Bedir Khan Beg (

Kurmanji Kurmanji (, ), also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northernmost of the Kurdish languages, spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, northern Iraq, northern Syria and the Caucasus and Khorasan regions. It is the ...

: ''Bedirxan Beg'', ; 1803–1869) was the last

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

and

mütesellim ''Mütesellim'' or ''mutesellim'' () was an Ottoman gubernatorial title used to describe mainly the head of a ''nahiye'', but also other positions within the Ottoman hierarchy, depending on the context. Mostly this title was used for civil gover ...

of the Emirate of Botan. Hereditary head of the house of Rozhaki whose seat was the ancient Bitlis Castle and descended from

Sharafkhan Bidlisi Sharaf al-Din Khan b. Shams al-Din b. Sharaf Beg Bedlisi (, ; ; 25 February 1543 – ) was a Kurdish Emir of Bitlis. He was also a historian, writer and poet. He wrote exclusively in Persian. Born in the Qara Rud village, in central Iran, bet ...

, Bedir Khan was born in

Cizre Cizre () is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultura ...

(now in Turkey) of

Azizan family Azizan Dynasty, also known as Ezizan, House of Azizan or Azizanids (, ), were a Kurdish royal family that ruled over Hereditary emirate of Botan from 12th century-1847. Name and origins The dynasty gets its name from Abdul-'aziz Bokhti also know ...

. He became the Mir of the Emirate of Botan in 1821 and ruled until 1847. The Bedir Khans also claimed descent from

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

's general

Khalid ibn al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arabs, Arab military commander. He initially led campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career ...

Early life

He was born to Abdullah Bey, and became the ruler of Botan after his cousin Sayfuddin (who succeeded Abdullah Bey after his death), wasn't able to calm down the region and his brother Said Bey was too religious and left the leadership to Bedir Khan. During his first term as Mir, he soon established a regional control strong enough, that allowed him to deny his support to the Ottoman Sultan during the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

between 1828 and 1829. He managed to develop the war-torn districts under his control and within years, the population in the area in his control grew significantly.Gökçe, Hasan; Kieser, Hans-Lukas (ed.)(1997), pp.78–79 His success was such, that European diplomats from the region reported to their governments about Bedir Khan's ability to provide his followers with a good economic standard and security, comparing with other neighboring regions. Bedir Khan was proud of the security he brought to the region, that under his leadership, banditry had disappeared and caravans were able to cross his territory in safety.Gökçe, Hasan; Kieser, Hans-Lukas (ed.)(1997), p.80 Bedir Khan Beg was repeatedly responsible for massacres of the

Yazidis Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The major ...

. In 1832, thousands of Yazidis were killed in the Shekhan area by Bedir Khan Beg in cooperation with the Kurdish Soran prince

Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz (Kurdish language, Kurdish: ''Mîr Mihemed Paşa'', ; also known as ''Mirê Kor,'' Kor Mir- the "blind prince"; born in Rawandiz; 1783–1838) was the Kurds, Kurdish Mir (title), Mir of the Soran Emirate (1813–1838). H ...

. But he was not always on good terms with Muhammad Pasha, in 1828, his army had to defend the Emirate from him. In 1836, the Ottomans attacked and defeated him, and Bedir Khan renewed his vow of allegiance to the Sultan In 1838, the Ottoman Reshid Pasha conquered Cizre and Bedir Khan began to lose his power due to the

centralist Centralisation or centralization (American English) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning, decision-making, and framing strategies and policies, become concentrated within a particular ...

policies of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, which culminated in the Tanzimat Edict of 1839 and its application the following year. Following the Battle of Nizip in 1839, in which Bedir Khan took part for the Ottoman side, he emerged as the dominant Kurdish ruler in central Kurdistan. He raised taxes, minted his own coins and organized the justice system. The security in Bohtan gave him such popularity among its inhabitants, that many families from neighboring districts settled in the Emirate of Bohtan. This led to a dispute with the Vali of Mosul, who in 1842 wanted to integrate the district of Cizre into the province of Mosul, an aim, to which the population of Cizre did not agree to. By 1845, Bedir Khan beg ruled over a region spanning from Diyarbakir to Mosul in the west to

Urmia Urmia (; ) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. In the Central District of Urmia County, it is capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is situated near the borders of Iran with Turkey and Iraq. ...

in the east. As it was known that he had planned the modernization of his troops by creating cross-tribal militias constituted by soldiers of several tribes and that the friday sermons were shouted in his name, the central Ottoman Government decided to end the emerging independence movement of Bedir Khan.

