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97-426: The khanate was founded by Qizilbash tribes, especially Amirli clan of Afshars , following the assassination of Nader Shah in 1747. Founder of the khanate was Amir-Guna Khan (1747-1782), a former governor of Gilan . He formed an alliance with Fath-Ali Khan Afshar against Karim Khan Zand , later betraying him to the latter. After Karim Khan's death he forged alliance with Gilan against Nazarali Khan Shahsevan . He

194-607: A ghulāt sect called the Mughīriyya , was an adept of the fifth Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (677–732). Abu Mansur al-Ijli (died c.  738 –744) was the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Manṣūriyya who was killed by the Umayyad governor Yusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi . Abd Allah ibn Harb (died 748–9) was the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Janāḥiyya who was killed by

291-506: A child. Unto Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth, and God suffices as a Guardian. 5:72. They certainly disbelieve, those who say, “Truly God is the Messiah, son of Mary.” [...] 73. They certainly disbelieve, those who say, “Truly God is the third of three,” while there is no god save the one God. [...] 5:75. The Messiah, son of Mary, was naught but a messenger—messengers have passed away before him. And his mother

388-572: A common lifestyle, language, faith, and animosity towards the Ottomans. In the 15th century, Ardabil was the center of an organization designed to keep the Safavi leadership in close touch with its murids in Azerbaijan, Iraq, Eastern Anatolia, and elsewhere. The organization was controlled through the office of khalīfāt al-khulafā'ī who appointed representatives ( khalīfa ) in regions where Safavi propaganda

485-607: A force of 30,000 Aq Qoyunlu under Alwand Mirzā and conquered Tabriz . This was the beginning of the Safavid state. By 1510, Ismail and his Qizilbash had conquered the whole of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan , southern Dagestan (with its important city of Derbent ), Mesopotamia , Armenia , Khorasan , Eastern Anatolia , and had made the Georgian kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti his vassals. Many of these areas were priorly under

582-593: A large degree to what 9th/10th-century heresiographers ascribed to various ghulāt sects, with a particular resemblance to the ideas of the Mukhammisa . It contains a lengthy exposition of the typical ghulāt myth of the pre-existent shadows (Arabic: aẓilla ) who created the world by their fall from grace, as is also found in the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla attributed to al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi (died before 799). The Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla ('Book of

679-432: A soul can put on and off again. This is called tanāsukh or naskh . But grave sinners are reborn instead into animal bodies ( maskh ), and the worst offenders are reborn into the bodies of plants or minerals ( raskh ). On the other hand, those believers who perform good works and advance in knowledge also travel upwards on the ladder, putting on ever more pure and luminous 'shirts' or bodies, ultimately reaching

776-608: Is addressing them. According to the 1992 census, there were 85,773 Shiites in Bulgaria. Between the late seventeenth century and 1822, the term "Qizilbash" was also used in Ottoman administrative documents to identify Twelver (Imami) Shiites in what is today Lebanon. The Ottomans were aware they had no link to the Anatolian or Iranian Qizilbash, employing the term only as a means to delegitimize them or justify punitive campaigns against them. In

873-475: Is particularly appropriate here. Ghulat The ghulāt ( Arabic : غُلَاة , lit.   'exaggerators, extremists') were a branch of early Shiʿa . The term mainly refers to a wide variety of extinct Shiʿi sects active in 8th and 9th-century Kufa in Lower Mesopotamia , and who despite their sometimes significant differences shared several common ideas. These common ideas included

970-403: Is referred to in the work as mawlānā ('our lord'), from falling into the wrong hands. This secret knowledge is entrusted by Ja'far to al-Mufaddal, but is reserved only for true believers ( muʾminūn ). It involves such notions as the transmigration of souls ( tanāsukh or metempsychosis ) and the idea that seven Adams exist in the seven heavens , each one of them presiding over one of

1067-657: Is the fact that Muhammad ibn Sinan also wrote two works dealing with the theme of pre-existent, world-creating 'shadows': the Kitāb al-Aẓilla ('Book of the Shadows') and the Kitāb al-Anwār wa-ḥujub ('Book of the Lights and the Veils'). Biographical sources also list several other 8th/9th-century Kufan authors who wrote a Kitāb al-Aẓilla or 'Book of the Shadows'. In total, at least three works closely related to al-Mufaddal's Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla are extant, all likely dating to

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1164-677: Is the land of Qizilbash nowadays. This strip includes a part of eastern Bulgaria. Most of the Qizilbash settled in Dobruja in large numbers, either voluntarily or by being deported there from Anatolia by the Ottoman authorities between the 15th and 17th centuries. Qizilbash communities are also present in Ludogorie (Deliorman). The Qizilbash conceal their real identity, outwardly professing to be orthodox Sunnis to their Turkish or Bulgarian neighbours, or alternatively claim to be Bektashis , depending who

