Babai (Bābāʾī) is the name given to the supporters of a great socio-religious messianic revolt against Seljuk (Saljūq) rule in Anatolia in 637/1240. The rebellion was led by the Wafāʾī şeyh (shaykh) Baba İlyas-i Horasani (Bābā Ilyās-i Khurāsānī, d. 638/1240), supported by a certain Baba İshak (Bābā Isḥāq, d. 638/1240), who was most probably a converted Christian from the region of Kafarsūd. Baba İlyas was a disciple of Dede Gharkīn, a great Turkmen şeyh , and a deputy of the order founded by Tāj al-