In The 16th Century, The Reasons for The Failure of Mawlawiyya to Spread in Safavid Iran
In the 16th century, the Ottoman and Safavid states, as two great Turkish states in the Islamic world, were experiencing political and religious problems. One of these problems was the support or suppression of Sufi orders for various reasons. One of these orders, and perhaps the most important one, was the Mevlevi order. Mevleviism is an important Sufi order that emerged during the Anatolian Seljuk period and became widespread during the Ottoman period. The efforts of the Safavid State, founded in Iran by Shah Ismail (1501-1524) with the support of Turkmens, to spread Shiism in Iran determined the fate of Mevlevism in these lands. While the Safavid State endeavoured to spread the Shiite sect in Anatolia by providing material and moral support to Turkmens who were inclined to Shiism, it also provoked them to rebel against the Ottoman Empire. On the other hand, in the same centuries, Mevleviism almost disappeared from Iran. The influence of the sectarian expansion policy pursued by the Safavid State and the support of the Ottoman sultans for Mawlawīism led to the spread of this order in Anatolia and the increase in the number of Mawlawīhânes. Thanks to the Mevlevîhânes established especially in Southeastern Anatolia, this order created a buffer zone with the Safavids and was successful in preventing the spread of Shiism in Anatolia. In this study, based on Ottoman-Safavid sources, the Mevlevi order, which played an active role in the political, cultural and religious spheres of the Ottoman Empire, is analysed
16. Yüzyılda Safevî İran’ında Mevlevîliğin Yayılmamasının Nedenleri
16. yüzyılda Osmanlı ve Safevî devletleri, İslâm dünyasında iki büyük Türk devleti olarak, siyasi ve dinî sorunlar yaşıyorlardı. Bu sorunlardan biri, çeşitli nedenlerden dolayı tasavvuf tarikatlarının desteklenmesi veya baskı altına alınmasıydı. Bu tarikatlardan biri ve belki de en önemlisi Mevlevîlik tarikatıydı. Mevlevîlik, Anadolu Selçuklu Devleti döneminde ortaya çıkan ve Osmanlı döneminde yaygınlaşan önemli bir tasavvufî tarikattır. Türkmenlerin desteğiyle Şah İsmail (1501-1524) tarafından kurulan Safevî Devleti’nin İran’da Şiîliğin yayılması konusundaki gayreti Mevlevîliğin de bu topraklardaki kaderini belirlemiştir. Safevî Devleti, Anadolu’daki Şiîliğe temayülü olan Türkmenlere sağladığı maddi ve manevi desteklerle Şiî mezhebini burada yaymaya çalışırken onları Osmanlı Devleti’ne karşı isyan etmeleri konusunda da tahrik etmiştir. Diğer taraftan aynı yüzyıllarda Mevlevîlik de İran’dan neredeyse silinme noktasına gelmiştir. Safevî Devleti’nin izlediği mezhebî yayılma politikasının etkisi ve Osmanlı padişahlarının Mevlevîliği desteklemesi bu tarikatın Anadolu’da yayılmasına ve Mevlevîhânelerin sayısının artmasına sebep olmuştur. Özellikle Güneydoğu Anadolu’da kurulan Mevlevîhâneler sayesinde bu tarikat, Safevîler ile bir tampon bölge oluşmasını sağlamış ve Şiîliğin Anadolu’da yayılmasının engellenmesinde başarılı da olmuştur. Bu çalışmada Osmanlı-Safevî kaynaklarına dayanarak, Osmanlı Devleti’nin siyasi, kültürel ve dinî alanlarında da aktif bir rol oynayan Mevlevîliğin Safevî topraklarında yayılma alanı bulamamasının üzerinde durulmuştur.
