Ihsan Nuri, also known as Ihsan Nuri Pasha ( ku, Îhsan Nûrî Paşa ,ئیحسان نووری پاشا), 1892 or 1893,

Bitlis Bitlis ( hy, Բաղեշ '; ku, Bidlîs; ota, بتليس) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Bitlis Province. The city is located at an elevation of 1,545 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis R ...

– 25 March 1976,

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

) was a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

soldier and politician, former officer of the Ottoman and

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

, and one of the leaders of the Ararat rebellion as the

generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

of the Kurdish National Forces.

Early life and education

Ihsan Nuri was born in the house of his father Elî QulîMehmet Kemal Işık (Torî), "İhsan Nuri Paşa", ''Ünlü Kürt Bilgin ve Birinci Kuşak Aydınlar'', Sorun Yayınları, İstanbul, Kasım 2000, , p. 169. in

in 1893. He came from a branch of the Jalali tribe. After finishing primary education at the Gök Meydan mosque in Bitlis, he was registered in the Erzincan Military School (''Erzincan Askerî Rüştiyesi ''). After completing secondary education, he entered in the

Ottoman Military Academy The Turkish Military Academy ( tr, Kara Harp Okulu) is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defence University. It is located in the center of Ankara, Turkey. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and ph ...

.İhsan Nuri Paşa, ''Ağrı Dağı İsyanı'', Med Yayınları, İstanbul, 1992, p. 7. While at the academy, he joined the ''Hevî,'' a Kurdish association of students. In 1910, he graduated from this academy as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and joined the

Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

Ottoman military career

After he participated in the counterinsurgency operations in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, he was sent to

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

and served there for 33 months. After returning from Yemen, he was appointed the aide-de-camp of Ottoman 93rd Infantry Regiment and was sent to Beyzon. In the early stage of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was injured at Nerman and sent back to the rear area for treatment. On the way to Erzincan, he suffered from frostbite near

Karaburun Karaburun ( el, Αχιρλί, Achirlí) is a district and the center town of the same district in Turkey's İzmir Province. The district area roughly corresponds to the peninsula of the same name (Karaburun Peninsula, Turkey, Karaburun Peninsula) ...

. After treatment in Erzincan, he was assigned to the Ottoman Ninth Army, and then appointed the member of the administration committee of

Ozurgeti Ozurgeti ( ka, ოზურგეთი ) is the capital of the western Georgian province of Guria. It was formerly known as Macharadze or Makharadze (named in honor of Filipp Makharadze). It is a regional center of tea and hazelnut processing. Oz ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, briefly occupied by the Turkish troops during the

Caucasus Campaign The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dicta ...

of 1918 and served as the commander of the mobile

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

of the town. After the First World War, he got in contact with the

Society for the Rise of Kurdistan Society for the Rise of Kurdistan ( ku, Cemîyeta Tealîya Kurdistanê) also known as the Society for the Advancement of Kurdistan (SAK), was secretly established in Istanbul, Constantinople on 6 November 1917 and officially announced organizat ...

, who delivered him the task to establish relations amongst the Kurdish notables in area around Diarbakır,

Siirt Siirt ( ar, سِعِرْد, Siʿird; hy, Սղերդ, S'gherd; syr, ܣܥܪܬ, Siirt; ku, Sêrt) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the seat of Siirt Province. The population of the city according to the 2009 census was 129,188. History Pr ...

and

. He wrote an article about

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

Fourteen Points U.S. President Woodrow Wilson The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms ...

, which was published on 30 March 1919 in the ''Jîn'' magazine. When he arrived at

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...

, Rushdi Bey, who was the commander of the 9th Caucasian Division, sent him to

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

to meet authorities of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

.Mehmet Kemal Işık (Torî), "İhsan Nuri Paşa", p. 170. He was a commander of the crushed Beytüssebab revolt in September 1924Olson, Robert (1989). pp,46–47 in which he demanded other Kurdish tribal militiamen to support the uprising. He also supported the Sheikh Said rebellion in 1925 but did not take part in it in a leading position as he was in exile in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in February 1925. After the rebellion in Beytüssebap was subdued, the Turks intelligence undertook an attempt to portray Nuri as a Turkish spy to the British.Olson, Robert (1989). p.175 But the British dismissed the attempt.

Republic of Ararat

Ihsan Nuri Pasha and his wife, Khadija Yashar

Kurdish nationalist Kurdish nationalism (, ) is a nationalist political movement which asserts that Kurds are a nation and espouses the creation of an independent Kurdistan from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Early Kurdish nationalism had its roots in the Ottoman ...

s met in October 1927 and not only proclaimed the independence of

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...

, but also formed

Xoybûn Xoybûn or Khoyboun ( ku, ,Xoybûn خۆیبوون) was a Kurdish nationalist political party, that is known for leading the Ararat rebellion, commanded by Ihsan Nuri. Many Armenians joined the movement as well, the party was active in all parts ...

(Independence), a “supreme national organ … with full and exclusive national and international powers”. Cognizant of the need for a proper military structure, Xoybûn promoted Ihsan Nuri to general (pasha) and nominated him Commander-In-Chief of the Kurdish National Army. Ihsan Nuri, a former Kurdish member of the Young Turks. By 1928, Ihsan Nuri had assembled a small group of soldiers armed with modern weapons and trained in infantry tactics. This force initiated the Xoybûn revolt, marching towards

Mount Ararat Mount Ararat or , ''Ararat''; or is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in the extreme east of Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey and th ...

. Ihsan Nuri and his men not only achieved success in reaching Mount Ararat, but they were able to secure the towns of

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

province, and most of the countryside around

Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...

, establishing a notable area of Kurdish resistance. By the end of summer 1930, the Turkish air forces were bombing Kurdish positions around Mount Ararat from all directions. According to General Ihsan Nuri, the military superiority of Turkish air forces demoralized Kurds and led to their capitulation.

As refugee

During the 1930s,

Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

İhsan Nuri arrived as a refugee in

. The government restricted his movements for years in Tehran. In 1960, his situation became better and he was permitted to settle in the Kurdish region around

Urmia Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an alt ...

. In 1962, he undertook a journey to

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

to a Kurdish language congress and, while he stayed in Berlin, he also met Kamuran Bedir Khan. While in Europe, he also visited the cities of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and at both locations he was received by Iranian diplomats. He returned to Iran in mid 1962, where he returned to Urmia. In the summer of 1976, he was injured when he was hit by a motorcycle directly in front of his home at around 10:00 am. He was taken to a local hospital where he died of his wounds during the day. The culprit driving the motorcycle that hit him was never identified or apprehended.

Sources

External links

Ağrı Dağı İsyanı'nın lideri İhsan Nuri Paşa'yı anlatıyor
Navenda Lêkolînan Kurdistan {{DEFAULTSORT:Ihsan Nuri 1890s births 1976 deaths Kurdish people from the Ottoman Empire People from Bitlis Ottoman Military Academy alumni Ottoman Army officers Ottoman military personnel of World War I Turkish Kurdish people Turkish Army officers Turkish military personnel of the Turkish–Armenian War Turkish Kurdish politicians Ararat rebellion Generalissimos Pashas Road incident deaths in Iran Kurdish nationalists Pedestrian road incident deaths Kurdish independence activists Mount Ararat Turkish emigrants to Iran