- 26 - 2003
- 4. Histoire, Période Musulmane
- 4.2. Histoire du XVe au XIXe siècle
- 4.2.1. Safavides et Qâjârs
224
Floor, Willem
« The Khalifeh al-kholafa of the Safavid Sufi Order ». Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (ZDMG) 153, (2003), pp. 51-86.
The ambiguous character of the function and office of the ḫalīfat al-ḫulafā’ as the leader of the Safavid mystic order has been the subject of a systematic investigation for the last time in 1965 by Roger Savory. Since then numerous new sources have come to light and it was overdue to attempt a fresh look. Of special interest is Floor’s re-interpretation of the ḫalīfe-system and the conflict between Ḥoseyn-Qulī Ḫān Rūmlū and Esmāʽīl II in 1576. The article includes a table of known and possible holders of the office from its beginnings during the reign of Esmāʽīl I down to the early 18th century. Very welcome is also the appendix with the translation of a text on the function of the ḫalīfat al-ḫulafā’ by Mīrzā ⁽Alī Naqī Naṣīrī from the reign of Ṭahmāsp II with details on his income and the rituals he was supervising. For a wider outlook the article should be read in conjunction with the work by Kathryn Babayan; the author was probably not able to include references to her collection of studies under the title of Mystics, Monarchs and Messiahs that appeared in 2002 (voir c.r. n° 218).

