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<p>Organized religion and its relationship with lay power have played an integral role in political development in the Muslim world. While conventional wisdom often highlights the impact of religious bureaucracy on state-building, this study offers a complementary narrative. Drawing on evidence from Asia Minor during the High Middle Ages, the research highlights the prominence of antinomian Sufi dervishes as key agents of state formation. In a context marked by significant nomadic migration and political disintegration, these dervishes mobilized holy wars (<i>ghazā</i>) for rapid territorial expansion (war-making) and organized nomads around religious lodges (<i>zaviye</i>) to establish a rural tax base and enable public good provision (state-making). The analysis suggests that ties between informal religious networks and political power played a pivotal role in state-building across Islamic societies. The study offers crucial insights into the distant origins of state-religion relations in the Muslim world and explores alternative paths to political development beyond the European experience.</p>

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Unruly Mystics and the State: Antinomian Dervishes, Religion, and State Formation in Medieval Anatolia

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月9日

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  • Sabri Ciftci

摘要

Organized religion and its relationship with lay power have played an integral role in political development in the Muslim world. While conventional wisdom often highlights the impact of religious bureaucracy on state-building, this study offers a complementary narrative. Drawing on evidence from Asia Minor during the High Middle Ages, the research highlights the prominence of antinomian Sufi dervishes as key agents of state formation. In a context marked by significant nomadic migration and political disintegration, these dervishes mobilized holy wars (ghazā) for rapid territorial expansion (war-making) and organized nomads around religious lodges (zaviye) to establish a rural tax base and enable public good provision (state-making). The analysis suggests that ties between informal religious networks and political power played a pivotal role in state-building across Islamic societies. The study offers crucial insights into the distant origins of state-religion relations in the Muslim world and explores alternative paths to political development beyond the European experience.