DEPICTING THE OTHER

171 Pages·2013·1.04 MB·English

DEPICTING THE OTHER: QIZILBASH IMAGE IN THE 16th CENTURY
OTTOMAN HISTORIOGRAPHY

A Master’s Thesis

by
YASİN ARSLANTAŞ

The Department of History
İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University
Ankara
July 2013

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I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope
and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in History.

…………………………
Asst. Prof. Akif Kireççi
Thesis Supervisor

I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope
and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in History.

…………………………
Dr. Eugenia Kermeli
Examining Committee Member

I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope
and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in History.

…………………………
Assoc. Prof. Rıza Yıldırım
Examining Committee Member

Approval by the Graduate School of Economics and Social Sciences.

…………………………
Prof. Dr. Erdal Erel
Director

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ABSTRACT
DEPICTING THE OTHER: QIZILBASH IMAGE IN THE 16TH CENTURY
OTTOMAN HISTORIOGRAPHY
Arslantaş, Yasin
M.A., Department of History, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University
Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Akif Kireçci

July 2013

This study examines the early roots of the Ottoman perception of Qizilbash, both the
Safavids, rising as a new power in Iran at the turn of the 16th century, and their
Turcoman collaborators in Anatolia. The previous literature showing the image of
the Qizilbash in the eyes of Ottoman dynasty employed mostly archival sources, such
as fatwa collections and mühimme registers. In contrast, by focusing on the
historiographical narrations of the years of 1509–1514, the present study looks at the
literary works of 16th century chroniclers, particularly Selimnâme literature, and their
role in building the Ottoman religio-political discourse on the Qizilbash with an
attempt at showing their propagandist (or Selimist) nature. The present study argues
that this discourse helped the dynasty to justify the act of war against them. After
giving a brief background of the early Ottoman history with an emphasis on the
shifting position of nomadic-tribal Turcomans, the study probes how a chosen
sample of Ottoman histories from the 16th century depicted the Qizilbash image and
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how they identified the “self” through depiction of the “other.” This thesis argues
that religio-political discourses created in the 16th century led the Ottoman state to
espouse a more Sunni-minded imperial ideology, and to identify the social and
religious status of the Qizilbash.
Keywords: Qizilbash, Safavid, Turcoman, Ottoman historiography, Chronicle,
Selimnâme, Self, Other, Image, Identity Construction.

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ÖZET
ÖTEKİNİ TASVİR ETMEK: 16. YÜZYIL OSMANLI TARİHYAZIMINDA
KIZILBAŞ İMAJI
Arslantaş, Yasin
Master, Tarih Bölümü, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent Üniversitesi
Tez Yöneticisi: Yrd. Doç. Dr. Akif Kireçci

Temmuz 2013

Bu çalışma Osmanlı’nın 16. yüzyılın başında İran’da yeni bir güç olarak ortaya çıkan
Safeviler ve onların Anadolu’daki Türkmen destekçileri hakkındaki algısının
kökenlerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu çalışmada hem Safevileri, hem de
Anadolulu Türkmenleri Kızılbaş olarak adlandırmak tercih edilmiştir. Osmanlı
hanedanının gözündeki Kızılbaş imajı hakkında daha önceden yapılmış çalışmalar,
genellikle fetvalar ve mühimme defterleri gibi arşiv kaynaklarını kullanmaktaydı.
Aksine bu çalışma, 16. yüzyıl Osmanlı tarihçilerinin eserlerine, özellikle Selimnâme
literatürüne bakmakta ve onların Kızılbaşlar hakkında oluşturulan dini ve siyasi
söylemdeki rollerini incelemektedir. Bunu yaparken 1509–1514 yılları arasındaki
olayların tarihçiler tarafından anlatımları esas alınmakta ve bu anlatımlar onların
propagandacı doğaları göz önünde tutularak tartışılmaktadır. İleri sürülen
noktalardan birisi, bu söylemlerin Kızılbaşlara karşı yapılmış ve yapılacak olan
savaşların meşrulaştırılmasına yardım ettiğidir. Bu çalışma, öncelikle Türkmen
göçebe aşiretlerin erken Osmanlı tarihi boyunca değişen pozisyonlarını incelemekte,
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daha sonraysa 16. yüzyıl Osmanlı tarihyazımından seçilen bir örneklemi kullanarak
Osmanlı yazarlarının Kızılbaşları nasıl öteki olarak resmettiklerini ve bu ötekiliği
nasıl kendi öz kimliklerini tanımlamada kullandıklarını göstermektedir. Yine bu
çalışma, 16. yüzyılda yaratılan bu dini-politik söylemlerin Kızılbaşların dini ve
sosyal statülerinin tanımlanmasına ve Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nun daha Sünni-odaklı
bir ideolojiyi benimsemesine sebep olduğunu öne sürmektedir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Kızılbaş, Safevi, Türkmen, Osmanlı Tarihyazımı, Kronik,
Selimnâme, Benlik, Öteki, İmaj, Kimlik İnşası.

