Perhaps someone saw this performance in Konya or Istanbul: a large hall in which the lights go out and men in black capes become almost invisible. Sounds unusual for our ears are heard out of nowhere - the drums set the rhythm for the musicians playing the old reed flutes.
The men standing in the center of the hall suddenly throw off their cloaks and remain in white shirts and felt conical hats.
With their arms crossed on their chests, they, in turn, come up to their mentor, put their heads on his shoulder, kiss his hand and line up in a column.
At his command, a strange dance begins: first, the artists depicting dervishes walk around the hall three times, and then begin to spin - with their heads thrown back and outstretched arms. The palm of the right hand is raised up to receive the blessing of heaven, the left palm is lowered, transferring the blessing to the earth.
Yes, these dervishes are not real. The whirling prayers of the members of this small brotherhood of dervishes usually take place at night, last several hours and are closed to outsiders. The members of this Sufi Order are called bektashi. And in modern Turkish language, the Janissaries are sometimes called the same, using these words as synonyms.
Now we will try to figure out how and why this happened.
First of all, let's define who the dervishes are and talk a little about their communities, which are often called orders.
Brotherhood of dervishes
Translated from Farsi, the word “dervish” means “beggar”, “poor man”, and in Arabic it is a synonym for the word Sufi (Sufi in Arabic literally means “dressed in coarse wool”, the first Sufis tried to “understand the world, themselves and God ). In Central Asia, Iran and Turkey dervishes were called mendicant Muslim preachers and ascetic mystics.
Their hallmarks were a long shirt, a linen bag that they wore on their shoulders, and an earring in their left ear. Dervishes did not exist on their own, but united in communities ("brotherhoods"), or Orders. Each of these Orders had its own charter, its own hierarchy and abodes, where the dervishes could spend some time in case of illness or due to some life circumstances.
The dervishes did not have personal property, since they believed that everything belongs to God. They received money for food, mainly in the form of alms, or earned by performing some tricks.
In the Russian Empire, Sufi dervishes before the revolution could be found even in the Crimea. Currently, there are orders of dervishes in Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Iran, some African states. But in Turkey in 1925 they were banned by Kemal Ataturk, who said: "Turkey should not be a country of sheikhs, dervishes, murids, a country of religious sects."
And earlier, in the 19th century, it was the Bektash order that was banned by Sultan Mahmud II. We'll tell you more about why this happened. In the meantime, let's say that at the end of the twentieth century, the Bektashi were able to return to their historical homeland.
The Bektash Order is not the only and not the largest community of dervishes. There are many others: qadiri, nakshbandi, yasevi, mevlevi, bektashi, senusi. At the same time, people who are not officially included in this community and are not dervishes may also be under the influence of one or another Sufi Order. For example, in Albania, up to a third of all Muslims in the country sympathized with the ideas of the Bektash.
All Sufi orders were characterized by the desire for the mystical unity of man with Allah, but each of them offered his own path, which his followers considered the only correct one. The Bektashi professed distorted Shiite Islam, which was considered a terrible heresy to the adherents of orthodox Islam. Some even doubted that the Bektashi were Muslims at all. Thus, initiation into the order seemed to many to be similar to the rite of baptism in Christianity, and in the teachings of the Bektashi they find the influence of the Torah and the Gospels. Among the rituals is communion with wine, bread and cheese. There is a "Trinity": the unity of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad and the Shiite Ali ibn Abu Talib ("the fourth righteous caliph"). Men and women are allowed to pray in the same room, above the mihrab (a niche indicating the direction to Mecca) in the prayer rooms of Bektash communities there are portraits of their sheikh - Baba-Dede, which is simply unthinkable for devout Muslims. And near the tombs of the saints of the Bektashi, wax candles are lit.
That is, the Bektash Order by the overwhelming majority of Muslims should have been perceived as a community of heretics, and therefore, it seemed, was doomed to become a refuge for the marginalized. But, oddly enough, it was this eclecticism, which allows the assimilation of Islam in a simplified form (especially from a ritual point of view), that played a decisive role in the rise of this order.
Now let's talk a little about the founding of the Bektash Order.
Haji Bektashi Wali
The foundation of this Sufi order was laid in the 12th century in Asia Minor by Sayyid Muhammad bin Ibrahim Ata, better known by the nickname Haji Bektashi Wali (“Vali” can be translated as “saint”). He was born in 1208 (according to other sources - in 1209) in the north-eastern province of Iran, Khorasan; he died, presumably, in 1270 or 1271. in Turkish Anatolia - near the city of Kyrshehir.