1261-581: The Sabāʾiyya , it may well be that this group also belonged to the Sabāʾiyya . After Mukhtar al-Thaqafi died in 687, his movement sometimes came to be referred to as the Sabāʾiyya , and when Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, the Alid whom al-Thaqafi's movement had supported, also died in 700, his followers, the Kaysāniyya , claimed that ibn al-Hanafiyya had gone into hiding ( ghayba ), and that he would return before

1358-524: The Sabāʾiyya , named after the South Arabian Jewish convert Abd Allah ibn Saba' , who according to some reports had insisted that Ali was not dead and would return ( rajʿa ) to seek revenge upon those that opposed him. Since remnants of the Sabāʾiyya still existed in the time of al-Thaqafi, and since one of the Kufan women at whose house the group denounced as ghulāt gathered belonged to

1455-401: The ghulāt label. Nevertheless, the later ghulāt did probably originate from these early groups, and some glimpses of later ideas may sometimes be found, for example the belief in metempsychosis, which was attributed to early 7th-century ghulāt leaders such as the women Hind bint al-Mutakallifa or Layla bint Qumama al-Muzaniyya. One important difference with the later groups is

1552-643: The Alawites , historically known as 'Nusayris' after their founder Ibn Nusayr (died after 868). A relatively large number of ghulāt writings have survived to this day. Previously, only some works preserved in Ismaʿilism were available to scholars such as the Umm al-Kitāb "Mother of the Book", which was published in 1936 (8th–11th centuries), the Kitāb al-Haft wal-aẓilla "Book of

1649-561: The Battle of Ghazdewan . This defeat put an end to Safavid expansion and influence in Transoxania and left the northeastern frontiers of the kingdom vulnerable to nomad invasions, until some decades later. Meanwhile, the Safavid dawah continued in Ottoman areas – with great success. Even more alarming for the Ottomans was the successful conversion of Turcoman tribes in Eastern Anatolia, and

1746-622: The Day of Judgment as the Mahdi to establish a state of righteousness and justice. It thus appears that in its earliest usage, the term ghulāt referred to those Shi'a who taught the dual doctrine of the Occultation ( ghayba ) and return ( rajʿa ) of the Imam, which other Muslims perceived as an 'exaggerated' view of the Imam's status. Later sources would also attribute to these earliest ghulāt some of

1843-718: The Imams . The ideas of the ghulāt have at times been compared to those of the late antique gnostics, but the extent of this similarity has also been questioned. Some ghulāt ideas, such as the notion of the Occultation ( ghayba ) and return ( rajʿa ) of the Imam, have been influential in the development of Twelver Shi'ism . Later Ismaʿili Shiʿi authors such as Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (died c.  957 ) and Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani (died after 971) also adapted ghulāt ideas to reformulate their own doctrines. The only ghulāt sect still in existence today are

1940-517: The Janissaries . Tahmasp's successors, and most importantly Shah Abbas I (r. 1588–1629), would significantly expand this policy when during the reign of Abbas I alone some 200,000 Georgians, 300,000 Armenians and many tens of thousands of Circassians were relocated to Iran's heartlands. By this creation of a so-called "third layer" or "third force" in Iranian society composed of ethnic Caucasians, and

2037-514: The Khurramites , and Turkic shamanism , have been suggested. Of these, the Khurramites were, like the Qizilbash, an early ghulat group and dressed in red, for which they were termed "the red ones" (Persian: سرخ‌ جامگان , romanized:  sarkh jāmegān , Arabic: محمرة , romanized:  muḥammirah ) by medieval sources. In this context, Turkish scholar Abdülbaki Gölpınarlı sees

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2134-569: The Tanzimat period, as well as later, after the Young Turk Revolution . There are some doubts, though, whether this term is appropriate, due to the scarcity of sources and the diversity of the various Qizilbash-groups. It has been reported that, among the Ottoman Turks, kızılbaş has become something of a derogatory term and can be applied to groups that aren't necessarily associated with

2231-599: The Trinity , in which Jesus is believed to be consubstantial with the Godhead ). The Quranic concept of 'exaggeration' in both cases refers to 'exaggerating' the status of a prophet as being more-than-human. It seems probable that the followers of al-Thaqafi who gathered in the Kufan houses were likewise denounced by their colleagues for having exaggerated the status not of Jesus, but of Ali. There had been an earlier movement in Kufa called

2328-636: The Twelve Imams and to Shaykh Haydar , the spiritual leader ( sheikh ) of the Safavid order in accordance with the Imamate in Twelver doctrine . The name was originally a pejorative label given to them by their Sunni Ottoman foes, but soon it was adopted as a mark of pride. The origin of the Qizilbash can be dated from the 15th century onward, when the spiritual grandmaster of the movement, Shaykh Haydar (the head of

2425-489: The 1690s, when ethnic Georgians formed the mainstay of the Safavid military, the Qizilbash still played a significant role in the army. The Afshār and Qājār rulers of Persia who succeeded the Safavids, stemmed from a Qizilbash background. Many other Qizilbash – Turcoman and Non-Turcoman – were settled in far eastern cities such as Kabul and Kandahar during the conquests of Nader Shah , and remained there as consultants to

