Uprising of Sheikh Ubeydullah: Difference between revisions

Sheikh Ubeydullah uprising
Date	1879–1880
Location	Ottoman Empire and Iran
Result	Defeat of Sheikh Ubeydullah
Belligerents
Kurdish tribes	Ottoman Empire; Persia
Commanders and leaders
Sheikh Ubeydullah ; Abdulkadir Ubeydullah ; Sheikh Muhammad Said ; Siddiq Ubeydullah	Unknown

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The Uprising of Sheikh Ubeydullah was a Kurdish uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1879 and Qajar Iran between 1880 and 1881. Both uprising were led by Sheikh Ubeydullah, the leader of the Semdinan Naqshbandi family who claimed descendance from Mohammed through his daughter Fatima.^[2] Thus the family had a considerable influence, disposed over large amounts of donations,^[3] owned several villages in the region^[2] and many Kurdish tribal leaders were devout followers of him.^[4] The initial cause for the uprisings were the outcome of the Russo-Turkish war in 1877-78 and the Treaty of Berlin^[5] which provided the Christian Armenians and the Nestorian Assyrians with considerable rights and autonomy, to which he did not agree to.^[5]

Uprising against the Ottoman Empire

The possibility of a first uprising against the Ottoman Empire was given when the Herki tribe had a dispute with the Kaymakam of Yüksekova in 1879.^[6] Sheikh Ubeydullah sent out messengers to several Kurdish chieftains in order to gain their support and troops for an uprising against the Ottoman Empire. He managed to raise a small contingent of nine hundred tribes men which was led by his son Abdulkadir Ubeydullah onto Amadiya.^[6] But the Ottomans were informed by a rival Kurdish chieftain ahead of the uprising, and therefore deployed troops to Amadya as well.^[6] The uprising failed and was quickly subdued by the Ottomans. The Kurdish chieftains were not as trustworthy as hoped by Sheikh Ubeydullah, and preferred to expand their own areas of influence with raids.^[3] Sheikh Ubeydullah then also changed his mind and reassured the Sultan of his loyalty.^[3] The Ottomans reacted very to the Sheikhs pleasure, removed the Kaymakam of Yüksekova and encouraged him very cordially to find an agreement with the local Ottoman authorities.^[6]

Uprising against the Qajar Empire

Preparations

As Ubeydullah prepared for an uprising against Iran, he relied on the support of the Ottomans.^[7] Sheikh Ubeydullah's troops still possessed weapons they received from the Ottomans during the Russo-Turkish war.^[7] For a while, Christian Assyrians supported the uprising because it was presented as a way to protect them from raids by Kurdish bandits, which neither the Ottomans or the Iranians were able or willing to prevent.^[5] In September 1880, Ubeydullah wrote to Joseph Cochrane, elaborating what the Qajar Empire had done to upset Kurdish tribes.^[8] In August 1880, the decision for an uprising was taken after a meeting of about 220 Kurdish chieftains.^[9] The forces of Sheikh Ubeydullah were well equipped, they had a large number of breech loading Martini rifles.^[1]

Uprising

80,000 rebels charged against the Iranians and initially the uprising was a success.^[9] Ubeydullah's troops were deployed into three separate forces, of which his sons led the first two. The first force heading to Mahabad was led by Abdulkadir Ubeydullah, the second force heading to Marageh was led by Siddiq Ubeydullah, and the third force of 5,000 men were led by, his brother in law, Sheikh Muhammad Said.^[1] Iranian soldiers were not well-equipped like the rebels,^[10] who soon occupied Mahabad and Maragheh. The capture of Tabriz was a failure, so instead the rebels looted captured territories.^[9] In the first two weeks of the uprising, Sheikh Ubeydullah fought in battles and attempted to seize Urmia. The city's Shia population refused to surrender to the Sunni rebels, who in the end couldn't capture it.^[11]