Some sources claim that Sayyid Muhammad from childhood possessed the gift of karamats - miracles. The parents gave the boy to be raised by Sheikh Lukman Perendi from Nishapur. After completing his studies, he settled in Anatolia. Here he preached Islam, quickly gaining the respect of the locals. Soon he had his own students, for whom 7 small houses were built by the road. It was the disciples of Sayyid Muhammad (Vali Bektash), headed by Balim-Sultan, now revered as the “second teacher” (pir al-sani) 150 years after his death, and organized a new Sufi order, named in honor of the first Teacher. Around the houses built for the first students, a small settlement grew up, which, over time, became a city with an unpronounceable name Sulujakarahyyuk - now it is called Hadzhibektash.
Here is the grave of the founder of the Order, and the residence of its current head - "dede".
Outside Turkey, the Sufi order of Bektashi was very popular in Albania, it was in this country that many of the dervishes found refuge, after the ban on their community by Sultan Mahmud II and Kemal Ataturk.
In addition, in Turkey and Albania there are "tekke" - peculiar monasteries-abodes of murids (novices), who, preparing to become dervishes, are trained by mentors - murshids. The head of each such retreat is called the "father" (baba).
Subsequently, the members of the Bektash order were divided into two groups: in their historical homeland, in Anatolia, the Chelyabs believed that they were descended from Haji Bektash Vali, and in Albania and in other European Ottoman possessions, the Babagans believed that the Teacher did not have a family, and therefore, he could not have offspring. As it usually happens, chelyabi and babagans traditionally were at enmity with each other.
But what have the Janissaries got to do with it?
New army
The founder of the Turkish Empire, not yet a Sultan, but only bey Osman, needed infantry.
She, in general, existed in the Turkish army, but was recruited only for the duration of hostilities, was poorly trained and undisciplined. Such an infantry was called "yaya", service in it for hereditary dashing riders was considered not prestigious, and therefore the first professional infantry units were created from Christian soldiers converted to Islam. These units received the name "new army" - "yeni cheri" (Yeni Ceri). In Russian, this phrase has become the word "Janissaries". However, the first janissaries were recruited only during the war, and then they were dismissed to their homes. In an anonymous treatise of the early 17th century, "The History of the Origin of the Laws of the Janissary Corps," it is said about them:
“His Majesty Sultan Murad Khan Gazi - may the mercy and favor of God be over him! headed against the unfaithful Wallachia and ordered to build two ships to transport the Anatolian cavalry army … (to Europe).
When it took people to lead these (ships), they turned out to be a gang of rabble. There was no benefit from them. Plus you had to pay them two acche. The expense is high, and they performed their duties carelessly. Returning from a campaign to their vilayets, they plundered and ruined Raya (non-Muslim tax-paying population) on the way."
A council was assembled, to which the grand vizier, ulema and "learned men" were invited, among whom Timurtash Dede was especially noted - he is called a descendant of Haji Bektash Wali. At this council, a decision was made:
"Instead of immediately making" foreign boys "(ajemi oglan) janissaries, first send them to study with a salary of one acche, so that they become janissaries with a salary of two acche only after training."
Under Osman's grandson Murad I, the famous devshirme system was introduced: in the Christian provinces of the Sultanate, mainly in the Balkans, about once every five years (sometimes more often, sometimes less often) boys were recruited into the Janissary corps.
The devshirme system is often viewed as one of the methods of oppression of the Christian population of the Ottoman Empire, however, oddly enough, the same Christians, in general, perceived it rather positively. Muslims, whose children were prohibited from admitting to the Janissary corps, attempted to place their sons there for bribes. The right to give their children to the Janissaries, to the Slavs of Bosnia who converted to Islam, was granted as a special mercy and privilege, which the Bosnians themselves asked for.
According to Murad's plan, future janissaries should have been chosen only from the best and noble families. If there were several boys in the family, the best of them should be chosen, the only son was not taken from the family.
Preference was given to children of average height: too tall were rejected as stupid, and small as quarrelsome. Shepherd children were rejected on the grounds that they were "poorly developed." It was forbidden to take the sons of village elders, because they are "too mean and cunning." There was no chance of becoming janissaries for the overly talkative and talkative: they believed that they would grow up to be envious and stubborn. Boys with beautiful and delicate features were considered prone to rebellion and rebellion (and "the enemy will seem pathetic").
In addition, it was forbidden to recruit boys into the Janissaries “from Belgrade, Central Hungary and the border (lands) of Croatia, because a Magyar and a Croat would never make a real Muslim. Seizing the moment, they renounce Islam and flee."
The selected boys were brought to Istanbul and enrolled in a special corps called "ajemi-oglany" ("foreign boys").
The most capable of them were transferred to a school at the Sultan's palace, after which they sometimes made brilliant careers in the civil service, becoming diplomats, provincial governors and even viziers.
The lazy and incapable were expelled and appointed as gardeners or servants. Most of the pupils of the ajemi-oglu turned into professional soldiers and officers, who entered on full state support. They were forbidden to engage in crafts and marry, they were supposed to live only in the barracks.
