SOCIAL REFLECTIONS OF KIZILBASH MOVEMENTS IN AMASYA IN THE XVI. CENTURY

The city of Amasya, one of the centres of the Babaî Rebellion in the thirteenth century, is a base of operations for Anatolian uprisings against central authority. Since Baba Ishak, many of the charismatic-religious figures who gathered large Turkmen masses around them were based in Amasya and its neighbourhood. The manifestations and consequences of the Safavid propaganda, which began to intensify during the reign of Bayezid II, also manifested themselves around Amasya. As a matter of fact, Shah Kulu and Nur Halife caliphs, who pioneered the Safavid propaganda initiated by Shah Ismail in Anatolia, staged an uprising against the Ottoman Empire with their followers gathered around them. This study will focus on the micro-scale reflections of the diplomatic and ideological war between the Ottoman and Safavids and analyse the social consequences of the conflict. In this context, in the case of Amasya, the relationship of the Qizilbash with the Safavids, the prosecution of the Ottoman central government, and the activities of the Qizilbash in the conflict environment will be revealed to the extent reflected in Mühimme and registry records.
Keywords: Ottoman Empire, Safavid Empire, Amasya, Kizilbash.