The History of Mausoleum of Sheikh Juneyd

Abstract

The Safavid Empire, which is one of the most glorious pages in the history of the statehood of our nation, played an important role in the statehood history, international relations, and military-political life not only of Azerbaijan but also of the South Caucasus as a whole, as well as the entire Near and Middle East. The Safavid state became a powerful military and political factor in the entire Near and Middle East within a short period of time. The Safavid state of Azerbaijan, created by Shah Ismail, helped the evolution of the worldview of the Azerbaijani Turks by reassessing themselves and their role in the formation of the ethnopolitical space. Azerbaijan, the core of the Safavid state, which was founded in the 16th century, was the home of the founders of this state both during their lifetime and after their deaths. Today, the Sheikh Safi complex and the Shah Ismail mausoleum located in the south of Azerbaijan are considered symbols of Ardabil, while the tombs of Sheikh Junayd (1447– 1461) and Sheikh Heydar (1460–1488) located in the historical Shirvan area of Northern Azerbaijan have the same importance. Unfortunately, the indifferent attitude towards these monuments has caused the latter to be blown up and destroyed, and the tomb of Sheikh Junayd has suffered from neglect. The subject of our article is the history of one of these tombs, the Sheikh Junayd monument, including the personality and activities of the sheikh. Today, the tomb of Sheikh Junayd is located in Hazra village in Gusar. In the article, both the history of this tomb and the life path of the person it belongs to are reviewed based on Turkish, English, and Russian historiography. Until Sheikh Juneyd, none of the sheikhs of Ardabil tried to establish political power. It was during his sheikhship that the Ardabil hearth adopted the guise of the sultanate, i.e., the robe of the sultanate, and embarked on the path of establishing political power. In the course of the conducted research, it became clear that it was no coincidence that Sheikh Junayd and his son, Sheikh Heydar, chose Shirvan as the primary target to achieve this goal. Their goal was to create a single state that included the lands of Azerbaijan, including Shirvan. Although they could not achieve these wishes in their health, they were actually able to help their successors, Shah Ismayil and Shah I Tahmasib, establish a unified Azerbaijan state in the future by being buried in the land of Shirvan. Keywords: Safavid, Ardabil, Sheikh Juneyd, Khazra, Trustee.