Şirvan, Turkey

Şirvan ( ar, شروان, syr, ܫܝܪܘܢ, Sherwan, ku, Kufra/Şêrvan) is a town and district in Siirt Province in southeastern Turkey.

History

Şirvan is attested in the 13th century by Yaqut al-Hamawi in ''Mu'jam al-Buldan''.

Under the Ottoman Empire, Şirvan was a ''kaza'' (district) of the sanjak of Siirt in the Bitlis Vilayet, and the village of Küfre ("village" in Syriac, today called Şirvan) served as its administrative centre. In late 19th century, the district of Şirvan was largely inhabited by Muslim Kurds but was also home to a number of Christian Assyrians and Armenians, who constituted roughly 20% of the total population of the district. Of the total 200-odd settlements in the district, 28 were Christian, most of which were predominantly inhabited by Syriac Orthodox Assyrians, and some were populated by both Christians and Muslims.

As a consequence of the removal of local Kurdish overlords as part of the Ottoman policy of centralisation in the 1830s and 1840s, rural areas in the district were made vulnerable to oppression and exploitation by Kurdish tribes. Christians were also the victim of religious persecution, and led many to emigrate, as well as a small number of Kurds due to economic hardship, and resulted in a gradual process of Kurdification of the district.

By 1895, Küfre was populated by Assyrians and Kurds, with some Armenian families. In the same year, amidst the Hamidian massacres, the village was attacked by Kurdish nomads of the Mahometan and Strugan tribes, allegedly with the permission of the acting ''kaymakam'' (district governor), Fatha Bey. It was reported that all Christian houses were looted, and 25 Assyrians and Armenians were killed. As well as this, almost every Christian village in the district was attacked in October–November 1895. James Henry Monahan, British vice-consul of Bitlis, reported that 179 Christians (151 men and 18 women) were killed, however it is suggested that this figure may under-represent the total figure.

In order to avoid future attacks, almost all Assyrians and Armenians ostensibly converted to Islam on the suggestion of sedentary Kurds. The large majority of converts privately reconverted to Christianity within several years after the massacres of 1895, and only three converted villages in the district remained Muslim when visited by Monahan. Oppression of Christians worsened considerably in the aftermath of the massacres, thereby increasing Christian emigration; of 22 villages in the district, over half of the population left. Despite this, a number of crypto-Christian villages have endured into the 21st century.

See also

* Emirate of Şirvan

References

Bibliography

*

Populated places in Siirt Province
Districts of Siirt Province
Kurdish settlements in Turkey
Assyrian communities in Turkey
Crypto-Christianity in the Ottoman Empire

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