Shaykh Haydar
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Shaykh Haydar or Sheikh Haydar ( ''Shaikh Ḥaidar''; b. 1459,
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortres ...
- d. 9 July 1488, Tabasaran) was the successor of his father ( Shaykh Junayd) as leader of the
Safavid order The Safavid order, also called the Safaviyya ( fa, صفویه), was a tariqa ( Sufi order) founded by the Kurdishextremist heterodox
Twelver Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
Shi'i coloring and Haydar was viewed as a divine figure by his followers. Shaykh Haydar was responsible for instructing his followers to adopt the scarlet headgear of 12 gores commemorating The Twelve Imams, which led to them being designated by the Turkish term
Qizilbash Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, t ...
"Red Head". Haydar soon came into conflict with the
Shirvanshah ''Shirvanshah'' ( fa, شروانشاه), also spelled as ''Shīrwān Shāh'' or ''Sharwān Shāh'', was the title of the rulers of Shirvan from the mid-9th century to the early 16th century. The title remained in a single family, the Yazidids, ...
s, as well as the
Ak Koyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu ( az, Ağqoyunlular , ) was a culturally Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two tribal confederations: Akkoyunlu (Wh ...
, who were allied to the former. Following several campaigns into the
North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
, mainly in Circassia and
Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North Ca ...
, he and his men were eventually trapped in 1488 at Tabasaran by the combined forces of the Shirvanshah Farrukh Yassar and
Ya'qub Beg Yaqub b. Uzun Hasan ( fa, یعقوب بن اوزون حسن) or Abū al-Muẓaffar Yaʿqūb Bahādur Ḫān, commonly known as Sultan Ya'qub ( fa, سلطان یعقوب; az, Sultan Yaqub ) was the ruler of the Aq Qoyunlu from 1478 until his deat ...
of the Ak Koyunlu. In a pitched battled that ensued, Shaykh Haydar and his men were defeated and killed. He was succeeded by his son Soltan-Ali as leader of the order. Soltan-Ali was on his part succeeded by Haydar's younger son, who would become the founder of the
Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...
, and known by his regnal name of Ismail I.


Biography

Haydar was born in June–July 1459 to Shaykh Junayd and Khadija Begum bt. Qara Othman, a sister of Uzun Hasan of the
Ak Koyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu ( az, Ağqoyunlular , ) was a culturally Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two tribal confederations: Akkoyunlu (Wh ...
. His parents had married on the eve of Shaykh Junayd's invasion of Trabzon. Less than a year later, Haydar's father was killed in the
Battle of Tabasaran A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. Apart from Haydar, the only sons of Junayd that had survived were Khvajeh Mohammad Safavi and Khvajeh Jamshid Safavi. Haydar's only surviving sister, Shah-Pasha Khatun, was married off to Mohammad Beg Talish, a pivotal figure in the foundation of the Safavid dynasty in the early 16th century. In 1469-70, Haydar was installed in Ardabil by his uncle Uzun Hassan, who had defeated Jahan Shah of Kara Koyunlu dynasty at the Battle of Chapakchur and established his own authority over its former domains. The
Safavid order The Safavid order, also called the Safaviyya ( fa, صفویه), was a tariqa ( Sufi order) founded by the Kurdishtariqa A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking '' haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...
''", Haydar would engage into various alliances with the leaders of the Talish, Shirvan and southern
Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North Ca ...
regions. Subsequently, he initiated three military campaigns against various rural areas and villages in the
Northern Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
. According to Prof. Roger Savory, meant to drill his men, these raids targeted the "infidels" of Circassia and
Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North Ca ...
. These were however probably the Christian Alans (nowadays better known as
Ossetians The Ossetians or Ossetes (, ; os, ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ, translit= ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ, label=Ossetic) are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the no ...
) who roamed to the north of the Darial Pass as well as the Kabardian subgroup of
Circassians The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia ...
. In order to reach the area, Haydar had to cross areas ruled by the
Shirvanshah ''Shirvanshah'' ( fa, شروانشاه), also spelled as ''Shīrwān Shāh'' or ''Sharwān Shāh'', was the title of the rulers of Shirvan from the mid-9th century to the early 16th century. The title remained in a single family, the Yazidids, ...
(specifically the Shirvanshah rulers of Salyan and Mahmudabad), who were hostile as they were allied to the Ak Koyunlu ruler of
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
, Sultan Ya'qub. Therefore, Haydar ordered for the production of boats in Khalkhal and Astara, in order to avoid having to go by land. By using boats, Haydar and his men would be able to circumvent the Shirvanshah's, reaching
Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It ...
and coastal Dagestan through the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...
. In particular, the towns of Agrica and Mian-Qeslaq seem to have been the main target at the time. In around 1473-3, Haydar and his men performed their first seaborne attack on Dagestan, during which they plundered the predominantly Circassian-inhabited town of Qaytaq as well as the Hamiri plain. Haydar's first mainland campaign in Dagestan happened five years later, in 1478. However, the third and final of his campaigns in Dagestan, which took place in 1488, proved to be his last. The Shirvanshah had allowed Haydar's first two campaigns, but this time, on his way to the North Caucasus, he sacked the city of
Shamakhi Shamakhi ( az, Şamaxı, ) is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Shamakhi District. The city's estimated population was 31,704. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers, and also for perhaps giving it ...
. In Tabasaran, outside the Bayqird Castle, Haydar and his men were cornered; in the ensuing pitched battle, on 9 July 1488, they were killed by the combined forces of the Shirvanshah ruler Farrukh Yassar and the Ak Koyunlu Sultan Ya'qub ibn Uzun Hassan. The Ak Koyunlu then ordered for the beheading of Haydar; they buried his severed head later on in
Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...
. Haydar died not far from the location where his own father Junayd had died in 1460. Haydar's son, known regnally as Ismail I, would later move his father's remains (which were thus located in both Tabriz as well as Tabasaran), and bury them inside the Safavid shrine located at Ardabil. Haydar's tomb in Ardabil became a place of pilgrimage.


