Examining sectarian divergence in the early modern Middle East, this study provides a fresh perspective on the Sunni–Shi'i division. Drawing on Ottoman Turkish, Persian, and European sources, Ayşe Baltacıoğlu-Brammer explores the paradox of an Ottoman state that combined rigid ideological discourses with pragmatic governance. Through an analysis of key figures, events, periods, and policies, Boundaries of Belonging reveals how political, economic, and religious forces intersected, challenging simplistic sectarian binaries. Baltacıoğlu-Brammer provides a comprehensive historical account of Ottoman governance during the long sixteenth century, focusing on its relationship with non-Sunni Muslim subjects, particularly the Qizilbash. As both the founders of the Safavid Empire and the largest Shiʿi-affiliated group within the Ottoman realm, the Qizilbash occupied a crucial yet often misunderstood position. Boundaries of Belonging examines their role within the empire, challenging the notion that they were merely persecuted outsiders by highlighting their agency in shaping imperial policies, negotiating their status, and influencing the Ottoman–Safavid rivalry in Anatolia, Kurdistan, and Iraq, and western Iran.

‘In this path-breaking monograph, Baltacıoğlu-Brammer argues for a revaluation of the Qizilbash as a diverse group of agents with complex motivations and goals. Based on an impressive width of sources, Boundaries of Belonging shows that Qizilbash-Ottoman relations were significantly more complex than so far assumed. A sought-for contribution to scholarship!’

Markus Dreßler - Leipzig University

‘In revisiting the rise of the Safavid Empire, the articulation of Qizilbash identity, and the Ottoman move east into Anatolia, Ayşe Baltacıoğlu-Brammer rips off a previous generation’s empirical and ideological blinders to think anew the sixteenth-century moment of empires. With deep research in primary sources from Turkey and Iran, this study represents a monumental achievement that will quickly become a cornerstone argument about religion and politics in the early modern world.’

Alan Mikhail - Yale University