The main subdivision of the corps was called "ode" ("room" - it meant a room for a joint meal), and the corps itself - ojak ("hearth"). Only after reaching the position of an oturak (veteran) by age or due to injury, the janissary could let go of his beard, obtain permission to marry and acquire an economy.
Janissaries were a special, privileged military caste. They were sent to monitor the order in the field armies and in the garrisons, it was the Janissaries who kept the keys to the fortresses. The Janissary could not be executed - first, he had to be removed from the corps. But they were strangers to everyone and were completely dependent on the Sultan.
The only friends of the Janissaries were the dervishes-bektashi, whose sheikh Timurtash Dede, as we remember, was one of the main initiators of the creation of this corps. And they found each other - stern dervishes and frightened little Christian boys cut off from their relatives and families, from whom new and in their own way unique units of the Turkish army began to form. And the strange eclecticism of the Bektashi teachings, which was mentioned above, turned out to be the best possible, since it allowed neophytes to perceive Islam in a form more familiar to Christian children.
From now on, the fate of the Bektash dervishes and the fate of the omnipotent janissaries ruling the sultans were linked together: together they gained great glory, and their end was equally terrible. But the Bektashi, unlike the Janissaries, managed to survive and still exist.
"Bektashism" became the ideology of the Janissaries, who were called "the sons of Haji Bektash." The dervishes of this order were constantly next to the janissaries: together with them they went on hikes, taught them and provided first aid. Even the headdress of the Janissaries symbolized the sleeve from the clothes of Hadji Bektash. Many of them became members of the order, whose sheikh was the honorary commander of the 99th company of the corps, and at the inauguration ceremony he was also proclaimed the mentor and teacher of all the janissaries. Sultan Orhan, before deciding to create a new janissary corps, asked for blessings from the representatives of the Bektashi order.
It is widely believed that it was Haji Bektash who made a dua - a prayer to the Almighty, standing in front of the first janissaries, rubbed the backs of each of them, wishing them courage and valor in battles with enemies. But this is only a legend, nothing more: we remember that Timurtash Dede, who was considered his descendant, attached to the foundation of the corps of the Janissaries.
At the end of the XIV century, all the neighbors of the Turks shuddered with horror. The battle on the Kosovo field (1389) was a triumph of the Janissaries, and after the defeat of the army of the crusaders near Nikopol (1396), they began to frighten children all over Europe with their name. Inspired by the dervishes, the fanatical and highly trained janissaries on the battlefield were unmatched. Janissaries were called "lions of Islam", but they fought against their fellow believers with no less fury.
The number of Janissaries grew steadily. Under Murad there were only two or three thousand people, in the army of Suleiman II (l520-1566) there were already about twenty thousand, and by the end of the 18th century the number of janissaries sometimes reached 100,000 people.
Very soon the Janissaries realized all the benefits of their position and from obedient servants of the sultans turned into their worst nightmare. They completely controlled Istanbul and could remove the inconvenient ruler at any moment.
Sultan Bayezid II and the Janissaries
So, in 1481, after the death of Fatih Mehmed II, his sons - Jem, supported by the Mamelukes of Egypt, and Bayezid, supported by the Janissaries of Istanbul, claimed the throne. The victory was won by the henchman of the Janissaries, who went down in history as Bayezid II. In gratitude, he increased their salary from two to four acce a day. Since then, the janissaries began to demand money and gifts from each new sultan.
Bayezid II went down in history as the man who refused to Columbus, who turned to him with a request to finance his expedition, and Leonardo da Vinci, who offered him a project to build a bridge over the Golden Horn.
But he rebuilt Istanbul after the earthquake of 1509 ("Small end of the world"), built a grandiose mosque of his name in the capital, sent his fleet to evacuate Muslims and Jews expelled from Andalusia and earned the nickname "Wali" - "saint".
One of the wars waged by this sultan went down in history under the curious name "Beard": in 1500, Bayazid demanded that the Venetian ambassador swear by his beard that his state wanted peace with Turkey. Having received the answer that the Venetians do not have beards - they shave their faces, he mockingly said: "In this case, the inhabitants of your city are like monkeys."
Deeply hurt, the Venetians decided to wash away this insult with Ottoman blood, and were defeated, losing the Peloponnese peninsula.
However, in 1512, the Janissaries, who elevated Basid II to the throne, forced him to renounce the power that he was supposed to transfer to his son Selim. He immediately ordered the execution of all his relatives in the male line, for which he went down in history under the nickname Yavuz - "Evil" or "Fierce". Probably, he was also involved in the death of Bayezid himself, who died suspiciously quickly - a month after his abdication.
