Soran Emirate

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Soran Emirate
Map of the Soran Emirate during the peak of Mir Muhammad's rule (c. 1832–1835)
Map of the Soran Emirate during the peak of Mir Muhammad's rule (c. 1832–1835)[6][7][8][9] [10]
Official languagesArabic[11]
Common languagesKurdish
Religion
Islam (State religion) Others: Yazidism, Judaism, Christianity
• 1816–1836
Mir Muhammad
Establishment
• Established
~1330s–1430s
• Dissolved
1847
Succeeded by
Ottoman Empire
Today part ofTurkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran

Soran Emirate (Kurdish: میرنشینی سۆران)[12] was a medieval Kurdish emirate established before the conquest of Kurdistan by Ottoman Empire in 1514[13] and later revived by Emir Muhammad centered in Rawandiz from 1816 to 1836.[14]

Origins

According to the Sharafnama (1597) by Sharafkhan Bidlisi, the emirate traced its lineage to a Bedouin Arab noble man from Baghdad named Kelos, who settled in the village of Hewdeyan in the Ewan district within the borders of Soran. Initially, Kelos worked as a shepherd for the villagers. Kelos had lost his front teeth, and in the dialect of the local people, "Kelos" referred to someone who lacked their front teeth, thus the name stuck with him.[15][16]

Kelos had three sons: Isa, Ibrahim, and Sheikh Uveys. Isa was described as noble, gentle, and eloquent, and was known for distributing his earnings to the poor and destitute of the village, which earned him a devoted following. When the ruler of the region mobilized his forces against a powerful enemy, Isa joined the campaign with his followers. His companions mockingly bestowed upon him the title of "Emir," but following demonstrations of his capability in battle, the local population formally recognized him as their ruler. Isa and his followers subsequently moved to capture the Ewan Fortress.[15][16]

Sharafnama recounts that the area surrounding the fortress was characterized by bare, hard red rocks. Isa and his men were the first to scale the rocks and engage the defenders, and their valor in battle led to them being named Seng-Surh, Kurdish for "people of the red rocks." Through common usage, and owing to the Kurdish rendering of the Persian surh ("red") as sohr, the name evolved into Sohran, the name of the emirate. Following a successful siege, Isa governed the region until his death, after which his son Shah Ali succeeded him.[15][16]

Early years

Qadir Muhammad Muhammad writes that the emirate was likely established sometime between the 1330s and 1430s.[17]

Years later, during the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 between the Ottomans and the Safavids, the Emirate was able to conquer land between Erbil and Kirkuk.[18] Following the Ottoman conquest of Baghdad in 1534, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent ordered the assassination of Izzeddin Sher, the ruler of Erbil and son of Shah Ali, and appointed the Yazidi leader Mîr Husên Beg Dasini as the emir of Erbil in the spring of 1535. Contemporary Ottoman sources suggest that the removal of Izzeddîn Sher was motivated by his secret support for the Safavids, despite professed loyalty to the Ottoman state.[19]

Soon after, Mir Husên Beg Dasini faced resistance from Mir Seyfeddin, son of Mîr Husên of Soran, who initially sought refuge with the Emir of Ardalan but later successfully reclaimed much of the former Soran territories. Despite Mir Husên Beg’s efforts, conflicts between Mîr Seyfeddîn and the Ottomans continued for years. Ottoman records indicate that Husên Beg was replaced as Sanjakbeg of Erbil by Ferhad Beg before 1544. After his service in Erbil, Mîr Husên Beg Dasinî continued to hold various Ottoman administrative positions. Contrary to claims in Sharafname that he was executed in Istanbul, Ottoman documents indicate that he later served as emir of Bitlis, with records mentioning him in 1556–1558, including a request for a timar for his son Ali Beg.[19]

Under Mir Muhammad

The statue of Mir Muhammad of Rawanduz in Rawanduz

The last prince of the emirate was Mir Muhammad of Rawanduz, who reigned from 1813 to 1836. His father, Mustafa Beg, peacefully handed the princedom to him. In the first few years of his rule, he consolidated his power and began launching attacks toward the neighboring principality of Baban. He occupied Harir in 1822, Koy Sanjaq, Altun Kupri, Erbil in 1823, Akre, Ranya in 1824.[17] This established the Zab river as the border between the two emirates.