2522-471: The 8th or 9th century: Though originating in the milieus of the early Kufan ghulāt , the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla was considerably expanded by members of a later ghulāt sect called the Nusayris , who were active in 10th-century Syria . The Nusayris were probably also responsible for the work's final 11th-century form. Unlike most other ghulāt works, however, the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla

2619-512: The Abbasid activist Abu Muslim al-Khurasani . Abu al-Khattab al-Asadi (died 755) was the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Khaṭṭābiyya who was killed by the Abbasid governor Isa ibn Musa . For a time, he was the designated spokesman of the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq ( c.  700 –765), but Ja'far repudiated him in c.  748 . Al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi (died before 799)

2716-557: The Afshār, Dulghadir, or Bayāt, as mentioned by the medieval Karakhanid historian Mahmud al-Kashgari . The non-Turkic Iranian tribes among the Qizilbash were called Tājīks by the Turcomans and included: The rise of the Ottomans put a great strain on the Turkmen tribes living in the area, which eventually led them to join the Safavids, who transformed them into a militant organisation, called

2813-453: The Book " mentioned here refers to Christians , who are castigated for ascribing a divine status to the prophet Jesus . He was not a "child" of God, but "only a messenger" who like all normal human beings "ate food". The Christian claim that "God is the Messiah , son of Mary" is characterized in 5:72 and other verses as 'disbelief', as is the claim that "God is the third of three" (a reference to

2910-554: The Book';) is a syncretic Shi'i work originating in the ghulāt milieus of 8th-century Kufa. It was later transplanted to Syria by the 10th-century Nusayris , whose final redaction of the work was preserved in a Persian translation produced by the Nizari Isma'ilis of Central Asia . The work only survives in Persian. It contains no notable elements of Isma'ili doctrine, but given

3007-518: The Caucasus, and would systematically replace the Qizilbash from their functions with converted Circassians and Georgians. The new army and civil administration would be fully loyal to the king personally and not to the clan-chiefs anymore. The reorganisation of the army also ended the independent rule of Turcoman chiefs in the Safavid provinces, and instead centralized the administration of those provinces. Ghulams were appointed to high positions within

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3104-463: The Governor of Herat and his former guardian and tutor, Alī Quli Khān Shāmlū (also known as Hājī Alī Qizilbāsh Mazandarānī ) the chief of all the armed forces. Later on, events of the past, including the role of the Turcomans in the succession struggles after the death of his father, and the counterbalancing influence of traditional Ithnāʻashari Shia Sayeds , made him determined to end the dominance of

3201-508: The Iranians, they were however, defeated by Tahmasp I , the son of Ismail who got rid of the Turcomans. For almost ten years after the Battle of Chaldiran, rival Qizilbash factions fought for control of the kingdom. In 1524, 10-year-old Shah Tahmasp I , the governor of Herat , succeeded his father Ismail. He was the ward of the powerful Qizilbash amir Ali Beg Rūmlū (titled " Div Soltān " ) who

3298-574: The Kazilbash of Central Asia. The Bektaşi in Turkey are often referred to as Kızılbaşi . The Qizilbash, or "Red Heads," were Turkic warriors-turned-Persian who had arrived in Afghanistan in numbers after Nadir Shah's and other Persian debacles. Some of Nadir's Qizilbash soldiers settled in Afghanistan where their descendants had successful careers in the army (until the end of Dost Muhammad's rule), government,

3395-496: The Qizilbash (meaning "red heads" in Turkish ), initially a pejorative label given to them by the Ottomans, but later adopted as a mark of pride. The religion of the Qizilbash resembled much more the heterodox beliefs of northwestern Iran and eastern Anatolia, rather than the traditional Twelver Shia Islam . The beliefs of the Qizilbash consisted of non-Islamic aspects, varying from crypto- Zoroastrian beliefs to shamanistic practises,

3492-537: The Qizilbash are also Twelvers, their practices do not adhere to Ja'fari jurisprudence. Among the Qizilbash, Turcoman tribes from Eastern Anatolia and Iranian Azerbaijan who had helped Ismail I defeat the Aq Qoyunlu tribe were by far the most important in both number and influence and the name Qizilbash is usually applied exclusively to them. Some of these greater Turcoman tribes were subdivided into as many as eight or nine clans, including: Other tribes – such as

3589-438: The Qizilbash as "spiritual descendants of the Khurramites". The Qizilbash were a coalition of many different tribes of predominantly (but not exclusively) Turkic -speaking background united in their adherence to the Safavid order . Apart from Turkomans , the Qizilbash also included Kurds , Lurs , Persians , and Talysh after Shah Abbas's military reform in the beginning of the 17th century. As murids (sworn students) of

