Religious and Political Polemics Between the Ottomans and Safavids in the First Half of the 16th Century

Abstract

One aspect of the long-term conflicts between the Ottomans and the Safavids is the strongly religious debates that were perpetuated through various mediums. Unfolding at the end of the Bayezid II’s reign (1481-1512) and continuing during the reign of his successors Yavuz Sultan Selim (1512-1520) and Suleiman the Lawgiver (1520-1566), these religious debates followed three different mediums: Ottoman chroniclers’ thoughts in their chronicles, anti-Safavid/Qizilbash fatwas adjudicated by ulama circles, and finally diplomatic correspondences between the two sides. Without doubt the last one is the medium in which the religious debates were held most fiercely. In this article, I will focus on the legitimacy debates between the Shah Tahmasb (1524- 1576) and Suleiman the Lawgiver by highlighting the fact that the diplomatic correspondences were a suitable course to present the political thoughts and the religious tenets to the addressee in the form of a manifesto.