'son of black moustache' in Turkish),[8] was the leader of the pro-Shia and pro-Safavid uprising in Anatolia – the Şahkulu Rebellion – directed against the Ottoman Empire in 1511.
[3] Being inspired by Safavid missionaries, the Turkmens living on Ottoman soil, "as far west as Konya", were mobilized in a "fervent messianic movement", led by Şahkulu.
[3] Abbas Amanat adds: "He further advised Ismail to behave royally, preserve his precious and strategically vital kingdom with justice and equanimity, end forced conversions, and live in peace with his neighbors".
A fictionalized version of Şahkulu appears in the Assassin's Creed franchise, where he is called Shahkulu and is a member of the Byzantine Rite of the Templar Order, having joined after being promised revenge against the Ottomans.
He first appears as a supporting antagonist in the 2011 video game Assassin's Creed: Revelations, where he assists fellow Templar Manuel Palaiologos with his plans to rebuild the fallen Byzantine Empire.
In the game, Shahkulu is shown surviving beyond his recorded historical death in 1511, and is instead assassinated by the protagonist Ezio Auditore at the Templar hideout in Cappadocia in early 1512.