3686-464: The Qizilbash as Muslims, though the Qizilbash did not always accept these efforts, such that they would openly decline them at times. Despite such adversarial interactions, a clear picture of how these groups perceived their relations with the Ottoman government or the Western missionaries has not yet been established. Hans-Lukas Kieser talks about an "Alevi renaissance" which, according to him, took place in

3783-637: The Qizilbash of Afghanistan also as "Persians, of Persian descent, or descendant of the Persians, wearing a red cap" . The influence of the Qizilbash in the government created resentment among the ruling Pashtun clans, especially after the Qizilbash openly allied themselves with the British during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842). During Abdur Rahman Khan 's massacre of the Shi'i minorities in Afghanistan,

3880-449: The Qizilbash of Kabul in the beginning of the 19th century as "a colony of Turks," who spoke "Persian, and among themselves Turkish." Described as learned, affluent, and influential, they appear to have abandoned their native Turkish language in favour of Persian, and became "in fact Persianized Turks" . Lady Florentia Sale (wife of Sir Robert Henry Sale ) and Vincent Eyre – both companions of Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone – described

3977-458: The Qizilbash were declared " enemies of the state " and were persecuted and hunted by the government and by the Sunni majority. The former national anthem (2006-2021) of Afghanistan mentioned Qizilbash as an ethnic group in the third line of third stanza. Following Shah Abbas's gradual replacement of the Qizilbash in the Safavid military and administrative ranks, and the persecution they faced at

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4074-463: The Safavi pirs , the Qizilbash owed implicit obedience to their leader in his capacity as their murshid-e kāmil "supreme spiritual director" and, after the establishment of the kingdom, as their padishah (great king). The kingdom's establishment thus changed the purely religious pir–murid relationship into a political one. As a consequence, any act of disobedience of the Qizilbash Sufis against

4171-570: The Safaviyya Sufi order), organized his followers into militant troops. The Qizilbash were originally composed of seven Turkic, all Azerbaijani -speaking tribes: Rumlu, Shamlu , Ustajlu, Afshar , Qajar , Tekelu, and Zulkadar. Connections between the Qizilbash and other religious groups and secret societies , such as the Mazdaki movement in the Sasanian Empire , or its more radical offspring,

4268-619: The Seven and the Shadows" published in 1960 (8th–11th centuries), and the Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ "Book of the Path" published in 1995 ( c.  874 –941). However, between 2006 and 2013 numerous ghulāt texts that have been preserved in the Alawite tradition were published in the Alawite Heritage Series . Like Shi'i Islam itself, the origins of the ghulāt lie in the pro-Alid movements of

4365-523: The Seven and the Shadows'), also known as Kitāb al-Haft al-sharīf ('Book of the Noble Seven'/'Noble Book of the Seven) or simply as Kitāb al-Haft (Book of the Seven'), 8th–11th century, is an important ghulāt text that was falsely attributed to al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi (died before 799). It sets out in great detail the ghulāt myth of pre-existent 'shadows' (Arabic: aẓilla ) who created

4462-615: The Turkman, Bahārlu , Qaramānlu, Warsāk, and Bayāt – were occasionally listed among these "seven great uymaqs". Today, the remnants of the Qizilbash confederacy are found among the Afshar , the Qashqai , Turkmen , Shahsevan , and others. Some of these names consist of a place-name with the addition of the Turkish suffix -lu , such as Shāmlu or Bahārlu. Other names are those of old Oghuz tribes such as

4559-627: The attribution of a divine nature to the Imams , metempsychosis (the belief that souls can migrate between different human and non-human bodies), a particular gnostic creation myth involving pre-existent 'shadows' ( aẓilla ) whose fall from grace produced the material world, and an emphasis on secrecy and dissociation from outsiders. They were named ghulāt by other Shiʿi and Sunni Muslims for their purportedly "exaggerated" veneration of Muhammad ( c.  570 –632) and his family , most notably Ali ( c.  600 –661) and his descendants,

4656-580: The complete systematic disorganisation of the Qizilbash by his personal orders, Abbas I eventually fully succeeded in replacing the power of the Qizilbash, with that of the Caucasian ghulams. These new Caucasian elements (the so-called ghilman / غِلْمَان / "servants" ), almost always after conversion to Shi'ism depending on given function would be, unlike the Qizilbash, fully loyal only to the Shah. This system of mass usage of Caucasian subjects continued to exist until

4753-552: The control of the Ak Koyunlu . The rivalry between the Turkic clans and the Persian nobles was a major problem in the Safavid kingdom. As V. Minorsky put it, friction between these two groups was inevitable, because the Turcomans "were no party to the national Persian tradition" . Shah Ismail tried to solve the problem by appointing Persian wakil s as commanders of Qizilbash tribes. The Turcomans considered this an insult and brought about

