Bedel Boseli: The fascinating relationship between Shah Ismail Safavi and the Kurdish kingdoms represents a pivotal yet often overlooked chapter in medieval Middle Eastern history (1482-1501). Born in 1487 into a time of great political upheaval, Shah Ismail would go on to establish the powerful Safavid Empire at the remarkably young age of 14. His early life was intrinsically linked to the Kurdish kingdoms, which provided crucial protection and support during his formative years. Through original manuscripts preserved in the Süleymaniye Library, including the "Safwat al-Safa," we uncover compelling evidence of Shah Ismail's Kurdish heritage and his complex relationship with the 32 Kurdish kingdoms of the era. This historical narrative not only reshapes our understanding of the Safavid Empire's origins but also illuminates the sophisticated political and cultural dynamics of the medieval Middle East, where Kurdish kingdoms played a far more significant role than traditionally acknowledged in shaping the region's destiny.
In 1482, the Kurdish Hasan Keyf Kingdom's army confronted the Akkoyunlu State army in the city of Siirt. Leading the Kurdish army was King Malik Halil, grandson of Kurdish Sultan Saladin Ayyubi, who had previously defeated many powerful states including the Timurlenkoyunlu. The Kurdish Botan Kingdom's army was on high alert. This battle was crucial for the 32 Kurdistan kingdoms, some independent and some autonomous, and for Shah Ismail Safavi, who would be born five years later.
The Kurdish Alevi father, whose Alevi grandfather Shah Ismail was proclaimed by Shiites as the Mahdi and gathered around him as their savior, ordered the Kurdish army to attack with the majesty and grandeur befitting sultans, as described by Kurdish King Sharafaddin Bitlisi. Thus began a fierce battle in Siirt.
While the intense battle continued between the Kurdistan army loyal to the Kurdish Hasankeyf kingdom and the Akkoyunlu Army, there was an anxious wait in the capital city of Hasankeyf. The Akkoyunlu army, which had occupied the Kurdish Hasankeyf Kingdom for 20 years since 1462, was awaiting news from this battle. Then came the news of the Kurdish army's victory. The Akkoyunlu State army, which ruled over Iran and Azerbaijan, surrendered without fighting when they realized they would lose to the Kurdish army.
Thus, the Hasankeyf Kingdom, which was occupied in 1462, twenty years earlier, was liberated in 1482 and regained its freedom. The Hasan Keyf Kingdom continued to maintain its sovereignty. Following Hasankeyf's example, other Kurdish kingdoms and regions continued to fight against the Akkoyunlu state over a 10-year period, gradually expelling them from Kurdistan.
When the family and sister of Shah Ismail Safavi, who was born in 1487 as a child, received news that the Kurdistan kings had defeated the Akkoyunlu state, they moved to seek refuge in Amed, their father Sheikh Haydar's place. Diyarbakır is the region's name, and Amed is this region's central city.
While Shah Ismail was still in his mother's womb, Akkoyunlu State soldiers, on the sultan's orders, took his father Sheikh Haydar's life by cutting off his head. Like what they did to the Prophet's grandson Hz. Hussein, they paraded it through the streets to show the public, kicked it, and threw it to hungry dogs. Then they tied the severed head to a high pole in the city of Tabriz, supposedly as a lesson to everyone.
A Safavid Order follower secretly climbed the pole and stole Sheikh Haydar's severed head. Thirteen years later, after the Safavid State was declared under Shah Ismail's leadership in Erzincan, which was under the Tunceli Kingdom (yes, it was Kurdish, the Tunceli Kingdom), the severed head was delivered to Shah Ismail. Thus, it was placed in his grave, reuniting with his body.
Similarly, they had cut off the head of the Prophet's grandson Hz. Hussein and paraded it through countries and cities to display to the public, finally bringing it to Egypt. Kurdish Sultan Saladin Ayyubi, after capturing Egypt, brought Hussein's head to Karbala and buried it there, reuniting it with his body.
