Kurdish rebellions during World War I

During World War I, several Kurdish rebellions took place within the Ottoman Empire. These revolts were encouraged by the western allies, particularly Britain, who promised the Kurds an independent state.[1] Nonetheless, the allies provided only limited military support.[2] British promises of an independent Kurdistan were included in the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres, which assigned a small amount of territory for a planned Kurdish state, but these plans were abandoned in 1923 with the Turkish victory in the Turkish War of Independence and the ensuing Treaty of Lausanne.[1]

Kurdish rebellions during World War I
Dersim
Botan
Nazımiye
Mazght
Pertek
Perri
Elazığ
Kharput
Mardin
Diyarbekir
Bitlis
Kurdish rebellions during World War I (Turkey)
DateAugust 1914 – August 1917
Location
Ottoman Anatolia
Result

Ottoman victory

  • Rebellions suppressed
  • Territorial concessions given to Kurds in 1920, reversed in 1923
Belligerents
 Ottoman Empire Kurdish rebels
Limited support:
 Russian Empire (1917)
Commanders and leaders
  • Unknown mayor of Dersim †
  • Hasan Khayri Bey
  • Unknown Ferhatuşağı chieftain †
  • Ali Ağa
 
Part of a series on:

Kurdish history and Kurdish culture

Background
Main articles: History of the Kurds § Ottoman period, Early Kurdish nationalism § Prior to 1914, Bitlis uprising (1907), and Bitlis uprising (1914)

Timeline

Initial revolt (1914)

The first Kurdish rebellion during World War I took place prior to the Ottoman entry into World War I. In August 1914, the nephew of the mayor of Dersim was killed by a member of the Ferhatuşağı tribe, and in response to Ottoman reprisals the Ferhatuşağı tribe rebelled. The Ferhatuşağı were joined by the Karaballı, Lower Abbas, Abbasuşağı and Koçuşağı tribes. The murder of the chieftain of the Ferhatuşağı tribe ended the rebellion.[3]

Uprising in Botan (1915–1916)

In spring 1915, a Kurdish revolt broke out in Botan.[2] The revolt drove out the Ottoman troops entirely and as a result, the locals would govern the region for over a year.[4]

Uprisings in Dersim, Ottoman deportations (1916)

The Dersim uprising of 1916[5] was an Alevi Kurdish uprising[6] led by Ali Ağa[3] in the region of Dersim.[6] Its causes laid in the Kurdish fear that they would suffer the same fate as the Armenians, as well as the desire to remove the state control in Dersim.[7] It took place in March 1916, when Kurdish rebels occupied and destroyed the towns of Nazimiye, Mazght, Pertek, and Charsandjak,[6] and then marched towards the residence of the province governor (vali), Mamuretülaziz (modern day Elazığ).[8][6] Turkish officials in Mezere and Harput felt extremely threatened by the Kurdish revolt, since the Russians at the time occupied the area between Erzurum and Erzincan which adjoined Dersim to the north.[9] The Ottoman army would not to able to resist a coordinated Kurdish-Russian advance on Harput, leading the Muslim population of that settlement to make preparations to escape.[9] Such escape plans would prove unnecessary, as the Ottoman Empire sent a contingent of troops under Hasan Khayri Bey,[5] which included Shafi’i Kurds, and crushed the revolt.[6] After the defeat of the uprising, entire populations of the responsible tribes were deported from Dersim.[8]

Uprisings in Botan, Dersim, and Kharput (Summer 1917)

In summer 1917, Kurdish rebellions took place in Botan, Dersim, and Kharput.[2]

Last rebellions (August 1917)

In early August 1917, Kurdish rebellions took place in Mardin and Diyarbekir,[10] followed by Bitlis.[2] While the other Kurdish uprisings were largely ignored by the Allies of World War I, the uprisings of August 1917 received limited Russian support.[2]

Aftermath
Main articles: Deportations of Kurds (1916–1934), Treaty of Sèvres, Kurdish rebellions in Turkey, Kurdistan Workers' Party, and Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present)

See also
  • Dersim uprisings

References
  1. "The Kurdish tragedy | Red Flag". redflag.org.au. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  2. Eskander, Saad. "Britain's Policy Towards The Kurdish Question, 1915-1923" (PDF). etheses.lse.ac.uk. p. 45.
  3. Yılmazçelik, İbrahim. "Dersim Sancağının Kurulmasından Sonra Karşılaşılan Güçlükler ve Dersim Sancağı ile İlgili Bu Dönemde Yazılan Raporlar (1875-1918)" (PDF). dergiler.ankara.edu.tr (in Turkish). p. 186.
  4. Aḥmad, Kamāl Muẓhar (1994-01-01). Kurdistan During the First World War. Saqi Books. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-86356-084-2.
  5. Küçük, Hülya (2002). The Role of the Bektās̲h̲īs in Turkey's National Struggle. BRILL. p. 216. ISBN 9789004124431.
  6. Kieser, Hans-Lukas (2002). "The Alevis' Ambivalent Encounter With Modernity. Islam, Reform and Ethnopolitics In Turkey (19th-20th cc.)" (PDF). pdfs.semanticscholar.org. University of Zurich. p. 9.
  7. Bloxham, Donald (2005). The Great Game of Genocide: Imperialism, Nationalism, and the Destruction of the Ottoman Armenians. Oxford University Press. pp. 108. ISBN 978-0-19-927356-0.
  8. Kieser, Hans-Lukas. Muslim heterodoxy and protestant utopia. The interactions between Alevis and missionaries in Ottoman Anatolia. p. 105.
  9. White, Paul Joseph; Jongerden, Joost (2003). Turkey's Alevi Enigma: A Comprehensive Overview. BRILL. p. 183. ISBN 9789004125384.
  10. Aḥmad, Kamāl Muẓhar (1994-01-01). Kurdistan During the First World War. Saqi Books. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-86356-084-2.

Further reading

Aḥmad, Kamāl Muẓhar (1994-01-01). Kurdistan During the First World War. Saqi Books. ISBN 9780863560842.

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