4850-468: The country during the Durrani rule , Zaman Shah Durrani had a cavalry of over 100.000 men, consisting mostly of Qizilbash Afghanistan's Qizilbash held important posts in government offices in the past, and today engage in trade or are craftsmen. Since the creation of Afghanistan , they constitute an important and politically influential element of society. Estimates of their population vary from 30,000 to 200,000. Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone described

4947-492: The death of 3 of the 5 Persians appointed to this office – an act that later inspired the deprivation of the Turcomans by Shah Abbas I. In 1510 Shah Ismail sent a large force of the Qizilbash to Transoxiania to fight the Uzbeks . The Qizilbash defeated the Uzbeks and secured Samarkand at the Battle of Marv . However, in 1512, an entire Qizilbash army was annihilated by the Uzbeks after Turcoman Qizilbash had mutinied against their Persian wakil and commander Najm-e Thani at

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5044-409: The early eighteenth century, a part of northern Lebanon is even described as the "Kızılbaş mukataa" tax district. In Turkey, there is a community of so-called Alevis , which were formed out of Qizilbash groups in Anatolia in the 16 th century. Historically, however, it wouldn't be appropriate to use the term Alevi to describe these groups, seeing as it was originally used for descendants of Ali,

5141-546: The fact that Isma'ili authors starting from the 10th century were influenced by early ghulāt ideas such as those found in the Umm al-kitāb , and especially given the influence of these ideas on later Tayyibi Isma'ilism , some Isma'ilis do regard the work as one of the most important works in their tradition. The work presents itself as a revelation of secret knowledge by the Shi'i Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (677–732) to his disciple Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju'fi (died c.  745 –750). Its doctrinal contents correspond to

5238-446: The fall of the Qajar dynasty . The inter-tribal rivalry of the Turcomans, the attempt of Persian nobles to end the Turcoman dominance, and constant succession conflicts went on for another 10 years after Tahmasp's death. This heavily weakened the Safavid state and made the kingdom vulnerable to external enemies: the Ottomans attacked in the west, whereas the Uzbeks attacked the east. In 1588, Shah Abbas I came to power. He appointed

5335-416: The fourth Rashidun Caliph. In the 19 th century, the term was also used in Turkey to refer to the Qizilbash, who were seen as heretics by the Sunni majority. Alevism in Turkey is present among the Turkish, Kurdish, as well as the Zaza population. Yet, despite speaking Kurdish and Zaza natively, many of the Alevi tribes still use Turkish as a liturgical language. The Kurdish Alevis are known locally by

5432-415: The hands of his and Shah Safi 's policies, the Qizilbash started to turn and rebel against the Safavids. This then led to the empire adopting more classical Twelver beliefs and cooperating with Shi'i scholars in combatting Qizilbash doctrines, eventually causing their decline in favour of a more orthodox interpretation of Twelver Shi'ism. A strip of land from Babadag in Romania until Dimetoka in Greece

5529-423: The houses of various Kufan women to listen to diviners ( wikt:كاهن⁩ ) prophesying about future events. The followers who attended these meetings were denounced as ghulāt by other followers of al-Thaqafi. The Arabic verb ghalā , 'to exaggerate', 'to transgress the proper bounds', was in broader use at the time to denounce perceived 'un-Islamic' activities, which may include soothsaying ( kahāna ). But

5626-537: The ideas for which the later ghulāt would become known, most notably the outright divinization of Ali, but there is no good evidence that this was the case. Rather, the 8th-/9th-century need to attribute these ideas to the earliest ghulāt probably arose from the fact that, while groups like the Sabāʾiyya had traditionally been known as ghulāt , their actual core ideas of occultation and return had become standard tenets of Twelver and Isma'ili Shi'ism, and so other ideas needed to be ascribed to them to justify

5723-527: The influence of the distinctive traits of the Safavids, despite the Iranian shah (king) Fath-Ali Shah Qajar ( r.  1797–1834 ) simultaneously creating a Qajar dynastic identity grounded in the pre-Islamic past. The word Qizilbash derives from Turkish Kızılbaş , meaning "red head". The expression is derived from their distinctive twelve- gored crimson headwear ( tāj or tark in Persian; sometimes specifically titled "Haydar's Crown" تاج حیدر / Tāj-e Ḥaydar ), indicating their adherence to

5820-476: The knowledge already acquired, they may lose their pure and luminous 'shirt', receiving instead a heavier and darker one, and descend down the scale of being again. Those who reach the seventh degree (that of Bāb or 'Gate') are granted wondrous powers such as making themselves invisible, or seeing and hearing all things –including a beatific vision of God– without having to look or listen. Most notably, they are able to manifest themselves to ordinary beings in

5917-487: The late 7th century that fought against the Umayyad Caliphate ( r.  661–750 ) to bring one of Ali 's descendants to power. The earliest attested use of the term ghulāt is found in several reports about the followers of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi , leader of a revolt against the Umayyads on behalf of Ali's son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya , which was part of the Second Fitna , 680–692. According to these reports, some of al-Thaqafi's followers organized regular meetings in

