Talk:Safi Al-Din

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Please refer to discussion of article Sheikh Zahed Gilani The phonetics Issue must be solved in General!

[edit] Kurds

To Pantherarosa. The article on Kurds does not say they are the same as Persian people.

Kurds speak the mostly mutually-intelligible dialects of the Kurdish language, which is an Indo-European language of the Iranian branch. Their ethnic origins is uncertain but some sources state they are ethnically close to other Iranian groups such as the Persians and Lurs. Modern Kurds are commonly identified with the ancient Kingdom of Corduene inhabited by the Carduchi. Kurds are often classified as an Iranic ethnic group. According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, "The classification of the Kurds among the Iranian nations is based mainly on linguistic and historical data and does not prejudice the fact there is a complexity of ethnical elements incorporated in them." Grandmaster 10:35, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

1.You should accept that Kurds are indeed ( meaning "infact" and NOT "identical" as you understood, judjing by your curt rvrt comment!) commonly counted among Iranian/Persian ethnicities [[1]] The Safawid sheikhs themselves claim descent from the Kurd Firuz-Shah Zarrin Kulah in their own Genealogy [[2]]. So it is not for you to impose POV here.
2. "apparently" is pure POV on your part (sounds like " I don't know better.. but...apparently")
3. Safi's own order was called Safaviyeh in contrast to the Zahediyeh which he inherited from Sheikh Zahed Gilani. No need to state "it was to be called."
4. The word "slowly" is POV in connection with the Safaviyeh's development to shiaism. The proper ENGLISH term would be "gradually" to indicate the pace of development. Pantherarosa 11:18, 29 March 2006 (UTC)
Why do we need specifically mention in this article that Kurds belong to Iranian people? It is a known fact, plus it has a link to the article about Kurds. So I edited the first line to say that he was apparently of Kurdish extraction, because there are also sources that say he was of Turkic origin. Grandmaster 12:06, 29 March 2006 (UTC)
No, you will definitely not find any substantiated claim that Safi Al-Din was of Turkic extraction, while admittedly there are people who argue that his descendants, 170 years later, the SAFAVID shahs were purported to have had Turkic roots, due to use of Turkic language as well as Qisilbash support and large Turkish/Anatolian followership. Pantherarosa 13:17, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Iranian Descent of sheikh Safi Al-Din

I wish to state, that Safi Al-Din is widely accepted (according to findings of relevant scholars) to have had Kurdish ancestors, such as the Kurdish Prince Firuz Shah "Zarrin Kulah". This forebearer lived however c. 300 years earlier. One can therefor not nessessarily conclude that Sheikh Safi Al-Din was of (pure) Kurdish extraction. Judging by his well recorded, more immediate ancestors, who were Persian speaking and who can definitely be regarded as Iranians, the family would appear to have been IRANIAN by then. Titles to the family's land and affiliated rights in Persian have also been recorded for several generations-before and after Safi Al-Din. The Genealogy later commissioned to be written about the Safavid family by descendants of Sheikh Safi [[3]] , (of which I happen to hold a copy in the original diction), is written in Persian. There are also related court rulings as well as chronichal documents, preserved to this day, all written in Persian, which have been cited by Scholars, such as Monika Gronke in her habilitation DERVISCHE IM VORHOF DER MACHT. It would therefor actually make more sense to state the facts, namely that Safi Al-Din (and even his descensdants all the way down to Junayd, who married Uzun Hassan's daughter, the mother of Sheikh Isamail, who later was to be the first Safavid shah) were Iranian of Kurdish extraction or ancestry. The Kurds are nevertheless regardable as one of the Iranian people and are considered as close to Iranian/Lur ethnicity as the epitome of Iranian tribes, the Bakhtiaris. Pantherarosa 13:04, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

