OSMANLI'da Ilimler Dizisi 13

OSMANLI'DA iLiMLER DiZiSi 13 uf Editörler ERCAN ALKAN OSMAN SACiDARI i SAR Y A·Y I NLARI iSAR Yayınları 115 Osmanlı'da ilimler Dizisi ı 3 Osmanlı'da ilm-i Tasawuf Editörler Ercan Alkan Osman Sacid Arı 1. Baskı, Aralık 2018, istanbul ISBN 978-605-9276·12-2 Yayına Hazır lı k M. Fatih Mintas ömer Said Güler Kitap Tasarım: Salih Pu lcu Tasarım Uygulama: Recep Önder Baskı·Cilt Elma Bas ı m Halkalı Cad. No: 162/7 SefakOy Kücükcekmece J Istanbul Tel: +90 (212) 697 30 30 Matbaa Sertifıka No: 12058 © ISAR Yay ı nları T.C. KOltür ve Turizm Bakar:ılı~ı Sertlfıka No:·32581 Botan yayın hakları saklıdır. Bilimsel araştırma ve tanıtım icin yapılacak kısa alıı:ıtılar dışında·; yayıncının yazılı Izni olmadan hicbir yolla çcıga'ttııamaz: iSAR Yay ınl a rı Selamı Ali Mah. Fıstıka~ac ı Sok. No: 22 Osküdar 1 istanbul Tel: +90 (216) 310 99 23 ı Belgegecer: +90 (216) 391 26 33 www.isaryaylnlari.com [email protected] Katalog Bilgileri Osmanl ı 'da ilm-i Tasawuf 1ed. Ercan Alkan· Osman Sacid Arı ı istanbul 2018 (1.bs.) i iSAR Yay ın ları- 15/ Osmanlı'da Ilimler Dizisi · 3 I ISBN: 978-605-9276-12·2116.5 x 24 cm. - 863 s. 11. Tasawufve Tarlkatler_ Osmanlı Devleti 2 . Sosyal Yasam ve Gelenekler 3. ilimlerTarıhi Confluence of the Spiritual and the Worldly: Interactions of the Khalwati-Gulshanis and Egyptian Sufis with Political Authority in Sixteenth Century Egypt Side Eınre Doç. Dr., Texas A & M University. Carefully crafred descriptions of the public behavior of Sufis and depictions of how holy men ought to behave in the presence of rulers can be fo und in an eclectic body of early modem Ottoman Turkish and Arabic narratives. These sources often reflect complex and biased collective recollections that reveal intersections of sp iritual and world Iy spheres that Sufi figures operate in, and whose roles and functions have found wide and complex coverage in the co n text of early modem Egypt In this study I will focus on how holy men, who chose Egypt as their residence, such as members of the Anatolian/Irani an Khalwafi-Gulshani order, and others, known as "Egyptian" Sufis, interact with political authority- Mamluk and Ottoman. In particular, I will examine perceptions about Sufis native to Egypt and foreign implants, like the Khal wati-Gulsha.nls, that become "Egyptian Sufis", to see why and when they were depicted as "exemplary figures in society" by their commentators. As sources depict, obedience and compliance with the demands of political authority was one of the most significant social expectations from the Gulshaıüs. Their re lationships with figures of authority, Mamluk or Ottoman, soared when they failed fulfilling this function. Contrarily, Sufis native to Egypt did not neces sarily have to respond to expectations of obedience vis-a-vis the ruling elites like their Gulshaıü counterparts. "Egyptian Sufis" were depicted as "exempla- Osmanlı'da lım - i Tasavvuf , 687 ry" when they fulfılled other functions-examples of which abo und in prima ry sources. In this study, I will demonstrate that there ex.isred a variant and inconsistent set of standards that determined who was a pious and exemplary Sun as po litical authority transitioned from the Mamluks to the Ottomans c. 1517-1530. Different sets of social approval criteria applied to the Khalwafis who hailed from Iran and Anatolia, and to the Sufis who were regarded as Egyptian. The formatio~ of this dual image not only hinged on how Sufis negotiated with local representatives of authority, but it also depended on how different Sufis and their tariqas interacted with one another in the complex urban setring of Cairo. Widening the lens to explore these themes outside ofthe Khalwati com munity will show that the Gulsharüs stood apart from their peers-both Mişri and Rüml- and that they were al so judged by a different set of expectations by their commentators- Egyptian/Mamluk and Ottoman-who observed their interactions with ruling and religious elites. This analysis also allows us to re think how Sufi communities interacted. with one another, and with represen tatives of political authority, during the early sixteenth century in Egypt Before examining primary sources to demonstrate these points, a brief hack graund on the Khalwati:-Gulshaıüs is in order. This background will provide a histarical context and help navigate the complex mavement trajectory for the Gulshanis as they moved between four early modern polities which were engaged in fierce competition in the Iate fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: Aqquyunlus, Safavids, Mamluks, and the Ottomans. Gulsha_niyya was a pop ular Sufi tarlqa (in Sufism terminology tariqa refers to the way or path that guides a novice toward the reality of God) and a westward offshoot of the Iate medieval Iran and Azerbaijan based Khalwati order.1 The Gulsharü order of dervishes was founded by Ibralıim- i Gulshaıü (d.1534) and became known first in Mamluk ruled Egypt and expanded its network of dervishes and lodges in the early modern Ottoman