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6014-430: The late 15th century onwards, and contributed to the foundation of the Safavid dynasty in early modern Iran . By the 18th-century, anyone involved with the Safavid state—militarily, diplomatically, or administratively—came to be broadly referred to as "Qizilbash". It was eventually applied to some inhabitants of Iran. In the early 19th-century, Shia Muslims from Iran could be referred as "Qizilbash", thus highlighting

6111-410: The latter which had been practised by their Central Asian ancestors. However, a common aspect that all these heterodox beliefs shared was a form of messianism , devoid of the restrictions of the Islam practiced in urban areas . Concepts of divine inspiration and reincarnation were common, with the Qizilbash viewing their Safavid leader (whom they called morshed-e kamel , "the Perfect Guide") as

6208-495: The local Turcoman tribes of Asia Minor (Anatolia), Syria , and the Caucasus – collectively called "Qizilbash" by their enemies – rallied to his support in Erzincan . Leading his troops on a punitive campaign against the Shīrvanshāh (ruler of Shirvan ), he sought revenge for the death of his father and his grandfather in Shīrvan. After defeating the Shīrvanshāh Farrukh Yassar and incorporating his kingdom, he moved south into Azarbaijan, where his 7,000 Qizilbash warriors defeated

6305-402: The new Afghan crown after the Shah's death. Others joined the Mughal emperors of India and became one of the most influential groups of the Mughal court until the British conquest of India . Qizilbash in Afghanistan primarily live in urban areas, such as Kabul , Kandahar or Herat . Some of them are descendants of the troops left behind by Nadir Shah . Others however were brought to

6402-648: The new ruler, decided to invade with a force of 200,000 Ottomans. In addition, he ordered the persecution of Alevis and massacred its adherents in the Ottoman Empire. On 20 August 1514 (1st Rajab 920 A.H.), the two armies met at Chaldiran in northwestern Iran. The Ottomans, who were equipped with both firearms and cannon, were reported to outnumber the Qizilbash as much as three to one. The Qizilbash were badly defeated; casualties included many high-ranking Qizilbash amirs as well as three influential ulamā . This defeat destroyed Shah Ismail's belief in his own invincibility and divine status. It also fundamentally altered

6499-401: The office of a Sipahsālār ( Persian : سپهسالار , lit.   'master of the army'), commander-in-chief of all armed forces – Turcoman and Non-Turcoman – and usually held by a Persian ( Tādjik ) noble. The Turcoman Qizilbash nevertheless remained an important part of the Safavid executive apparatus, even though ethnic Caucasians came to largely replace them. For example, even in

6596-504: The order of the spiritual grandmaster (Persian: nāsufigari "conduct unbecoming of a Sufi") became "an act of treason against the king and a crime against the state", as was the case in 1614 when Abbas the Great put some followers to death. The Qizilbash adhered to heterodox Shi’i doctrines encouraged by the early Safavi sheikhs Haydar and his son Ismail I . They regarded their rulers as divine figures, and so were classified as ghulat "extremists" by orthodox Twelvers . When Tabriz

6693-405: The origins and political orientations of the Qizilbash sparked, resulting in them becoming the target of Western missionaries, who believed that they held Christian views about Jesus. The Qizilbash weren't hostile towards these missionaries and, according to missionary reports, some were willing to listen to their message. In turn, the Ottoman authorities responded by making more efforts to classify

6790-479: The period between the Minor and the Major Occultation (874–941). This work deals with the concept of an initiatory 'path' (Arabic: ṣirāṭ ) leading the adept on a heavenly ascent towards God, with each of the seven heavens corresponding to one of seven degrees of spiritual perfection. It also contains references to such typically ghulāt ideas as tajallin (the manifestation of God in human form), tanāsukh ( metempsychosis or transmigration of

6887-458: The prominent role played by women, who organized the early ghulāt meetings in their houses and who often acted as teachers, upholding a circle of disciples. This stands in stark contrast to the ideas of the later ghulāt , who ranked women between the status of animals and men in their spiritual hierarchy. Bayan ibn Sam'an (died 737) was the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Bayāniyya . Al-Mughira ibn Sa'id (died 737), leader of

6984-422: The realm of the divine. This upwards path is represented as consisting of seven stages above that of humanity, each located in one of the seven heavens : At every degree the initiate receives the chance to gain a new level of 'hidden' or 'occult' ( bāṭin ) knowledge. If the initiate succeeds at internalizing this knowledge, they may ascend to the next degree. If, however, they lose interest or start to doubt

7081-595: The recruitment of these well-experienced and feared fighters into the growing Safavid army. To stop Safavid propaganda, Sultan Bayezid II deported large numbers of the Shi'i population of Asia Minor to Morea . However, in 1507, Shah Ismail and the Qizilbash overran large areas of Kurdistan , defeating regional Ottoman forces. Two years later, the Qizilbash defeated the Uzbeks at Merv in Central Asia, killing their leader Muhammad Shaybani and destroying his dynasty. His head

