Aşkın Hünkârı Hacı Bektaş Veli Şahdiz Romanında Bir İpek Yolu Şehri: Nişabur

Abstract

Nishabur, the one and only shining star of Khorasan, has been a city that has maintained its importance in almost every period due to its location on the Silk Road. Vital conditions such as the fact that Mount Binalud, on which it rests, provides superiority in protection against enemy attacks, that its slopes are suitable for agriculture, and that the necessary water is easily accessible, clinched this importance. Due to its geopolitical position, the city, which has increased the desire for sovereignty of many states, has come under the domination of different states, such as Sassanids, Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Seljuks and Harzemshahs, which have dominated the city one after another, with a flow from the depths of history to the present. From the Ghaznavids, the city, which entered the process of Turkization by experiencing a cultural transformation, became the center of madrasas during the Seljuk period, especially as a result of the developments in the field of education; it has turned into a home of knowledge where many scholars, sufis and poets are educated. Haci Bektash Veli, one of the well-established figures of the Turkish-Islamic understanding of Sufism, was also born in Nishabur; he received his first knowledge here from Luqman Perende, one of the caliphs of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, known as “Pir-i Turkistan”. In this article, the geographical location, economy, political and cultural characteristics of Nishabur will be discussed based on Kemal Derin's historical novel Haci Bektash Veli the Sultan of Love, in which the life of Haci Bektash Veli is the subject, and it will be tried to determine how the city is reflected in the fictional environment. Keywords: Haci Bektash Veli, Luqman Perende, Nishabur, Khorasan, Silk Road.