1926 Simko Shikak revolt refers to a short-timed Kurdish uprising against the

Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in 1926, led by

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 ...

chieftain Simko Shikak from Shikak tribe.

Background

In 1919 Simko Shikak has started his first and foreign-backed

revolt Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

against Iranian government. His expeditions resulted with regional plunder and massacres of Assyrians,

Alevis 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, wh ...

and even Kurdish tribes. After three years of revolt he was defeated, but in 1924 Reza Khan pardoned him and he returned to Iran from exile. When Reza Khan had become Reza Shah in 1925, Simko pledged eternal loyalty to him and Iranian state.See:
*
* However, next year Simko allied himself with Haji Agha of

Herki Herki, also spelled Harki () is a large tribe in Kurdistan. The largest part of this tribe live in Iraqi Kurdistan and a significant number live in Iranian Kurdistan. They are also found in Northern Kurdistan. Sub-tribes The Herkis are divided in ...

and tribal chiefs of Begzadeh, regained control of his tribe and begun another rebellion.

Revolt

Short military confrontation has started in October 1926 in Salmas (a.k.a. Dilman or Shahpur) where rebels started encircling the city. Shortly after, Iranian forces were dispatched from

Urmia Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an alt ...

, Sharafkhaneh and

Khoy Khoy (Persian and az, خوی; ; ; also Romanized as Khoi), is a city and capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 200,985. Khoy is located north of the province's capital and largest city ...

, engaged rebels and defeated them. During engagement half of Simko's Shikak troops defected to the tribe’s previous leader and Simko himself fled to

Mandatory Iraq The Kingdom of Iraq under British Administration, or Mandatory Iraq ( ar, الانتداب البريطاني على العراق '), was created in 1921, following the 1920 Iraqi Revolt against the proposed British Mandate of Mesopotamia, an ...

Aftermath

In 1926, another unrelated Kurdish tribal revolt occurred in Kurdistan Province. Kurdish insurgency and seasonal migrations in late 1920s, along with long-running tensions between Tehran and Ankara, resulted in border clashes and even military penetrations in both Iranian and Turkish territory. In 1930, the commander of Iranian Army General Hassan Muqaddam sent a letter to Simko, who was residing in the village of Barzan, and invited him for a meeting in the town of

Oshnaviyeh Oshnavieh ( fa, اشنويه, Oshnavīyeh; ku, شنۆ, translit=Şino) is the capital city of Oshnavieh County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 40,000 in 2,000 families. The city is populated by Kurds ...

. After consulting with his friends, Simko along with Khorshid Agha Harki went to Oshnaviyeh and were invited to the house of local army commander, Colonel Norouzi and were told to wait for the Iranian general. Colonel Norouzi convinced Simko to go to the outskirts of the town to welcome the general's arrival. However, this was a trap and Simko was ambushed and killed on the evening of June 30, 1930. Simko's revolts are considered as attempt by a powerful tribal chief to establish his personal authority vis-à-vis the central government throughout the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. Although elements of Kurdish nationalism were present in this movement, historians agree these were hardly articulate enough to justify a claim that recognition of Kurdish identity was a major issue in Simko's movement. It lacked any kind of administrative organization and Simko was primary interested in

plunder Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

forces and non-Kurds were not the only ones to suffer in the attacks, the

Kurdish population The Kurdish population is estimated to be between 30 and 45 million.T ...

was also robbed and assaulted. Simko's men do not appear to have felt any sense of unity or solidarity with fellow Kurds. On other hand, Reza Shah's military victory over Simko and Turkic tribal leaders initiated with repressive era toward non-

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

minorities.

References

{{Middle East conflicts Rebellions in Iran 1920s in Iran Conflicts in 1926 Kurdish rebellions in Iran Kurdish rebellions