Qizilbash
Shia militant groups / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the surname, see Qizilbash (name). For the related Sufi order that led to the Safavid dynasty, see Safavid order. For the related Sufi order in Turkey, see Alevism. For the suburb of Nicosia, Cyprus, see Kizilbash (suburb).
Qizilbash or Kizilbash[Note 1] were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman[1] Shia militant groups that flourished in Azerbaijan,[2][3] Anatolia, the Armenian highlands, the Caucasus, and Kurdistan from the late 15th century onwards, and contributed to the foundation of the Safavid and Afsharid empires in early modern Iran.[4][5]