Notes on the Ottoman State's Evolving Perceptions and Policies Regarding the Kizilbash/Alevis

ABSTRACT: The Ottoman state's policies regarding Kizilbash/Alevi communities, and the nomenclature it used in relation to them, were characterized by both changes and continuities. These changes were not only due to political and military confrontations with the Safavids but also influenced by various other factors, such as the processes of constructing and transforming Ottoman Sunnism and modernization efforts in the nineteenth century. This article uses Ottoman official and narrative sources to provide an overview of the evolving perceptions and representations of the Kizilbash/Alevi communities in Ottoman discourse.