socio-political and cultural zone. Ihrahim-i Gul sharü's following was initially known as Şeyh İbrahimffer and later on in Egypt, they gained fame as the Gülşenfler. The founder Gulsharü was a charismatic Sun ofAnatolian and Aqquyunlu Turcaman origins bom in Anatolia in c.J4.40 and traveled to Iran, the n u nder Aqquyunlu rule. Well into his long and event ful career, Gulshani emered a decade-long exile in Anatolia (c. 1500) to escape For the Khalwati ord er see Curry, The Transformatian ofMuslim Mystica/ Thought in the Otto man Empire. For the Gulshani order see Emre, lbrahim -i Culshani and the Khalwati-Culshani Ord er. 688 ~ Osmanlı 'da Ilm-i Tasavvuf Safavid violence in Tabriz, after which he reached Mamluk Cairo in c. 1507/ıo with his followers. In Cairo, he established the main GuJshaniyya lodge-com plex and settled down for life. After the region's conquest by the Ottomans in 1517, the Cairo lodge remained the order's main headquarters and attract ed a wide clientele, including members of the Ottoman military and ruling establishment In Ottoman Egypt, the Gulshaıüs became an established Sufi institution whose members exerted social and palirical influence thro.ughout the seventeenth century. The scope and audiences for that influence deserve scholarly attention because, as far as the available primary sources depict, we do not have other "foreign" tariqas that have accumulated the network of in fluence and social impact as that of the Gulshan'is. 2 How d id GuJshan'i and the members of his order ·interact with political au thority? Were they depicted "exemplary figures in society" by their commen tators? Did their relationships with figures of authority soar when they-failed fulfilling this function? Sixteenth century sources provide interesring answers. For instance, as Gulshani's relations with the Maroluk Sultan al-Ghawri show, there were limits to the scope and content of counsel that a holy man could give a sultan in crisis.3 In 1516-17ı Egypt's inhabitants were in an uproar over an impending invasion of the region, and Gbawrl had come to be seen as an unjust and incompet~nt leader who had lost touch with his subjects. The Mamluks were closely monitoring the results of the Ottoman Sultan Selim's dashes with Safavid Shah Isma'il, since the victor was expected to turn their attention to Egypt thereafter. As Cairene Gulshaniyya hagiographers would have us believe, Gulshani provided critica! counsel to Ghawrl at this time. However, recommending a pacifist policy to the ruler, in response to the erisis facing Egypt and further urging Ghawrl to surrender to the Ottoman Sultan to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, proved to be unsound for Gulshani. His detractors accused him of instigating a conspiracy and Gulshaıü was forced to leave Cairo. Gulshani's relations with the last Mamluk Sultan Turnanbay were even more strained as he suffered persecution at his hands in 1517. Gul shaıü was again accused of conspiracy. In the hagiographical imagination of Gulshan'i and Mevlevl dervishes, Ghawri was the ?ahiri sultan (the temporal palirical ruler) with Gulshan'i at his side as the bcitıni sultan (the hidden spir- 2 For their literature and culture see Emre, "Crafting Piety for Success: Gülşeniye Literature and Culture in the Sixteenth Century." 3 Emre, "A Subversive Story of Banishment, Persecution, and lncarceration on the Eve of the Ottoman Conquest of Egypt." Osmanlı'da Ilm-i Tasavvuf ~ 689 i tual ruler). This picture, however, bore no resemblance to the reality of that time. As Gulshani's banishment, and later persecution, under the Mamluks indicated, the temporal ruler d id not view the spiritual one as his equal at all. This controversial perception of Gulshani can be followed after the transition of political power from the Mamluks to the Ottomans. As popular representatives of the Khalwatiyya in Ottoman Egypt, the Gul shanis found coverage in a number of Arabic biographical dictionaries after the regio~'s Ottoman conquest. Some authors were against them and others held favorable opinions. Gulshani's reception depended on the agendas and backgrounds of his commentators-Egyptian or Ottoman.4 The fan1ed Egyp tian Sufi and a prolific contemporary author ~bd al-Wahhab b. Ahmad al Sha'rani (1492-1565), for one, was affiliated with a number ofSufi orders of his day and wrote extensively about his interactions with their members, includ ing the Khalwafis, and the Khalwati-Gulshan1s.5 However, Sha'rani's position vis-a-vis the Khalwat'is remained inconsistent in his writings.6 While he voiced favorable opinions on some of themin his al-Tabaqiit al-kubrii, in the Lat"a'if al-minan, after openly condemning the Khalwafis, he also praised them.7 De spite the uneven record Sha'rani has left us, it is safe to conclude that his dis approval of the Khalwat'is, which I thin k is mainly based on his evaluation of the Gulshanis, outweighed favorable opinions: the ahl al-khalwa (people ofkhalwa, i.e.

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