Kurdish states between 9th to 11th century
Kurds – one of the indigenous people of present-day Middle
East – were divided between the (neo-Persian empire) Sassanid Empire and the
Bayzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) during the seventh century’s Arab
conquest of the area.
However, in the ninth century - five Kurdish states emerged during
the Abbasid Caliphate’s rule, which eradicated the Sassanid Empire. The oldest
Kurdish state known in the Islamic East is the Rawadid State (844 – 1054) in
Azerbaijan, with Tabriz as its capital. The Shaddadid state (951-1054) in the
Aran region, one of the provinces of Azerbaijan. The Hasnawi State (941-1015)
in Hamadan, located in the Kurdish areas of western Iran. The Annazid state
(990-1054) near the cities of Jalawla, Khanaqin and Qasir Shirin. And the
Dostaki-Marwani (983-1054) in Diyarbakir.
These states enjoyed autonomy in the management of their affairs, and played an important political role in the events in Kurdistan during this period. But most of these Kurdish states were overthrown during the 11th century by the Seljuk Turks when they invaded the Muslim world.
The Kurdish principalities between 16th to 19th century
In the 13th and 14th centuries, Kurdistan was invaded by the
Tatar Mongols, and most of the Kurdish areas were destroyed by Timur Lenk (1336-1404),
who subjected many Kurdish principalities to his domination. The Mongol
invasion was followed by the emergence of two Turkmen states that ruled
Kurdistan – Kara Koyunlu (the black sheep) and Ak Koyunlu (the white sheep).
Subsequently, Kurdistan fell under the rule of the Safavid Persian Empire. The
Safavids occupied eastern Kurdistan while the Ottoman Empire ruled over most of
Kurdistan. As a result of the battle of Chaldiran in 1514, Kurdistan remained
divided between the Persian and Ottoman powers until the 20th Century.
Despite outside influence, the Kurds retained their principalities, remained
autonomous in their policies, and in return they were charged with guarding a
difficult border, fighting alongside the Ottomans in the event of a Persian-Ottoman
conflict. Kurdish princes were required to formally recognize the suzerainty of
the Ottoman Sultan as well.
During the early years of the
modern era (16th century), according to the Kurdish historian and prince
SharafKhan Badlisi, Kurdistan, whether on the Safavid or Ottoman side, was
divided into 48 Kurdish principalities. In his famous book Sharafnama, which he
completed between 1596-1597, he refers to the largest Kurdish principalities of
Ardalan, Hakkari, Amadia, Jeziré and Hasankeyf which "although not
claiming the sultanate and independence, make Friday prayers say in the name of
their prince and mint money.”
These principalities had the last
word in political life in Kurdistan from the 16th century until the middle of
the 19th century. The most important feature of many of these principalities
was certainly their development and culture, comparable to many countries at
the time. The Principality of Badlis for example, as the Turkish traveler Evliya
Chalabi recounted in his Seyahatname book during his trip in 1655 to this
country then ruled by Prince Abdul Khan. "I'm a traveler, who has been
traveling the world for 40 years and haven't seen such things anywhere else,” he
referenced their palaces, bridges, fountains, ornaments, libraries, and
markets.
Over the centuries, many of these principalities weakened and disappeared, while others prospered and expanded, according to wars or alliances, until the middle of the 19th century.
The fall of the last Kurdish principality in the middle of the 19th century
Internal conflicts within princely families ended up weakening them all. But the Kurdish principalities were also impacted by the international politics of the time. Kurdistan became an arena of conflict between Europe’s colonial powers, especially Russia. In the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire’s strength had dissipated significantly. At the same time, an increasingly powerful Russia, under the reign of Catherine II in particular, pursued an expansionist policy.
Russia expansionism greatly affected the Ottoman Empire’s government’s own borders and influence. Finally, the Russians began to push into Kurdish territories of present-day southeastern Turkey. This worried the British, who held India, which they considered highly strategic. This prompted Great Britain to defend its interests in the Ottoman Empire. They feared that the Russians’ seizure of Kurdish territories, followed by the entire Middle East to the Persian Gulf, would cut them off from their Indian trade routes.
The British then sent many spies and scholars to the region to study Kurdistan, in order to help the Kurds face Russia if necessary. Many Kurdish princes resisted the British’s efforts in cultural exchange, with some even actively preventing them in their attempts.
Due to the pressure of the colonial powers on the Ottomans, the Turkish Empire implemented a policy of centralization to cope with its decline, which bought the empire life for another century. The English, preferring to deal with a single interlocutor rather than with a myriad of states and princes, assisted the Ottoman Empire in its centralization efforts.
In the interest of consolidating power, a main objective was the dissolution of Kurdistan’s principalities. The Kurdish princes then became aware of the danger that this policy of centralization, supported by Western powers, posed to their states and their power.
It was during this period that three major movements led by Kurdish princes against the Ottoman Empire, with the aim of expanding their geographical borders and asserting greater independence in their affairs.
The first movement was led by Prince Abdul Rahman Pasha Babani who reigned from 1789 to 1813. He was one of the most powerful princes, ruling the principality of Baban in nearly five centuries. He was removed from office multiple times due to differences within the royal family and interference by the Ottoman and Iranian states in his affairs, but always managed to regain his throne. Unable to subdue him, the Ottoman Empire offered him to take control of the province of Baghdad and become its governor, but he refused. Abdul Rahman Baban died in 1813. After his death, the principality weakened, due to a string of weaker successors, as well as the emergence of the principality of Soran under Prince Mohammed Pasha of Rawanduz (or Soran). The Principality of Baban finally disappeared in 1851.
The second movement was led by Prince Muhammad Pasha of Soran who reigned from 1813 to 1836. He began working on the manufacture of weapons, especially artillery, and minted money in his name. On the coins is written on one side "Prince Mansour Mohammed Bey" and on the other side written Rawanduz (the capital of the principality of Soran). After uniting his home front, he waged a war against the Ottoman Empire and managed to annex most of the territory of the Principality of Badinan and Bhutan, followed by the annexation Mardin in 1833. Some historical sources claim that his army had reached 130,000 fighters. After these great victories, the Ottoman Empire launched a major campaign under the command of Rashid Mohamed Pasha against Prince Mohammed, and eventually defeated him in 1836.
The third movement was led by Prince Bedirkhan Beg of Botan, against the Ottoman Empire in the 1840s. After he managed to unite most of the Kurdish principalities of northern Kurdistan in an alliance with the aim of further expansion and independence, the Ottoman Empire launched a major campaign against him, led by Osman Pasha in 1847. The Ottoman forces numbering 25,000 men, supported among others by the British and a nephew of the prince who coveted his throne, eventually forced Badirkhan Beg, whose forces were smaller in number, to surrender on July 1847. He was exiled to Crete and then settled in Damascus until his death.
This event marked the end of the
era of Kurdish principalities, and Kurdistan was directly subject to the
domination of the Ottoman Empire.
Co-authors:
Prof. Dr. Hoger T. Tawfiq,
Professor of Modern Kurdish History in the University of Zakho
Armanj Ahmad, KurdistanIN’s French
section writer
Revision:
Assist. Prof. Dr. Dilshad M.
Abdulrahman in Salahaddin University