Vernacularization, Sunnitizaton And Martyrdom In Early Ottoman Lands A Textual Analysis Of The Ebu Müslim-Name

This thesis examines the 1590 Turkish Ebu Müslim-name in the context of vernacularization, martyrdom and sunnitization. Although there is data that the Turkish Ebu Müslim-name was first translated in the centuries when Turkish literature developed, but the oldest copies we have belong to the sixteenth century. The 1590 text examined in this thesis shows commonality with other Turkish epics and texts in the context of the Sunni-Kharijite (Muslim/Infidel) distinction and in the context of ‘Alid Loyalty. Martyrdom, which is the most important theme of the text, was reshaped in the Turkish Ebu Müslim-name, unlike the Persian original, in the context of late medieval Anatolia, such as the conversion events from Christianity to Islam. The term Ebu Turabı, which is used for Ebu Müslim and his companions who tried to avenge the Karbala Incident, means ‘Alid Loyalty and this concept is very difficult to come across in other texts. In addition to these, the Turkish Ebu Müslimname also has an important place in the sixteenth century Ottoman-Safavid rivalry. While the Ebu Müslim-name was banned in the Safavid world, the emergence of new translations and copies in the Ottoman world shows that the popularity of the Ebu Müslim-name played a role in a confessional crisis of legitimacy.