The transformation of Shah Ismail Safevi in the turkish Hikaye

As the first Safavid monarch, Shah Ismail Safevi (d. 1524)established a dynasty that ushered Iran into the eighteenth century as apredominately Shî’î state. Shah Ismail remains a controversial figure ofIslamic history, as evidence suggests that he promoted himself as semi-divineincarnation. This article explores the Turkish minstrel tale (hikâye) of ShahIsmail. The hikâye is a type of oral narrative that, in this case, is based on ahistorical figure who promoted himself as a messianic figure. By the timeShah Ismail’s hikâye began to circulate in the seventeenth century, however,this belief had largely dissipated. While Shah Ismail’s hikâye conforms to thestructure of the genre, certain episodes of this cycle reveal the influence ofoutside sources, including European reports, Safavid chronicles, and Safavidlegendary biographies. Despite the apparent basis in history, Shah Ismail’shikâye demonstrates a remarkable transformative ability. Feared as a ruthless despot during his lifetime, Shah Ismail becomes a poetic maestro in thehikâye, with his sword replaced by his saz, the banjo-like stringed instrumentthat is the weapon of choice for Shah Ismail’s new persona of folk hero