As the region experienced a power vacuum due to the decline of Baban, the Russo-Turkish War from 1828 to 1829, and the Egyptian–Ottoman War from 1831 to 1833, he led a tribal force to Rawandiz and built a citadel in the town as they build up a military. Between 1831 and 1834 he was able to capture several towns and cities in other Kurdish emirates. 1831 he captured the Bahdinan emirate of Amedi.[20] Kor further expanded his influence to Mardin, Cizre and Nusaybin, compelling the ruler of the Bohtan Mir Sevdin, to accept his authority, which caused serious concern in the Ottoman capital Constantinople.[20] Kor then captured Akre and oppressed Yazidis in the newly-conquered areas.[20]

Under Emir Kor, the Soran emirate developed a powerful army. It consisted of between 30 and 50,000 tribal musketeers who were given regular salaries, having the appearance of a national army.[17] Kor himself ate each evening with 100-200 soldiers from different tribes.[17] A multitude of different tribes joined his army such as the Baliki, Rewendek, Sidek, Shirwani, Rusuri, Malibas, Muzuri, Sheikhab, Nurik, Kheilani, Khoshnaw, Hnearai, Herki, Sheikh Mahmudi, Kassan, Derijiki, Bamami, Sekw, Shikuli, Mendik, Baimar, Balak, and Piraji.[17]

Kor tried to subdue the Assyrians of Lower Tyari in 1834 but suffered a major defeat near the village of Lezan. The defeat prompted the Ottomans to reassess the perceived strength of the emirate and to make plans for its conquest.[21]

Fearing a cooperation between the Soran Emirate and Muhammad Ali of Egypt, the Ottomans dispatched an army to Soran in 1834. Mire Kor was able to repeal the forces and push towards Iran.[20] This led Kurdish notables from Bradost, Akre and Amedi to complain to Reşid Mehmed Pasha of the Ottoman government alleging they were oppressed by Mir Kor of Soran.[20]

After having pressured to surrender by the situation, Emir Kor travelled to Istanbul for negotiations, where he was given authority over the area of the Emirate of Soran. But on his way home he disappeared in the Black Sea area and the Ottoman Empire supported his brother Rasul as the Emir of the Emirate. The Emirate would ultimately fall victim to the growing centralization of the Ottoman Empire.[22][23]

Kurdish awareness

There were traits of Kurdish awareness by the Soran Emirate including the desire to unite all Kurdish areas under one rule and the use of Kurdish uniforms for his army. On this, Emir Kor's brother Rasul told British writer and traveller Frederick Milingen:[24]

With an aspiring genius he had conceived the grande idée of emancipating his country from the authority of the sultans, and of consolidating the power of his family. Uniting the qualities of a conqueror and of a legislator, Mehemet Pasha succeeded in extending his sway over the neighbouring provinces of Kerkuk[sic] and Mussul [sic], and in gathering under his flag a large number of Koordish [sic] troop.

Moreover, researcher Ghalib writes:[25]

[T]hrough many centuries of Ottoman rule, they [Kurds] could not build up a sense of community between the Kurds and the dominant ruler. Kurds remembered their happiness under Soran and other Kurdish emirates. Therefore, they did not welcome the Ottoman officials. Remembering the past is important for keeping one’s own history in mind.

