Kizilbash
Encyclopedia
Qizilbash or Kizilbash (Nastaliq: قزلباش - Qızılbāš; Ottoman Turkish
for "Crimson/Red Heads"; sometimes also Qezelbash or Qazilbash) is the label given to a wide variety of Shī‘ī Islamic militant groups (ghulāt
) that flourished in Anatolia
and Kurdistan from the late 13th century onwards, some of which contributed to the foundation of the Safavid dynasty
of Iran
. The expression "Red Heads" 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 the twelve Ithnā‘asharī Imāms
and to Shaykh Haydar, the spiritual leader (sheikh
) of the Ṣafaviyya movement.
of the movement, Haydar (the head of the Ṣafawiyyah Sufi order), organized his followers into militant troops.
Connections between the Kizilbash and other religious groups and secret societies, such as the Mazdak
i movement in the Sassanid Empire, or its more radical offspring, the Persian Ḵhorrām-Dīnān (Khurrāmīyah)
sect, have been suggested. Like the Kizilbash, the latter were an early Shī‘ī ghulat
group and dressed in red, for which they were termed "the red-haired ones" ( muḥammirah) by medieval sources. In this context, Turkish scholar Abdülbaki Gölpinarli sees the Kizilbash as "spiritual descendants of the Khurramites".
It has also been speculated that the group had its origins among the mystical Ismaili
Assassin
sect; the assertion is generally disputed as no influence of Ismaili beliefs is apparent in Kizilbash practices.
-speaking Azerbaijani
background, united in their adherence to the Safavid doctrine of Shiism.
As murid
s of the Safawiyyah
sheikh
s (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 the spiritual grandmaster became "an act of treason against the king and a crime against the state" (Persian: nā-sufīgarī, "improper conduct of a Sufi") - as was the case in 1614 when Shah Abbas I put to death some Kizilbash.
sheikh
s Haydar and his son Isma'il
. They regarded their rulers as divine figures, and so were classified as ghulat
extremist by orthodox Ithnāʻashari Shias. Ismail I. presented himself to his Kizilbash followers not as a representative of the Hidden Imam
, but as the Hidden Imam himself, claiming divinity. The Kizilbash would go into battle without armour as an expression of faith in divine protection, while proclaiming Ismā'il waliyyu'llāh to the Islamic Shahada
.
Among the Kizilbash there appears to have been a substantial lack of knowledge of Twelver Shia doctrine. When Tabriz
was taken, there was not a single book on Twelver Shiaism among the Kizilbash leaders; the book of the well known Allama Al-Hilli was procured in the town library to provide religious guidance to the state. Nor did Shia ulema
participate in the formation of Safavid religious policies during the early formation of the state. However, later, the ghulat
doctrines were forsaken, and Arab Twelver Shia ulema
resident in Lebanon
, Iraq
, and Bahrain
were brought in increasing numbers. Initially the Shia ulema
did not voice dissent about the religious stance of the monarch, but during the following century they were able to impose a stricter version of Shia Islam on both the population and the state.
defeat the Aq Qoyunlu tribe were by far the most important in both number and influence, and the name Kizilbash is usually applied exclusively to them. Some of these greater Turcoman tribes were subdivided into as many as eight or nine clans, and included:
Other tribes - such as the Turkman, Bahārlu
, Qaramānlu, Warsāk, and 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 the Afshār, Dulghadir, or Bayāt, as mentioned by the medieval Uyghur
historian Mahmoud Al-Kāshgharī
. The origin of the name Ustādjlu, however, is unknown, and possibly indicates a non-Turkic origin of the tribe.
The non-Turkic or non-Turkish-speaking Iranian tribes among the Kizilbash were called Tājiks by the Turcomans and included:
The rivalry between the Turkic clans and 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 wakils as commanders of Kizilbash tribes. 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 inspired the deprivation of the Turcomans by Shah Abbas I.
was the center of an organization designed to keep the Safavid leadership in close touch with its murid
s 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 Lahijan
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" by their enemies - rallied to his support. 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
, 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 defeat put an end to Safavid expansion and influence in Transoxania and left the northeastern frontiers of the kingdom vulnerable to nomad invasions.
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 as a warning.
