From Kuzviran Sheikhs to Çamlıdere: A local history study in vertical and horizontal dimensions

Throughout history, the Anatolian geography has been the scene of deep historical, cultural and religious accumulations not only of major political centers, but also of small settlements. The social structures formed around religious leaders in some of these settlements have determined not only regional identity, but also administrative, economic and cultural transformations. The historical process extending from Kuzviran Şeyhler to Çamlıdere, which is the subject of this study, traces such a multi-layered transformation. Today, Çamlıdere, a district of Ankara, has 14. the fact that it began to take shape as a religious center from the century and eventually acquired the identity of lodges, villages, towns and eventually districts over time cannot be explained only by a geographical or administrative change. At the center of this change is Sheikh Ali Samarkandi, who is popularly known for his Decrees and is considered the spiritual architect of the region. The study aims to address how a settlement unit transforms along with religious leadership, folk beliefs, production structure, administrative status and forms of social organization, both in its vertical and horizontal dimensions. In particular, the lodge culture that has been formed since Sheikh Ali Samarkandi settled in the region has affected not only individual faith practices, but also community awareness, settlement texture, tax exemptions and social status. The institutionalized influence of Sheikh Ali Samarkandi and his son, combined with folk beliefs over time, has produced a kind of "local sanctity"; this sanctity has become a structure that is accepted by both the Ottoman administration and the people. In this context, the study does not consist only of conveying the adventure of being a district of a village. At the same time, it aims to analyze the role played by Sufism and sects in the Islamization process of Anatolia, the socio-political function of the lodge system and how local faith leaders affect the social structure through a concrete example. From the point of view of historiography, however, the study of local history is often overshadowed by general historical narratives; however, such micro-level studies are extremely valuable in terms of understanding how macro-historical transformations respond on the ground. This thesis was prepared with this approach and aimed to realize a historical reading extending from the "local to the center" in the case of Çamlıdere. The source base of the research is based on both archival documents and oral history. In addition to primary written sources such as tahrir and dividend books, sharia registers, Ottoman administrative records, sultan's Decrees, population censuses, legends transmitted among the people, local narratives and practices around the shrine were also evaluated as data. Thus, both the language of the documents and the memory of the people have been brought together to create a double-Decker historical narrative. At the same time, the physical, administrative and demographic structure of the region has also been discussed in detail; how this structure is shaped around religious leadership and folk belief has been analyzed from a sociological point of view. As a result, this thesis aims to contribute to the writing of local history by considering the historical development of Çamlıdere, its relationship with religious and social structures, Sheikh Ali Samarkandi and his sphere of influence, the transformation of the local administrative status, changes in the population and economic structure with a scientific method and to make original inferences about broader historical and cultural processes. This historical whole, which is shaped around a small settlement unit in the central geography of Anatolia, also offers the opportunity to develop an alternative perspective to the big historical narratives. Key Words: Kuzviran, Şeyhler, Ali Dede Şeyhler, Şeyh Ali Semerkandî, Çamlıdere.