You seem to forget that: “The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth. This means that we only publish material that is verifiable with reference to reliable, published sources”. See Wikipedia:Verifiability. According to Wiki rules, we don’t need to fact check or establish the truth, if we have a reputable source claiming a certain fact, we need to include it into the article. So the Turkic origins of Safi al Din were claimed by reputable sources, see talk page for Safavids [4], one of the sources even claims that Safavids were originally Arabic, who assimilated with other ethnicities. I’m not insisting on inclusion of the version of Safi’s Turkic origins into the article right now, I just think that adding the word apparently is enough to show that Kurdish origin is one of the existing versions. I hope those who wish to expand the article in the future will cover all the versions of Safi’s origin. As for Kurds, no one disputes that they are one of Iranian people, but we don’t need to explain that every time we mention Kurds, it is enough to provide a link to the article about them. Grandmaster 18:48, 29 March 2006 (UTC)
Verifiability is the basis for all scientific claims, not only at Wikipedia! Having analysed the subject matter on a broad scale for several years, and having weighed the findings of the most notable scholars, i have in fact been able to isolate the most substantiated and exhaustedly verified schools of thought. Contrary to some Zealots on this forum, i do not chose to post "hearsay" that's been picked up here and there, just because i think it may be "reputable". There is no sense in tearing themes out of their context and post them here for the sake of posting. WE ARE REQUESTED TO SERVE THE INFO SEEKING PUBLIC with a coherent overall picture. The Arab roots reference, for example, never came from a SAFAVID but was asserted by sufi followers who tried to project a glorious ancestry by claiming there was descent from the Prophet. Others attempted to trace the Safavids' roots to the last Sassanian rulers, for the same purpose. Turkic descent has NOT been purported by any accepted school of thought, in connection with Sheikh Safi Al-Din, as there were no indications whatsoever. Pantherarosa 23:46, 29 March 2006 (UTC)
This is from the posting by Tabib in Safavids talk page. It shows that there are sources that dispute Kurdish roots of Sheikh Safi, therefore it is better to not unambiguously state that he was Kurd, but say that he apparently was of Kurdish extraction. It would be more accurate.
In one of the versions of “Safwat-as-Safa” (XIV c.) Firuz-shah mentioned in the family tree of the Safavids is really named as “Al-Kurdi-al-Sadjani (Sagani) Piruz-shah Zerrin Kulah”, which is later reproduced in “Silsilat-an-Nasab-i-Safaviyyeh” (XVII c.). However, and this is of utmost importance, in that very same chronicles, Sheikh Safi is numerously referred as “Turkish/Turkic saint” (“Pir-i-turk”) and “Turkic young man/Young Turk” (“Genj-i-turk”)!
Al Kordi-Al Sanjani relates to Sheikh Zahed Gilani who hailed from Sanjan in ancient Greater Khorasan not to Safi Al-Din Ardebili or his purported Kurdish Ancestor!! WRONG CITING! Pantherarosa 12:46, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
The Turkic belonging of Sheikh Safi was later documented in XVI c. chronicle “Djahan array-I shah Ismail Safavi” – one of the major sources on Safavids written during Shah Ismail I. Grandmaster 05:27, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] WIKIPEDIA will retain the stigma of an "amateurs' playground", with unreflected and poorly substantiated edits as by Tabib

Due to his User TALK Page being blocked, i find myself compelled to voice my concerns about his conduct here:

Every minute is wasted in following the escapades of User TABIB on this platform. Not only does his irate conduct insult one's intelligence, it insults the intelligence of readers seeking info on WIKIPEDIA. I have substantiated the related claims I made with dozens of sources and references (see Safavids TALK!), while he picks findings and hearsay out of context and randomly posts bits of them on the subject without reflection (here and on Safavids) While there are indeed sources referring to Safi Al-Din as Turk saint or youth, these have been proven misinformed and naive by notable scholars such as Falsafi, Minorski, Gronke and Savory (creme of scholars on the subject!). I ask User Tabib in a comparison: If some political fanatics claim that the Khojali Massacre/Genocide was an invention by Azeris or had been less dramatic then Azeris would want the world to believe, do you cite this as a verified fact, just because you read it in the Washington Post/Pravda/Times????? You are acting in exactly this fashion: You pic an unsubstantiated claim about SAFI AL-DIN out of context and irately post it here without reflection. While there are numerous well substantiated assertions by the relevant scholars that SAFI AL-DIN was indeed of Iranian/Kurdish descent, you seem to find it appropriate to actually POST unsubstantiated ones, which you have chanced upon, out of context. That, without even mentioning the universally established school of thought to the contrary.