In 1511, an Alevi
revolt known as "Shahkulu Uprising" broke out in Teke
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 20 August of 1514 (1st Rajab
920 A.H.), the two armies met at Chaldiran
in Azarbaijan. The Ottomans -equipped with both firearms and cannon- were reported to outnumber the Kizilbash as much as three to one. The Kizilbash were heavily defeated; casualties included many high-ranking Kizilbash amirs as well as three influential ulamā.
The defeat destroyed Shah Ismail's belief in his own invincibility and divine status. It also fundamentally altered the relationship between the murshid-e kāmil and his murids.
emperor Humayun
from the Safavid Empire in Iran
to South Asia
to reconquer his empire from the Suri Dynasty. The Qizilbash tribes settled in large numbers in northern Pakistan
, Afghanistan
, and also in India
at Delhi
and Agra
, centers of Mughal administration in South Asia.
, the governor 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.
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 and conquered Azerbaijan, the Uzbeks conquered Khurasan
, including Balkh
and Herat
.
In 1588, Shah Abbas I came to power. He appointed 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 counter balancing influence of traditional Ithnāʻashari Shia Sayeds, made him determined to end the dominance of the untrustworthy Turcoman chiefs in Persia. In order to weaken the Turcomans - the important militant elite of the Safavid kingdom - Shah Abbas raised a standing army from the ranks of the ghilman
who were usually ethnic Armenians
and Georgians
. The new army would be loyal to the king personally and not to 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 the royal household, and by the end of Shah Abbas' reign, one-fifth of the high-ranking amirs were ghulams. By 1598 an ethnic Armenian from Georgia
had risen to the position of commander-in-chief of all Safawid armed forces. The offices of wakil and amir al-umarā fell in disuse and were replaced by the office of a Sipahsālār
, commander-in-chief of all armed forces - Turcoman and Non-Turcoman - and usually held by a Persian (Tādjik) noble.
live in urban areas, such as Kabul
, Herat
or Mazari Sharif, 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 and are usually linked to the Fārsīwāns and Tājīks of the country.
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 Mountstuart 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
(1839–1842). 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.
. During Safavid rule, most of the territory of modern Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan
became Shiite.
, Afshar
, bayat
In Pakistan
, the Qizilbash are predominantly Twelver Shia Muslims with a significant Sunni
Hanafi
Muslim
minority. The Qizilbash are an influential group found in almost all segments of Pakistani society particularly in the fertile provinces of Panjab
, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh
. There are sizable populations in the city of Karachi
, Multan
, Lahore
, Peshawar
, Quetta
, Sialkot
, Hyderabad
and Rawalpindi
.
The Qizilbash soldiers and officials settled in modern Pakistan
during Mughal Emperor
Humayun
's return from exile in Safavid
Persia and restoration of Mughal Empire
. Emperor Humayun lost his South Asia
n territories to the Pashtun
noble, Sher Shah Suri
, and, with Persian
aid, regained them 15 years later in 1555 AD. Humayun's return from Persia
, accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen and soldiers, signaled an important change in Mughal court culture, as the Central Asian origins
of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by the influences of Persian art, architecture, language
and literature
.
Estimates vary from 3 to 5 million people may be descendants of the Qizilbash as they established several settlements principally in Pakistan in medieval times as well as in the urban centres of Afghanistan
. Entire villages and sometimes districts were settled by the Qizilbash where many of their descendants can still be found to this day. Their numbers were further increased with the arrival of tens of thousands of Qizilbash refugees from neighboring Afghanistan
when they were termed enemies of the state by the then Emir of Afghanistan for allegedly siding with the British Raj
in the First Anglo-Afghan War
(1839 to 1842). The British colonial government
treated Qizilbash refugees as allies and settled them in modern Pakistan
and granted them landholdings and official positions. The Qizilbash assimilated and married with the local Muslims. Qizilbash generation hierarchies are preserved in books published by the British during their Raj
.
In Pakistan
, the Qizilbash wield considerable influence both at a local social level within the respective community and tribe they live in as well as in the government as many prominent Qizilbash have attained positions in the Senate of Pakistan
and one as President of Pakistan
. The Qizilbash are known for their intellect, higher education and are well renowned as scholars all throughout Pakistan. They have produced many politicians, religious scholars, soldiers, doctors, lawyers and engineers within the country. Qizilbash are also found in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa principally in the city of Peshawar
as well as in Balochistan. Pakistan's former President
Yahya Khan
was a Qizilbash. Muzaffar Ali Khan Qizilbash served as Finance Minister of Pakistan
.
