Emirate of Çemişgezek (, 13th century–1663) was a hereditary and autonomous
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 ...
emirate existing from the 13th century to 1663, centered around
Çemişgezek
Çemişgezek ( ku, Melkişî; hy, Չմշկածագ, translit=Čmškacag) is a town and district of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The mayor is Levent Metin Yıldız ( AKP).
The district has a population of 7,418 as of 2021.
Demographics
The town an ...
including
Mazgirt
Mazgirt (from hy, Մեծկերտ, ''Medzgerd'', literally "big town", ku, Mêzgir), is a small city and its surrounding district in Tunceli Province of Turkey. The city has a population of 1,712, most of which are Alevi. The current mayor is Mura ...
,
Pertek
Pertek (from hy, Բերդակ, translit=Berdak, ku, Pêrteg) is a city seat of Pertek District in Tunceli Province, Turkey. It had a population of 6,365 in 2021 and is populated by Kurds and Turks. The mayor is Ruhan Alan from the Republican P ...
and
Sağman. The emirate was populated by both Muslims and non-Muslims, and moreover had a significant
Kurdish Alevi population which flourished and expanded due to the secured self-governance under
Ottoman rule, despite Ottoman antagonism towards the minority. Beside Kurds, the emirate had a
Bozulus
Bozulus, also spelled Boz-ulus or Boz Ulus ( in Turkish), is the name given by the Ottomans to a tribal nomadic confederation of predominantly Turcoman tribes that were located in the vicinity of Diyarbakır. These tribes were brought into the Ot ...
population.
History
During the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
invasion and that of
Qara Yusuf
''Abu Nasr'' Qara Yusuf ibn Mohammad Barani ( az, Qara Yusif ; c. 1356 – 1420) was the ruler of the Qara Qoyunlu dynasty (or "Black Sheep Turkomans") from c.1388 to 1420, although his reign was interrupted by Tamerlane's invasion (1400–1405) ...
of the
Qara Qoyunlu
The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, Eng ...
, the region around Çemişgezek remained under the control of the Kurdish Malkishi tribe who claimed descent from the
Abbasids
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
. When the
Aq Qoyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu ( az, Ağqoyunlular , ) was a culturally Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two tribal confederations: Akkoyunlu (Wh ...
under
Uzun Hasan
Uzun Hasan or Uzun Hassan ( اوزون حسن; fa, اوزون حسن; 1423 – January 6, 1478; where ''uzun'' means "tall" in Oghuz Turkic) was a ruler of the Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu state and is generally considered to be its strongest ruler. ...
entered
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 ...
, the Malkishi tribe was a target since they had been faithful to the Qara Qoyunlu and the Kharbandalu Turkmens were thus sent to Çemişgezek to fight the Kurds. However, the Malkishi resisted successfully. After this, the Malkishi submitted themselves to
Ismail I
Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...
of the
Safavids
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 ...
who replaced their leader with an Safavid governor. The Kurdish-Turkmen rivalry over land worsened as
Qizilbash
Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, the ...
dominance increased with the appointment of the Turkmen Qizilbash Khan Muhammad Ustajalu to
Diyarbakir which pushed the Kurdish lords of Çemişgezek and other areas to revolt, just before the arrival of the Ottomans.
In the summer of 1515,
Idris Bitlisi
Idris Bitlisi ( 18 January 1457 – 15 November 1520), sometimes spelled Idris Bidlisi, Idris-i Bitlisi, or Idris-i Bidlisi ("Idris of Bitlis"), and fully ''Mevlana Hakimeddin İdris Mevlana Hüsameddin Ali-ül Bitlisi'', was an Ottoman Kurdish ...
had, on behalf of the Ottoman Empire, mobilized a Kurdish army including from Çemişgezek to fight the Aq Qoyunlu and the
Safavids
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 ...
to recapture Diyarbakir. The Kurdish army was joined by Ottoman troops from
Amasya
Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey and is the capital of Amasya Province, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th e ...
marching together towards Diyarbakir and succeeded in capturing the city by mid-September same year. The army subsequently went on to capture
Mardin, and crushed the Qizilbash in
Kızıltepe
Kızıltepe ( ku, Qoser, ota, Tell-Ermen, lit=Armenian hill ) is a town and district in Mardin Province of Turkey. As of 2021, the district had a population of 263,938, making it the most populous district in the province.
