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'Qizilbash' or 'Kizilbash' (Ottoman Turkish/ ''Qezelbāš'', Turkish: ''Kızılbaş'', Azerbaijani: ''Qızılbaş'') - Turkish for '"Red Heads"' - name given to a wide variety of extremist Shi'ite militant groups (''ghulāt'') 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.^[1]), known in Persian as the ''Tāj-e Heydar'' "Haydar's Crown"^[2], a reference to their Sufi grandmaster Sheikh Haydar Ṣafawī.

Contents

Origins

Organization

Beliefs

"Turk & Tājīk"

History

The Beginnings

The Battle of Chaldiran

The Qizilbash and the Mughals of India

The deprivation of the Turcomans

Nader Shah and the fall of the Safavids

Legacy

Afghanistan

Iran

Syria

Turkey

References

Origins

The origin of the "Qizilbash movement" - as they were called by their Sunni Ottoman foes and later adopted the name as a mark of pride - can be dated from middle of the 15th century, when their spiritual grandmaster (''shaykh'') Haydar, the head of the Safawiyya Sufi order, organized his followers into a body of militant troops.
Theories have been put forward by scholars to connect the Qizilbash to certain religious groups and secret societies throughout history, like the Mazdaki movement in the Sassanid Empire, or the radical Persian Khurrami sect who were also known as ''"Muhammira"'' because of their practise of wearing a red headgear and fighting for their religious beliefs. In this context, Turkish scholar Abdülbaki Gölpinarli sees the Qizilbash as ''"spiritual descendants of the Khurramits"''.^[3] It has also been speculated that the group had its origins among the mystical Ismaili Assassin sect.^[4] However, most historians dispute this as no influence of Ismaili beliefs is obvious in Qizilbash practices.

Organization

The Qizilbash were a coalition of many different peoples of predominantly, but not exclusively Turkic-speaking Azerbaijani background, united in their belief in the Safavid doctrine of Shiism.
As ''murid''s of the Safawiyyah ''sheikh''s (''pir''s), the Qizilbash owed implicit obedience to their leader in his capacity as their ''murshid-e kāmil'' ("supreme spiritual director") and, after the establishment of the kingdom, as their ''padshah'' ("king"), changing the purely religious ''pir - murid'' relationship into a political one. As a consequence, any act of disobedience of the Qizilbash Sufi against the order of his spiritual grandmaster became ''"an act of treason against the king and a crime against the state"'' (Persian: ''nā-sufīgarī'', "improper conduct of a Sufi"), for example in 1614 when Shah Abbas I put to death some Qizilbash.^[5]

Beliefs

Qizilbash 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 Ithnāˤashari Shias. It is clear that Ismail I. was presenting himself to his Qizilbash followers not as a representative of the ''Hidden Imam'', but as the ''Hidden Imam'' himself, beyond that even claiming divinity for himself.¹ The Qizilbash would go into battle without armour, confident that no harm would befall them, while adding ''Ismā'il waliyyu'llāh'' to the Islamic ''Shahada''.
This stemmed from the fact that among the Qizilbash 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 Qizilbash 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.^[6] 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. Initially 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 & Tājīk"

Among the Qizilbash, Turcoman tribes from Eastern Anatolia and Azerbaijan who had helped Shah Ismail I defeat the Aq Qoyunlu tribe were by far the most important - in number and influence. Therefore the name ''Qizilbash'' is sometimes only applied to them.^[7] Some of these greater Turcoman tribes were subdivided into as many as eight or nine clans and included the:

★ Ustādjlu

★ Rumlu

★ Shamlu (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 medieval Uyghur historian Mahmoud Al-Kāshgharī. The origin of the name Ustādjlu, however, is unknown and may indicate a non-Turkic origin of the tribe.
The non-Turkic or non-Turkish-speaking Iranian tribes among the Qizilbash were called ''Tājiks'' by the Turcomans and included:^7[8]

★ Tālish

★ Siāh-Kuh (Karādja-Dagh)

★ Lur tribes (for example the Zand)

★ certain Kurdish tribes

★ certain Persian families and clans
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 ''wakil''s as commanders of Qizilbash 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.^[9]

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 "Qizilbash" 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 grand-father in Shīrvan. After defeating the Shīrvanshāh Farrukh Yassar, he moved south into Azarbaijan where his 7,000 Qizilbash warriors defeated a force of 30,000 Ak Koyunlu under Alwand Mirzā,^[10] and conquered Tabriz. This was the beginning of the Safavid state.
In the first decade of the 16th century, the Qizilbash 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 Qizilbash to Transoxania to support the Timurid ruler Babur in his war against the Uzbeks. The Qizilbash defeated the Uzbeks and secured Samarqand for Babur. However, in 1512, an entire Qizilbash army was annihilated by the Uzbeks after Turcoman Qizilbash had mutinied against their Persian ''wakil'' and commander, Amir Nadjm.^[11] 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

Main articles: 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 Shia population of Asia Minor to Morea. However, in 1507, Shah Ismail and the Qizilbash overran large areas of Kurdistan, defeating regional Ottoman forces. Only two years later in Central Asia, the Qizilbash 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, a Shia 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 Qizilbash 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 Qizilbash on their own soil. In addition, he ordered the persecution of Shiism and the massacre of all its adherents in the Ottoman Empire.^[12]
On the 20th August of 1514 (1st Rajab 920 A.H.), the two armies met at Chaldiran in Azarbaijan. The Ottomans outnumbered the Qizilbash two to one (according to other sources: three to one) and had artillery and handguns. The Qizilbash were heavily defeated,^[13] and many high-ranking Qizilbash ''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 ''murid''s.