Some contemporary Alevi
and Bektashi
leaning religious or ethnic minorities in Anatolia are referred to, pejoratively, as Kizilbash.
Ottoman Turkish language
The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
for "Crimson/Red Heads"; sometimes also Qezelbash or Qazilbash) is the label given to a wide variety of Shī‘ī Islamic militant groups (ghulāt
Ghulat
Ghulāt , is a term used in the theology of Shia Islam to describe some minority Muslim groups who either ascribe divine characteristics to a member of Muhammad's family , or hold beliefs deemed deviant by mainstream Shi'i theology...
) that flourished in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and Kurdistan from the late 13th century onwards, some of which contributed to the foundation of the Safavid dynasty
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. The expression "Red Heads" is derived from their distinctive twelve gored crimson headwear (tāj or tark in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
; sometimes specifically titled "Haydar's Crown" / تاج حیدر / Tāj-e Ḥaydar), indicating their adherence to the twelve Ithnā‘asharī Imāms
Imamah (Shi'a doctrine)
Imāmah is the Shia doctrine of religious, spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah. The Shīa believe that the A'immah are the true Caliphs or rightful successors of Muḥammad, and further that Imams are possessed of divine knowledge and authority as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt,...
and to Shaykh Haydar, the spiritual leader (sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
) of the Ṣafaviyya movement.
Origins
The origin of the Kizilbash - as they were called by their Sunni Ottoman foes, and who later adopted that name as a mark of pride - can be dated from the 15th century onward, when the spiritual grandmasterSheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
of the movement, Haydar (the head of the Ṣafawiyyah Sufi order), organized his followers into militant troops.
Connections between the Kizilbash and other religious groups and secret societies, such as the Mazdak
Mazdak
Mazdak was a proto-socialist Persian reformer and religious activist who gained influence under the reign of the Sassanian Shahanshah Kavadh I...
i movement in the Sassanid Empire, or its more radical offspring, the Persian Ḵhorrām-Dīnān (Khurrāmīyah)
Khurramites
The Khurramites were an Iranian religious and political movement with its roots in the movement founded by Mazdak. An alternative name for the movement is the Muḥammira "Red-Wearing Ones" , a reference to their symbolic red dress.-Origins and History:The sect was founded by the Persian cleric...
sect, have been suggested. Like the Kizilbash, the latter were an early Shī‘ī ghulat
Ghulat
Ghulāt , is a term used in the theology of Shia Islam to describe some minority Muslim groups who either ascribe divine characteristics to a member of Muhammad's family , or hold beliefs deemed deviant by mainstream Shi'i theology...
group and dressed in red, for which they were termed "the red-haired ones" ( muḥammirah) by medieval sources. In this context, Turkish scholar Abdülbaki Gölpinarli sees the Kizilbash as "spiritual descendants of the Khurramites".
It has also been speculated that the group had its origins among the mystical Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
Assassin
Hashshashin
The Assassins were an order of Nizari Ismailis, particularly those of Persia that existed from around 1092 to 1265...
sect; the assertion is generally disputed as no influence of Ismaili beliefs is apparent in Kizilbash practices.
Organization
The Kizilbash were a coalition of many different peoples of predominantly (but not exclusively) TurkicTurkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
-speaking Azerbaijani
Azerbaijani people
The Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to...
background, united in their adherence to the Safavid doctrine of Shiism.
As murid
Murid
Murid is a Sufi term meaning 'committed one' from the root meaning "willpower" or "self-esteem". It refers to a person who is committed to a Murshid in a Tariqa of Sufism. Also known as a Salik , a murid is an initiate into the mystic philosophy of Sufism. When the Talib makes a pledge to a...
s of the Safawiyyah
Safaviyeh
The Safaviyya was a Sufi order founded by the Kurdish mystic Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili . It held a prominent place in the society and politics of northwestern Iran in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but today it is best known for having given rise to the Safavid dynasty.Safī al-Din grew...
sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
s (pirs), the Kizilbash owed implicit obedience to their leader in his capacity as their murshid-e kāmil
Murshid
Murshid is Arabic for "guide" or "teacher". Particularly in Sufism it refers to a Sufi teacher. The term is used by other branches of Islam as well, e.g. by the Nizaris, the main school of Ismā‘īlī Shiites....
