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Kizilbash (Turkish: Kızılbaş, Azerbaijani: Qızılbaş, Persian: قزلباش Qezelbāsh) - "Red Heads" - name given to a wide variety of extremist Shi'ite militant groups (ghulat) who helped found the Safavid Dynasty of Iran. The name "Red Heads" is derived from their distinct headwear with twelve points (indicating their adherence to the twelve Ithnāˤashari Imams.), known in Persian as the Tāj-e Heydar "Haydar's Crown", a reference to their Sufi grandmaster Haydar. (Tāj, meaning crown in Persian, is also a term for hats used to delineate one's affiliation to a particular Sufi order).

Origins

The origin of the "Kizilbash movement" - as they were called by their Sunni Ottoman foes and later adopted the name as a mark of pride - can be dated from mid 15th century, when their spiritual grandmaster (sheikh) Haydar, the head of the Safawiyyah Sufi-order, organized his followers into a body of militant troops.

Theories have been put foreward by scholars to connect the Kizilbash to certain religious groups throughout history, like the Mazdaki movement in the Sassanid Empire, or the radical Persian Khurrami sect who were also known as "Muhammira" or "Surkh-jamagan" because of their practise of wearing a red headgear and fighting for their religious beliefs. In this context, Turkish scholar Abdülbaki Göpenarli sees the Kizilbash as "spiritual descendants of the Khurramits". It has also been speculated that the group had its origins among the mystical Ismaili Assassin sect. However, most historians dispute this as no influence of Ismaili beliefs is obvious in Kizilbash practices.

Organization

The Kizilbash were a coalition of many different peoples of predominantly (but not exclusively) Turkic-speaking background, united in their belief in the Safavid doctrine of Shiism.

As murids of the Safawiyyah sheikhs (pirs), the Kizilbash 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 padshah ("king"), changing the purely religious pir - murid relationship into a political one. As a consequence, any act of disobedience of the Kizilbash Sufi against the order of his spiritual grandmaster became "an act of treason against the king and a crime against the state" (Persian: nā-sufigari, "improper conduct of a Sufi"), for example in 1614 when Shah Abbas I put to death some Kizilbash.

Beliefs

Kizilbash tribes adhered to heterodox Shi'a doctrines encouraged by early Safawiyyah sheikhs, specifically sheikh Haydar and his son, Ismail. They regarded their rulers as divine figures, and would thus be classified as ghulat extremist by orthodox Twelver Shia. It is clear that Ismail I was presenting himself to his Kizilbash followers not as a representative of Hidden Imam, but Hidden Imam himself and beyond that even claiming divinity for himself . The Kizilbash would go into battle without armour, confident that no harm would befall them, while adding Ismã'il waliyyu'llãh to the the Islamic profession faith.

This stemmed from the fact that among the Kizilbash there appeared to be a substantial lack of knowledge of Twelver Shia doctrines. When Tabriz was taken for example, there was not a single book on Twelver Shiism among Kizilbash leaders, and the book of the well known Allama Al-Hilli was procured in the town library to provide guidance on new religion of the state. Nor did any Shia ulema participate in the formation of Safavid religious policies during the early stages of the state. However later, the ghulat doctrines were forsaken and Arab Twelver Shia ulema resident in Iraq and Bahrain were brought in increasing numbers. Initally the Shia ulema kept quiet about inconsistencies in the religious stance of the monarch, but during the following century they were able to enforce a stricter version of Shia Islam on the population and the state.

"Turk & Tādjik"

Among the Kizilbash, Turcoman tribes from Eastern Anatolia and Azerbaijan who had helped Shah Ismail I defeat the Akkoyunlu tribe were by far the most important - in number and influence. Therfore the name Kizilbash is sometimes only applied to them . Some of these greater Turcoman tribes were subdivided into as many as eight or nine clans and included the:

• Ustādjlu
• Rumlu
• Shāmlu (the most powerful clan during the reign of Shah Ismail I.)
• Dulghadir (Arabic: Dhu 'l-Kadar)
• Afshār
• Qājār
• Takkalu

Other tribes, such as Turkman, Bahārlu, Warsāk, or Bayāt were occasionally listed among these "seven great uymaqs".

Some of these names consist of a place-name with addition of the Turkish suffix -lu, such as Shāmlu or Bahārlu. Other names are those of old Oghuz tribes such as Afshār, Dulghadir, or Bayāt - as mentioned by the medival Uyghur historian Mahmoud Al-Kāshgharī.