Family

Shaykh Haydar was married on two occasions. His first wife, whom he married in 1471-1472, named Halima (otherwise known as Alamshah Begum, or Martha) was a daughter of Uzun Hasan by his wife Despina Khatun (Theodora Megale Komnene), daughter of John IV of Trebizond. In 1473, he married a daughter of Shaykh Farid al-din Jafar b. Khvajeh Ali, the paternal uncle of his father. Shaykh Haydar furthermore had several Circassian and Georgian concubines. With regard to his offspring, ten sons and four daughters are known to have survived his death in 1488. By Alamshah, Soltan-Ali, Ebrahim Mirza and Ismail I were born.Voices of Islam: Voices of tradition, By Vincent J. Cornell, pg.225
/ref> From his marriage to Jafar's daughter, Sayyed Hasan was born (died ca. 1525). He would serve as an official at the Safavid shrine located in Ardabil during the reign of his half-brother and future king Ismail I. Haydar's eldest daughter, Fakhr-Jahan Khanum, was given in marriage to Bayram Beg Qaramanlu (d. 1514) a powerful tribal leader. The younger sister of Fakhr-Jahan Khanum, Malek Khanum, married Abdallah Khan
Shamlu The Shamlu tribe (also: Shamloo, Shomloo, Chamlou; fa, ایل شاملو) was one of the seven original and the most powerful Qizilbash tribes of Turcoman origin in Iran. List of the Khans of Shamlu *Ahmad Sultan Shamlu *Abdu Beg Shamlu ( F ...
, a high-ranking
Qizilbash Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, t ...
chief, who hailed from Ardabil. The other two daughters of Haydar were given in marriage to respectively Husayn Beg Shamlu, who would later serve as the first ''vakil'' (viceregent) of the Safavid Empire, and to Shah-Ali Beg (d. after 1540), the ruler of Hazo and Sason in
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
.


Succession


See also

*
Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...
*
Safavid dynasty family tree The oldest extant book on the genealogy of the Safavid family is ''Safvat as-safa'' and was written by Ibn Bazzaz in 1350, a disciple of Sheikh Sadr-al-Din Safavi, the son of Sheikh Safi ad-din Ardabili. According to Ibn Bazzaz, the Sheikh was a ...


References


Sources

* * * {{cite book, last1=Savory, first1=Roger, author-link1=Roger Savory, title=Iran Under the Safavids, date=2007, publisher=Cambridge University Press, location=Cambridge, isbn=978-0521042512 1459 births 1488 deaths Safavid dynasty Safaviyeh order 15th-century Iranian people Burials in Iran