("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 the spiritual grandmaster became "an act of treason against the king and a crime against the state" (Persian: nā-sufīgarī, "improper conduct of a Sufi") - as was the case in 1614 when Shah Abbas I put to death some Kizilbash.
Beliefs
The Kizilbash adhered to heterodox Shi'a doctrines encouraged by the early SafawiyyahSafaviyeh
The Safaviyya was a Sufi order founded by the Kurdish mystic Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili . It held a prominent place in the society and politics of northwestern Iran in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but today it is best known for having given rise to the Safavid dynasty.Safī al-Din grew...
sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
s Haydar and his son Isma'il
Ismail I
Ismail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
. They regarded their rulers as divine figures, and so were classified as ghulat
Ghulat
Ghulāt , is a term used in the theology of Shia Islam to describe some minority Muslim groups who either ascribe divine characteristics to a member of Muhammad's family , or hold beliefs deemed deviant by mainstream Shi'i theology...
extremist by orthodox Ithnāʻashari Shias. Ismail I. presented himself to his Kizilbash followers not as a representative of the Hidden Imam
Mahdi
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...
, but as the Hidden Imam himself, claiming divinity. The Kizilbash would go into battle without armour as an expression of faith in divine protection, while proclaiming Ismā'il waliyyu'llāh to the Islamic Shahada
Shahada
The Shahada , means "to know and believe without suspicion, as if witnessed"/testification; it is the name of the Islamic creed. The shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as God's prophet...
.
Among the Kizilbash there appears to have been a substantial lack of knowledge of Twelver Shia doctrine. When Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
was taken, there was not a single book on Twelver Shiaism among the Kizilbash leaders; the book of the well known Allama Al-Hilli was procured in the town library to provide religious guidance to the state. Nor did Shia ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
participate in the formation of Safavid religious policies during the early formation of the state. However, later, the ghulat
Ghulat
Ghulāt , is a term used in the theology of Shia Islam to describe some minority Muslim groups who either ascribe divine characteristics to a member of Muhammad's family , or hold beliefs deemed deviant by mainstream Shi'i theology...
doctrines were forsaken, and Arab Twelver Shia ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
resident in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
were brought in increasing numbers. Initially the Shia ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
did not voice dissent about the religious stance of the monarch, but during the following century they were able to impose a stricter version of Shia Islam on both the population and the state.
"Turk & Tājīk"
Among the Kizilbash, Turcoman tribes from Eastern Anatolia and Azerbaijan who had helped Shah Ismail IIsmail I
Ismail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
defeat the Aq Qoyunlu tribe were by far the most important in both number and influence, and the name Kizilbash is usually applied exclusively to them. Some of these greater Turcoman tribes were subdivided into as many as eight or nine clans, and included:
- Ustādjlu
- Rumlu
- ShamluShamluThe Shamloo, Shamlu, shomloo Tribe was one of the 7 original and the most powerful Qizilbash Tribe of Turcoman origin in Iran.-Pre-Safavid Era:...
(the most powerful clan during the reign of Shah Ismail I.Ismail IIsmail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
) - Dulkadir tribe (Arabic: Dhu 'l-Kadar)
- AfsharAfshar tribeAfshars, also called Avshar are a branch of the Turkic Oghuz groups. These originally nomadic Oghuz tribes moved from Central Asia through Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and finally most of them settled in Anatolia.Most of Afshars are followers of Shia Islam....
- Qajar
- Takkalu
Other tribes - such as the Turkman, Bahārlu
Baharlu
The Bahārlou, also spelled Baharloo, Baharlooe , are an Turkic ethnic group of Fars , Kerman, Azarbaijan and Khorasan. All of which are provinces in Iran...
, Qaramānlu, Warsāk, and Bayāt
Bayat
The surname Bayat or Baiyat is derived from clans in Iran and Afghanistan.-Clans:Bayat is the name of an originally Turkic clan in Iran which traces its origin to the 12th century...