Abdulkadir Ubeydullah and his force retreated to Mahabad, which they held for a few days, because of Qajar forces coming from Tabriz.^[12] After eight weeks, the Kurdish rebels retreated and Sheikh Ubeydullah returned to Nehri.^[13] Eventually, Ubeydullah travelled to Istanbul asking the Ottomans for diplomatic support. Following his travel, the Ottomans began extensive negotiations with the Qajars on how to solve the conflict. Despite his rebellion against them in 1879, the Ottomans didn't want to loose the possibility of assistance from Sheikh Ubeydullah's troops in an eventual war against the Qajars in the future.^[9] After all, Sheikh Ubeydullah was able to raise a considerable number of troops.^[9] Both the Ottomans and the Qajars demanded reparations from the other side due to their losses they experienced from Ubeydullah's rebellions.^[9]

Aftermath

In August 1882, Sheikh Ubeydullah lost hopes for negotiating his peoples’ independence, and left Istanbul to return to his hometown Nehri.^[9] The Ottomans ordered the capture of Sheikh Ubeydullah in October 1882,^[9] as a result of pressure from the European powers, due to Ubeydullah's treatment of the Christian Nestorians.^[14] After his capture, he was brought to Istanbul and then exiled to Hejaz.^[15]

Legacy

In the words of Kurdologist and Iranologist Garnik Asatrian:^[16]

In the recent period of Kurdish history, a crucial point is defining the nature of the rebellions from the end of the 19th and up to the 20th century―from Sheikh Ubaydullah’s revolt to Simko’s (Simitko) mutiny. The overall labelling of these events as manifestations of the Kurdish national-liberation struggle against Turkish or Iranian suppressors is an essential element of the Kurdish identity-makers’ ideology. (...) With the Kurdish conglomeration, as I said above, far from being a homogeneous entity―either ethnically, culturally, or linguistically (see above, fn. 5; also fn. 14 below)―the basic component of the national doctrine of the Kurdish identity-makers has always remained the idea of the unified image of one nation, endowed respectively with one language and one culture. The chimerical idea of this imagined unity has become further the fundament of Kurdish identity-making, resulting in the creation of fantastic ethnic and cultural prehistory, perversion of historical facts, falsification of linguistic data, etc. (for recent Western views on Kurdish identity, see Atabaki/Dorleijn 1990).