Triple alliance

Following the Battle of Nizip, Bedir Khan allied himself with

Han Mahmud Khan Mahmud was a 19th-century Kurdish Lord. He was born in Müküs (now Van), and after his father Abdi Beg's death, he became Mir of the Kurdish Emirate of Miks. In 1843 and 1846 he fought within an alliance with Bedir Khan Beg from Cizre and ...

of Müküs and Nurullah Bey of

Hakkari Hakkari or Hakkâri may refer to: *Hakkari (historical region), a historical region in modern-day Turkey and Iraq *Hakkâri (city), a city and the capital of Hakkâri Province, Turkey *Hakkâri Province Hakkâri Province (, ; ), is a province i ...

in 1840 to a triple alliance. As the Ottomans decided to detach Cizre from Diyarbakir and have it joined to the

Mosul Eyalet Mosul Eyalet (; ) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was . Although the eyalet was overwhelmingly Kurdish, the city of Mosul itself was largely inhabited by Arabs. Playfair, James (1813)A System of Geograph ...

, Bedr Khan opposed the decision and would not submit to the authority of the Vali of Mosul. In the meantime, Han Mahmoud of Müküs unsuccessfully attempted to conquer the area around

Bitlis Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province.Assyrian Christian Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

population, and perpetrated

massacres A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians en masse by an armed group or person. The word is a loan of a French term for "b ...

amongst them in 1843 and 1846. The conflict arose, as

Nestorians Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinary, doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian t ...

in the area between

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

and

, decided to refuse their accorded tribute to the Emir of Hakkari in 1841.Gökçe, Hasan; Kieser, Hans-Lukas (ed.)(1997), p.87 After Nurullah Bey unsuccessfully attempted to subdue the Nestorians led by

Shimun XVII Abraham Mar Shimun XVII Abraham (also Simon XVII Abraham or Auraham, 1800/01– 1861) served as the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East from c. 1820 to 1861. He led the church from Qodshanis, (modern Konak, Hakkari) in southeastern Turkey, ...

, he called for the assistance by Bedir Khan Beg. In 1843, Bedir Khan broke their resistance and Mar Shimun took refuge in Mosul. And also in 1844 in the

Tur Abdin Tur Abdin (; ; ; or ) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria and famed since Late Antiquity for ...

mountains, Yazidis were again raided by Bedir Khan Beg. Bedir Khan Beg's goal was to force the

to convert to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Pressure from the European Powers to stop the massacres of Christians led to Ottoman forces invading his territories in 1846–7, with

Omer Pasha Omer Pasha, also known as Omer Pasha Latas (, ; 24 September 1806 – 18 April 1871) was an Ottoman field marshal and governor. Born in the Austrian Empire to Serbian Orthodox Christian parents, he initially served as an Austrian soldier. When f ...

's 12,000 strong Ottoman force, which was supported by Yezidi tribesmen seeking revenge, defeating the Kurdish army in the field near Zeitun, Cizre. At the beginning of the conflict he was able to beat the Ottomans, but as an important commander of his troops, defected to the Ottomans, he was forced to flee to Evruh castle, where he endured an eight months long siege. Bedir Khan had to surrender to the Ottomans at Evreh Castle in

Eruh Eruh (, ) is a town and seat of Eruh District of Siirt Province of Turkey. The town is populated by Kurds of the Botikan tribe and had a population of 8,895 in 2021. Neighborhoods Eruh town is divided into the three neighborhoods of Farih, Sa ...