- 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
Oghuz Turks
The Turkomen also known as Oghuz Turks were a historical Turkic tribal confederation in Central Asia during the early medieval Turkic expansion....
tribes such as the Afshār, Dulghadir, or Bayāt, as mentioned by the medieval Uyghur
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
historian Mahmoud Al-Kāshgharī
Mahmud Kashgari
Mahmud ibn Hussayn ibn Muhammad al-Kashgari was an 11th century Turkic scholar and lexicographer of Turkic languages from Kashgar.His father, Hussayn, was the mayor of Barsgan and related to the Qara-Khanid ruling dynasty...
. The origin of the name Ustādjlu, however, is unknown, and possibly indicates a non-Turkic origin of the tribe.
The non-Turkic or non-Turkish-speaking Iranian tribes among the Kizilbash were called Tājiks by the Turcomans and included:
- TālishTalysh peopleTalysh are an Iranian people indigenous to a region shared between Azerbaijan and Iran which spans the South Caucasus and the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. They speak the Talysh language, one of the Northwestern Iranian languages...
- Siāh-Kuh (Karādja-Dagh)
- LurLursLurs are an Iranic people living mainly in south-western Iran. Their population is estimated at above two million. They occupy Lorestan, Bakhtiari, and Kuh-Gilu-Boir Ahmed. "....
tribes (for example the ZandZand dynastyThe Zand dynasty ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century.- Karim Khan Zand :The dynasty was founded by Karim Khan, chief of the Zand tribe which was Lur or Lak deportees. Modern scholarships such as Wadie Jwaideh suggested his Kurdishness. He became one of Nader Shah's generals...
) - certain Kurdish tribes
- certain PersianPersian peopleThe Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
families and clans
The rivalry between the Turkic clans and 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 wakils as commanders of Kizilbash tribes. 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 inspired the deprivation of the Turcomans by Shah Abbas I.
The Beginnings
In the 15th century, ArdabilArdabil
Ardabil is a historical city in north-western Iran. The name Ardabil probably comes from the Zoroastrian name of "Artavil" which means a holy place. Ardabil is the center of Ardabil Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 412,669, in 102,818 families...
was the center of an organization designed to keep the Safavid leadership in close touch with its murid
Murid
Murid is a Sufi term meaning 'committed one' from the root meaning "willpower" or "self-esteem". It refers to a person who is committed to a Murshid in a Tariqa of Sufism. Also known as a Salik , a murid is an initiate into the mystic philosophy of Sufism. When the Talib makes a pledge to a...
s in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, 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
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, because they encouraged the Shi'ite population of Asia Minor to revolt against the sultan.
In 1499, Ismail
Ismail I
Ismail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
, the young leader of the Safavid order, left Lahijan
Lahijan
Lahijan is a city in and the capital of Lahijan County, Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 71,871, in 21,518 families....
for Ardabil
Ardabil
Ardabil is a historical city in north-western Iran. The name Ardabil probably comes from the Zoroastrian name of "Artavil" which means a holy place. Ardabil is the center of Ardabil Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 412,669, in 102,818 families...
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" by their enemies - rallied to his support. Leading his troops on a punitive campaign against the Shīrvanshāh (ruler of Shirvan
Shirvan
Shirvan , also spelled as Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both Islamic and modern times...
), he sought revenge for the death of his father and his grandfather in Shīrvan. After defeating the Shīrvanshāh Farrukh Yassar
Farrukh Yassar
Farrukh Yassar Shirvanshah of Shirvan .In 1488 Shaykh Haydar of Safaviyya moved through Shirvan towards Derbend, supposedly to wage jihad against Circassians, but instead laid siege to Derbent. Farrukh Yassar was not able to mount defense and asked Sultan Yagub of Kara Koyunlu to the rescue...
, he moved south into Azarbaijan where his 7,000 Kizilbash warriors defeated a force of 30,000 Ak Koyunlu
Ak Koyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or Ak Koyunlu, also called the White Sheep Turkomans , was an Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled parts of present-day Eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, and Iran from 1378 to 1508.-History:According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, the Aq Qoyunlu...
under Alwand Mirzā, and conquered Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
. This was the beginning of the Safavid state
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
.
In the first decade of the 16th century, the Kizilbash expanded Safavid rule over the rest of Persia, as well as Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, formerly under Ak Koyunlu control.