Having conducted comprehensive studies on the subject, I wish to therefor warn all READERS: TAKE HEADE! YOU ARE FACING "REVELATIONS" BY A PERSON IGNORANT OF THIS MATTER, WHO NEVERTHELESS COMPELS HIMSELF TO CONTRIBUTE TO GROTESQUE MISINTERPRETATIONS ON THIS FORUM - TO THE DETRIMENT OF EVERYBODY SEEKING INFORMATION OR SEEKING TO PROVIDE INFORMATION! This unhelpful behaviour has been going on for a year now.Pantherarosa 12:34, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Thsi discussion is useless. It is attested by the Encyclopaedia Iranica and by the Encyclopaedia of Islam that Sheikh Safi ud-Din is known for his poems written in the Iranian language once known as "Azerbaijani" ... in fact, his poems are among a very few Old-Tati scriptures that have survived the Turkish invasions. The Safavids, starting with Sheikh Safi ud-Din Ardabeli, were an Iranian family, both in language and heritage! Here, read the following article of the Encyclopaedia Iranica: "The Persian language of Azerbaijan" Tabib is once again filling the article with Pan-Turkish nonsense! Tajik 13:28, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
According to your own words, Writing letters or poems in Azeri does not make one Turkish or Azerbaijani. [5] Now you changed your position in accordance with the situation and claim that writing poems in a certain language is a prove of one’s ethnicity. You should already decide whether you support or oppose a certain argument. I suggest including or removing both versions. Grandmaster 16:16, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
May I remind you that YOU are the ones who is convinced that "poetry defines ethnicity"?! In this case, there is not a single poem of Safi ud-Din which is written in any Turkic language. ALL of his poems were written in Old-Azerbaijani (=Old-Tati) and Persian (unlike Shah Ismail, who not only claimed to be of Sassanian-Persian heritage but also wrote poetry in Persian). Your claims of his Turkish background are baseless and wrong. Safi ud-Din was Persian - probably of Kurdish ancestry. Nothing Turkish about him. Tajik 20:00, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
I never said that Ismail was Azeri because of his poetry, I cited sources that prove his Azeri Turkic origin. And Persian and Kurdish are not the same. Kurds are just one of Iranian people, same as Persians. Plus Sheikh Safi was referred to as a Turkic saint, so the rules require us to include both versions, which I did in my edit. Grandmaster 11:48, 1 April 2006 (UTC)
You did not "prove" anything. There are enough sources to "prove" his Non-Turkic origin. And there are enough sources that clearly prove that he himself considered himself Iranian. That's why he claimed to be descendant of the Persian Sassanids - unlike Turks, who always claimed to be descendants of Turkish Khans (like the Qajars who claimed to be descendants of Gingiz Khan!) The "sources" you are talking about are actually once source, the Silsilat al-Nasab Safawiyya. This document has been studied by many scholars - Iranians, Turks, and Western scholars - and almsot all of them agree that Safi al-Din was NOT a Turk. There were no Turkic saints in Ardabil in the 13th century, and certainly no Turks who composed poetry in Tati! Can you please name a single Turk who spoke Old-Azerbaijani or wrote poems in that language?! Old-Azerbaijani was only native to the Iranian population of Azerbaijan - the official and dominating language back then was Persian. That's why Safi al-Din always wrote Persian translations of his poems. If he were a Turk, he would have at least witten a few poems in Turkish. The Silsilat al-Nasab Safawiyya was written in the 17th century, that means almost 500 years after his death. Btw, the following text is taken from the CD-version of the Encyclopaedia of Islam:
