Taj-i Haydari

The Taj-i Haydari (تاج حیدر, "Haydar's Crown"), was a type of headdress introduced circa 1501-1502 during the early stages of the Safavid dynasty in Iran, when the future Shah Ismail captured Tabriz.^[1] The headdress consisted in a cap with a tall red projection, often wrapped in a white turban around its base. The tall red projection has 12 sides, in memory of the twelve Shiite imams (a symbol of Twelver Shi'ism), and may be complemented by a red plume in the center.^[2]

The headdress was originally invented by, and named after Shaykh Haydar (1456-1488), father of Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty.^[1] According to a legend, Haydar saw the new headdress in a dream.^[2]

The Taj-i Haydari became a rallying sign for the new dynasty, and is also a chronological marker for artistic works of the period.^[1]^[2] The Taj-i Haydari is the reason why the partisans of the Safavids were called "Qizil bash" ("Red head") by the Turks.^[2]

This headgear differed from the Turkman taqiya, which consisted in a kolah conical cap with a turban. The Mughal Tāj-i 'Izzat may also have been created in response to the Taj-i Haydari.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Stchoukine, Ivan (1966). Les peintures turcomanes et ṣafavies d'une Khamseh de Niẓâmî achevée à Tabrîz en 886/1481. p. 4. The turbans of the Aq-qoyûnlů are clearly distinguished from those introduced by Shah Isma'îl when he seized Tabriz in 907/1501-1502. The new master of Iran then adopted for his supporters a special headgear, the taj-e haydarî, a red cap with a stick-shaped tip, around which the fabric of the turban was wound. Shaykh Haydar, the sovereign's father, had invented it, but the Aq-qoyûnlü prohibited its wearing at that time. Now, all of Isma'il's subjects, who wanted to show their loyalty to him, hastened to wear the şafavi cap, a sign of rallying to the new dynasty. Artists also did not fail to represent in their compositions characters wearing turbans with sticks.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Curatola, Giovanni (11 December 2020). IRAN. ARTE ISLAMICA (in Italian). Jaca Books. p. 167. From an artistic point of view, Shah Ismail, like all or almost all the founders of great empires, did not leave many traces, busy, as he was, with continuous military campaigns. Thus in Tabriz the court miniaturist school (active throughout the first half of the sixteenth century) did not distinguish itself much, at first, from the Turkoman experiences of Yaqub Beg, who is remembered in association with a Khamsa by Nizami. A distinctive Safavid feature will be the turbans (taj-i haydari) with a red plume (hence the Turkish term Qizil bash red head), which legend has it appeared in a dream to the head of the Safavid mystical brotherhood, Shaykh Haydar (1456-1488; father of Shah Isma'il); it is a high headdress with twelve sides (in memory of the twelve Shiite imams) with a red plume in the center, invariably portrayed by painters.

[IS-1] Stchoukine, Ivan (1966). Les peintures turcomanes et ṣafavies d'une Khamseh de Niẓâmî achevée à Tabrîz en 886/1481. p. 4. The turbans of the Aq-qoyûnlů are clearly distinguished from those introduced by Shah Isma'îl when he seized Tabriz in 907/1501-1502. The new master of Iran then adopted for his supporters a special headgear, the taj-e haydarî, a red cap with a stick-shaped tip, around which the fabric of the turban was wound. Shaykh Haydar, the sovereign's father, had invented it, but the Aq-qoyûnlü prohibited its wearing at that time. Now, all of Isma'il's subjects, who wanted to show their loyalty to him, hastened to wear the şafavi cap, a sign of rallying to the new dynasty. Artists also did not fail to represent in their compositions characters wearing turbans with sticks.

[IIA-2] Curatola, Giovanni (11 December 2020). IRAN. ARTE ISLAMICA (in Italian). Jaca Books. p. 167. From an artistic point of view, Shah Ismail, like all or almost all the founders of great empires, did not leave many traces, busy, as he was, with continuous military campaigns. Thus in Tabriz the court miniaturist school (active throughout the first half of the sixteenth century) did not distinguish itself much, at first, from the Turkoman experiences of Yaqub Beg, who is remembered in association with a Khamsa by Nizami. A distinctive Safavid feature will be the turbans (taj-i haydari) with a red plume (hence the Turkish term Qizil bash red head), which legend has it appeared in a dream to the head of the Safavid mystical brotherhood, Shaykh Haydar (1456-1488; father of Shah Isma'il); it is a high headdress with twelve sides (in memory of the twelve Shiite imams) with a red plume in the center, invariably portrayed by painters.

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