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Jwaideh, Wadie (2006). p.92
^ ^a ^b Özoğlu, Hakan (2004-02-12). Kurdish Notables and the Ottoman State: Evolving Identities, Competing Loyalties, and Shifting Boundaries. SUNY Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7914-5993-5.
^ ^a ^b ^c Behrendt, Günter (1993). Nationalismus in Kurdistan: Vorgeschichte, Entstehungsbedingungen und erste Manifestationen bis 1925 (in German). Deutsches Orient-Institut. p. 215. ISBN 978-3-89173-029-4.
^ Olson, Robert W. (1989). The emergence of Kurdish nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion, 1880-1925. University of Texas Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-292-77619-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c Özoğlu, Hakan (2004), p.74
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jwaideh, Wadie (2006). The Kurdish National Movement: Its Origins and Development. Syracuse University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-8156-3093-7.
^ ^a ^b Olson, Robert W. (1989), p.6
^ Jwaideh, Wadie (2006). p.91
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Chaliand, Gérard (1981-01-01). Les Kurdes et le Kurdistan (in French). La Découverte (réédition numérique FeniXX). pp. 50–52. ISBN 2707110132.
^ Behrendt, Günter (1993), p.221
^ Behrendt, Günter (1993), pp.222–223
^ Behrendt, Günter (1993), p.223
^ Behrendt, Günter (1993), p.222
^ Olson, Robert W. (1989), p.7
^ Özoğlu, Hakan (2004), p.75
^ Asatrian, Garnik (2009). "Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds". Iran and the Caucasus. 13 (1): 65–66. doi:10.1163/160984909X12476379007846.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{short description|Kurdish uprising}}
+{{Short description|Kurdish uprising}}
 {{Infobox military conflict
 | conflict          = Sheikh Ubeydullah uprising
-| place             = [[Ottoman Empire]] and [[Qajar Iran|Persia]]
+| place             = [[Ottoman Empire]] and [[Qajar Iran|Iran]]
 | date              = 1879–1880
 | result            = Defeat of [[Sheikh Ubeydullah]]
-| combatant1        = Kurdish tribes
+| combatant1        = [[Kurdish tribes]]
-| combatant2        = [[Ottoman Empire]], [[Qajar Iran]]
+| combatant2        = {{flagcountry|Ottoman Empire}}<br>{{flagcountry|Qajar Iran}}
+| commander1        =[[Sheikh Ubeydullah]] <br/> [[Abdulkadir Ubeydullah]]<ref name=":6" /> <br/> Sheikh Muhammad Said<ref name=":6" /> <br/> Siddiq Ubeydullah <ref name=":6" />
+| commander2        = Unknown
 }}
-The '''Uprising of Sheikh Ubeydullah''' refers to a Kurdish uprising against the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1879 and the Persians ([[Qajar Iran]]) between 1880–1881. Both uprising were led by [[Sheikh Ubeydullah]], the leader of the Semdinan [[Naqshbandi]] family who claimed descendance from [[Muhammad|Mohammed]] through his daughter [[Fatimah|Fatima]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Özoğlu|first=Hakan|title=Kurdish Notables and the Ottoman State: Evolving Identities, Competing Loyalties, and Shifting Boundaries|date=2004-02-12|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-5993-5|pages=73|language=en}}</ref> Thus the family had a considerable influence, disposed over large amounts of donations,<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Behrendt|first=Günter|title=Nationalismus in Kurdistan: Vorgeschichte, Entstehungsbedingungen und erste Manifestationen bis 1925|date=1993|publisher=Deutsches Orient-Institut|isbn=978-3-89173-029-4|pages=215|language=de}}</ref> owned several villages in the region<ref name=":0" /> and many Kurdish tribal leaders were devout followers of him.<ref name=":0222">{{Cite book|last=Olson|first=Robert W.|title=The emergence of Kurdish nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion, 1880-1925|date=1989|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-77619-7|pages=3}}</ref> The initial cause for the uprisings were the outcome of the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russo-Turkish war in 1877-78]] and the [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)|Treaty of Berlin]]<ref name=":2">Özoğlu, Hakan (2004), p.74</ref> which provided the Christian [[Armenians]] and the [[Nestorianism|Nestorians]] with considerable rights and autonomy, to which he did not agree to.<ref name=":2" />