See also

Notes

  1. Ahmet Kardam, Cizre-Bohtan Beyi Bedirhan, pp. 70, 79 – years.
    • "During the 1820s and early 1830s, Mir Muhammad pursued territorial expansion by conquering neighboring Kurdish principalities, first seizing Bradost and later extending his domains toward the Iranian frontier, including Harir, Hoşnav, Erbil, and Altın Köprü." (P.70)
    • "He later advanced into the Behdinan Emirate, capturing key centers such as Aqrah, Amadiya, Duhok, and Zakho, ultimately becoming the dominant power in the region between the Greater Zab and Khabur rivers." (P.70)
    • "Mir Muhammad's dominion eventually expanded from the Baban territories in the south to include the Behdinan and Cizre-Bohtan principalities in the north, extending as far as Garzan and Şirvan." (P.70)
  2. Sinan Hakan, Kurdish Rebels and the Ottomans in Archival Documents (1817–1867) (in Turkish), Doz Publishing, 2011, ISBN 9789756876916, p. 86. Also available at Book link and Academia.
    • "Mir Muhammad expanded the emirate beyond the Soran region, incorporating Köysancak, Harir, Köprü, Erbil (Hewler), Cizre, and parts of Botan into his domains." (P.71)
    • "He later captured the Sanjak of Amadiya and, by 1835, had extended his authority to include territories of the Behdinan and Baban Kurdish Emirates." (P.71)
    • "Mir Muhammad's campaigns reached Cizre and Botan, and reportedly even Siirt, described as being thirty hours away from Diyarbakır; meanwhile, resistance movements also emerged in the region, including Timur Bey of the Zerki beys and the Tırkan Kurdish tribe from the Maden and Eğil areas." (P.72)
  3. Ottoman Archives (BOA), FUND CODE: HAT D.NO:449 G.No:22346/B, 25 February 1835.
  4. McDowall, David (2024-02-15). Modern Kürt Tarihi (in Turkish). Translated by Domaniç, Neşenur. Doruk Publishing. ISBN 975-553-436-9.
    • "Mir Muhammad was now prepared to direct his aggression toward his neighbors. He attacked the tribes of Şirvan, Bradost, Surçi, Khuşnaw, and Mamas, and by capturing Harir, the former capital of Soran, reignited the conflict." (P.74)
    • "Mir Muhammad gained control over the lands situated between the two Zab rivers, the Tigris, and the Iranian frontier. In 1823, he captured Koi Sanjak, another Baban possession, and further expanded his territories along the edges of the Mesopotamian plain by seizing Erbil and Altın Köprü. Raniya, situated among the mountains, fell the following year." (P.74)
    • "Mir Muhammad, presenting Mir Said’s defeat as an obligation to avenge the Mazuris as their leader, captured the city of Aqrah in Bahdinan in 1833, expelled its ruler, and after a brief siege conquered Amadiya. He removed Mir Said from power and appointed a Bahdinani puppet in his place. He then captured Zakho and Duhok, which were significant not only commercially because of the trade routes passing through them, but also strategically due to their location between Mosul and Jazira ibn Umar." (P.75)
    • "Because Mir Muhammad had advanced against the Bohtan Emirate as far as the Tigris, captured Jazira ibn Umar, displaced its emir Bedir Khan (Azizan), and spread fear among the people of Hasankeyf, Nusaybin, and even Mardin." (P.75-76)
    • "However, after attacking Bohtan, Mir Muhammad was forced to return immediately to Amadiya, which Mir Said had once again brought under his control. Fighting with relentless fury, he recaptured the city, put many of its leading figures to the sword, effectively eliminated the Bahdinan emirs, and formally annexed Bahdinan to Rawanduz." (P.76)
  5. Jwaideh, Wadie (2009). Kürt Milliyetçiliğinin Tarihi: Kökenleri ve Gelişimi. İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları. ISBN 978-975-470-170-8.
    • "Muhammad Pasha turned his attention to conquering neighboring regions, attacking Bradost, Şirvan, Surçi, Hoşnaviye, and Mamiş, and quickly bringing them under his authority." (P.119)