7178-757: The reincarnation of Ali and a manifestation of the divine in human form. There were a total of seven major Qizilbash "tribes", each named after an area they identified themselves with; the Rumlu presumably came from Rum (Anatolia); the Shamlu from Sham ( Syria ); the Takkalu from the Takkeh in southeastern Anatolia; the Ostajlu from Ostaj in the southern Caucasus . It is uncertain if the Afshar and Qajar were named after an area in Azerbaijan, or after their ancestors. All these tribes shared

7275-585: The relationship between the murshid-e kāmil and his murids (followers). Ismail I tried to reduce the power of the Turcomans by appointing Iranians to the vakil office. However, the Turcomans did not like having an Iranian to the most powerful office of the Safavid Empire and kept murdering many Iranians who were appointed to that office. After the death of Ismail, the Turkomans managed to seize power from

7372-477: The royal harems, royal guards, and several other specific posts of the Empire, Tahmasp believed he could eventually reduce the power of the Qizilbash, by creating and fully integrating a new layer in Iranian society with these Caucasian elements and who would question the power and hegemony of the tribal Qizilbash. This included the formation of a military slave system, similar to that of the neighboring Ottoman Empire –

7469-472: The royal household, and by the end of Shah Abbas' reign, one-fifth of the high-ranking amirs were ghulams. By 1598 already an ethnic Georgian from Safavid-ruled Georgia, well known by his adopted Muslim name after conversion, Allahverdi Khan , had risen to the position of commander-in-chief of all Safavid armed forces. and by that became one of the most powerful men in the empire. The offices of wakil and amir al-umarā fell in disuse and were replaced by

7566-675: The seven historical world cycles ( adwār ). This latter idea may reflect an influence from Isma'ilism , where the appearance of each new prophet (Adam, Noah , Abraham , Moses , Jesus , Muhammad , Muhammad ibn Isma'il ) is likewise thought to initiate a new world cycle. The work consists of at least eleven different textual layers which were added over time, each of them containing slightly different versions of ghulāt concepts and ideas. The earliest layers were written in 8th/9th-century Kufa, perhaps partly by al-Mufaddal himself, or by his close associates Yunus ibn Zabyan and Muhammad ibn Sinan (died 835). A possible indication for this

7663-418: The soul), maskh / raskh (metamorphosis or reincarnation into non-human forms), and the concept of creation through the fall of pre-existent beings (as in the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla , see above). The philosophical background of the work is given by the late antique concept of a great chain of being linking all things together in one great cosmic hierarchy. This hierarchical system extends from

7760-464: The term Kızılbaş , associating them with the Qizilbash in the Safavid dynasty, although their exact origins are unclear and subject to debate. Among Bektashis, Kızılbaş is used to refer to groups that are not initiated into the Bektashi order but have similar beliefs. These groups are looked down upon by initiated members of the tariqa. In the second half of the 19 th century, a Western interest in

7857-500: The trades, and crafts. In 1996, approximately 40 percent of Afghans were Pashtun, 11.4 of whom are of the Durrani tribal group and 13.8 percent of the Ghilzai group. Tajiks make up the second-largest ethnic group with 25.3 percent of the population, followed by Hazaras, 18 percent; Uzbeks, 6.3 percent; Turkmen, 2.5 percent; Qizilbash, 1.0; 6.9 percent other. The usual caveat regarding statistics

7954-548: The untrustworthy Turcoman chiefs in Persia which Tahmasp had already started decades before him. In order to weaken the Turcomans – the important militant elite of the Safavid kingdom – Shah Abbas further raised a standing army, personal guard, Queen-Mothers, Harems and full civil administration from the ranks of these ghilman who were usually ethnic Circassians , Georgians , and Armenians , both men and women, whom he and his predecessors had taken captive en masse during their wars in

8051-525: The upper world of spirit and light (populated by angels and other pure souls) to the lower of world of matter and darkness (populated by humans, and below them animals, plants and minerals). Humanity is perceived as taking a middle position in this hierarchy, being located at the top of the world of darkness and at the bottom of the world of light. Those human beings who lack the proper religious knowledge and belief are reborn into other human bodies, which are likened to 'shirts' ( qumṣān , sing. qamīṣ ) that

8148-574: The use of the term here could hardly have been in reference this, since al-Thaqafi himself often practiced soothsaying, and was respected for this by all of his followers. Rather, the reason for the use of the term ghulāt for this subgroup of al-Thaqafi's followers may be more specifically related to the Quranic use of the word ghalā ('exaggerate'). It occurs in the Quran twice, in surahs an-Nisa (4:171) and al-Ma'idah (5:77), as follows (occurrence of