The hosts of Istanbul
Selim I Yavuz died in 1520, and already in 1524 the Janissaries also rebelled against his son, in our country known as Suleiman the Magnificent (and in Turkey he is called the Legislator). The house of the grand vizier and other nobles were robbed, the customs office was destroyed, Selim II personally participated in suppressing the riot, and even, as they say, killed several janissaries, but, nevertheless, he was forced to pay off from them.
The peak of the Janissary riots came at the beginning of the 17th century, when four sultans were removed in just six years (1617-1623).
But at the same time, the Janissary corps was rapidly degrading. The "devshirme" system was eliminated, and the children of the Janissaries and native Turks were now becoming janissaries. The quality of military training of the Janissaries and their fighting efficiency deteriorated. Former fanatics were no longer eager to fight, preferring to campaigns and battles a well-fed life in the capital. There is no trace of the awe that the Janissaries once instilled in the enemies of the Ottoman Empire. All attempts to reform the corps according to European standards failed and those who dared to take such a step were revered by the sultans as a great success, if from the fury of the Janissaries they managed to buy off the heads of the Grand Vizier and other high dignitaries. The last sultan (Selim III) was killed by the janissaries in 1807, the last vizier in 1808. But the denouement of this bloody drama was already close.
Mahmoud II and the last revolt of the Janissaries
In 1808, as a result of a coup d'état organized by Mustafa Pasha Bayraktar (Governor of Ruschuk), Sultan Mahmud II (the 30th Ottoman Sultan) came to power in the Ottoman Empire, sometimes called “the Turkish Peter I. He made primary education compulsory, allowed the publication newspapers and magazines, became the first sultan to appear in public in European clothing. To transform the army in a European way, military specialists were invited from Germany, including even Helmut von Moltke the Elder.
In June 1826, Sultan Mahmud II ordered the Janissaries (and there were about 20,000 of them in Istanbul) to declare that they would not be given lamb until they studied the order and tactics of the European armies. The very next day they started a mutiny, which for some reason also joined firefighters and porters. And in the first ranks of the rebels, of course, there were old friends and patrons of the Janissaries - the dervishes-Bektashi. In Istanbul, many rich houses and even the palace of the grand vizier were plundered, but Mahmud II himself, together with the ministers and she-ul-Islam (the spiritual leader of the Muslims of Turkey) managed to take refuge in the mosque of Sultan Ahmet. Following the example of many of his predecessors, he tried to end the rebellion with promises of mercy, but the inflamed janissaries continued to plunder and burn the capital of the empire. After that, the Sultan could only flee the city, or prepare for imminent death, but Mahmud II suddenly broke all existing stereotypes and ordered to bring the Sandak Sheriff - the sacred Green Banner of the Prophet, which, according to an old legend, was sewn from the robe of Muhammad himself.
The heralds called on the townspeople to stand under the "Banner of the Prophet", the volunteers were handed out weapons, and the mosque of Sultan Ahmed I ("Blue Mosque") was designated as the gathering place for all the Sultan's forces.
Mahmud II hoped for the help of the residents of Istanbul, who were exhausted from the willfulness of the Janissaries, whom they oppressed in every possible way: they imposed tribute on merchants and artisans, forced them to do household work for themselves, or even simply robbed in the streets. And Mahmoud was not mistaken in his calculations. The sailors and many of the townspeople joined the troops loyal to him. The Janissaries were blocked at Eitmaidan Square and shot with grapeshot. Their barracks were burned down, and hundreds of janissaries were burnt to death in them. The slaughter lasted for two days, and then for a whole week the executioners cut off the heads of the surviving janissaries and their allies, the dervishes. As usual, it was not without slander and abuse: some rushed to inform on their neighbors and relatives, accusing them of aiding the janissaries and bektashi. The corpses of those executed were thrown into the waters of the Bosphorus, and there were so many of them that they interfered with the navigation of ships. And for a long time later, the inhabitants of the capital did not catch or eat fish caught in the surrounding waters.
This massacre went down in the history of Turkey under the name "Happy Event".
Mahmud II forbade to pronounce the name of the Janissaries, and their graves were destroyed in the cemeteries. The Bektash Order was banned, their spiritual leaders were executed, all the property of the brotherhood was transferred to another Order - nashkbendi. Many Bektashi emigrated to Albania, which for some time became the center of their movement. This country is currently home to the World Bektashi Center.
Later, the son of Mahmud II, Sultan Abdul Majid I, allowed the Bektashs to return to Turkey, but they did not find their former influence here.
In 1925, as we remember, the Bektashi, along with other Sufi orders, were expelled from Turkey by Kemal Ataturk.
And in 1967, Enver Hoxha (whose parents sympathized with the ideas of the Bektashi) stopped the activities of their order in Albania.
The Bektashi returned to this country again in 1990, simultaneously with their return to Turkey. But now they have no significance and influence in their historical homeland, and their mystical "dances" performed by folklore ensembles are perceived by many as just a fun attraction for tourists.