The aim of Ismail's father, Sheikh Haydar, like his father Sheikh Junayd, was to establish a state in Azerbaijan and Dagestan and bring together different religious groups who were oppressed and persecuted there, allowing them to live freely and practice their beliefs as they wished. This was his purpose.
After the Akkoyunlus killed Sheikh Haydar Safavi, they also killed his eldest son Mirza Ali, and then planned to take the life of the younger brother Shah Ismail Safavi. In this struggle, people from various nations including Kurds, Turkomans, Azeris, Persians, Tajiks, and others who were loyal to the Safavid order sacrificed their lives to protect Shah Ismail's family.
While all these persecutions and massacres were happening, Sheikh Haydar Safavi's children received news that Kurdish armies had defeated the Akkoyunlu armies and expelled them from most of Kurdistan. Upon receiving this good news, the Safavid family brought the young Ismail and his sister to Amed city, considered Kurdistan's capital, to place them under the protection of Kurdish kingdoms. Amed was also the birthplace of Shah Ismail's father, Sheikh Haydar.
News spread that Sheikh Haydar Safavi's children had safely reached Kurdistan's capital, Amed. Thus, the Kurdistan kingdoms, that is, the Kurdish emirs, organized festivities similar to Nowruz festivals with great joy. Now Shah Ismail was safe with his Kurdish emir uncles, that is, the Kurdistan Kings.
Kurdish King Sharafaddin Bitlis wrote in 1597 about Shah Ismail Safavi's seeking refuge in Kurdistan and the celebrations and welcoming ceremonies held by Kurdistan kings and Kurdish people, and his writings have survived to this day. He wrote: "The Kurds organized unprecedented great celebrations for Shah Ismail Safavi. Kurdistan's rulers, angels, notables, and ordinary people, all known figures were present at these celebrations. At these festivities, beautiful-faced and sweet-spoken cupbearers circulated wine cups, singers sang songs, and musicians played treasured melodies."
Additionally, Kurdish King Sharafaddin Bitlis wrote a poem for Shah Ismail and added it to his book:
"The skies arranged a celebration at the horizons
That joy grew and beautified every part of the country
What beauty it was, a bright gathering
The Sun and Moon came together
That celebration brought together houris and angels
When the throne of time's waist was present
The Sultan was honored with that great crown full of state"
Kurdish King Sharafaddin Bitlis wrote exactly what happened then, and his writings have survived to this day. This Kurdish King, whose real name was Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi, wrote a book called Sharafname for the Ottomans. @bedelboseli
Have you ever wondered why Shah Ismail Safavi sought refuge specifically with Kurdistan kings along with his sister, and why he called Kurdish emirs Uncle until the end of his life? The secret lies in a book written by his great-grandfather Sheikh Sadreddin.
Let me put the pages on screen and explain: Who was Shah Ismail Safavi, who established the Safavid State in 1501 - was he Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic, Azeri, or Persian? The person you see on the screen is Sheikh Safiyaddin, Shah Ismail's great-grandfather, and the name Safavid comes from this figure's name, Safi. His son Sheikh Sadreddin had their lineage and the history of the Safavid Order written down by Ibn Bazzaz, the order's scribe, in a book called Safwat al-Safa.
I've added the original manuscript to the screen. On folio 6b of copy number 3099 in the Hagia Sophia section of the Süleymaniye Library, it is written that Shah Ismail's grandfather was Kurdish. Look, here in this marked place, it begins in Persian exactly like this: "Fasulu sirruhu." Look, here it continues writing Shah Ismail's great-great-grandfather's name as "Piroz el-Kurdi el-Sinjani," meaning Shah Ismail's great-grandfather was a Kurdish friend from Sinjan.
