Date of Birth: 1209 Nishapur, (Historical Khorasan)
Date of Death: 1271 Hacıbektaş
Sufism, Yesevî, Kalenderî, Hâydarîlik, Bektâşîlik
Turkmen sheikh, considered the founder of the Bektashi order.
His real name is Bektaş. Hacı Bektaş Veli, who has an important position among the Anatolian saints, was named Hacı Bektaş Veli for his various miracles. Hacı Bektaş Veli is the master of the Greek abdals; He is one of the great saints of the Diyâr-ı Rûm (Anatolia). This transformation process, which is difficult to understand and analyze, which epitomizes his historical personality, He became the central character of a very important cult, heterodox Islam in Anatolia, which has preserved its existence with all its might in our time since the 19th century. The issue focuses on the fact that Baba Ilyas, among the many caliphs, was given only to this humble Turkmen father. Neither Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî, Yûnus Emre, nor any other Sufi who lived in Anatolia have been the subject of such a powerful sanctification. In this context, to say that today's Hacı Bektaş Veli was born with the death of the historical Hacı Bektaş Veli would be to express a historical truth. Therefore, it is necessary to treat Hacı Bektâş Veli with these two parallel identities (during his lifetime and after his death). However, since no written source or document from the period and environment in which he lived has survived, it is much more difficult to determine his historical identity than to analyze his mythological personality. The official chronicles of the period do not even mention the Sufi source. This information scarcity, Haci Bektas Veli from time to time in Turkey has become a reputable material of political-ideological speculation. Therefore, in order to understand the Hacı Bektaş Veli problem well, it is necessary to mention the nature of the sources that give information about it.
It is possible to examine Hacı Bektaş Veli only from second-degree sources written well after his time. The oldest of these sources, XIV. It is the history of the epic family named Menâkıbü'l-kudsiyye of Elvan Çelebi, son of Aşık Pasha, one of the famous Sufis of the century. This Sufi poet, who was the sheikh of Hacı Bektaş Veli and who was the grandson of the Vefâî sheikh Baba İlyâs Khorasânî, who carried out the great social movement known as the Babaî Revolt against the Seljuk rule in 1239 or 1240, gives very important clues despite briefly mentioning Hacı Bektaş Veli in his work.
The second source about Hacı Bektaş Veli is the Persian work named Menâķıbü'l-Arifîn, written by Ahmed Eflâkî by the order of Ulu rif Çelebi, grandson of Mevlânâ Celâleddîn Rûmî, about a hundred years after his death. There is a short passage about Hacı Bektaş Veli in this work, which is very important in terms of Anatolia of the period and the history of Mevlevi. This passage is of great value both for its Sufi identity and for checking other sources.
XIV. After these two sources belonging to the century, the order was arranged chronologically in the name of Hacı Bektaş Veli and XV. Menâkıb-ı Hünkâr Hacı Bektaş Velialır, which seems certain to have been written in the last quarter of the century. Work XV. Although it was written down in the last quarter of the century, the information it contains is undoubtedly, from the time of Hacı Bektaş Veli's life, it has been circulating among its members. century. In addition, this work was written by Menâkıb-ı Hâce Ahmed-i Yesevî, Menâkıb-ı Lokmân-ı Perende, Menâkıb-ı Ahî Evran and Menâkıb-ı Seyyid Mahmûd-ı Hayranı. There are also written sources from the century. The significance of this work, mostly known as Vilâyetnâme-î Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli or just Vilâyetnâme, is that it contains very important data that will appreciate the historical personality of Hacı Bektaş Veli and constitutes the source of most of the beliefs that still exist in Bektashi and Alevism today. Therefore, it is a book that has a semi-sacred quality in these circles. In addition, the work, which includes important texts linking Hacı Bektaş Veli to the tradition of Ahmed Yesevi, is a valuable source where historical facts and legends are mixed with each other in terms of the personality of Hacı Bektaş Veli and the history of Bektashism.
The expressions of Lâmiî Çelebi, who lived in the same century, not exceeding three or four sentences in the Translation of Nefehât contain remarkable records about the mystical personality of Hacı Bektaş Veli. XV. Another important source belonging to the end of the century is the work of Âşıkpaşazâde, named Tevârîh-i Âl-i Osman, who is also a Sufi historian from the descendants of Baba İlyâs-ı Horasânî. Here, oral information about Hacı Bektâş Veli, who was the caliph of the author's great-grandfather, was recorded. These are probably the closest to the truth about the historical Hacı Bektaş Veli.
Finally XVI. It is also necessary to record the work of Taşköprizâde from the century named as-Şeķā'iķu'n-nu'mâniyye. Unlike other sources, Hacı Bektaş Veli is introduced as a fully Sunni saint in this book. Information about Hacı Bektâş Veli is also found in some works belonging to the following centuries. However, these are mainly based on the aforementioned works and especially Vilâyetnâme and Eş-Şeķā'iķu'n-nu'mâniyye.