
The Bahdinan (or Badinan)
was one of the most powerful and enduring
Kurdish emirates. It was founded by ''Baha-al-Din'' originally from ''
Şemzînan'' area in
Hakkari in sometime between 13th or 14th century CE. The capital of this emirate was
Amedi for a long time.
Geographical extent
Bahdinan generally consisted of the region north and northeast of the Mosul plain. Its capital was the town of Amadiya (Amêdî), and it also included
Akre,
Shush, and
Duhok, along with the
Zebari lands along the
Great Zab river.. The principality of Bahdinan sometimes also extended to include
Zakho in the west. To the north, Bahdinan bordered the principalities of
Bohtan and
Hakkâri, and to the south it bordered the principality of
Soran.
The name "Bahdinan" is still applied to the region inhabited by the Barwari,
Doski, Gulli, Muzuri, Raykani, Silayvani, Sindi, and Zebari tribes.
According to
Evliya Celebi the principality was divided into the following districts:
Aqra, Zakho, Shikhoyi, Duhok, Zibari, and
Muzuri.
The districts were autonomous units under their own rulers who were appointed by the Khan of Amadiya. In addition to this, there were tribal chieftains with formalized positions (for example, the chiefs of the Sindi and Silvane tribes needed confirmation from the ruler of Zakho).
History
The Bahdinan principality originated during the late Abbasid period, sometime around 1200. During its formation, it was largely dominated by the
Kurdish Hakkariyya tribe. The ''
Sharafnama'' of
Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi contains an account of the principality's history for two centuries, from the time of the
Timurid ruler
Shah Rukh in the 1400s until 1596. The Bahdinan amir Hasan, who was a client of the Safavid shah
Isma'il I, expanded the principality to include Duhok and the Sindi territory north of Zakho. Hasan's son Husayn later reigned as a client of the
Ottoman sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...
. Husayn's son QubÄd was deposed and killed by members of the Muzuri tribe; QubÄd's son, SaydÄ« KhÄn, was later reinstalled with Ottoman help. In the early 1600s, the principality of
Ardalan captured the Bahdinan capital of
Amadiya and appointed a governor there; sources say little about Bahdinan for a century afterward.
The principality seems to have reached its peak during the reign of BahrÄm Pasha, who ruled from 1726 to 1767. BahrÄm was succeeded by his son IsmÄ'Ä«l Pasha (), whose reign involved conflict with his brothers (who were variously based at Zakho and Akre). IsmÄ'Ä«l's son MurÄd KhÄn was deposed by his cousin QubÄd with the assistance of the
Baban pasha of
Sulaymaniyah; QubÄd was overthrown by members of the Muzuri tribe in 1804 (just like his earlier namesake). He was replaced by 'Ä€dil Pasha, whose position was affirmed by the
Jalili pasha of Mosul; he died in 1808 and was succeeded by his brother Zubayr.
In 1833,
Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz captured Akre and Amadiya, overthrew SÄ'Ä«d Pasha of Bahdinan, and went on to capture Zakho. The Bahdinan principality never fully recovered, and it was annexed into the Ottoman
Sanjak of Mosul in 1838.
Threatened by the expansionist and centralizing efforts of the
Ottoman and
Safavid empires, Bahdinan princes were drawn into prolonged confrontations with these two major rival powers. The Bahdinan rulers, ''Ismail Pasha'' and ''Muhammad Said Pasha'' were deposed by the emir of the neighboring
Soran principality in 1831.
The most famous ancient library in the region, in the Qubehan school at Amadiya, was destroyed by British troops putting down a revolt in the region in 1919, although some 400 manuscripts were rescued and eventually found their way into the Iraq Museum's collection.
[Faraj, S.S. Libraries and Librarianship in Iraqi Kurdistan. In: Libraries in the Early 21st Century: An International Perspective, edited by R.N. Sharma, vol.2, 297-311. 2012. Berlin: de Gruyter Saur.]
References
Bahdinan Encyclopædia Iranica, p. 485, By
Amir Hassanpour.
BahdÄ«nÄn The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Brill Academic Publishers.
See also
*
List of Kurdish dynasties and countries
Former Kurdish states in Iraq
History of Dohuk Governorate
Former principalities
Geography of Iraqi Kurdistan
1376 establishments in Asia
1370s in the Middle East
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