Figurations of Zulfiqar in Anatolian Turkish Architecture

The Prophet of Islam Muhammad used the sword named Zulfiqar, which was among the war booties he had obtained from the Battle of Badr and finally gave it to Hazrat Ali in during the Battle of Uhud. In the meantime, he made a call "La fetâ ilâ Alî, la Seyfe ilâ Zülfikar", which means "there is no brave other than Ali, no sword other than Zulfiqar". The sword, which was used by the grandchildren of the Prophet with the death of Hazrat Ali, later became the Abbasid caliph and then the Fatimid caliph. Finally, it is not known where and in what condition the sword, remained in the Abbasid caliphate, is today. Giving such a qualified sword as a gift to Hazrat Ali, who is the son-in-law of Hazrat Muhammad and the fourth of Hulefâ-yi Râşidîn, made the sword blessed and has created a religious and strong perception about it ever since. Undoubtedly, this situation also affected Turkish-Islamic art, especially Islamic art, and caused the sword to become an image. The first imagination of Zulfiqar as an image is religious. Its usage in religious buildings such as mosques, masjids, tombs and lodges supports this. The second imagination can be explained by the perception of “power and political power”. It is the result of this imagination why it takes place in the flags which is fluctuating in the battlefields and on the shirt of a Turkish sultan. It is obvious that description of zulfiqar has been used in order to reflect this sense; whether it is pictured in the sense of "religious" or "power-political power". In this article, this icon that we encounter in architecture, miniatures, flags, banner marks, tombstones and folk art is only evaluated in the context of architecture. Its samples in Anatolia were examined and it is tried to be evaluated with similar examples in non-Anatolian geographies.
 
Keywords: Zulfiqar, Hazrat Muhammad, Hazrat Ali, sword, ımage.