As a result of the Mongol attacks on Iran, scholars, dervishes and sheikhs of different Sufi orders in Iran preferred Anatolia as a region that they deemed suitable in terms of security and where they could easily transfer and spread their thoughts and beliefs. Mawlawism, which gained importance in the last periods of the Anatolian Seljuk State and the Ottoman period, emerged in Konya, the capital of the Anatolian Seljuk State, in 1280 as a result of these migrations. Mawlawism, whose source is the ideas of Mawlana, is undoubtedly the most important of the Sufi movements that make Anatolia rich in spiritual values. The absence of religious oppression in Iran during the Ilkhanids and Timurids led to the devel opment of Sufism and the emergence of various sects. Mawlawism, which also bears important traces of Iranian culture, spread in Iranian lands during these periods and had a significant influence on the society.
However, the establishment of the Safavid State in Iran at the beginning of the 16th century by Shah Ismail with the support of the Turkmens of the Kizilbash in Iran stopped the spread of Mawlawism in this geography. With the support of the Turkmens, Shah Ismail assumed the role of the absolute protector of the Shiite sect. The Safavid State’s efforts to spread Shiism in Iran were met with political and sectarian struggle by its strong rival Ottoman Empire in the west and the Uzbeks in the east. This struggle caused some Sunni groups in Iran to migrate to the Ottoman lands and Shi’ite elements in the Ottoman lands to migrate to Iran. Eventually, the Safavid State became an important political and religious rival of neighbouring Sunni states such as the Ottoman Empire. Finally, as a result of the policies pursued by the state, Shiism began to spread rapidly among Iranians. The Safavid State’s adoption of a Shi’ite identity also negatively affected the Sufi movements in Iranian lands.
Although the Safavid State emerged on the basis of Sufism, its policy towards Sufism changed after the establishment of the state. The sources of the sects and their relations with the states in the region played a decisive role in the approach of the Safavid shahs towards the sects. Shah Ismail and the succeeding shahs oppressed the sects that were opposed to the Shi’ite understanding. Sufi views and orders based on the Sunnite understanding were unable to survive in Iran. As a result of this oppression, some of the Sunni sects in Iran became Shi’ite, while a significant number had to migrate to Anatolia and India. Despite some cultural commonalities, Mawlawism was one of the sects that could not survive in Iranian lands due to the lack of favourable conditions during the Safavid period. Even the possession of Mawlana’s Mesnevi, which played a leading role in determining the procedures, manners and etiquette of Mawlawism, was considered dangerous.
The Mawlawis were oppressed by the Safavids not only because they were Sunnites but also because of their proximity to the Ottoman court. The Mawlawis were expelled from Iran during the reign of Shah Tahmasb, the second ruler of the Safavid State. The main aim of the Shah was to create a new political, religious and social unity in Iran under the umbrella of Shiism by suppressing or expelling different Sufi beliefs. Shah Tahmasb’s expulsion of those belonging to the Mawlana order from Iran and his suppression of other orders led to the weakening of Sufism in Iran.
Towards the end of the Safavid Empire, the strengthening of the Shiite ulema and their increasing influence on the state and society led to a change in the attitude of the central authority towards both Shiite and Sunni-oriented Sufism. In the Mawlana order, Mawlana was the murshid and after him the çelebis were regarded as murshid. For this reason, Mawlawism also contradicted the basic principles of the Shiite sect. This attitude of the Shiite ulema was one of the reasons why Mawlawism could not spread in Iran in the last periods of the Safavids.
In return for the duties of lodges and dervish lodges in the social, political and religious life of the Ottoman Empire, the state supported these orders with various subsidies. Mawlawism was one of the most important orders supported by the Ottoman State. Since it was the sect most supported by the Ottoman sultans, Mawlawism was regarded as the official sect of the Ottoman Empire.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Shiite propaganda launched by the Safavids especially in Eastern Anatolia in order to attract the Kizilbash Turkmens in Anatolia to their side had become a major threat to the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, the Ottoman Empire allowed Mawlawism to spread in Eastern Anatolia. In return, Mawlawis played an important role in the elimination of the Shiite propaganda in Anatolia. The good relations between Mawlawism and the Ottoman Empire is another important reason why Mawlawism could not spread in Iran.
