The Kalender Çelebi rebellion was a rebellion that occurred in 1527 in

Elbistan Elbistan ( 1ca, Ablasta, Ablastayn, Ablastin, Ablistan;Aksüt, Ali"''On the Alevism of Elbistan, Nurhak, Ekinozu and Afsin - Elbistan Nurhak Ekinözü Afşin Aleviliği Üzerine - Zum Alevitentum in Elbistan, Nurhak, Ekinözü und Afşin''"- Alevi ...

, Eastern Anatolia (present-day

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

). This rebellion was led by Kalender Çelebi against the Ottoman reign of

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ� ...

, who was extending his influence in the region. Although Kalender Çelebi gained the initial support of local tribal chieftains he was outmanoeuvred by Suleiman. Ultimately, the Ottoman Empire defeated the rebels, and killed Çelebi.

Beginnings

Entitled as a Şah, Kalender Çelebi was an

Alevi Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, w ...

leader in the region Maraş in Turkey. He was also a

sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

of the Bektaşi Tariqa. It is alleged that he was a descendant of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli. He had the support of the

Safavids Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

Turkmen tribes The major modern Turkmen tribes are Teke, Yomut, Ersari, Chowdur, Gokleng and Saryk. The most numerous are the Teke. The origin of all of these tribes is traced to 24 ancient Oghuz tribes, among which the Salur tribe played a prominent role as ...

who were influenced by the Safavi propaganda and were dissatisfied by economic decay and new reformations supported by Kalender Çelebi. The rebellion began with the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...

, with the support of the Turkmen tribes, Çiçekli
Akça Koyunlu
Masadlı, Bozoklua, and splintered groups who remained after the Baba Zünnun rebellion. With the support of

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Dulkadirli lords, the resistance grew in

southeast Anatolia The Southeastern Anatolia Region ( tr, Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgesi) is a Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical region of Turkey. The most populous city in the region is Gaziantep. Other examples of big cities are Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır ...

and to

central Anatolia The Central Anatolia Region ( tr, İç Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Ankara. Other big cities are Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, and Aksaray. Located in Central Turkey, it is bordered ...

with the help of the ''sipahi'''s (Ottoman cavalry corps). According to different sources, around 30,000 men gathered around Kalender Çelebi. The news of the rebellion reached Kanuni Sultan Süleyman in

Petrovaradin Petrovaradin ( sr-cyr, Петроварадин, ) is a historic town in the Serbian province of Vojvodina, now a part of the city of Novi Sad. As of 2011, the urban area has 14,810 inhabitants. Lying on the right bank of the Danube, across from t ...

when he was returning from the

. Anatolian lords, including Behram Paşa and Mahmud Paşa, were sent to crush the rebellion. Before their arrival, Kalender Çelebi had already defeated Yakup Paşa in Sivas. In Diyarbakir, Kalender Çelebi had to retreat but later defeated Behram Paşa in Karaçayır. Additional lords from

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

and

Karaman Karaman, historically known as Laranda (Greek: Λάρανδα), is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. According to ...

joined Behram Paşa, and on 8 June 1527, in Tokat Cincife, they lost to Çelebi. During this battle, lords of Karaman, Alâiye, Amasya and Birecik lost their lives.

Defeat

After the growth of the rebellion, Sultan Suleiman appointed Sadrazam

Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha ("Ibrahim Pasha of Parga"; c. 1495 – 15 March 1536), also known as Frenk Ibrahim Pasha ("the Westerner"), Makbul Ibrahim Pasha ("the Favorite"), which later changed to Maktul Ibrahim Pasha ("the Executed") after his ex ...

to crush the uprising with 3000

Janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

and 2000 ''

sipahi ''Sipahi'' ( ota, سپاهی, translit=sipâhi, label=Persian, ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk dynasty, Seljuks, and later the Ottoman Empire, including the land grant-holding (''timar'') provincial ''Timariots, timarli s ...

''. When Çelebi realized he could not win, he considered fleeing to Iran, but ultimately chose Baghdad. Ibrahim gave many Turkmen tribes their rights and lands back, leading some Turkmen tribes to switch sides and join him. Çelebi had only 3000 to 4000 men left. Knowing this, Ibrahim attacked. Ottoman sources maintain that he died in battle, but Bektași tradition states that he was killed next to a

mulberry tree ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

in front of the tomb of his grandfather Bahm Sultan.

Aftermath

The Kalender Celebi rebellion was one of the largest rebellions propelled by religious motives. The rebellion was brought to an end with the death of its leaders. The end of the rebellion was followed by massacres and suppression of the Alevi-Bektashi people.

Sources

{{Rebellions in the Ottoman Empire Rebellions in the Ottoman Empire 1527 in the Ottoman Empire