+The '''Uprising of Sheikh Ubeydullah''' was a Kurdish uprising against the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1879 and [[Qajar Iran]] between 1880 and 1881. Both uprising were led by [[Sheikh Ubeydullah]], the leader of the Semdinan [[Naqshbandi]] family who claimed descendance from [[Muhammad|Mohammed]] through his daughter [[Fatimah|Fatima]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Özoğlu|first=Hakan|title=Kurdish Notables and the Ottoman State: Evolving Identities, Competing Loyalties, and Shifting Boundaries|date=2004-02-12|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-5993-5|pages=73|language=en}}</ref> Thus the family had a considerable influence, disposed over large amounts of donations,<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Behrendt|first=Günter|title=Nationalismus in Kurdistan: Vorgeschichte, Entstehungsbedingungen und erste Manifestationen bis 1925|date=1993|publisher=Deutsches Orient-Institut|isbn=978-3-89173-029-4|pages=215|language=de}}</ref> owned several villages in the region<ref name=":0" /> and many Kurdish tribal leaders were devout followers of him.<ref name=":0222">{{Cite book|last=Olson|first=Robert W.|title=The emergence of Kurdish nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion, 1880-1925|date=1989|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-77619-7|pages=3}}</ref> The initial cause for the uprisings were the outcome of the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russo-Turkish war in 1877-78]] and the [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)|Treaty of Berlin]]<ref name=":2">Özoğlu, Hakan (2004), p.74</ref> which provided the Christian [[Armenians]] and the [[Nestorianism|Nestorian]] Assyrians with considerable rights and autonomy, to which he did not agree to.<ref name=":2" />
 == Uprising against the Ottoman Empire ==
 The possibility of a first uprising against the [[Ottoman Empire]] was given when the [[Herki (tribe)|Herki tribe]] had a dispute with the [[Kaymakam]] of [[Yüksekova]] in 1879.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Jwaideh|first=Wadie|title=The Kurdish National Movement: Its Origins and Development|publisher=Syracuse University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-8156-3093-7|pages=89|language=en|author-link=Wadie Jwaideh}}</ref> Sheikh Ubeydullah sent out messengers to several Kurdish chieftains in order to gain their support and troops for an uprising against the Ottoman Empire. He managed to raise a small contingent of nine hundred tribes men which was led by his son [[Abdulkadir Ubeydullah]] onto [[Amadiya]].<ref name=":3" /> But the Ottomans were informed by a rival Kurdish chieftain ahead of the uprising, and therefore deployed troops to Amadya as well.<ref name=":3" /> The uprising failed and was quickly subdued by the Ottomans. The Kurdish chieftains were not as trustworthy as hoped by Sheikh Ubeydullah, and preferred to expand their own areas of influence with raids.<ref name=":1" /> Sheikh Ubeydullah then also changed his mind and reassured the Sultan of his loyalty.<ref name=":1" /> The Ottomans reacted very to the Sheikhs pleasure, removed the Kaymakam of Yüksekova and encouraged him very cordially to find an agreement with the local Ottoman authorities.<ref name=":3" />
-== Uprising against the Persians ==
+== Uprising against the Qajar Empire ==
 === Preparations ===
-As then Ubeydullah was in the preparations of a uprising against the [[Qajar Iran|Persian empire]], he could count on the support of the Ottomans.<ref name=":4">Olson, Robert W. (1989), p.6</ref> The troops loyal to Sheikh Ubeydulla were still in possession of the weapons they received from the Ottomans during the Russo-Turkish war.<ref name=":4" /> Sheikh Ubeydullah also received the support from the Christian Nestorians for a while as he presented his uprising as a mean to defend the local population against raids by other Kurdish tribes, which neither the Ottoman Empire nor the Persians were able or willing to prevent.<ref name=":2" /> In September 1880, he wrote to [[Joseph Cochran]]e, and elaborated in it, what the Qajar Empire has done to upset the Kurds.<ref>[[Wadie Jwaideh|Jwaideh, Wadie]] (2006). p.91</ref> In August 1880, in a meeting of about 220 Kurdish tribal leaders, the decision for the uprising was taken.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Chaliand|first=Gérard|title=Les Kurdes et le Kurdistan|date=1981-01-01|publisher=La Découverte (réédition numérique FeniXX)|isbn=2707110132|pages=50–52|language=fr|author-link=Gérard Chaliand}}</ref> The forces of Sheikh Ubeydullah were well equipped, they had a large amount of [[Breechloader|breech loading]] [[Martini–Henry|Martini rifles]].<ref name=":6">[[Wadie Jwaideh|Jwaideh, Wadie]] (2006). p.92</ref>
