The Founder of a Shaykh Family Active in Istanbul and Bilad al-Sham for Centuries: Jalal Ali Dede of Athens and His Network

Abstract

The famous Mawlawi historian Sakib Dede points out in his distinguished work that Jalal Ali Dede (d. 1110/1699), the shaykh of the Tripoli Mawlawi Lodge, had a very rare occurrence in the history of Mawlawiyya in that three of his sons had the rank of being shaykh conferred on them (shaykhhood). Despite this feature of his, Jalal Ali Dede has not been subject of any academic study. Therefore, the aim of this article, by clarifying his life that started in Athens and ended in Tripoli, is to reveal his social and intellectual network. By focusing on his lineage connections under the title of “internal network”, one more son and many descendants of Jalal Ali Dede have been determined with the help of archival documents. Thus, it has been revealed that Jalal Ali Dede was the founder of a great Shaykh family, with his descendants rising to the shaykhhood in various Mawlawi Lodges in different locations. Besides nearly two centuries of influence in Istanbul Mawlawi Lodges, this study revealed for the first time that the family members took part in the mashikhat maqams of the Tripoli Mawlawi Lodge from the 17^th century to the end of the 20^th century. Furthermore, the study endeavors to determine the scholars and politicians with whom Jalal Ali Dede was in contact and became friends in Konya, al-Quds, Cairo, Istanbul, and Tripoli. All findings about the network are presented in the sociogram.