AUCTIONS IMPERIAL JUNE 2022 ARMS & ARMOR
Lot 152:
Description
Likely carried by an Agha (Lord) of Jannisaries or an accompanying Bektashi dervish. The well-wrought head of tabarzin form, possibly wootz and deeply chiseled with relief panels showing Sufi saints Haji Bektash on one side and Rabi?a Basri on the other, with numerous inscriptions. Dated 112 (1102?1690/90 c.e. or 1120?1707/08.) Surmounted by a finely-carved and fully-modeled head of Haji Bektash in horn wearing a characteristic turban wrought entirely of filigreed silver. The fine and unusual haft composed of alternating rings of horn and brass with a large, stepped brass pommel. C. 1690-1708. Minor wear, slight damage to head. Overall length 71.4 cm. The Janissaries were created c. 1330 by Sultan Murad I as crack infantry troops, drawn from among non-Muslim subjects. By the 15th century they were a force to be reckoned with throughout Europe and Asia and had also become inextricably linked with a mystical order founded by Haji Bektas called the Bektasi dervishes, who accompanied the Janissaries into battle as unarmed spiritual protectors armed, if at all, with an axe. The Bektasis espoused Sevener Shi’ism. The sect’s hermetic and syncretic nature, together with its considerable political influence, eventually brought it into conflict with the religious and temporal authority of the Ottoman Sultans. As a result, the Bektasi order was compelled to go underground, relying on secret signs and symbols for recognition among its still-numerous members. In 1826 Sultan Mahmud II suppressed the Bektasis and massacred the Janissaries. Condition III
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