The Status of The Asharism From The Destruction of The Great Seljuk to The Mongolic Invasion


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YAVUZ A. Ö.

SAKARYA UNIVERSITESI ILAHIYAT FAKULTESI DERGISI-JOURNAL OF SAKARYA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF THEOLOGY, vol.24, no.45, pp.164-183, 2022 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 24 Issue: 45
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.17335/sakaifd.1079265
  • Journal Name: SAKARYA UNIVERSITESI ILAHIYAT FAKULTESI DERGISI-JOURNAL OF SAKARYA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF THEOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Academic Search Premier, ATLA Religion Database, Central & Eastern European Academic Source (CEEAS), MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Directory of Open Access Journals, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Page Numbers: pp.164-183
  • Keywords: History of Islamic Sects, Politics, Asharism, Khwarizm, Gur
  • Erciyes University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The historical adventures of the sects, which are Islamic schools of thought, have a complex plane that includes different orientations rather than simple and one-way directions. Understanding and correctly interpreting this multi-layered factual dimension requires multiple perspectives, like the variable leg of the compass. As of their historical processes, sects determine their positions depending on political, economic, social, etc. This position draws a route according to its positive or negative relations with its interlocutors. Intellectual debates and works of rejection are the outward manifestations of the interlocutor. It is a common acceptance to try to explain the progress of Ashari thought by centering on the Great Seljuks and Nizamiyyah madrasahs. This research examines the historical development of Asharism by focusing on the period after the collapse of the Great Seljuks. As it is known, in the Great Seljuk period, the relationship of Asharism with the state did not have a linear progression, but with the support of the state, it had a position that paved the way for it. After the collapse of the Great Seljuks, political conflicts, wars, invasions and plunders increased in the region, causing a great chaos in the region. In this process, it is understood that the chaotic environment continues until the state authority is restored. Although the Seljuks had been in a constant struggle inside and outside throughout history, they had succeeded in maintaining stability. Gurs and Khwarizm-shahs, which were autonomous states affiliated to the Seljuks, got stronger over time and entered the struggle as two rival powers. At first, important cities and regions passed under the Gur administration. Ghazni was restored to its old days as a city of science and culture. Then, various conquest expeditions were organized to India, and both the lands were expanded, and economic gain was obtained. Increasing their power, the Khwarizm-shahs dominated the lands extending from Khorasan to the interior of Iran. Thus, the geography ruled by the Seljuks came under the rule of two states. On the other hand, a power struggle began between these two powerful states. The Khwarizm-shahs, who were getting stronger, gradually weakened the Gur government and managed to become the only dominant power in the region. However, this situation soon turned into invasion and chaos, with the Mongols attacking the lands of Khwarizm under the leadership of Genghis Khan. Like the political atmosphere of the period we are trying to examine, the climate of thought had a framework far from the uniformity that included differences, conflicts and changes. It should be accepted from the outset that although confusion and chaos negatively affect the political and social order, they can have an aspect that accelerates intellectual development. Accordingly, the sectarian view becomes meaningful through historical relations. In the first period of the Gurs, sectarian preferences were predominantly Karramiyya. Over time, state administrators joined the Ashari sect with the influence of scholars. The sectarian change in the state administration naturally reflected on the people and brought about a social transformation. Fakkhr al-Din al-Razi was the scientist who played the main role in the historical process of the Gur people to be associated with the Ashari tradition, and he came to the lands of Gur in the last period of his life.