though founded by nomadic
Turks like themselves, gradually distanced themselves from this Central Asian heritage.
Shah Ismail was a hereditary leader of the Safaviyya Sufi order centered in Ardabil who led his
(predominantly Azeri) followers, called Qizilbashi ("redheads") after their distinctive headgear, in
conquering Persia. The result was the founding of the Safavid Dynasty, and the conversion of Iran
to Shi‘ism. Shah Ismail's personal religious views are reflected in his Turkish-language Sufi
poetry of a ghulat nature (he claimed divinity), of which selections came to be included in Alevi
scriptural compilations (Buyruk). The religion of the Iranian populace, however, fell under the
domination of imported Arab clerics who downplayed the ghulat beliefs of the Turkish warrior
class.
Meanwhile, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire gradually distanced themselves from their nomadic
Turkic heritage, ultimately (during the thirteenth century) adopting the Sunnism of their
Mediterranean subjects. During the long rivalry with Safavid Persia Qizilbashi tribes fought for
Persian (or local) control of the Anatolian highlands, and were responsible for several 15th and
16th century uprisings against the Ottomans. The 1555 Peace of Amasya found them on the