Sherwana Castle () also known as Shirwanah Castle, is located in Kalar,

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region ( ku, هەرێمی کوردستان, translit=Herêmî Kurdistan; ar, إقليم كردستان), abbr. KRI, is an autonomous region in Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Sherwana Castle is the ancestral home of the Jaff family.

History

It was built by

Mohamed Pasha Jaff Mohamed Pasha Jaff, was born in 1714 and was considered the supreme leader of the Jaff tribe. The Sherwana Castle was built by him. The Jaff dialect (called Jaffi) is part of Sorani, a south-southeastern branch of Kurdish language family. The regi ...

, Kurdish pasha serving the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, during the 1800s. After the

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...

Vali of Baghdad, Suleiaman Pasha, dealt a crushing defeat to the Persian occupation of

Abbas Mirza Qajar Abbas Mirza ( fa, عباس میرزا; August 26, 1789October 25, 1833) was a Qajar crown prince of Iran. He developed a reputation as a military commander during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 and the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828, ...

of Northern

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

, and put to flight the Babans in 1850, Mohamed Pasha Jaff along with the Jaff nomads were allowed to dwell in the

Shahrizor Shahrizor or Shahrazur () is a region part of Kurdistan Region, Iraq situated in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate and west of Avroman. Shahrizor is a fertile plain watered by the tributaries of Tandjaro river which flows to Diyala and Tigris river ...

unharassed by the Ottomans or

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

in any way. A golden age began for the

Jaff Jaff ( ku, جاف; also ''Jahf'', ''Jaaf'', ''Jaf'', ''Caf'') is the largest Kurdish tribe also known as clan, living in the borderlands of Iran and Iraq. Their heartland is between Sulaymaniyah to Sanandaj. The tribe predominantly adheres to t ...

as they became a major power in all the region. Their nomadic caravans were allowed pasture from

Khanaqin Khanaqin ( ar, خانقين; ku, خانەقین, translit=Xaneqîn) is the central city of Khanaqin District in Diyala Governorate, Iraq, near the Iranian border (8 km) on the Alwand tributary of the Diyala River. The town is populated by ...

and Qizil Rubat to

Panjwin Penjwen District (; ckb, قەزای پێنجوێن, Qezay Pêncwên) is a district of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate in Kurdistan Region, Iraq.Baban Jaff under

Aziz Beg Jaff Aziz ( ar, عزيز, , is an Arabic male name. The feminine form of both the adjective and the given name is Aziza. ''Aziz'' in Arabic is derived from the root ''ʕ-z-z'' with a meaning of "strong, powerful" and the adjective has acquired its m ...

, who was the son of Kai Khasrow Beg Jaff to the rival tribe of the Hemevand, who were anti Ottoman and anti-everything. He would erect a fortress on the banks of the Shirwan river to guard against all of these foes in 1866. This fortress is now known as the Shirwana fortress. In 1868, he would be appointed by the Mamluk Vali Suliaman Pasha of Baghdad. The Jaff's rivals, Hamavands, would go to the Caucasus and fight under for the Russians against the Ottomans. The Russians would arm them and send them back to agitate the Shahrizor and create anarchy. Osman Pasha Jaff's son, would be given the residence of the fortress, as his father concerned himself with the affairs of Gulanbar and

Halabja Halabja ( ku, هەڵەبجە, Helebce, ) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the capital of Halabja Governorate, located about northeast of Baghdad and from the Iranian border. The city lies at the base of what is often referred t ...

Mohammed Ali Beg Jaff Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monothe ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

the Jaff and the Kurds would fall into obscurity as most of the war took place in the South between the Ottomans and British, fighting a back forth battle around Kut, which the Ottomans would deal the British their worst defeat during the war. The British would finally get the upper hand through other fronts, the

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

front especially. The Ottomans would sign the

Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

of Mudros in 1917. The British would then occupy Mesopotamia, and the Ottoman Empire would cease to exist. During the British Occupation much of the Kurdish population would revolt under

Sheikh Mustafa Barzani Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

, whose power base was in Suliamania in 1918, 1922-1924, including segments of the Jaff tribe. The British would end up destroying many Palaces and Fortresses built by the Kurds. Sherwana Castle was the exception, since the Brits had good relations with the Jaff. The castle was damaged due to military activity in the 1990s. Further damage occurred as the result of heavy rain in 2014 which affected the walls, causing them to crack. In 2017 an earthquake damaged 35% of the structure, including the cupola which partially collapsed. Restoration took place in 2018.

References

# E. B. Soane, ''Notes on the Tribes of Southern Kurdistan'', Baghdad, 1918 # E. B. Soane, ''To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise'', London 1923 # Hassan K. Jaff, ازاره في 1989 وامر بتعميره {{Castles in Iraq Castles in Iraq Buildings and structures in Kurdistan Region (Iraq) Museums in Iraq 1734 establishments in the Ottoman Empire