Miralay Halid Beg Cibran () (born 1882 in

Varto Varto (, ku, Gimgim, grc-x-medieval, Barzanissa) is a town and district in Muş Province, Turkey. The population of Varto city is around 13,000 with another 17,000 living in the villages. The largest population from Varto in Europe is in Berli ...

Muş Muş (; hy, Մուշ; ku, Mûş) is a city and the provincial capital of Muş Province in Turkey. Its population is mostly Kurds. Etymology Various explanations of the origin of Muş's name exist. Its name is sometimes associated with the Arme ...

; 14 April 1925 in

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 ...

) 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 in 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 ...

and chairman of the

Azadî The Azadî ( en, Freedom), officially (Society for Kurdish Freedom), later Civata Xweseriya Kurd (Society for Kurdish Independence) was a Kurdish secret organization. According to Kurds who reported to British intelligence officers, Azadî was es ...

organization.

Early life and education

He was born in

in 1882. His father Mahmud Bey was the chieftain (''

ağa Ağa is a Turkish surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Mustapha Aga, Ottoman Empire ambassador to the Swedish Court *Osman Aga of Temesvar, Ottoman army officer * Sedefkar Mehmed Agha, Ottoman architect of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque *Su ...

'') of the

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Cibran tribe. The Cibran was an influential

Kurmanji Kurmanji ( ku, کورمانجی, lit=Kurdish, translit=Kurmancî, also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northern dialect of the Kurdish languages, spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, northern Iraq, northern Sy ...

speaking Kurdish tribe and used to work closely with the Ottoman government. In exchange the Cibrans were allowed to set up regiments for the

Hamidiye cavalry The ''Hamidiye'' regiments (literally meaning "belonging to Hamid", full official name ''Hamidiye Hafif Süvari Alayları'', Hamidiye Light Cavalry Regiments) were well-armed, irregular, mainly Sunni Kurdish but also Turkish, Circassian,Pal ...

. Halid Beg has attended the Aşiret (tribal) school in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. Afterwards he has followed up on his studies at the

Ottoman Military College The Ottoman Military College or Imperial Military Staff College or Ottoman Army War College ( ota, مكتب اركان حربيه شاهانه, Mekteb-i Erkân-ı Harbiyye-i Şâhâne or اركان حربيه مكتب, romanized: ''Erkân-ı Har ...

Military career

In 1892, he became the leader of the second Hamidiye regiment and was in charge of leading the attack on Zeynel Talu Hermekli in 1894, the son of the

Alevi Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, w ...

Ibrahim Talu, who was killed by troops of the second Hamidiye regiment under the command of Halid Beg Cibran in 1906. The Alevi tribes wouldn't forget such treatment by the Sunni, and wouldn't join the Sheikh Said Rebellion in 1925. During

World War I 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 deployed in the eastern front, and fought against then Armenians. It is reported that concerned about the possible betrayal of the Alevi Kurds, he sent a message to General

Kazim Karabekir Kazem (also spelled Kadhem, Kadhim, Kazim, Qazim or Cathum; written in ar, كاظم, in Persian language, Persian: کاظِم) means "tolerant", "forgiving", and "having patience" is an Arabic male given name. Although the pronunciation of the ...

, urging him to refuse their support in the battles. During the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

, he sided with

Mustafa Kemal Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name ...

(Atatürk) and took a stand against the government in İstanbul.

Kurdish rebellions

After the war, he returned to the

Dersim Tunceli ( ku, Dêrsim) is a city and municipality in eastern Turkey. It is the capital of Tunceli Province, located in the middle of the Eastern Anatolia Region. The city has a Kurdish-majority population and was a site of the Dersim rebellion. ...

region, made first attempts to counter the Turkish nationalism and support the Kurdish cause, implying the Kurds to speak their language. Following the signing of the

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres (french: Traité de Sèvres) was a 1920 treaty signed between the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty ceded large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, Greece and Italy, as well ...

in 1920, he garnered support for the Kurdish aims for self rule. He visited various towns in the region, such as

Bingöl Bingöl ( diq, Çolig; ku, Çewlik; hy, Ճապաղջուր, translit=Chapaghjur) is a city in Eastern Turkey and the capital of Bingöl Province. Etymology One of the historical names for the city, ''Bingöl'' literally means ''thousand lak ...

, Bulanik or

Malazgirt Malazgirt or Malâzgird ( ku, Melezgir; hy, Մանազկերտ, Manazkert; grc-x-medieval, Ματζιέρτη, Matziértē), historically known as Manzikert ( grc-x-medieval, Μαντζικέρτ, links=no), is a town in Muş Province in eastern ...

and spoke to the Kurdish notables. But after the Koçgiri uprising, he began to oppose the

Kemalists Kemalism ( tr, Kemalizm, also archaically ''Kamâlizm''), also known as Atatürkism ( tr, Atatürkçülük, Atatürkçü düşünce), or The Six Arrows ( tr, Altı Ok), is the founding official ideology of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey.Eric J. ...

. According to Kurds reporting to the British intelligence, he established Azadi in Erzurum, the city where he formerly was a military commander, in 1921 of which he became its president. The Azadi was a Kurdish society which later would become a leading force in the Sheikh Said Rebellion. He led the uprising at Beytüşşebap in 1924. He was captured in Erzurum on 20 December 1924 reportedly after having been accused of his involvement in the Beytüssebap revolt by Yusuf Zia Bey (another leader of the Beytüssebap revolt). Both were courtmartialed in Bitlis and Halid Beg Cibran was hanged on the 14 April 1925.{{Cite book, last=Yilmaz, first=Özcan, title=La formation de la nation kurde en Turquie, publisher=Graduate Institute Publications, year=2015, isbn=978-2-940503-17-9, pages=86, language=fr

References

Ottoman Army personnel Kurdish revolutionaries 1882 births 1925 deaths Kurdish independence activists Ottoman military personnel of World War I Turkish military personnel of the Turkish War of Independence