Nader Shah. Historical novel. Yunus Oghuz
my knees and sat on the carpet of Shirvan4. I put my hands on my shins and began to wait. I was feeling that he had called me to tell something serious. I wasn’t mistaken. …He began to speak after some time:
– Nader, my son, I have lived most of my life, there remains only a little. There is a proverb; he who is born will pass away once. I think my deceased wife is waiting for me. And I miss her so much…
I wanted to cheer up the khan:
– Don’t be upset, my khan! You will dance in the wedding of your grandson Rzaqulu too.
The khan answered like a moaning person:
– Don’t interrupt me!
I kept sil ent. That time he also began to speak in a roundabout way;
– We always served our grandfather Shah and his successors devotedly.
– Whom do you mean while saying “our grandfather Shah”, my khan?
– I mean the founder of the state of the Safavids, Shah Ismayil. He did salavat5. – He united all the Oghuz stocks in Azerbaijan. Then he consolidated the territories of the stocks with his territories, the stocks which were not Turkish.
– Well, my khan, why didn’t you tell me all about it?
– Because the time wasn’t right. Now it is the time. Listen to me attentively! The foundation of the state of the Safavids was laid by the six Turkish stocks together with the Avshars. Those stocks are of Sham, Rum, Takla, Ustaja, Zulqadar and Qajar. The power of our grand father Shah was in those Turkish stocks. Those stocks were like backbones of the state. Our grandfather Shah behaved kindly to them and considered them to be close to himself. Because of it our grand tat her Shah not only united the Azerbaijani lands but also consolidated the lands of Iraq, Bahrain, and Turkustan with the territory of our state.
I was thinking why Baba-ali khan was telling me all he did. But I said nothing. I felt that he had a purpose in his story.
Somebody knocked at the door. The servant entered the room. There was tea and dry fruits on the tray he brought. He put the tea-kettle on the table-cloth, and put one of the bowls in front of me and another bowl in front of the khan. Then he poured the Chinese tea and left quietly. The khan took the bowl and drank a sip of tea.
– Now only little remains from the unity and the realm raised by the Shah. The Ottomans occupied Baghdad… Well, our grand tat her Shah always wanted to be friends with the Ottomans, because they are also the Turks of Oghuz. The late Shah used to write his letters to the Sultan in the Turkish language. I don’t know all the reasons well....The result is that the dynasty of Safavids has been de stroyed now.
I couldn’t help myself from asking a question:
– What do you mean by saying “has been destroyed”, my Khan?
– Aft er the death of Shah Abbas II, his children were clumsy. They were ruled either by their wives or by the eunuchs in the palace. The successors to the throne had a good time all day long. See, the Qizilbashs had become so weak that the realm turned to a toy in the hands of eunuchs. The successors to the throne spent most of their time with women. The treasury became empty, the taxes increased. The seven stocks which were the backbones of the state began to wrangle and fight with one another. Because of that reason in Herat, Ghilzais revolted under the leadership of Mir Vays. Shah Sultan Husain sent Qurqun khan to Mir Vays. Mir Vays destroyed the troops of Qurqun khan and in ad di tion he oc cu pied Qandahar.
– Do you know why the troops of the Shah were de t stroyed?
– Maybe they didn’t train well for the fight.
– No, my son! Sult an Husain had sent the Persian and Georgian regiments headed by the clumsy warlords to fight against them… That was the reason.
– But whom did he have to send?
– The Turkish troops always tamed the Ghilzais. They are not afraid of the Persian and Georgian troops.
The khan drank a sip of tea and continued:
– During the period of Shah Abbas II, gift of money used to be sent to the Lezgis of Dagestan for them not to leave the mountains and to obey the rules. After Shah Abbas II the Viziers of Sultan Husain appropriated the annual money gifts and the Lezgis of Dagestan, seeing that the money gift had stopped, destroyed Shirvan and Georgia. As if that was not enough, the mullabashi6 got the permission of the Shah and began to kill the Sunnite people, and burnt the Sunnite mosques. The people of Darband called the Russian Shah for help…
I didn’t know that the khan had such comprehensive information. I directed all my attention to his words so as not to forget any small detail.
The khan was continuing his conversation in a low voice:
– The Ottomans wanted to requite for the loss in Balkans. Istanbul, which had finished the war with Russia, turned towards the East. Duru Efandi was sent to Tehran and demanded Azerbaijan and Georgia including Tabriz and Shirvan.
I had no patience:
– My khan, how do you know all this information?
– If I didn’t know all this information I wouldn’t be able to be the khan of about twenty thousand families of the Avshars. – The khan continued his conversation. – In the east, the Baluchs attacked Kirman and Lor. They destroyed the city of Bender Abbas at the Kanger gulf. Anxious news was heard from Kurdustan and Luristan. The ruler of Turan, Shah Melik Mahmud had renounced his power. He had sent into retirement his only talented warlord Lutfali khan.
– Why?
Because the Shah was not able to rule the country. See, as a result of the policy of Shiite and Sunnite (adherents of the Mos- em sects) pursued by the Shah, Shirvan revolted and appealed to the Ottomans. Istanbul appointed the head of the Shirvan rebels, Haji Davud to be the khan of that province. Using the absence of Lutfali khan, Mahmud khan of Qandahar attacked Shiraz and Isfahan. Shah Sultan Husain ran to Julfa and not being able to stay there he returned back to Isfahan. After all that had happened the wives and eunuchs decided that the Shah had to give up the throne. The Shah gave up the throne in favor of his elder son Sultan Mahmud. But the young Shahzade, because of al t ways remaining alone, ran to the harem and gave the crown to his middle brother Safi Mirza. Safi Mirza also immediately refused the power. Then they announced the third son Tahmasb Mirza to be the successor to the throne. The other sons were younger still. Mahmud khan of Qandahar, who had encircled Isfahan, didn’t think about moving of Sultan Husain, who had no way out, decided to give himself up. He put the crown on the head of Mahmud who was waiting for him at the door of Isfahan. Mahmud entered the city ceremonially and declared himself the Shah.
– But where was the successor to the throne at that moment?
– Three months before that event, the successor Tahmasb Mirza ran to Qazvin from Isfahan together with two hundred people of Tabriz. It was the only safe place in that situation.
The khan stopped for a while. I felt that he would tell the main purpose for his talk.
After a short time Baba-ali khan broke the silence himself:
– I told you at the beginning of my talk. The stocks of the Avshar always served the realm of the Safavids. Now they have the same opinion.
– How? – I asked.
– You must help the successor Tahmasb Mirza. I decided that the Avshars must support the lawful successor to the throne. It is true, the lying Shah had sent his representative to me, but I didn’t receive him.
I lived well in the palace of Baba-ali khan. It is true; at times I used to rob. I attacked the Afghan and Uzbek villages and
A region in Azerbaijan
The therm in İslam
The head of the mullahs