Week 2: Hajji Bayram and the early Ottoman tradition

The early Ottoman tradition of Sufism constituted a remarkable flowering. In order to understand the poetic tradition of the Ottomans, especially Sufi poetry, one needs a certain understanding of the political, social and religious background of this period in Anatolia. This introduction gives a brief overview of the early Ottomans, the connection of the ruling elite to Sufi masters, and a biographical sketch of one of the great Anatolian spiritual figures, Hajji Bayram (d. 1430). From Hajji Bayram came three major streams of Sufi brotherhoods (tarikat): the Bayramis (Shamsiyya/Şemsiye), the Melami-Bayramis and the Jalwatis (Celvetiye).