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To My Parents

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my advisor, Assistant Professor M. Akif Kireçci without
whom this thesis would only be an ordinary study. He taught me how to write an
academic paper properly. I am also grateful to the members of the history department
at Bilkent University. Particularly, I owe many thanks to Assistant Professor Oktay
Özel, for teaching me a critical approach in historical studies; Professor Özer Ergenç
for helping me to grasp the spirit of Ottoman archival documents; Dr. Eugenia
Kermeli for always being there with her helpful comments on my research and
serving in my thesis committee; and Assistant Professor Paul Latimer, who never
hesitated to help me with his all insightfulness. Needless to say, this thesis owes a lot
to Professor Halil İnalcık, the founder of the department of History at Bilkent that
funded my graduate studies.
Many thanks are due to Assistant Professor Rıza Yıldırım of TOBB University,
who shared his knowledge of the Qizilbash and Safavid history, as well as one of his
unpublished articles without hesitation. I am also grateful to him for participating
into my thesis committee. I also thank the faculty members of the department of
Economics at TOBB University, who introduced me to the immense nature of social
sciences during my undergraduate study there. Among the institutions I must thank is
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also Anadolu University, where I have been working as a research assistant for the
last two years.
I must also thank a number of friends, Alp Eren Topal, Berna Kamay, Bilgin
Bari, Fatih Kostakoğlu, Hüseyin Arslan, Neşe Şen and Sevilay Küçüksakarya who
contributed a great deal to the writing process of this thesis through either their
comments or friendship.
This study is dedicated to my parents, who are always understanding about my
unusual decisions despite their limited financial resources and about the fact that this
thesis has been completed long after the graduation date originally expected. Many
thanks also go to my sisters, Derya and Hülya, who were always supportive of my
studies. Finally, I am indebted very much to my precious wife, Hilal, for her endless
love and support during my graduate years.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... iii
ÖZET ........................................................................................................................... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... x
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1
1.1. Subject ................................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Primary Literature and Method ............................................................................. 7
1.3. Survey of Literature ............................................................................................ 17
CHAPTER II: TENSION BETWEEN THE OTTOMAN STATE AND
TURCOMANS ......................................................................................................... 23
2.1. A Glimpse into the Ottoman Bureaucratic Transformation ................................ 23
2.2. The Nature of the Early Ottoman State ............................................................... 27
2.3. The Rise of Ottoman Imperial Institutions ......................................................... 34
2.4. Alienation of Turcomans .................................................................................... 39
2.5. Ottoman Official Ideology .................................................................................. 44
2.6. The Advent of the Safavids ................................................................................. 47
2.7. Concluding Remarks ........................................................................................... 53
CHAPTER III: THE POLITICAL USE OF QIZILBASH IMAGE AS
DEPICTED BY THE 16TH CENTURY OTTOMAN HISTORIOGRAPHY ... 55
3.1. The Role of the Qizilbash Challenge in the Ottoman Domestic Politics (1509–
1513) .......................................................................................................................... 56
3.1.1. The Rise of Selim’s Fame as a Warrior: Anti-Qizilbash Activities in
Trabzon ...................................................................................................................... 58
3.2. The Images of the Actors of the Dynastic Struggle (1509–1513) ...................... 62
3.2.1. Selim versus Bayezid .............................................................................. 63
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