Siirt Siirt (; ; ; ) is a city in the Siirt District of Siirt Province in Turkey. It had a population of 160,340 in 2021. The city is predominantly inhabited by Kurds. Neighborhoods The city is divided into the neighborhoods of Afetevlerı, Alan, ...

on the 4 July 1847. The same day also Han Mahmud was defeated in

Tatvan Tatvan (; ) is a city on the western shore of Lake Van, in Bitlis Province in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Tatvan District. Bedir Khan was betrayed by Yezdanşer a distant relative and high ranking commander of his forces, who had joined the Ottoman Army in exchange of promises of a rank in the government. Yezdanşer would become appointed the

of Cizre for a short time. From Evreh castle Bedir Khan and his family were put in chains and taken to Kumçati in the

Şırnak province Şırnak Province (, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in Turkey in the Southeastern Anatolia Region. Şırnak Province was created in 1990, with areas that were formerly part of the Siirt Province, Siirt, Hakkâri Province, Hakkâri and Mardin ...

. After 40 days in detention, Bedir Khan and his family were transferred to Constantinople.

Exile in Crete

After Bedir Khan's hopes that he would be allowed to settle in Constantinople were not fulfilled, he and his entourage were sent to

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, which at the time was governed by the

. In 1853 he requested twice to be allowed to return to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, but his demands were turned down. In 1855 he purchased a farm just outside of Heraklion, which he named “Kabıl Hora“. As in 1856 a strong earthquake occurred in Crete, he faced financial calamities due to the destructions of his possessions. His salary which he still received from the Ottoman Empire, was only 7000

Kuruş Kuruş ( ; ), also gurush, ersh, gersh, grush, grosha, and grosi, are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. The variation in the name stems from the different languages it is us ...

. After Bedir Khan managed to solve the quarrels between the Christians and Muslims on the island, the situation became better. In September 1857, Sultan

Abdul Majid ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of , ), also spelled as Abd ul Majid, Abd ul-Majid, Abd ol Majid, Abd ol-Majid, and Abdolmajid, is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words ''Abd (Arabic), ʻabd'' ...

changed his approach towards Bedir Khan, doubling his salary, and granting 43 of his followers to return to

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

. Nevertheless, Bedir Khan decided to stay in

Return and death

In 1863, Sultan Abdul Aziz, the successor of Abdul Majid, allowed Bedir Khan and his family to settle in Istanbul, where they bought a mansion in the Fatih quarter.Kardam, Ahmet (June 2019). ''Kamuran Ali Bedir Khan,'' p.50 Several of his descendants were admitted into the bureaucracy of the Ottoman Empire. In June 1868, Bedir Khan decided to settle in present-day

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. He traveled by ship to

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

and from there he moved to

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. Bedir Khan Beg died a year after he settled in

. His funeral was held at the cemetery of Rukneddin, Damascus.

Family

Bedir Khan Beg was married several times, according to his son Mehmed, he had sixteen wives.

Emin Ali Bedir Khan Emin Ali Bedir Khan (also Bedirhan, ; 1851/1852 – 1926) was an Ottoman and Kurdish politician and judge. He was a founding member of the Kurdish Society for Cooperation and Progress and vice president of the Society for the Elevation of Kurd ...

is one of his sons and Celadet Bedir Khan,

Süreyya Bedir Khan Süreyya Bedir Khan (1883 in Constantinople – 1938 in Paris) was a Kurdish prince, a descendant of Bedir Khan Beg and a member of the Bedir Khan family. He was an influent supporter of Kurdish independence, a journalist and author of several boo ...

and

Kamuran Alî Bedirxan Kamuran Alî Bedirxan (, born 21 August 1895 in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire; died 6 December 1978 in Paris) was a Kurds, Kurdish politician, lawyer and writer. Family He came from the family of the Bedirxans, who for centuries, as autonomous vass ...

are his grandchildren. He was the father of twenty-one children.Özoğlu, Hasan (2004), p.95

Early life

Triple alliance

Exile in Crete

Return and death

Family

See also

References

Further reading