Government
In the lo ...
in 1516. The Kurds played a crucial role in the victory and were rewarded richly by
Bıyıklı Mehmed Pasha
Bıyıklı Mehmed Pasha ( Ottoman Turkish: بیقلی مهمد پاثا, died 24 December 1521) known as Fatih Pasha, was an Ottoman serdar and governor of Diyarbakır.
Military career
After the Battle of Chaldiran (1514), he commanded the Eas ...
who would become the first governor of
Diyarbekir Eyalet
Eyālet-i Diyār-i Bekr
, common_name = Eyalet of Diyarbekir
, subdivision = Eyalet
, nation = the Ottoman Empire
, year_start = 1515
, year_end = 1846
, date_start = Nov ...
and fostered good relations with the Kurds in the region. Diyarbekir Eyalet would include the Emirate of Çemişgezek. The Emirate of Çemişgezek was one of only two Kurdish emirates mentioned in a
defter
A ''defter'' (plural: ''defterler'') was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire.
Description
The information collected could vary, but ''tahrir defterleri'' typically included details of villages, dwellings, household ...
in 1518, the other being
Çermik
Çermik ( hy, Ջերմուկ, lit=hot springs, Jermuk; ku, Çermûk) is a town and district of Diyarbakır Province of Turkey. The population is 50,390 as of 2021. The mayor is Şehmus Karamehmetoğlu from the Justice and Development Party (Turkey ...
.
Kurdish historian
Sharafkhan Bidlisi
Sharaf al-Din Khan b. Shams al-Din b. Sharaf Beg Bedlisi ( Kurdish: شەرەفخانی بەدلیسی, ''Şerefxanê Bedlîsî''; fa, شرفالدین خان بن شمسالدین بن شرف بیگ بدلیسی; 25 February 1543 – ) wa ...
wrote in
Sharafnama
The ''Sharafnama'' (Kurdish: شەرەفنامە Şerefname, "The Book of Honor", Persian: Sharafname, شرفنامه) is the famous book of Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi (a medieval Kurdish historian and poet) (1543–1599), which he wrote in 1597, in Pe ...
that the ruler of Çemişgezek Haci Rustem Beg supported
Ismail I
Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...
in the early 1500s which he was executed for by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. Haci Rustem Beg was the last strong ruler of the emirate and the Ottomans appointed a governor to rule the emirate after his death. The Ottoman Sultan
Selim I
Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite last ...
handed over the emirate to Pir Huseyin, the son of Haci Rustem Beg, after he had given his formal submission to the Sultan. After the death of Pir Huseyin, his sixteen sons fought each other which meant that Sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...
had to intervene. The Sultan moreover incorporated the revenue of Çemişgezek town, the poll-tax of non-Muslims (
haraç
Haraç ( hy, խարջ, kharj, mk, арач, arač, gr, χαράτσι, charatsi, sh-Cyrl-Latn, харач, harač) was a land tax levied on non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire.
''Haraç'' was developed from an earlier form of land taxation, '' ...
), the sheep tax (
adet-i ağnam) and the entire revenue of the villages that looked promising into the imperial domains. The remaining
timar
A timar was a land grant by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, with an annual tax revenue of less than 20,000 akçes. The revenues produced from the land acted as compensation for military service. A ...
and
ziamet Ziamet was a form of land tenure in the Ottoman Empire, consisting in grant of lands or revenues by the Ottoman Sultan to an individual in compensation for their services, especially military services. The ziamet system was introduced by Osman I, wh ...
were divided between each son and the land thus remained hereditary. In 1597, by the time Bidlisi wrote Sharafnama, the family was still in control over the region.
In 1663, the emirate was abolished and Çemişgezek town was made into a
muqata'ah administered by a governor (voivod).
See also
*
List of Kurdish dynasties and countries
This is a list of Kurdish dynasties, countries and autonomous territories. By the 10th century, the term "Kurd" did not have an ethnic connotation and referred to Iranian nomads in the region between Lake Van and Lake Urmia. In Arabic medieval sou ...
*
Emirate of Hasankeyf
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
* {{Citation, last=van Bruinessen, first=Martin, title=Evliya Çelebi in Diyarbekir, year=1988, publisher=
Brill Publishers
Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes 27 ...
, isbn=9004081658, last2=Boeschoten, first2=Hendrik
Former Kurdish states in Turkey
History of Tunceli Province
Safavid Iran
Kurdish dynasties
Vassal states of the Ottoman Empire
States and territories disestablished in 1663
States and territories established in the 13th century