Kizilbasch

Die Kizilbasch, eigentlich Qizilbasch, (osmanisch/persisch قزلباش, DMG Qizilbāš; modernes türkisch Kızılbaş ‚Rotköpfe‘) waren seit etwa der Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts Anhänger des schiitischen Sufi-Ordens der Safawiden (Safawiyya), die diese zuerst aus den turkmenischen Nomadenstämmen Āzarbāydschāns, später jedoch aus allen Regionen ihres Reiches rekrutierten. Ihr Name leitet sich von der charakteristischen roten Kopfbedeckung (pers. Tark-e Ḥaydarī ‚Haydar'scher Helm‘) mit zwölf Zwickeln her, die ihr Ordensmeister Haydar (um 1460–1488) eingeführt haben soll. Obwohl im Ursprung turkmenisch, bezieht sich der Ausdruck Qizilbasch heute nicht mehr auf eine ethnische Gruppe und wird in bestimmten Regionen als Synonym für die Schia und Aleviten verwendet. Das Wort hat heutzutage gelegentlich pejorativen Charakter.

Der Ursprung der Qizilbash kann ab dem 15. Jahrhundert datiert werden, als der spirituelle Großmeister der Bewegung, Shaykh Haydar (das Oberhaupt des Safaviyya-Sufi-Ordens), seine Anhänger in militanten Truppen organisierte. Die Qizilbash bestanden ursprünglich aus sieben türkischen, alle aserbaidschanisch sprechenden Stämmen: Rumlu, Shamlu, Ustajlu, Afshar, Qajar, Tekelu und Zulkadar.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Ein safewidischer Kizilbasch-Soldat mit der typischen roten Kopfbedeckung

↑ Roger Savory: Iran Under the Safavids. Cambridge University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-04251-2, S. 213: qizilbash normally spoke Azari brand of Turkish at court, as did the Safavid shahs themselves; lack of familiarity with the Persian language may have contributed to the decline from the pure classical standards of former times
↑ Willem Floor, Hasan Javadi: The Role of Azerbaijani Turkish in Safavid Iran. During the Safavid period Azerbaijani Turkish, or, as it was also referred to at that time, Qizilbash Turkish, occupied an important place in society, and it was spoken both at court and by the common people… Throughout the Safavid period there were two constants to Azerbaijani Turkish as a spoken language in Iran. First, it was and remained the official language of the royal court during the entire Safavid period. Second, the language remained the spoken language of the Turkic Qizilbash tribes and was also spoken in the army.
↑ David Blow: Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend. S. 165. The primary court language remained Turkish. But it was not the Turkish of Istambul. It was a Turkish dialect, the dialect of the Qizilbash Turkomans, which is still spoken today in the province of Azerbaijan, in north-western Iran.

[1] Roger Savory: Iran Under the Safavids. Cambridge University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-04251-2, S. 213: qizilbash normally spoke Azari brand of Turkish at court, as did the Safavid shahs themselves; lack of familiarity with the Persian language may have contributed to the decline from the pure classical standards of former times

[2] Willem Floor, Hasan Javadi: The Role of Azerbaijani Turkish in Safavid Iran. During the Safavid period Azerbaijani Turkish, or, as it was also referred to at that time, Qizilbash Turkish, occupied an important place in society, and it was spoken both at court and by the common people… Throughout the Safavid period there were two constants to Azerbaijani Turkish as a spoken language in Iran. First, it was and remained the official language of the royal court during the entire Safavid period. Second, the language remained the spoken language of the Turkic Qizilbash tribes and was also spoken in the army.

[3] David Blow: Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend. S. 165. The primary court language remained Turkish. But it was not the Turkish of Istambul. It was a Turkish dialect, the dialect of the Qizilbash Turkomans, which is still spoken today in the province of Azerbaijan, in north-western Iran.

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