The source is the single original book, written by his grandfathers before Shah Ismail was born. Look, the publication date is written here too. It still remains in the Ottoman archives in the Hagia Sophia section of the Süleymaniye Library. In fake editions published in later centuries, the Kurdish name was erased. Some even added Turkish and such. If someone comes to the comments section showing fake ones as sources, remind them of this. If possible, send them to Istanbul's Süleymaniye Library's Hagia Sophia section to read this book themselves from the Ottoman archives.
History repeats itself. Even today, all Turkish publishers, when publishing Bediüzzaman Said-i Nur's works, absolutely always commit forgery. That is, all Risale-i Nur books you read from Turkish publishers are fake. For example, they have erased the words Kurd and Kurdistan in the treatises and written Azeri, heroic Turk, etc. instead. I will make a special video about this topic with plenty of documents. I will put Bediüzzaman's, that is Said Nursi's, own handwriting on screen and show you comparatively how Turkish publishers have committed forgery. You will see for yourself, you will witness it.
Similarly, even in the past century, Turkish scribes and publishers, when printing this book Safwat al-Safa that explains Shah Ismail's lineage, fraudulently erased the word Kurd. Some even wrote Turkish and such. Thankfully, the original manuscript remains in the Ottoman archives, and we can access it and see from there that Shah Ismail Safavi, also known as Hatayi, was Kurdish.
This topic is much wondered about. Let me clarify this too: Before the Safavid State was established, all of Iran and Azerbaijan and part of Kurdistan were under Akkoyunlu State rule. Shah Ismail's mother, Alemshah Halima Begum, yes Alemshah Halima Begum, was the daughter of this state's sultan, Uzun Hasan. Uzun Hasan's wife was the daughter of the Trebizond Greek king and was Christian. That is, Shah Ismail was Kurdish on his father's side and Turkish-Roman-Greek and Georgian on his mother's side.
By the way, if you liked this information, like the video, don't forget to hit the like button so this video spreads and more people see it.
The Alevi Safavid Family struggled against the existing oppressive regime, so Shiites and other oppressed groups gathered around them at that time, believing in his Mahdi role and taking refuge in his savior role. Indeed, Shah Ismail Safavi is an Alevi father, that is, an Alevi grandfather, a spiritual figure.
The Safavid State gradually lost its Alevi structure and began to Shiite-ize. During this transformation process, the region's political structure divided into three main branches: the Shiite sectarian Safavid State in the east, the Sunni sectarian Ottoman State in the west, and in the middle, 32 Kurdistan Kingdoms, some independent and some autonomous, that did not practice sectarianism and where every faith, nation, and sect could live together.
Even when we look at the political atmosphere in 2022, we see a similar structure. Because unless a radical revolution is made, history repeats itself.
Actually, it's inappropriate to discuss the lineage of universal sacred people like Ismail Safavi; their messages to the world and humanity are what's important. But recently, there are those who want to exploit his sect and engage it in Turkish nationalism. That's why I actually prepared and present this video.
When researching Kurdish history, you should keep this in mind: whether leftist, religious, non-religious, it doesn't matter - almost all personalities, publishers, and institutions in Turkey absolutely always commit forgery when translating documents and transferring information about Kurdish history. Don't be fooled if they're a pious believer or an intellectual who has read many books. They show no mercy to Kurds' tears; they absolutely always commit forgery.
The state has spent hundreds of billions of dollars for a hundred years to have these done, and we continue to spend. That's why you're poor, your education system has collapsed, you're hungry. Because of Kurdish enmity, this culture of forgery has become such a deep-rooted tradition that even if the state cuts off funding, it would take at least 100 years for this culture to disappear, be remedied, be cleaned up.
That is, if you read any historical topic, whether about Kurds or historical topics outside of Kurds, from Turkish sources and study at Turkish universities over the next century, your brain will absolutely fill with fake, wrong information. This is a naked truth. It is my human duty to warn you about this.
That's why, what do I do to eliminate the question marks in your head? When telling Kurdish history, I put original documents on screen and translate them in front of all of you.
