Abstract
ANATOLIAN ABDALS IN THE OTTOMAN PERIOD
The “Abdals”, who came from Central Asia from the 5th century to the Anatolian lands through Iran and gained an important place among the layers of society in the Seljuk and Ottoman periods, constitute the subject of this article. The situation of Abdals in Anatolian lands will be revealed based on Ottoman archive documents. The contributions of these groups, which emerged as sufi / dervish in the first place, to the Turkification and Islamization process of Anatolia and the Balkans are mentioned. Apart from this, it is emphasized that the Gypsy label is attached to the Gypsies due to their resemblance to Gypsies both anthropologically and physiologically in the Ottoman geography, but this is not accepted by these groups. The distribution of Anatolian Abdals in the Ottoman Period to different regions of the Ottoman geography is discussed. Thus, we aim to contribute to the scientific world with this study.
Keywords
Abdal, Central Asia, Iran, Seljuk, Ottoman, Sufi, Dervish, Balkan.
