Bahdinan or Badinan was one of the most powerful and enduring Kurdish principalities. It was founded by ''Baha-al-Din'' originally from ''Şemzînan'' area in

Hakkari Hakkari or Hakkâri may refer to: *Hakkari (historical region), a historical region in modern-day Turkey and Iraq *Hakkâri (city), a city and the capital of Hakkâri Province, Turkey *Hakkâri Province Hakkâri Province (, tr, Hakkâri ili, ...

in sometime between 13th or 14th century CE. The capital of this emirate was Amadiya for a long time. The rulers of the Bahdinan emirate governed over the Emirate since the Abbasid Caliphate, an early dynasty in Islamic history. It was centered in the town of ''Amadiya'' (or Amêdî) in the present-day

Dahuk Duhok ( ku, دهۆک, translit=Dihok; ar, دهوك, Dahūk; syr, ܒܝܬ ܢܘܗܕܪܐ, Beth Nohadra) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It's the capital city of Duhok Governorate. History The city's origin dates back to the Stone ...

province in Iraqi Kurdistan. According to Evliya Celebi the principality was divided into the following districts: Aqra, Zakho, Shikhoyi,

Duhok Duhok ( ku, دهۆک, translit=Dihok; ar, دهوك, Dahūk; syr, ܒܝܬ ܢܘܗܕܪܐ, Beth Nohadra) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It's the capital city of Duhok Governorate. History The city's origin dates back to the Stone ...

, Zibari, and Muzuri. The districts were autonomous units under their own rulers who were appointed by the Khan of Amadiya. In addition to this, there were tribal chieftains with formalized positions (for example, the chiefs of the Sindi and Silvane tribes needed confirmation from the ruler of Zakho). The principality reached its peak during the reign of ''Bahram Pasha the Great'' (re. 1726–1767). Threatened by the expansionist and centralizing efforts of the Ottoman and

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

empires, Bahdinan princes were drawn into prolonged confrontations with these two rival powers. The Bahdinan rulers, ''Esmail Pasha'' and ''Mohammad Said Pasha'' were deposed by the emir of the neighboring Soran principality in 1831. However, their rule was restored after the Ottomans defeated ''Soran'' in 1836. Although the Soran influence lasted only for a few years, the Bahdinan principality never fully recovered. Pursuing their centralization policy, the Ottomans overthrew the Bahdinan principality in 1843 (or 1838) and incorporated it in the

Sandjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...

of Mosul. The most famous ancient library in the region, in the Qubehan school at Amadiya, was destroyed by British troops putting down a revolt in the region in 1919, although some 400 manuscripts were rescued and eventually found their way into the Iraq Museum's collection.Faraj, S.S. Libraries and Librarianship in Iraqi Kurdistan. In: Libraries in the Early 21st Century: An International Perspective, edited by R.N. Sharma, vol.2, 297-311. 2012. Berlin: de Gruyter Saur.

References

Bahdinan
Encyclopædia Iranica, p. 485, By Amir Hassanpour.
Bahdīnān
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Brill Academic Publishers.

References

See also