Abstract

Khanqahs of the Khalwatiyya Order as Spaces of Knowledge, Power, and Social Discipline in Medieval Shirvan

This paper examines khanqahs associated with the Khalwatiyya Sufi order in medieval Shirvan through an integrated analysis of architectural form, spatial organization, epigraphic evidence, and Sufi textual production. It argues that Khalwati khanqahs functioned as deliberately structured environments in which architectural composition, functional zoning, and ritual practice were closely interrelated, enabling the formation of ethical discipline and non-coercive religious authority.

A central case study is the complex traditionally known as the “Mausoleum of the Dervish,” identified as the burial site of Seyid Yahya Bakuvi, located within the Palace of the Shirvanshahs. It was in this courtly environment that Seyid Yahya composed his theological and philosophical treatises (rasaʾil), illustrating the close spatial and intellectual entanglement of Khalwati scholarship with dynastic authority.

The Khalwatiyya’s emphasis on khalwa (ritual retreat) and disciplined silence shaped distinctive architectural solutions, including systems of secluded cells, transitional spaces, and collective communal zones. Clear spatial zoning, controlled circulation routes, and hierarchical subordination of spaces facilitated isolation within community, aligning bodily movement, ritual discipline, and moral training.

Analyzing the placement of khanqahs within urban centers as well as on the periphery, the paper conceptualizes Khalwati institutions as a network of urban and communicative nodes linking administrative-political centers with rural environments. Through this spatial distribution, khanqahs mediated flows of authority, knowledge, and ethical norms between city and countryside, reinforcing social cohesion beyond formal state structures.

Drawing also on epigraphic evidence documented by Neimat, including inscriptions from the “Sixty-Six Saints” (66 Awliya) complex in the Guba region and sites in the Khachmaz district, the study contributes to broader debates on how religious space in Central Eurasia generated durable forms of authority and socio-spatial connectivity.