Sufism in Turkmen Era Azerbaijan: Focusing on Gharaghoinlu Turkmen

Though most of the time of Turkmen kings was spent in fighting with rivals and war, they often paid their attention to artists, poets, and mystics, and according to social and political reasons they responded positively to the needs of people in this regard. In the above era, even though Sufism had a little development, qualitatively it became degenerated and Sufis joined with kings as their soldiers and instead of invigorating the theoretical rules of Sufism they planned Sufi movements. It appears that in the period of Gharaghoinloo Turkmen (814 to 872 lunar year) Sufis had a various motifs to approach the court more than before. The traditional sufi sheikhs inclined toward the pantheism of Ibnal Arabi and due to the objections made on the social disorders and religious rivalries by some Sufis, some of them were attracted to the Oveisi and Calender sects. Interrelation of Shiite and Sufism was further invigorated in addition to the proximity of the theoretical rules on account of the support by the king of universe Gharaghoinloo and the endeavor by the Shiite Sufis. The article is intended to study the span of Sufism in Azerbaijan focusing on the era of Gharaghoinloo Turkmen.