The Bitlis uprising was a Kurdish uprising in the Ottoman Empire in early 1914. It was supported by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. It was fought concurrently with an unrelated Kurdish uprising in

Barzan Barzan can refer to: Geography * Barzan, Iraq, a city in northern Iraq * Barzan, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province, Iran * Barzan, alternate name of Sevaldi, a village in North Khorasan Province, Iran * Barzan, Charente-Maritime, a town in Fran ...

in the Mosul Vilayet, which was also supported by Russia. Later Kurdish nationalist historiography portrayed the uprising as part of a Kurdish nationalist struggle, but its actual causes laid in opposition to conscription and taxation. The uprising began in early March, with a skirmish between Kurdish fighters and Ottoman gendarmes, where the latter was forced to retreat. The Kurds subsequently laid siege to the city of Bitlis, and captured the city on 2 April. Ottoman forces were then dispatched from Muş and Van and suppressed the uprising. After the defeat of the uprising on 4 April, one of the rebel leaders, Molla Selim, successfully sought asylum in Russia.

References

Conflicts in 1914 1914 in the Ottoman Empire Kurdish–Turkish conflict Wars involving the Ottoman Empire

External links

* {{Cite web, url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/597494, title=1914 Tarihli Bitlis İsyanının Osmanlı Arşiv Belgelerindeki Yansımaları-Cezalar, Mükâfatlar, last=Demirtaş, first=Mehmet, date=2018, website=dergipark.org.tr