8245-573: The west. With the Peace of Amasya (1555), peace between Safavids and Ottomans remained for the rest of Tahmasp's reign. During Tahmasp' reign, he carried out multiple invasions in the Caucasus which had been incorporated in the Safavid empire since Shah Ismail I and for many centuries afterward, and started with the trend of deporting and moving hundreds of thousands of Circassians , Georgians , and Armenians to Iran's heartlands. Initially only solely put in

8342-477: The word ghalā underlined): 4:171. O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion, nor utter anything concerning God save the truth. Verily the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of God, and His Word, which He committed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and say not “Three.” Refrain! It is better for you. God is only one God; Glory be to Him that He should have

8439-444: The world by their fall from grace, and who were imprisoned in material human bodies as punishment for their hubris. This theme of pre-existent shadows, which also appears in other important ghulāt works such as the Umm al-kitāb , seems to have been typical of the early Kufan ghulāt . Great emphasis is placed upon the need to keep the knowledge received from Ja'far al-Sadiq , who

8536-473: Was a close confidant of Ja'far al-Sadiq and his son Musa al-Kazim (died 799) who for some time was a follower of Abu al-Khattab. Imami heresiographers regarded him as the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Mufaḍḍaliyya , but it not certain whether this sect ever existed. A number of important ghulāt writings were attributed to him by later authors (see below). Ishaq al-Ahmar al-Nakha'i (died 899)

8633-457: Was active. The khalīfa , in turn, had subordinates termed pira . The Safavi presence in eastern Anatolia posed a serious threat to the Ottoman Empire because they encouraged the Shi'i population of Asia Minor to revolt against the sultan. In 1499, Ismail, the young leader of the Safavi order, left Lahijan for Ardabil to make a bid for power. By the summer of 1500, about 7,000 supporters from

8730-529: Was divided into Khalkhal , Ţārom , Huna (modern Aqkand , Kaghazkonan District ) and Hir mahals. This Iran -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Qizilbash Qizilbash or Kizilbash were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Azerbaijan , Anatolia , the Armenian highlands , the Caucasus , and Kurdistan from

8827-655: Was not preserved by the Nusayris, but by the Syrian Nizari Isma'ilis . Like the Umm al-kitāb , which was transmitted by the Nizari Isma'ilis of Central Asia , it contains ideas that are largely unrelated to Isma'ili doctrine, but that did nevertheless influence various later Isma'ili authors starting from the 10th century. The Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ ('Book of the Path') is another purported dialogue between al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi and Ja'far al-Sadiq, likely composed in

8924-585: Was sent to the Ottoman sultan as a warning. In 1511, a pro-Safavid revolt known as the Şahkulu rebellion broke out in Teke . An imperial army that was sent to suppress it was defeated. Ismail sought to turn the chaos within the Ottoman Empire to his advantage and moved the border westwards in Asia Minor. The Qizilbash defeated a large Ottoman army under Koca Sinan Pasha . Shocked by this heavy defeat, Sultan Selim I ,

9021-584: Was succeeded by his son Farajulla Khan (1782-1786). His younger son Muhammad Hussein Khan, retained power until the establishment of the Qajar state in the region, when Agha Muhammad Shah Qajar (1796-1797) was proclaimed shah. His reign lasted until 1799, when it was absorbed by the Qajar rulers of Iran . Khalkhal khanate was ruled by nobles entitled khans, but after Qajar takeover their rulers title demoted to hakims . The khanate

9118-651: Was taken, there was not a single book on Twelverism among the Qizilbash leaders. The book of the well known Iraqi scholar al-Hilli (1250–1325) was procured in the town library to provide religious guidance to the state. The imported Shi'i ulama did not participate in the formation of Safavid religious policies during the early formation of the state. However, ghulat doctrines were later forsaken and Arab Twelver ulama from Lebanon , Iraq , and Bahrain were imported in increasing numbers to bolster orthodox Twelver practice and belief. In Turkey, orthodox Twelvers following Ja'fari jurisprudence are called Ja'faris. Although

9215-463: Was the de facto ruler of the Safavid kingdom. However, Tahmasp managed to reassert his authority over the state and over the Qizilbash. During the reign of Shah Tahmasp, the Qizilbash fought a series of wars on two fronts and – with the poor resources available to them – successfully defended their kingdom against the Uzbeks in the east, and against the arch-rivals of the Safavids – the Ottomans – in

9312-458: Was the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Isḥāqiyya . Some writings were also attributed to him. Ibn Nusayr (died after 868) and al-Khasibi (died 969) were the two most important figures in the founding of Nusayrism (called Alawism in the contemporary context), the only ghulāt sect that still exists today. The Umm al-kitāb ( Arabic : أمّ الکتاب , lit.   'Mother of

9409-504: Was truthful. Both of them ate food. [...] 76. Say, “Do you worship, apart from God, that which has no power to benefit or harm you, when it is God Who is the Hearing, the Knowing?” 77. Say, “O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion beyond the truth, and follow not the caprices of a people who went astray before, and led many astray, and strayed from the right way.” The " People of

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