The Shekak or Shakkak () is a

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 ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

present in various regions, mainly in

West Azerbaijan province West Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, whose capital and largest city is Urmia. It is in the northwest of the country, bordered by Turkey ( Ağrı, Hakkâri, Iğdır and Van Provinces), Iraq ( Erbil and Sula ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

History

The Shikaki tribe are first mentioned in a

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 ...

mişûr (manuscript) from 1207/1208 AD, as one of the tribes affiliated to Pir Sini Darani, who is a

saint represented in the Yezidi religion as the Lord of the Sea. In the

Sharafnama The ''Sharafnama'' (Kurdish: شەرەفنامە ''Şerefname''; Persian: شرفنامه ''Sharafnâmeh''; ) is a book written in 1597 by the medieval Kurdish historian and poet Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi (1543–1599) in Persian. ''Sharafnama'' is re ...

, they are mentioned twice. First, in the chapter on the emirate of

Bohtan Bohtan was a medieval Kurdish principality in the Ottoman Empire centered on the town of Jazirah ibn 'Omar in southeastern Anatolia. The official religion of this principality was Yezidism in 14th century, although the rulers eventually conv ...

, as being one of the four tribes living in

Hakkâri 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 ...

. Second, in the chapter on the Ayyubid emirate of

Hasankeyf Hasankeyf is a town located along the Tigris, in the Hasankeyf District, Batman Province, Turkey. It was declared a natural conservation area by Turkey in 1981. Despite local and international objections, the city and its archaeological sites ...

. In a 16th-century Ottoman

Defter A ''defter'' was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire. Etymology The term is derived from Greek , literally 'processed animal skin, leather, fur', meaning a book, having pages of goat parchment used along with papyrus ...

, they are mentioned in the regions of

Birecik Birecik is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 912 km2, and its population is 93,866 (2023). It lies on the Euphrates. Built on a limestone cliff 400 ft. high on the left/east bank of the Euphrates, " ...

, Kahta, Joum,

Suruç Suruç (; ; ''Sruḡ'') is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 744 km2, and its population is 100,961 (2022). It is on a plain near the Syria–Turkey border, Syrian border southwest ...

and Ravendan, and called 'Taife-I Ekrâd-I Shikakî'. In another Defter, they are mentioned in the region of

Çemişgezek Çemişgezek (; ) is a municipality (belde) and seat of Çemişgezek District of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The mayor is Levent Metin Yıldız ( AKP). The town had a population of 3,009 in 2021 and is populated by both Kurds and Turks. The tow ...

. Among the clans of the Shekak are the 'Awdoǐ or Evdoyî. According to their oral history they came from

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

in the 17th century and settled west of

Lake Urmia Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in th ...

, which displaced the

Donboli The Donboli (Kurdish: دونبللی ,دنبلى, ''Donbolī'') are a Turkic-speaking, Kurdish tribe who live around Khoy and Salmas in northwestern Iran. They are currently adherents of Shia Islam, but before that they were reportedly Yazidis f ...

tribe. The first known chieftain of the 'Awdoǐ was Ismail Agha, a

chieftain who supported

Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (; 14 March 1742 – 17 June 1797), also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah (), was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, ruling from 1789 to 1797 as Shah. Originally a chieftain of the Quwanlu branch of t ...

in his conquests. Ismail Agha died in 1816 and his tomb is located beside the Naslu River. His grandson

Jafar Agha Jafar Agha (, ) was a Kurdish chieftain of the Shekak tribe in the early 20th century in Qajar Iran. He played an important role in the leadership of the tribe. In 1905, Jafar Agha was killed in Tabriz by an Iranian government trap. His death cau ...

was executed by the

Qajar The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic origin,Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran an ...

authorities as a bandit in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

in 1905. Jafar's brother

Simko Shikak Ismail Agha Shikak (, ), also known as Simko (, ; 1887–1930), was a Kurds, Kurdish chieftain of the Shekak (tribe), Shekak tribe. He was a nationalist warlord who controlled significant land and led thousands of Kurdish rebels who defeated th ...

then began a rebellion against

Qajar Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...

with support from 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 ...

. He was responsible for leading the anti-

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and anti-

Alevi Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differing ...

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 ...

in the area before and during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and for the organised resistance against the regime of

Reza Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...

which eventually led to his death in 1930. The Shekak tribe has been described as brave warriors and they trained officers of soldiers of the

Qajar dynasty The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's '' Majlis'', conven ...

since the reign of

Spread

The tribe inhabits the villages of Akçakuşak, Çevrimli, Düğünyurdu, Koçtepe and Yatağankaya 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 ...

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 ...

. It moreover inhabits multiple villages in

Tunceli Province Tunceli Province (), formerly Dersim Province (; ; ), is a province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Its central city is Tunceli. The province has a Kurdish majority. Moreover, it is the only province in Turkey with an Alevi majority. ...

Turkicized Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization () describes a shift whereby populations or places receive or adopt Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly applied to mean specif ...

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

portions of the tribe historically inhabited

East Azerbaijan province East Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tabriz. The province is located in Azerbaijan (Iran), Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Ardabil pro ...

Leaders

* Ismail Agha (d. 1816 or 1820) * Mîr Alî Agha * Mehmed Agha * Timur (Teymûr) Agha *

(d. 1905) * Simko Agha (b. 1887 d. 1930) *

Amar Khan Amar Khan () is a Pakistani television actress, director and writer. She has played a role of Neelofur (witch) in 2018 Supernatural, super natural series ''Belapur Ki Dayan.'' She further appeared in a leading roles in ''Ghughi,'' ''Dil-e-Bereham ...

(b. 1873 d. 1958)

References

{{Kurdistan-stub Kurdish tribes West Azerbaijan province Şırnak Province

History

Spread

Leaders

See also

References