The Qizilbash and the Mughals of India

For almost ten years after the Battle of Chaldiran, rival Qizilbash factions fought for control of the kingdom. In 1524, 10-year-old Shah Tahmasp I, the ''governor of Herat'', succeeded his father Ismail. He was the ward of the powerful Qizilbash ''amir'' Ali Beg Rūmlū (titled ''"Div Soltān"'') who was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Safavid kingdom.^[14] However, Tahmasp managed to reassert his authority over the state and over the Qizilbash.
During the reign of Shah Tahmasp, the Qizilbash fought a series of wars on two fronts and - with the poor resources available to them - successfully defended their kingdom against the Uzbeks in the east, and against the Ottomans in the west. With the Treaty of Amasya, peace between Safavids and Ottomans remained for the rest of Tahmasp's reign.^[15]

The deprivation of the Turcomans

Inter-tribal rivalry of the Turcomans, the attempt of Persian nobles to the 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 Ithnāˤashari 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 ''ghulams'' who were usually ethnic Armenians, Georgians, and Circassians. The new army would be loyal to the king personally and not to clan-chiefs anymore.¹⁰
The reorganization 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"''.⁷ By 1598 Allahverdi Khan from Georgia had risen to the position of commander-in-chief of all Safawid armed forces.^[16] The offices of ''wakil'' and ''amir al-umarā'' fell in disuse and were replaced by the office of a ''Sipahsālār'' (, ''master of the army''), commander-in-chief of all armed forces - Turcoman and Non-Turcoman - and usually held by a Persian noble.
This was a heavy victory of the ''Tādjik'' fraction over the Turcomans and meant the end of decades Turcoman domination in Persia.

Nader Shah and the fall of the Safavids

Legacy

Afghanistan

Qizilbash 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 Qizilbash held important posts in government offices in the past, and today engage in trade or are craftsmen. Since the creation of Afghanistan, they constitute an important and politically influential element of society. Estimates of their population vary from 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 Qizilbash of Kabul in the beginning of the 19th century as ''"a colony of Turks,"'' who spoke ''"Persian, and among themselves Turkish."''^[17] 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"''.^[18] However, Lady Florentia Sale (wife of Sir Robert Henry Sale) and Vincent Eyre - both companions of Sir M. Elphinstone - described the Qizilbash of Afghanistan also as ''"Persians, of Persian descent"''.^[19][20]
The influence of the Qizilbash in the government created resentment among the ruling Pashtun clans, especially after the Qizilbash openly allied themselves with the British during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-1842). During Abdur Rahman Khan's massacre of the Shi'ite minorities in Afghanistan, the Qizilbash were declared ''"enemies of the state"'' and were persecuted and hunted by the government and by the Sunni majority.^[21] (See also: Reign of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan)

Iran

The Qizilbash 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 Qizilbash became Ayatollahs or Mujtahids (important Shia scholars), teaching Iran's masses religious practices and belief.

Syria

Turkey

''see: Alevis''
Some Alevi- and Bektashi leaning religious or ethnic minorities in Anatolia go under the name of Qizilbash to the present day.
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. The Alevi population with connections to Qizilbash are ethnic Turks, Zaza, and Kurds.

References

1. Moojan Momen, "An Introduction to Shi'i Islam", Yale Univ. Press, 1985, ''ISBN-0-300-03499-7'', pp. 101-107
2. Note: ''Tāj'', meaning ''crown'' in Persian, is also a term for hats used to delineate one's affiliation to a particular Sufi order.
3. Roger M. Savory (ref. Abdülbaki Gölpinarli), Encyclopaedia of Islam, "Kizil-Bash", Online Edition 2005
4. F.W. Bussell, "Persistence of Primitive Beliefs in Theology" Folklore. 28 (3), 1917, pp. 279-294
5. Roger M. Savory, "The office of ''khalifat al-khulafa'' under the Safawids", in JOAS, lxxxv, 1965, p. 501
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. 16-18, p.188
8. Roger M. Savory, "The consolidation of Safavid power in Persia", in Isl., 1965
9. 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
10. Roger M. Savory, Encyclopaedia of Islam, "Safavids", Online Edition, 2005
11. Roger M. Savory, "The significance of the political murder of Mirza Salman", in ''"Studies on the history of Safawid Iran"'', xv, pp. 186-187
12. H.A.R. Gibb & H. Bowen, "Islamic society and the West", i/2, Oxford, 1957, p. 189
13. M.J. McCaffrey, Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Čālderān", v, pp. 656-8, (LINK)
14. Roger M. Savory in Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Dīv Soltān", Online Edition, 2005, (LINK)
15. M. Köhbach in Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Peace of Amasya", v, p. 928, Online Edition, (LINK)
16. C. Fleischer, Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Allāhverdi Khān", v, pp. 891-892, Online Edition, 2005, (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 Afghanistan 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)