Molla Mehmet Karayılan (1888 - 24 May 1920) was a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

villager who famously fought and died in the Siege of Aintab.

Early life

Mehmet was born in 1888 in a tent in the Elifler or Kürt Elif hamlet in the Besni

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, modern-day

Pazarcık Pazarcık () is a municipality and district of Kahramanmaraş Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,253 km2, and its population is 70,173 (2022). It is in the southeastern part of the province. The cement plant is a major source of greenhouse ga ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, to a relatively affluent family belonging to the Kabalar sub-tribe of the Kurdish Atma or Reshwan tribe. His father, Mahmut, was a skillful fighter, earning him the nickname ''Karayılan'' ( ''black snake''), which Mehmet inherited. In 1904, his father was killed by

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

bandits raiding the hamlet. Mehmet took

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

lessons from the

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

of the Söğütlü village in modern-day

Malatya Province Malatya Province (; ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is 12,259 km2, and its population is 812,580 (2022). It is part of a larger mountainous area. Th ...

and became the imam of his own village. Because of this, he came to be known as '' Molla''.

World War I

Molla Mehmet fought against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

for the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and got injured on his leg. After healing, he became the leader of his tribe. He collaborated with the Ottoman government to track down and kill the infamous bandit Bozan Agha, who terrorized the region between

and

Malatya Malatya (; ; Syriac language, Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of y ...

Participation in the Siege of Aintab and death

Upon hearing of the French expansion to

Aintab Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medit ...

, Molla Mehmet gathered 82 volunteers from his tribe to join the

Kuva-yi Milliye The Kuva-yi Milliye (; 'National Forces' or 'Nationalist Forces') were irregular Turkish militia forces active in the early period of the Turkish War of Independence. These irregular forces emerged after the occupation of the parts of Turkey by t ...

and sold his family property, against his mother’s wish for him to stay. Defeating French forces marching towards Marash in Karabıyıklı, Mehmet was able to capture 50 French soldiers, which earned him great fame throughout

. The local

Association for Defence of National Rights Associations for Defence of National Rights () were regional resistance organisations established in the Ottoman Empire between 1918 and 1919 that pledged themselves to the Defence of National Rights movement. They would eventually unite into the ...

invited him for a mission to capture and kill Kel Ahmet ( ''Bald

Ahmet Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English language, English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root (Ḥ-M-D, ḥ-m-d), f ...

''), who raided the Turkish villages near Sam and

Dülük Dülük () is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Şehitkamil, Gaziantep Province, Turkey. Its population is 2,826 (2022). It is about from Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major ...

and hindered the Turkish side in the

Franco-Turkish War The Franco–Turkish War, known as the Cilicia Campaign () in France and as the Southern Front () of the Turkish War of Independence in Turkey, was a series of conflicts fought between France (the French Colonial Forces and the French Armenian ...

. After he hanged Kel Ahmet in Dülük, Karayılan met Kılıç Ali Bey and breached the French forces in Dülük sieging Aintab. He then released and recruited the prisoners in the city's prison. On 24 May 1920, he succumbed to a bullet to his chest. He became a hero of the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molla Mehmet Karayılan 1920 deaths 1888 births Members of Kuva-yi Milliye 19th-century Kurdish people 20th-century Kurdish people