+As Ubeydullah prepared for an uprising against Iran, he relied on the support of the Ottomans.<ref name=":4">Olson, Robert W. (1989), p.6</ref> Sheikh Ubeydullah's troops still possessed weapons they received from the Ottomans during the Russo-Turkish war.<ref name=":4" /> For a while, Christian Assyrians supported the uprising because it was presented as a way to protect them from raids by Kurdish bandits, which neither the Ottomans or the Iranians were able or willing to prevent.<ref name=":2" /> In September 1880, Ubeydullah wrote to [[Joseph Cochran]]e, elaborating what the Qajar Empire had done to upset Kurdish tribes.<ref>[[Wadie Jwaideh|Jwaideh, Wadie]] (2006). p.91</ref> In August 1880, the decision for an uprising was taken after a meeting of about 220 Kurdish chieftains.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Chaliand|first=Gérard|title=Les Kurdes et le Kurdistan|date=1981-01-01|publisher=La Découverte (réédition numérique FeniXX)|isbn=2707110132|pages=50–52|language=fr|author-link=Gérard Chaliand}}</ref> The forces of Sheikh Ubeydullah were well equipped, they had a large number of [[Breechloader|breech loading]] [[Martini–Henry|Martini rifles]].<ref name=":6">[[Wadie Jwaideh|Jwaideh, Wadie]] (2006). p.92</ref>
-=== uprising ===
+=== Uprising ===
-,000 men charged against the Persians and initially the uprising was a success.<ref name=":5" /> His forces were deployed into three different forces. The first one heading to [[Mahabad]] was led by his son Abdulkadi Ubeydullah, the second one which charged against [[Maragheh, Markazi|Marageh]] was headed by an other son of the Sheikh, [[Siddiq Ubeydullah]], and the third group of 5'000 men was commanded by his brother in law [[Sheikh Muhammad Said]].<ref name=":6" /> The Persians had not such good weapons as the rebels<ref>Behrendt, Günter (1993), p.221</ref> and the Kurds soon captured Mahabad and Maragheh, but then didn't capture the strategic [[Tabriz]] and instead engaged in the looting of the areas captured.<ref name=":5" /> Sheikh Ubeydullah was involved personally in the battles only two weeks into the beginning of the uprising, and charged against [[Urmia]]. The [[Shia Islam|Shia]] population of the town did not want to surrender to the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] Sheikh, who couldn't capture it.<ref>Behrendt, Günter (1993), pp.222–223</ref> Abdulkadir Ubeydullah had to retreat from Persian forces coming from Tabriz, and returned to Mahabad, which he could only hold for a few days.<ref>Behrendt, Günter (1993), p.223</ref> After eight weeks of combat, the Kurds had to retreat and Sheikh Ubeydullah returned Nehri.<ref>Behrendt, Günter (1993), p.222</ref> Ubeydullah eventually travelled to Istanbul asking for diplomatic support from the Ottoman Empire. Following which the Ottomans began extensive negotiations with the Persians on how to solve the conflict. The Ottomans, despite his uprising against them in 1879, did not want to loose the possibility to count on the troops of Sheikh Ubeydullah in an eventual war against the Persians in the future.<ref name=":5" /> After all, Sheikh Ubeydullah was able to raise a considerable amount of troops.<ref name=":5" /> Both sides, the Ottomans as well as the Persians demanded reparations from the other side due to their losses they had through the uprisings of Ubeydullah.<ref name=":5" />
+,000 rebels charged against the Iranians and initially the uprising was a success.<ref name=":5" /> Ubeydullah's troops were deployed into three separate forces, of which his sons led the first two. The first force heading to [[Mahabad]] was led by Abdulkadir Ubeydullah, the second force heading to [[Maragheh, Markazi|Marageh]] was led by [[Siddiq Ubeydullah]], and the third force of 5,000 men were led by, his brother in law, [[Sheikh Muhammad Said]].<ref name=":6" /> Iranian soldiers were not well-equipped like the rebels,<ref>Behrendt, Günter (1993), p.221</ref> who soon occupied Mahabad and Maragheh. The capture of [[Tabriz]] was a failure, so instead the rebels looted captured territories.<ref name=":5" /> In the first two weeks of the uprising, Sheikh Ubeydullah fought in battles and attempted to seize [[Urmia]]. The city's [[Shia Islam|Shia]] population refused to surrender to the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] rebels, who in the end couldn't capture it.<ref>Behrendt, Günter (1993), pp.222–223</ref>
