İlhanlı İran'ında Sufiler, Hanlar ve Halk

Abstract

The relations of the Mongols with religions and their conversion processes have always been a subject that attracts the attention of researchers. When the subject of their conversion is considered, the first thing that comes to mind is the famous sheikhs and sects of the period. Those who research this subject have discussed the relations between the Sufis and the Mongols from many different aspects. However, it is seen that most of these studies centered on the Mongols and did not examine the current level of development of Sufism and sects and their relations with politics. While the issue of why the Mongols chose a sheikh as their guide when they would convert is important, it is also important to answer the question of how the representatives of Sufi thought, who advise to keep a distance from everything that belongs to this world, especially politics, came to this position. In this study, the relations of the Ilkhanids with the sheikhs are examined, but the aim is not only to present an encyclopedic, one-to-one breakdown of the relations between the state-Islamic sect and the ruler-sheikh. The main purpose is to clarify the stage of the development of Sufi thought and the relationship between the sects and politics and the process of gaining popularity of these doctrines and institutions during the Ilkhanate period. In order to understand the process, in the first part, the development of Sufism and sects and their spread in Iran were examined, and in the second part, the religious policies of the Ilkhanate, their Iranianization and Islamization adventures were mentioned. Thus, both the change and spread in mystical thought and the adaptation processes of the Mongols who came to Iran in the region were discussed. After these subjects were covered, the approaches of the Ilkhanids to sects and sheikhs, the differences between wandering dervish groups and institutional Sufism, and some of the effects of the Mongol invasion on Sufi literature are explained with many examples obtained from contemporary sources. In the last part, after the effects of the invasion on the Iranian people, people's approaches to Sufism and sects and why they preferred Sufism in this period were examined. In this study, the background of the contacts of the Ilkhanians with the sheikhs and the development of these contacts in history will be explained, as well as how the Ilkhanians contributed to the popularization of Sufism and sects and what kind of legacy they left behind, and at least the contacts of the Iranian Mongols with the sheikhs will become more understandable.