In 1510 Shah Ismail sent a large force of the Kizilbash to Transoxania to support the Timurid ruler Babur
Babur
Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
in his war against the Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
. The Kizilbash defeated the Uzbeks and secured Samarqand for Babur. However, in 1512, an entire Kizilbash army was annihilated by the Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
after Turcoman Kizilbash had mutinied against their Persian wakil and commander, Amir Nadjm. This defeat put an end to Safavid expansion and influence in Transoxania and left the northeastern frontiers of the kingdom 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 IIBayezid II
Bayezid II or Sultân Bayezid-î Velî was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512...
deported large numbers of the Shi'ite population of Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
to Morea
Morea
The Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.-Origins of the name:...
. 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
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
at Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
, killing their leader Muhammad Shaybani
Muhammad Shaybani
Abu 'I-Fath Muhammad , known in later centuries as Shaybani Khan , was a khan of the Uzbeks who continued consolidating various Uzbek tribes and laid foundations for their ascendance in Transoxiana. of Genghis Khan through his grandson Shayban and considered the Timurids as usurpers of the...
and destroying his dynasty. His head was sent to the Ottoman sultan as a warning.
In 1511, an Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
revolt known as "Shahkulu Uprising" broke out in Teke
Antalya Province
Antalya Province is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of...
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
Sinan Pasha
Sinan Pasha or Sinan Pashë Kahremanliu was an Albanian Grand Vizier, Ottoman military commander and statesman.-Life:...
. Shocked by this heavy defeat, Sultan Selim I
Selim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
(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 20 August of 1514 (1st Rajab
Rajab
Rajab is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. The lexical definition of Rajaba is "to respect", of which Rajab is a derivative.This month is regarded as one of the four sacred months in Islam in which battles are prohibited...
920 A.H.), the two armies met at Chaldiran
Battle of Chaldiran
The Battle of Chaldiran or Chaldoran occurred on 23 August 1514 and ended with a victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire of Persia . As a result, the Ottomans gained immediate control over eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq...
in Azarbaijan. The Ottomans -equipped with both firearms and cannon- were reported to outnumber the Kizilbash as much as three to one. The Kizilbash were heavily defeated; casualties included many high-ranking Kizilbash amirs as well as three influential ulamā.
The defeat destroyed Shah Ismail's belief in his own invincibility and divine status. It also fundamentally altered the relationship between the murshid-e kāmil and his murids.
The Qizilbash and the Mughals of South Asia
Qizilbash warriors accompanied the MughalMughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
emperor Humayun
Humayun
Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one...
from the Safavid Empire in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
to South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
to reconquer his empire from the Suri Dynasty. The Qizilbash tribes settled in large numbers in northern Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and also in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
at Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
, centers of Mughal administration in South Asia.
The deprivation of the Turcomans
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 ITahmasp I
Tahmasp or Tahmasb I was an influential Shah of Iran, who enjoyed the longest reign of any member of the Safavid dynasty...
, the governor of Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, succeeded his father Ismail. He was the ward
Ward (law)
In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. A court may take responsibility for the legal protection of an individual, usually either a child or incapacitated person, in which case the ward is known as a ward of the court, or a ward of the state, in the United States,...
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.
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 and conquered Azerbaijan, the Uzbeks conquered Khurasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
, including Balkh
Balkh
Balkh , was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan...
and Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
.
In 1588, Shah Abbas I came to power. He appointed the Governor of Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
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 counter balancing influence of traditional Ithnāʻashari Shia Sayeds, made him determined to end the dominance of the untrustworthy Turcoman chiefs in Persia. In order to weaken the Turcomans - the important militant elite of the Safavid kingdom - Shah Abbas raised a standing army from the ranks of the ghilman
Ghilman
Ghilman Ghilman Ghilman (singular ghulam describes either young servants in paradise or slave-soldiers in the Ottoman, Mughal and Persian Empires.-Islamic Theology:...
who were usually ethnic Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
and Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
. The new army would be loyal to the king personally and not to 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 the royal household, and by the end of Shah Abbas' reign, one-fifth of the high-ranking amirs were ghulams. By 1598 an ethnic Armenian from Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
had risen to the position of commander-in-chief of all Safawid armed forces. The offices of wakil and amir al-umarā fell in disuse and were replaced by the office of a Sipahsālār
Spahbod
Spahbod or Spahbed , is derived from the words Spah and bod ; or "Aspah'Paeity" , and means commander of cavaliers/ knights; alternatively Spah Salar was a rank used in the Parthian empire and more widely in the Sassanid Empire of Persia...
