An exercise in denominational geography in search of Ottoman Alevis

Abstract

This study seeks to shed light on the relationship between the Ottoman state and Anatolian Alevis in the seventeenth century, by which time the latter had lost their political activism and ceased to be a threat for the Ottoman state. Specifically, it examines the relationship between false claims of descent from Prophet Muhammad and Alevism. It argues that such claims and their recognition by the Ottoman state may have been instrumental in building a tacit consensus between the state and Alids of the realm, since religious/tribal leaders of the Alids also claimed descent from the Prophet.