A CITY IN SOUTHERN AZERBAIJAN DURING THE OTTOMAN-SAFAVID STRUGGLE: HOY/DÂRÜ’S-SEFÂ (ACCORDİNG TO THE 1728 TAHRİR DEFTER)

Located on the Turkey-Iran border, Khoy has been home to many civilizations. The region, which joined the Seljuk lands during the reign of Tughrul Bey; It entered the Ilkhanid, Karakoyunlu, Akkoyunlu, Safavid and Ottoman dominations. Traces of the Akkoyunlu and Karakoyunlu Turkmens who settled in Khoy, and its region are also found in the 18th century survey records. Akkoyunlu Turkmens settled in the villages of the center of Khoy and the districts of Sekmenabâd and Bebecik, while Karakoyunlu Turkmens settled in the district of Süleymansaray. After the Akkoyunlus, the Safavids took over the administration in Khoy and its region. Shah Ismail gave special importance to this place and built a magnificent palace here. The city, which constantly changed hands between the Ottomans and Safavids after the Battle of Chaldiran, has always maintained its importance due to its location on the Silk Road. In 1728, Chors, Gerger, Sekmenabâd, Süleymansaray, Bebecik, Çaldıran, Aland and Ovacık districts were connected to Khoy, which was a district of Tabriz in 1593, and it was elevated to the status of a liva. In addition, Khoy was divided into the districts of Rabat, Heshd, Gulli, Shivane, Dere, Söğüdlü, Bayindir Bey, Kadı, Tımargan, Çukur, Nohud, Kilise, Kubad, Arami-i Kebirli and Avahce. The people who grew up in the basin of belief and culture in which Khoy, which is called Iranian Turkestan by Islamic geographers, is located, left permanent traces in Anatolia and dragged various masses after them. In this context, Sufis, dervishes and scholars from Khoy such as Ahi Evran, Abdal Musa, Geyikli Baba brought the spiritual culture of Khorasan with them and contributed greatly to the shaping of belief systems such as Ahiism, Bektashism and Qizilbashism in Anatolia. Therefore, in this study, the settlement, population and economic status of the city of Khoy, which was under the rule of the Ottomans and the Safavids from time to time, in the 1728 survey records were analyzed and it was revealed that it was a Turkish Islamic city.