The non-Turkic or non-Turkish-speaking Iranian tribes among the Kizilbash were called Tājiks (meaning "Non-Turks" or "Iranians") by the Turcomans and included:

• Tālish
• Siāh-Kuh (Karādja-Dagh)
• Lur tribes (for example the Zand)

The rivalry between the Turkic clans and Persian nobles was a major problem in the Safavid kingdom and caused much trouble. 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 wakils as commanders of Kizilbash tribes. However, the Turcomans considered this an insult and brought about the death of 3 of the 5 Persians appointed to this office - an act, that later lead to the deprivation of the Turcomans by Shah Abbas I.

History

The Beginnings

In the 15th century, Ardabil was the center of an organization designed to keep the Safavid 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 Safavid propaganda was active. The khalīfa, in turn, had subordinates termed pira. Their presence in eastern Anatolia posed a serious threat to the Ottomans, because they encouraged the Shi'ite population of Asia Minor to revolt against the sultan.

In 1499, Ismail, the young leader of the Safavid order, left Lanjan for Ardabil to make his bid for power. By the summer of 1500, ca. 7,000 supporters from the local Turcoman tribes of Anatolia, Syria, and Iraq - collectively called "Kizilbash" - rallied to his support. Leading his troops on a punitive campaign against the Shirvanshah, he sought revenge for the death of his father and his grand-father in Shirvan. After defeating the Shirvanshah Farrukh Yassar, he moved south into Azarbaijan where his 7,000 Kizilbash warriors defeated a force of 30,000 Ak Koyunlu under Alwand Mirzā, and conquered Tabriz. This was the beginning of the Safavid state.

In the first decade of the 16th century, the Kizilbash expanded Safavid rule over the rest of Persia, as well as Baghdad and Iraq, formerly under Ak Koyunlu control.

In 1510 Shah Ismail sent a large force of the Kizilbash to Transoxania to support the Timurid ruler Babur in his war against the Uzbeks. The Kizilbash defeated the Uzbeks and secured Samarqand for Babur. However, in 1512, an entire Kizilbash army was annihilated by the Uzbeks after Turcoman Kizilbash had mutinied against their Persian wakil and commander, Amir Nadjm. This heavy defeat put an end to Safavid expansion and influence in Transoxania and the northeastern frontiers of the kingdom remained vulnerable to nomad invasions.

The Battle of Chaldiran

Meanwhile, the Safavid da'wa (propaganda) continued in Ottoman areas - with great success. Even more alarming for the Ottomans was the successful conversion of Turcoman tribes in eastern Anatolia and Iraq, and the recruitment of these well experienced and feared fighters into the growing Safavid army. In order to stop the Safavid propaganda, Sultan Bayezid II deported large numbers of the Shi'ite population of Asia Minor to Morea. However, in 1507, Shah Ismail and the Kizilbash overran large areas of Kurdistan, defeating regional Ottoman forces. Only two years later in Central Asia, the Kizilbash defeated the Uzbeks at Merv, killing their leader Muhammad Shaybani and destroying his dynasty. His head was sent to the Ottoman sultan.

In 1511, a Shi'ite revolt broke out in Tekke and was brutally suppressed by the Ottomans: 40,000 were massacred on the order of the sultan. Shah Ismail sought to turn the chaos within the Ottoman Empire to his advantage and invaded Anatolia. The Kizilbash defeated a large Ottoman army under Sinan Pasha. Shocked by this heavy defeat, Sultan Selim I (the new ruler of the Empire) decided to invade Persia with a force of 200,000 Ottomans and face the Kizilbash on their own soil. In addition, he ordered the persecution of Shiism and the massacre of all its adherents in the Ottoman Empire.

On the 20th August of 1514 (1st Rajab 920 A.H.), the two armies met at Chaldiran in Azarbaijan. The Ottomans outnumbered the Kizilbash two to one (according to other sources: three to one) and had artillery and handguns. The Kizilbash were heavily defeated, and many high-ranking Kizilbash amirs as well as three influential figures of the ulamā were killed.

The defeat destroyed Shah Ismail's belief in his invincibility and his divine status. It also fundamentally altered the relationship between the murshid-e kāmil and his murids.

The Kizilbash and the Mughals of India

For almost ten years after the Battle of Chaldiran, rival Kizilbash factions fought for control of the kingdom. In 1524, 10-year-old Shah Tahmasp I, the gouvernour of Herat, succeeded his father Ismail. He was the ward of the powerful Kizilbash amir Ali Beg Rūmlū (titled "Div Soltān") who was the de facto ruler of the Safavid kingdom. However, Tahmasp managed to reassert his authority over the state and over the Kizilbash.

During the reign of Shah Tahmasp, the Kizilbash 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 Ottomans in the west. With the Treaty of Amasya, peace between Safavids and Ottomans remained for the rest of Tahmasp's reign.