+Abdulkadir Ubeydullah and his force retreated to Mahabad, which they held for a few days, because of Qajar forces coming from Tabriz.<ref>Behrendt, Günter (1993), p.223</ref> After eight weeks, the Kurdish rebels retreated and Sheikh Ubeydullah returned to Nehri.<ref>Behrendt, Günter (1993), p.222</ref> Eventually, Ubeydullah travelled to Istanbul asking the Ottomans for diplomatic support. Following his travel, the Ottomans began extensive negotiations with the Qajars on how to solve the conflict. Despite his rebellion against them in 1879, the Ottomans didn't want to loose the possibility of assistance from Sheikh Ubeydullah's troops in an eventual war against the Qajars in the future.<ref name=":5" /> After all, Sheikh Ubeydullah was able to raise a considerable number of troops.<ref name=":5" /> Both the Ottomans and the Qajars demanded reparations from the other side due to their losses they experienced from Ubeydullah's rebellions.<ref name=":5" />
 == Aftermath ==
-In August 1882, Sheikh Ubeydullah lost his hopes to gain his peoples freedom by negotiations, left Istanbul and returned to his hometown Nehri.<ref name=":5" /> The Ottomans sent to capture Sheikh Ubeydullah in October 1882,<ref name=":5" /> as they perceived a lot of pressure from the European powers, due to Ubeydullahs treatment of the Christian Nestorians.<ref>Olson, Robert W. (1989), p.7</ref> He was captured, brought back to Istanbul and from there he was exiled to [[Hejaz]].<ref>Özoğlu, Hakan (2004), p.75</ref>
+In August 1882, Sheikh Ubeydullah lost hopes for negotiating his peoples’ independence, and left Istanbul to return to his hometown Nehri.<ref name=":5" /> The Ottomans ordered the capture of Sheikh Ubeydullah in October 1882,<ref name=":5" /> as a result of pressure from the European powers, due to Ubeydullah's treatment of the Christian Nestorians.<ref>Olson, Robert W. (1989), p.7</ref> After his capture, he was brought to Istanbul and then exiled to [[Hejaz]].<ref>Özoğlu, Hakan (2004), p.75</ref>
 == Legacy ==
 In the words of [[Kurdology|Kurdologist]] and [[Iranian studies|Iranologist]] [[Garnik Asatrian]]:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Asatrian |first1=Garnik |author1-link=Garnik Asatrian |title=Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds |journal=Iran and the Caucasus |date=2009 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=65–66 |doi=10.1163/160984909X12476379007846}}</ref> {{blockquote|In the recent period of Kurdish history, a crucial point is defining the nature of the rebellions from the end of the 19th and up to the 20th century―from Sheikh Ubaydullah’s revolt to [[Simko Shikak revolt (1918–1922)|Simko’s (Simitko) mutiny]]. The overall labelling of these events as manifestations of the Kurdish national-liberation struggle against Turkish or Iranian suppressors is an essential element of the Kurdish identity-makers’ ideology. (...) With the Kurdish conglomeration, as I said above, far from being a homogeneous entity―either ethnically, culturally, or linguistically (see above, fn. 5; also fn. 14 below)―the basic component of the national doctrine of the Kurdish identity-makers has always remained the idea of the unified image of one nation, endowed respectively with one language and one culture. The chimerical idea of this imagined unity has become further the fundament of Kurdish identity-making, resulting in the creation of fantastic ethnic and cultural prehistory, perversion of historical facts, falsification of linguistic data, etc. (for recent Western views on Kurdish identity, see Atabaki/Dorleijn 1990).}}
@@ Line 32: / Line 36: @@
 == Further reading ==
-* {{cite journal |last1=Ateş |first1=Sabri |title=In the Name of the Caliph and the Nation: The Sheikh Ubeidullah Rebellion of 1880–81 |journal=Iranian Studies |date=2014 |volume=47 |issue=5 |pages=735-798 |doi=10.1080/00210862.2014.934151}}
+* {{cite journal |last1=Ateş |first1=Sabri |title=In the Name of the Caliph and the Nation: The Sheikh Ubeidullah Rebellion of 1880–81 |journal=Iranian Studies |date=2014 |volume=47 |issue=5 |pages=735–798 |doi=10.1080/00210862.2014.934151}}
 [[Category:Kurdish rebellions]]
-[[Category:History of the Ottoman Empire]]
+[[Category:Rebellions in the Ottoman Empire]]
 [[Category:Conflicts in 1880]]
 [[Category:Conflicts in 1879]]