What you should understand is this: Shah Ismail Safavi, a Kurdish Alevi who established the Safavid State in 1501, created not a Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic, or Persian state but a multinational empire. Secondly, as a Kurdish Alevi, because they struggled against oppressors and oppression, the Safavids, Shah Ismail's family, Shiites, and other groups gathered around him, seeing him as a savior and taking refuge in his savior role, his Mahdi role, and struggled in his ranks. We will see that Shiites gradually grew stronger in the Safavid State administration and the Safavid state was now transforming into a Shiite Persian state.
Look at the irony of fate and the principle of history repeating itself: Shah Ismail Safavi's grandson, seventeen-year-old Ismail III, was exposed to Turkish attacks 250 years later, was cornered and even deposed from the throne. When he was about to be killed, the Kurdish army under Karim Khan Zand's command from Khorasan and the Kurdish Bakhtiari army under Ali Mardan Khan's command from Nuristan moved and in January 1750 saved Ismail III Safavi. Thus, Shah Ismail's grandson Ismail III, who had been deposed, was saved by Kurds and restored to the throne.
Shah Ismail's grandson Ismail III and his family announced during Nowruz celebrations on March 21, 1750, that they were voluntarily transferring administration to the Kurdish Zand dynasty. Thus, on March 21, 1750, Nowruz day, the Kurdish state was established.
The Safavids, who were accepted as saviors by Shiite, Alevi, and suffering groups who gathered around them on the legacy of the Safavid State, are actually Alevi in religious belief. The Kurdish Zand dynasty, to whom the Safavid family voluntarily transferred administration in 1750, is Yarsan. Alevi, Yarsan, and Yazidi faiths are three branches of the Yazdani faith that has existed in Kurdistan for thousands of years. For example, that's why Yazidis, Yarsans, and Alevis have the same Jamkhana, that is, Cemevi culture. Similar rituals are practiced in Jamkhanas.
Look, these are Kurds of the Yarsan faith, to which the Kurdish dynasty that the Alevi Safavid family voluntarily transferred administration belonged.
In this video, we specifically explained Shah Ismail's relationship and connection with Kurdistan kings and Kurds. In the next video, we will see what people who attacked many Kurdish kingdoms using the name of Shah Ismail, who became Shah at just 14 years old, did. I will tell how eleven of the twelve Kurdistan kings who went to his palace to speak with Shah Ismail himself were taken prisoner. Thus, I will explain why and how most of the 32 Kurdistan kingdoms became allies with the Ottoman Empire.
When considering and evaluating the Shah Ismail Safavi issue, I suggest you keep this in mind: Shah Ismail, born in 1487, was declared Shah, that is King, of the Safavid state established in 1501, and he was only 14 years old then, that is, he was a child. Before he was even born, his grandfather Sheikh Junayd Safavi was killed; while he was in his mother's womb, yes before he was born, his father Sheikh Haydar was killed, his head was cut off and paraded through the streets; his brother and uncles were killed.
Therefore, Safavid State administrators made some mistakes using his name. They even made big mistakes. We cannot attribute all of these to Sheikh Ismail Safavi, who was just 14 years old. We cannot hold him responsible in this matter. We must keep in mind that he was a 14-year-old child. Indeed, Kurdish King Sharafaddin Bitlisi does exactly this in his book Sharafname, which he finished writing in 1597. He sanctifies Shah Ismail Safavi but describes some administrators around him as reckless.
I, Bedel Boseli, conduct research and prepare videos about Kurdish language, culture, and history in light of original documents. The continuation of these Kurdish historical studies depends solely on the support of you, my followers. Those who want to support the channel can contact me. Contact information is in the description section of my channel and page. Don't forget to follow my channel and page named Bedel Boseli and subscribe. Please like this video too so more people can see it.
This translation represents the complete content of the original text, including all historical details, names, dates, and contextual information. @bedelboseli