To be continued ...

Nadir Shah and the fall of the Safavids

Legacy

Afghanistan

Kizilbash in Afghanistan live in urban areas, such as Kabul, Herat or Qandahar, as well as in certain villages in Hazarajat. They are descendants of the troops left behind by Nadir Shah during his "Indian campaign" in 1738. Afghanistan's Kizilbash 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 60,000 to 200,000. They are Persian-speaking Shi'ite Muslims.

Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone described the Kizilbash 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". However, Lady Florentia Sale (wife of Sir Robert Henry Sale) and Vincent Eyre - both companions of Sir M. Elphinstone - described the Kizilbash of Afghanistan also as "Persians, of Persian descent".

The influence of the Kizilbash in the government created resentment among the ruling Pashtun clans, especially after the Kizilbash openly allied themselves with the British during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-1842). During Abdur Rahman Khan's massacre of the Shi'ite minorities in Afghanistan, the Kizilbash were declared "enemies of the state" and were persecuted and hunted by the government and by the Sunni majority. (See also: Reign of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan)

India

Iran

The Kizilbash were still vital players in the success of the Safavid Empire - providing soldiers and assisting greatly in the flourishing economy, as well as in arts and literature. In addition, many Kizilbash became Ayatollahs or Mujtahids (important Shia scholars), teaching Iran's masses religious practices and belief.

Pakistan

Syria

Turkey

see: Alevis

Some Alevi- and Bektashi leaning religious or ethnic minorities in Anatolia go under the name of Kizilbash to the present day.

"... 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 the Kazilbash of Central Asia. The Bektaşi in Turkey are often referred to as 'Kızılbaşi ...",.

These accounts certify the connection to Safavids within Alevi-Bektashi community of Turkey; as some of their towns and villages maintain legendary connections to Sultan Haydar of Persia, even naming their towns after him. Most of the Alevi population with connections to Kizilbash are ethnic Turks, however there are smaller Zaza and Kurdish communities as well.

References

1. Moojan Momen, "An Introduction to Shi'i Islam", Yale Univ. Press, 1985, ISBN-0-300-03499-7, pp. 101-107
2. Roger M. Savory (ref. Abdülbaki Gölpinarli), Encyclopaedia of Islam, "Kizil-Bash", Online Edition 2005
3. F.W. Bussell, "Persistence of Primitive Beliefs in Theology" Folklore. 28 (3), 1917, pp. 279-294
4. Roger M. Savory, "The office of khalifat al-khulafa under the Safawids", in JOAS, lxxxv, 1965, p. 501
5. Moojan Momen, "An Introduction to Shi'i Islam", Yale Univ. Press, 1985, ISBN-0-300-03499-7, p. 105
6. Moojan Momen, "An Introduction to Shi'i Islam", Yale Univ. Press, 1985, ISBN-0-300-03499-7, p. 397
7. V. Minorsky, "Tadhkirat al-muluk", London 1943, p. 188
8. V. Minorsky, "Tadhkirat al-muluk", London 1943, p. 16-17
9. Roger M. Savory, "The consolidation of Safawid power in Persia", in Isl., 1965
10. Roger M. Savory in Islamic Studies: Journal of the Central Institute of Islamic Research, "The significance of the political murder of Mirza Salman", Karachi, 1964
11. Roger M. Savory, Encyclopaedia of Islam, "The establishment of the Safawid state", Online Edition, 2005
12. Roger M. Savory, "The significance of the political murder of Mirza Salman", in "Studies on the history of Safawid Iran", xv, pp. 186-187
13. H.A.R. Gibb & H. Bowen, "Islamic society and the West", i/2, Oxford, 1957, p. 189
14. M.J. McCaffrey, Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Čālderān", v, pp. 656-8, (LINK)
15. Roger M. Savory in Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Div Soltan", Online Edition, 2005, (LINK)
16. M. Köhbach in Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Peace of Amasya", v, p. 928, Online Edition, (LINK)
17. Mountstuart Elphinstone, An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, pp. 320-321
18. Henry Yule, "Hobson-Jobson", London, 1886, p. 380
19. Lady Sale, "A Journal of the Disasters in Affghanistan 1841-42", London, Murray 1843, p. IX
20. Vincent Eyre, "The Military Operations at Cabul", London, Murray, MDCCCXLIII, p. XXXI.
21. U.S. Library of Congress, "Afghanistan: The society and its environment", index s.v. Qizilbash, (LINK)
22. J.W. Crowfoot, "Survivals among the Kappadokian Kizilbash (Bektash)", Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 30., 1900, pp. 305-20

See also

• Ismail I
• Safavids
• Shi'a Islam

• History of Iran