  • "... Safi al-Din Ardabili ... born 650/1252-3, died 12 Muharram 735/12 September 1334 at Ardabil ... Iranian saint ... eponymous founder of the Safawid Order of Sufis and hence of the Safawid dynasty, rulers of Persia 907-1148/1501-1736 [see Safawids ] ... Under Safi al-Din's leadership, the Zahidiyya order, under its new name Safawiyya, was transformed from a Sufi order of purely local significance into a religious movement, based on Ardabil, whose religious propaganda ( da'wa ) was disseminated throughout Persia, Syria and Asia Minor, and even as far away as Ceylon (H.R. Roemer, The Safawid period, in Camb. Hist. Iran , vi, 192). Even during his lifetime, | [VIII:801b] Safi al-Din wielded considerable political influence, and his designation of his son Sadr al-Din to succeed him makes it clear that he was determined to keep this political power within the Safawid family. ..."
The Encyclopaedia of Islam (and the Encyclopaedia Iranica, because both Encyclopaedias are written by the same authors) consider him an IRANIAN saint who took over the Zahediya, and transformed it into a strong political movement, thus marking the beginning of the Safavid DYNASTY. And that's exactly why both Iranica and EI say that: "There seems now to be a consensus among scholars that the Safawid family hailed from Persian Kurdistān, and later moved to Āzarbayjān, finally settling in the 5th/11th century at Ardabīl."
Encyclopaedia Iranica, p. 260:
  • " ... Azari [= Middle-Iranian language spoken in Azerbaijan before the Turkic conquest] lost ground [in Azerbaijan] at a faster pace than before, so that even the early Safavids, originally an Iranian-speaking clan (as evidenced by the quatrains of Shaikh Safi-al-Din, their eponymous ancestor, and by his biography), became Turkified ..."
Tajik 12:19, 1 April 2006 (UTC)
If Silsilat al-Nasab Safawiyya is not good because it was written 500 years after Safi’s death, then your sources are not good either, since they were written another 300 years later. Grandmaster 12:51, 2 April 2006 (UTC)
Wrong, the "Encyclopaedia of Islam" is based on the writings of Ibn Bazaz Tawakkuli bin Ismail, written only 24 years after Safi ud-Din's death. His writings were the main source of the "Safawat as-Safa":
Encyclopaedia of Islam, CD-Version, "Safi al-Din Ardabili":
  • "... Darwish Tawakkuli b. Isma'il Ibn Bazzaz, Safwat al-Safa , written about 759/1357-8, some twenty-four years after the death of Safi al-Din. It is a mainly hagiographical work. Because the whole question of Safawid genealogy is extremely complex, and because later copies of the Safwat al-Safa were tampered with during the reigns of Shah Isma'il I and Shah Tahmasp [q.vv.] to produce an “official version” of the origin of the Safawids, the two copies of this ms. ..."
It was mainly duriong the reign of the first 2 Safavid Shahs that the Safawat as-Safa was changed and tempered. Keeping in mind that both Shahs needed the support of Turkoman tribes and warriors, it sounds pretty logical that parts of the Safawid chronology and history was "Turkified" in order to please the Turkoman nobles ... Tajik 13:17, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

I removed a quote about Sheykh Safi's "mother tongue" allegedly being Taati, as there is no reference provided to such effect. Any comment with respect to ethnic or linguistic origin of a historical religious figure without supportive evidence, in form of valid reference from a historical source, shall be deemed invalid. Atabek 02:26, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

That is what citation needed tags are first. Those are what you place for awhile in order for a person to be inclined to cite a source.Azerbaijani 02:59, 22 January 2007 (UTC)
Actually the tati poems are in Safawat as-Safa. There are also Azari (I mean old Azari language) sayings of the Shaykh as well in couple of books. --alidoostzadeh 02:05, 24 January 2007 (UTC)
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