Otman Baba

Otman Baba (c. 1378 – 8 Receb 1478) was a 15th-century dervish who traveled throughout the Ottoman Empire, acquiring a following among Muslims in Bulgaria after 1445 that has developed into his veneration as a saint. After Otman Baba's death, a pilgrimage complex grew around his grave in the present-day Bulgarian village of Teketo, which was made a museum during communism. The hagiography of Otman Baba, written by his disciple Küçük Abdal and regarded by his followers as a canonical text, maintains that Otman Baba performed miracles that proved his superiority to other dervishes and Ottoman authorities, particularly Sultan Mehmed II. Straying from orthodox Islamic tenets, Otman Baba asserted his unity with God and his mastery of divine secrets—as the embodiment of monotheistic religious figures such as Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses.

Sources

Written five-and-a-half years after his death,Gramatikova, p. 74. the ''vilâyetname'' (hagiography) of Otman Baba provides the most thorough if biased depiction of the mystic's life.Gramatikova, pp. 71–2. It differs from similar hagiographic accounts, as it more prominently presents historical information during Otman Baba's lifetime. Written by a direct disciple of Otman Baba named Küçük Abdal (also Köğçek/Köçek Abdal), the original ''vilâyetname'' was entitled ''Haza Kitab-i Risale-i Vilâyet-name-i Sultan Baba, kaddes' Allahu sırruh ül-aziz'' (''This book is a book with description of the miracles of Sultan Baba, let Allah consecrate his tomb''). Known manuscripts of the ''vilâyetname'' include a 260-page one transcribed by Şeyh Ömer (Umar) bin Dervish Ahmed in 1758 and one from the Bulgarian village of Gorna Krepost taken to Turkey with the Alevi emigrants. A modern Turkish retelling based on various sources also exists.Gramatikova, pp. 75–6.

Other sources include the ''vilâyetname'' of Otman Baba's successor Demir Baba, which refers to Otman Baba as the "pole of poles" and "Pole of the Universe and Time", symbols of his high spiritual rank; the ''vilâyetname'' also avouches Otman Baba's ability to instantly appear and disappear.Gramatikova, p. 77 Another source is the work of Evliya Çelebi, which cites Otman Baba as a leader of ascetic dervishesGramatikova, p. 79. and a ''gazi'' (religious warrior) who helped conquer the Ottoman Empire's European province of Rumelia.Gramatikova, p. 92.

Life

According to the ''vilâyetname'', Otman Baba was born in 1378 or 1379. He belonged to the Amuca tribe, and spoke an Azeri-accented Oghuz language with few Persian and Arabic influences, like the Muslims in northeastern Bulgaria. Küçük Abdal characterized Otman Baba spiritually as a saint and prophetGramatikova, p. 82. and physically as imposing, strong, and brave.Gramatikova, p. 84.

While those outside his inner circle knew him as Otman Baba, other dervishes and the aristocratic ''sayyids'' called him ''Şah-i Kerbelâ''—a reference to the prophet Muhammad's grandson Husayn, who died in the Battle of Karbala.Gramatikova, p. 81. A ''vilâyetname'' account attributes the mystic's common name "Otman Baba" to Ottoman ruler Mehmed II. When the sultan disguised himself as a commoner and visited the Eski Saray '' tekke'' (a gathering place for Muslims) in Constantinople, only Otman Baba recognized him. Convinced of the dervish's sainthood, Mehmed addressed him as "my beloved father, Otman"—"father" translating in Turkish as "baba".

Relationship with Ottoman authorities

Dervish leaders faced accusations of turning commoners against the Ottoman government's policies.Gramatikova, p. 97. Otman Baba's proselytizing in the Eastern Balkans and Anatolia coincides with the settlements of the nomadic Yürüks, who were hostile toward the Ottoman bureaucracyGramatikova, p. 88. that forcibly recruited them as soldiers.Gramatikova, p. 95. Nevertheless, the ''vilâyetname'' asserts that Mehmed II recognized Otman Baba as a true saint and the true Ottoman leader,Gramatikova, p. 94. and it presents supportive interactions between Otman Baba and Mehmed II. In one account, Otman Baba appears in Mehmed's dream to predict his reign as sultan while the then-prince was in Manisa.

Their relationship, however, was not always cordial, as scholars Stavrides and Gramatikova mention that Otman Baba frightened Mehmed II with his mastery over the elements,Stavrides, p. 392. summoning a storm that flooded Constantinople after Mehmed ordered the dervish to enter a monastery. Although Küçük Abdal credits Mehmed II's military victories to Otman Baba's sainthood, the mystic predicted the sultan's defeat in the 1456 Serbia campaign.Gramatikova, p. 93. Otman Baba's relationships with other Ottoman authorities varied. Those opposed to Otman Baba included the orthodox vizier Mahmud Paşa, who did not recognize the mystic's sainthood,Gramatikova, p. 96. and an '' akıncı'' (military auxiliary), who apprehended Otman Baba and whose wife forced the mystic to pasture ducks for a month. A '' sancakbey'' (district governor) named Mihaloğlu Ali Bey, however, donated to Otman Baba's tomb after the mystic had supported his military victories.

Wanderings

During his life, Otman Baba wandered throughout the Ottoman Empire, mainly in Rumelia, spending the most time in Bulgarian lands and Aegean Thrace.Gramatikova, p. 85. After 30 September 1429 or 19 September 1430, Otman Baba began proselytizing in Rumelia. He performed his first miracle in the Balkans in Babaeski, extinguishing a candlestick's flame that had been lit by the mystic Sarı Saltık Baba, proving his sainthood to ordinary followers of Sufism.Gramatikova, p. 87. As Gramatikova notes, Otman Baba challenged rival Alevi and Bektashi spiritual guides and won, proving his spiritual superiority.Gramatikova, p. 98.

Gramatikova dates Otman Baba's earliest presence in Bulgarian lands from 1445 to 1451, where he propagated and interpreted Islamic mysticism. Beginning his propagandizing alone, Otman Baba recruited dervish followers—called Abdals—from the Balkan Muslim population.Gramatikova, p. 99. When Otman Baba defeated a lamia in the Ludogorie region, he achieved his first miracle in Bulgarian lands, an act that Gramatikova characterizes as "one of the greatest miracles of the Muslim saints". Otman Baba travelled through the eastern foothills of Stara Planina, following Sufi doctrine by surviving on leaves and wild fruit as he meditated on God. Gramatikova proposes that the local woodcutters who saw him and hosted him in their village were Sufi Muslims and nomads who had migrated from Turkey during the mid-15th century.Gramatikova, p. 89 In the Kazanlak area, Otman Baba garnered a following of Sufi craftsmen and built a bridge with hunters, whom Gramatikova associates with nomadic Yürüks and Turcomans.Gramatikova, p. 91. Near Plovdiv, a local saint named Hasan Baba called Otman Baba the dual embodiment of Muhammed and Ali after spotting him in the Maritsa River

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