Emirate of Kilis () was a Kurdish emirate which ruled the Kilis and Afrin in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

regions up until the disintegration of the

Ayyubid dynasty The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

during the time of

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

. The rulers of this principality were descendants of Sheikh Fakhraddin, who is one of the greatest

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

philosophers and one of the most important saint figures. The main religion of this principality was

Yazidism Yazidism, also known as Sharfadin, is a Monotheism, monotheistic ethnic religion which has roots in Ancient Iranian religion, pre-Zoroastrian Iranian religion, directly derived from the Indo-Iranians, Indo-Iranian tradition. Its followers, ca ...

History

Origin

The rulers of Kilis were descendants of Sheikh Mend, one of Hakkari tribal leaders who was the son of Sheikh Fakhraddin. At the late 12th century and the beginning of the 13th century. Due to the good relations with the Ayyubid dynasty under

, who was himself a Kurd, Sheikh Mand was appointed as the rulers of the principality that stretched from Afrin to

Kilis Kilis is a city in southernmost Turkey, near the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria, and the administrative centre of Kilis Province and Kilis District. Its population is 112,187 (2022). On 6 February 2023 Kilis was badly affected by the tw ...

, Maraş in today's

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Sheikh Mend was later known as the “Prince of Princes" and "Emir of

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

Rule

When the Ayyubid dynasty collapsed around 1260, the

Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

appointed Mend Kasim as the ruler of the emirate. The Mamluks ultimately changed their support to İzzeddin, but he with Mamluk support failed at removing Kasım from power. When Ottoman

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

expanded his empire and conquered the area, he received support from Mend Kasım. However, while visiting

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, Kasım was executed by the Sultan after the latter had received a report from Karaca Beg, the Governor of Aleppo, and İzzeddin on the possible disorder in the case of Kasım's return to Kilis. After years of servitude to the Sultan, Kasım's son, Canpolat succeeded in obtaining the right to govern Kilis in 1515 and governed until his death in 1572. His son Hüseyin was able to expand the emirate towards Aleppo but was executed by the local

pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

after being accused of murder. The emirate was subsequently governed by Hüseyin's nephew Ali who went on a revenge campaign against his rivals for the death of his uncle. The Ottomans thus sent an army to remove Ali who had to flee to Constantinople where he was executed in 1610. Despite a paucity of information, the followers of Ali remained in the region and were a source of trouble between 1613 and the 1690s, notably the Okçu İzzeddinli tribe which was involved in

banditry Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, ...

The Canbolatoğulları

The descendants of Canbolat are named 'Canbolatoğulları' and fled to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

in 1630. The

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

Jumblatt family The Jumblatt family (, originally , meaning "steel-bodied" or "soul of steel"), also transliterated as Joumblatt and Junblat) is a prominent Druze family based in the Chouf area of Mount Lebanon which has dominated Druze politics since the 18th c ...

are descendants of this family. The Jumblatt family is an important family in Lebanese history and is still involved in Lebanese politics.

Population

The principality had a mixed

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

and Muslim Kurd population.

History

Origin

Rule

The Canbolatoğulları

Population

See also

References

Further reading