, commander-in-chief of all armed forces - Turcoman and Non-Turcoman - and usually held by a Persian (Tādjik) noble.
Afghanistan
Kizilbash in AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
live in urban areas, such as Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
or Mazari Sharif, as well as in certain villages in Hazarajat
Hazarajat
The Hazarajat is the original homeland of the Hazara people, and lies in the central highlands of Afghanistan, among the Koh-i-Baba mountains and the western extremities of the Hindu Kush. Its physical boundaries, however, are roughly marked by the Bamiyan Basin to the north, the headwaters of...
. 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
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, they constitute an important and politically influential element of society. Estimates of their population vary from 60,000 to 200,000. They are Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
-speaking Shi'ite Muslims and are usually linked to the Fārsīwāns and Tājīks of the country.
Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone
Mountstuart Elphinstone
Mountstuart Elphinstone was a Scottish statesman and historian, associated with the government of British India. He later became the Governor of Bombay where he is credited with the opening of several educational institutions accessible to the Indian population...
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
Robert Henry Sale
Major General Sir Robert Henry Sale GCB was a British Army officer who commanded the garrison of Jalalabad during the First Afghan War and was killed in action during the First Anglo-Sikh War....
) and Vincent Eyre
Vincent Eyre
Vincent Eyre was an English General in the Indian Army, who saw active service in India and Afghanistan.-Early life:Born in Portsdown, Portsmouth in 1811, Eyre was the third son of Captain Henry Eyre and was educated at Norwich School....
- both companions of Sir Mountstuart 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
First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
(1839–1842). During Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901.The third son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan, Abdur Rahman Khan was considered a strong ruler who re-established the writ of the Afghan government in Kabul after the disarray that followed the second...
'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.
Azerbaijan
Qizilbash tribes played an important role in history of AzerbaijanAzerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. During Safavid rule, most of the territory of modern Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (Iran)
Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan , also Iranian Azerbaijan, Persian Azarbaijan is a region in northwestern Iran. It is also historically known as Atropatene and Aturpatakan....
became Shiite.
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. Qizilbash clans form a large population in Iran and this can be indicated from a surname, such as ShamluShamlu
The Shamloo, Shamlu, shomloo Tribe was one of the 7 original and the most powerful Qizilbash Tribe of Turcoman origin in Iran.-Pre-Safavid Era:...
, Afshar
Afshar
Afshar is a district of Kabul, Afghanistan. Most of its population are of the Shia-Hazara ethnic group....
, bayat
Bayat
The surname Bayat or Baiyat is derived from clans in Iran and Afghanistan.-Clans:Bayat is the name of an originally Turkic clan in Iran which traces its origin to the 12th century...
Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, the Qizilbash are predominantly Twelver Shia Muslims with a significant Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
minority. The Qizilbash are an influential group found in almost all segments of Pakistani society particularly in the fertile provinces of Panjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. There are sizable populations in the city of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
, Sialkot
Sialkot
Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...
, Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Sindh
is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the seventh largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot...
and Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
.
The Qizilbash soldiers and officials settled in modern Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
during Mughal Emperor
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
Humayun
Humayun
Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one...
's return from exile in Safavid
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
Persia and restoration of Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
. Emperor Humayun lost his South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
n territories to the Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
noble, Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri , birth name Farid Khan, also known as Sher Khan , was the founder of the short-lived Sur Empire in northern India, with its capital at Delhi, before its demise in the hands of the resurgent Mughal Empire...
, and, with Persian
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
aid, regained them 15 years later in 1555 AD. Humayun's return from Persia
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
, accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen and soldiers, signaled an important change in Mughal court culture, as the Central Asian origins
Moghulistan
Moghulistan or Mughalistan is a historical geographic unit in Central Asia that included parts of modern-day Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Chinese Autonomous Region of Xinjiang...
of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by the influences of Persian art, architecture, language
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and literature
Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
.
Estimates vary from 3 to 5 million people may be descendants of the Qizilbash as they established several settlements principally in Pakistan in medieval times as well as in the urban centres of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Entire villages and sometimes districts were settled by the Qizilbash where many of their descendants can still be found to this day. Their numbers were further increased with the arrival of tens of thousands of Qizilbash refugees from neighboring Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
when they were termed enemies of the state by the then Emir of Afghanistan for allegedly siding with the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
in the First Anglo-Afghan War
First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
(1839 to 1842). The British colonial government
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
treated Qizilbash refugees as allies and settled them in modern Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and granted them landholdings and official positions. The Qizilbash assimilated and married with the local Muslims. Qizilbash generation hierarchies are preserved in books published by the British during their Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
.
In Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, the Qizilbash wield considerable influence both at a local social level within the respective community and tribe they live in as well as in the government as many prominent Qizilbash have attained positions in the Senate of Pakistan
Senate of Pakistan
The Senate of Pakistan is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan. Elections are held every three years for one half of the senate and each senator has a term of six years...
and one as President of Pakistan
President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
. The Qizilbash are known for their intellect, higher education and are well renowned as scholars all throughout Pakistan. They have produced many politicians, religious scholars, soldiers, doctors, lawyers and engineers within the country. Qizilbash are also found in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa principally in the city of Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
as well as in Balochistan. Pakistan's former President
President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
Yahya Khan
Yahya Khan
General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan Qizilbash, H.Pk, HJ, S.Pk, psc was the third President of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971, following the resignation of Ayub Khan...
was a Qizilbash. Muzaffar Ali Khan Qizilbash served as Finance Minister of Pakistan
Finance Minister of Pakistan
The Finance Minister of Pakistan heads the Ministry of Finance and serves in the Prime Minister's cabinet. The Minister is required to be a member of the Parliament.The current finance minister is Abdul Hafeez Shaikh...
.
Turkey
see: AlevisSome contemporary Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
and Bektashi
Bektashi
Bektashi Order or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi order founded in the 13th century by the Persian saint Haji Bektash Veli. In addition to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli the order was significantly influenced during its formative period by both the Hurufis as well as the...
leaning religious or ethnic minorities in Anatolia are referred to, pejoratively, as Kizilbash.
Notable people with the surname Qizilbash
- Asad QizilbashAsad Qizilbash-Biography:Asad was born in 1963 to the famous violinist K.H. Qizilbash, who introduced many talented Pakistani musicians to the world, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan among others....
, a Pakistani SarodSarodThe sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...
player - Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, Pakistan's former PresidentPresident of PakistanThe President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
- Mahjabeen QizilbashMahjabeen QizilbashMahjabeen Qizilbash is a Pashto singer of Pakistan.She is from the city of Peshawar and is one of the popular Pashto singers.-References:*...
is a PashtoPashto languagePashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...
singer of Pakistan. - Muzaffar Ali Khan Qizilbash served as Finance Minister of PakistanFinance Minister of PakistanThe Finance Minister of Pakistan heads the Ministry of Finance and serves in the Prime Minister's cabinet. The Minister is required to be a member of the Parliament.The current finance minister is Abdul Hafeez Shaikh...
. - Shahtaj QizilbashShahtaj QizilbashShahtaj Qizilbash was a women's right advocate in Pakistan. Shahtaj Qizilbash was founder member of Women's Action Forum.Shahtaj Qizilbash belonged to noble Qizilbash family of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. She got her early education from Convent of Jesus and Mary, Lahore...
is a women's right advocate and founder member of Women's Action ForumWomen's Action ForumWomen's Action Forum is a women's rights organization and has a presence in several cities in Pakistan. It is a non-partisan, non-hierarchical and non-funded organization. It is supportive of all aspects of women's rights and related issues, irrespective of political affiliations, belief system,...
in Pakistan.
See also
- SufismSufismSufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
- Safavids
- Shi'a IslamShi'a IslamShia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī , meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is...
- Secret societies
- BektashiBektashiBektashi Order or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi order founded in the 13th century by the Persian saint Haji Bektash Veli. In addition to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli the order was significantly influenced during its formative period by both the Hurufis as well as the...
- Alevism
- Javanshir QizilbashJavanshir QizilbashJavanshir Qizilbash is an Azeri tribe and a part of Afshar, adherent of Twelver Shī'ism. They belong to Qizilbash people of Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, the clan is known to have originally migrated into the country with Nader Shah Afshar...
- Mirza Kalich BegMirza Kalich BegShams-ul-Ulema Mirza Kalich Beg is a renowned scholar hailed for his contributions to the Sindhi literature. He was born on October 7, 1853 in a small village named Tando Thoro that is at the banks of the Phuleli Canal in Hyderabad, Pakistan...