Pir Sultan Abdal

Pir Sultan Abdal (born Haydar) is an important religious figure in Alevism and considered legendary among his followers. Despite not mentioned in historical texts, it is believed that he was of Turkmen origin from village of Banaz in present-day Sivas Province in Turkey. His life is reconstructed from folkloric sources, especially religious poems which are believed to have been composed by himself and transmitted by ashiks.

During the Ottoman–Persian Wars, he supported religious heterodoxy and the political subversion of Anatolia which got him hanged.