Abstracta Iranica
Revue bibliographique pour le domaine irano-aryen
Volume 29 | 2008
Comptes rendus des publications de 2006
« Shah Isma‘il and the Qizilbash: Cannibalism in
the religious history of early Safavid Iran ».
History of Religions, Vol. 45/3, 2006, pp. 234-256.
Colin P. Mitchell
Éditeur :
CNRS (UMR 7528 Mondes iraniens et
indiens), Éditions de l’IFRI
Édition électronique
URL : http://
abstractairanica.revues.org/28292
ISSN : 1961-960X
Édition imprimée
Date de publication : 15 mai 2008
ISSN : 0240-8910
Référence électronique
Mitchell, Colin P., « « Shah Isma‘il and the Qizilbash: Cannibalism in the religious history of early
Safavid Iran ». History of Religions, Vol. 45/3, 2006, pp. 234-256. », Abstracta Iranica [En ligne], Volume
29 | 2008, document 177, mis en ligne le 15 septembre 2008, consulté le 30 septembre 2016. URL :
http://abstractairanica.revues.org/28292
Ce document a été généré automatiquement le 30 septembre 2016.
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« Shah Isma‘il and the Qizilbash: Cannibalism in the religious history of ear...
« Shah Isma‘il and the Qizilbash:
Cannibalism in the religious history of
early Safavid Iran ». History of
Religions, Vol. 45/3, 2006, pp. 234-256.
Colin P. Mitchell
1
In this article, Shahzad Bashir provides an insightful historiographical reexamination of
the practice of cannibalism during the reign of the first Safavid ruler, Shāh Esmā‘īl
(r. 1501-1524). The first section of this article reviews the major chronicles and how they
chose to report the celebrated incidents of Qizilbāsh anthropophagy. Bashir is quick to
identify that this alleged cannibalism was sporadic and rare, and certainly cannot stand
as consistent proof of “ritualistic” religious behavior among the Turkmen amirs. The
well-known episode of one Morād Beg Jahānšāhlū being cooked and eaten after Ḥoseyn
Kiyā’s unsuccessful rebellion in 1504 is not consistently represented by 16th century
Safavid sources: Ḫwāndamīr (Ḥabīb al-siyar) and Ḥasan Beg Rumlū (Aḥsan al-tavārīḫ) do not
mention any cannibalism, while later accounts like Eskandar Beg Monšī appear to be
copied directly from Qazvīnī’s earlier Lobb al-tavārīḫ (ca. 1555). The second episode – the
partial consumption of Moḥammad Shibāni Khān’s corpse on the battlefield outside of
Marv in 1510 – likewise appears to have numerous historiographical gaps and
contradictions in the sources. For Bashir, these isolated acts of cannibalism are better
understood as symbolic displays of submission and loyalty by the Qizilbāsh rank-and-file
towards their Safavid shah, and as such cannot be categorized as part of a larger ritual
belief system inherited from the Steppe traditions. The significance of this early
anthropophagy is made even further complicated by the fact that Šāh ‘Abbās the Great
was reputed to have kept a group of cannibals (chiggiyān) who would cook and eat
criminals and dissenters. On this basis, Bashir divides cannibalism into two types –
secular and religious – with the former being associated with the despotic stylings of
Abstracta Iranica, Volume 29 | 2008
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« Shah Isma‘il and the Qizilbash: Cannibalism in the religious history of ear...
‘Abbās and the latter identified with the pietistic devotion felt by Qizilbāsh for Esmā‘īl as
both muršid and shah.
INDEX
Thèmes : 4.2.1. Safavides et Qâjârs
AUTEURS
COLIN P. MITCHELL
Dalhousie University - Halifax
Abstracta Iranica, Volume 29 | 2008
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