Safavid Conversion[1] Propaganda in Ottoman Anatolia and the
Ottoman Reaction, 1440s-1630s
Baltacioglu-Brammer, Ayse[2]
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0347-3562
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1466582807
Year and Degree
2016, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History.
Abstract
This dissertation explores the Sunni-Shi`ite divergence in
the early modern period, not merely as religiously derived, but as a
meticulously carried out geo-political battle that formed the base of the
sectarian conflict in the region today. One of the few studies to utilize both
Safavid and Ottoman primary sources within the framework of identity formation
and propaganda, my study argues that the “religious dichotomy” between “Ottoman
Sunnism” and “Safavid Shi`ism” was a product of the Safavid-Ottoman
geo-political and fiscal rivalry rather than its cause; it further holds that
examining the Shiitization of Safavid Iran and Ottoman Anatolia within a larger
geo-political framework is critical to understanding early modern Middle
Eastern states and societies. At the time, the Shi`ite population of Anatolia –
called Kizilbas (“red heads” in Turkish) – constituted the largest Muslim
minority group in the Ottoman Empire and was the principal catalyst for
conflict between the Ottoman and Safavid empires. Yet it was only after the
politicization of the Safaviyya Sufi movement that Istanbul perceived its
Kizilbas subjects as a threat to its geo-political legitimacy and security in
the volatile regions of central and eastern Anatolia, as well as the frontier
regions of Iraq. The Ottoman central authority therefore shifted its attention
to pro-Safavid propaganda activities in Anatolia, which were conducted not only
to recruit new followers for the Shi`ite Islam, but also to find soldiers and
taxpayers for the newly established Safavid state. Breaking away from
traditional sectarian narratives, this dissertation examines the wildly varying
policies of the Ottoman state toward its Kizilbas subjects and the importance
of pro-Safavid religious and political propaganda in the context of state and
identity formation and confessionalization.
Committee
Jane Hathaway, Prof. (Advisor)
Carter Findley, Prof. (Committee Member)
Scott Levi, Prof. (Committee Member)
Pages
[1] The Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam was a process that took place roughly over the 16th through 18th centuries and turned Iran, which previously had a Sunni majority, into the spiritual bastion of Shia Islam. It also ensured the dominance of the Twelver sect within Shiism over the Zaidiyyah and sects of Isma'ilism – each of whom had previously experienced their own eras of dominance within Shiism. Through their actions, the Safavids reunified Iran as an independent state in 1501 and established Twelver Shiism as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam.
As a direct result, the population of the territory of present-day Iran and neighbouring Azerbaijan were converted to Shia Islam at the same time in history. Both nations still have large Shia majorities, and the Shia percentage of Azerbaijan's population is second only to that in Iran
From 1500–2 Ismail I conquered Tabriz in Iran, as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, and parts of Dagestan (North Caucasus, nowadays part of Russia). He would take most of the next decade to consolidate his control over Iran, where most of the Persian population was still Sunni. His army spread out first to the central regions in 1504. He captured southwestern Iran between 1505 and 1508 before finally conquering the Khorasan region and the city of Herat in 1510.
According to Daniel W. Brown, Isma'il was "the most successful and intolerant Shi'i ruler since the fall of the Fatimids". It appears that he aimed for complete destruction of Sunni Islam, and he largely achieved that goal in the lands over which he ruled. His hatred of the Sunnis knew no bounds, and his persecution of them was ruthless. He required the first three caliphs to be ritually cursed, abolished Sunni Sufi orders, seizing their property, and gave Sunni ulama a choice of conversion, death, or exile. Shi'i scholars were brought in from other regions to take their place.
Reasons for Ismail's conversion policy
More than most Muslim dynasties the Safavids worked for conversion to their branch of Islam and for ideological conformity. The reasons for this conversion policy included:
- One of the main reasons why Ismail and his followers pursued such a severe conversion policy was to give Iran and the Safavid lands as distinct and unique an identity as was possible compared to its two neighboring Sunni Turkic military and political enemies, its main enemy and arch rival the Ottoman Empire and, for a time, the Central Asian Uzbeks — to the west and north-east respectively.
- The Safavids were engaged in a lengthy struggle with the Ottomans — including numerous wars between the two dynasties — and this struggle continuously motivated the Safavids to create a more cohesive Iranian identity to counter the Ottoman threat and possibility of a fifth-column within Iran among its Sunni subjects.
- The conversion was part of the process of building a territory that would be loyal to the state and its institutions, thus enabling the state and its institutions to propagate their rule throughout the whole territory.
[2] AYŞE BALTACIOĞLU-BRAMMER New York University Departments of History and Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies (MEIS)
53 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
abb12@nyu.edu
EMPLOYMENT
Assistant Professor of Early Modern Ottoman and Middle
Eastern History
Departments of History and Middle Eastern & Islamic
Studies
New York University, September 2018 – Present
Assistant Professor of Early Modern Ottoman and Middle
Eastern History
Department of History
Binghamton University, State University of New York,
September 2016 – August 2018
EDUCATION
Ph.D., History, Ohio State University, August 2016
Dissertation Title: “Safavid Conversion Propaganda in
Ottoman Anatolia and the
Ottoman Reaction, 1440s-1630s.”
Winner, 2017 Best Dissertation Award, Ohio Academy of
History
M.A., History, Ohio State University, December 2012.
B.A., valedictorian, History, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey,
June 2009.
B.A., Communications, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey,
June 2003.
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