With the beginning of 2026, a new long-term research project under the umbrella of the Academies’ Programme has commenced its work. The aim of the Alevi Archive project is to develop a comprehensive research database documenting the historical living environments of Alevi communities in Anatolia from the 16th to the 20th century. The project runs for 24 years.
Alevis constitute an officially not recognized socio-religious minority in Turkey (10–15 percent of the population) whose relationship to Islam is controversial. Historically, they are linked to the Kızılbaş (“Redheads”), who practiced a charismatic form of Islam and were allied with the Safavid dynasty in Iran since the end of the 15th century. Research to date assumes that, due to ongoing state repression, the Alevis retreated to remote areas of Anatolia during the 16th century and remained in isolation until the early 20th century.
According to this view, the central characteristics of Alevism in terms of social structure, ritual, and endogamy developed largely in isolation from a hostile Sunni environment. To this day, this narrative has a major social and political impact and shapes the debate on the historical and religious classification of the Alevis. However, it has never been systematically examined on the basis of comprehensive empirical material.
Alevi Archive: Ethnohistory of Alevi Communities in Anatolia, 16th to 20th Centuries