    • "Determined to control the entire region between the Zab tributaries, the Tigris, and the Iranian frontier, Mir Muhammad captured Harir, Koye (Köysancak), Raniya, Erbil, and Altınköprü." (P.119)
    • "After capturing Amadiya, Muhammad Pasha became the sole ruler of the region between the Greater Zab and the Khabur rivers, including the important centers of Duhok and Zakho." (P.125)
    • "His next objective was the mountainous region of Botan, located north of Bahdinan. He marched toward Cizre and captured it with little difficulty before advancing into Botan." (P.125)
    • "Muhammad Pasha occupied the whole Rawanduz region and appointed his brother Rasul Bey as governor of Bahdinan, effectively bringing an end to the centuries-old Bahdinan Emirate." (P.126)
    • "His sphere of influence extended from the Iranian frontier in the east to the approaches of Diyarbakır and Mosul in the west." (P.135)
  6. Ahmet Kardam, Cizre-Bohtan Beyi Bedirhan, pp. 70, 79 – years.
    • "During the 1820s and early 1830s, Mir Muhammad pursued territorial expansion by conquering neighboring Kurdish principalities, first seizing Bradost and later extending his domains toward the Iranian frontier, including Harir, Hoşnav, Erbil, and Altın Köprü." (P.70)
    • "He later advanced into the Behdinan Emirate, capturing key centers such as Aqrah, Amadiya, Duhok, and Zakho, ultimately becoming the dominant power in the region between the Greater Zab and Khabur rivers." (P.70)
    • "Mir Muhammad's dominion eventually expanded from the Baban territories in the south to include the Behdinan and Cizre-Bohtan principalities in the north, extending as far as Garzan and Şirvan." (P.70)
  7. Sinan Hakan, Kurdish Rebels and the Ottomans in Archival Documents (1817–1867) (in Turkish), Doz Publishing, 2011, ISBN 9789756876916, p. 86. Also available at Book link and Academia.
    • "Mir Muhammad expanded the emirate beyond the Soran region, incorporating Köysancak, Harir, Köprü, Erbil (Hewler), Cizre, and parts of Botan into his domains." (P.71)
    • "He later captured the Sanjak of Amadiya and, by 1835, had extended his authority to include territories of the Behdinan and Baban Kurdish Emirates." (P.71)
    • "Mir Muhammad's campaigns reached Cizre and Botan, and reportedly even Siirt, described as being thirty hours away from Diyarbakır; meanwhile, resistance movements also emerged in the region, including Timur Bey of the Zerki beys and the Tırkan Kurdish tribe from the Maden and Eğil areas." (P.72)
  8. Ottoman Archives (BOA), FUND CODE: HAT D.NO:449 G.No:22346/B, 25 February 1835.
  9. McDowall, David (2024-02-15). Modern Kürt Tarihi (in Turkish). Translated by Domaniç, Neşenur. Doruk Publishing. ISBN 975-553-436-9.
    • "Mir Muhammad was now prepared to direct his aggression toward his neighbors. He attacked the tribes of Şirvan, Bradost, Surçi, Khuşnaw, and Mamas, and by capturing Harir, the former capital of Soran, reignited the conflict." (P.74)
    • "Mir Muhammad gained control over the lands situated between the two Zab rivers, the Tigris, and the Iranian frontier. In 1823, he captured Koi Sanjak, another Baban possession, and further expanded his territories along the edges of the Mesopotamian plain by seizing Erbil and Altın Köprü. Raniya, situated among the mountains, fell the following year." (P.74)
    • "Mir Muhammad, presenting Mir Said’s defeat as an obligation to avenge the Mazuris as their leader, captured the city of Aqrah in Bahdinan in 1833, expelled its ruler, and after a brief siege conquered Amadiya. He removed Mir Said from power and appointed a Bahdinani puppet in his place. He then captured Zakho and Duhok, which were significant not only commercially because of the trade routes passing through them, but also strategically due to their location between Mosul and Jazira ibn Umar." (P.75)
    • "Because Mir Muhammad had advanced against the Bohtan Emirate as far as the Tigris, captured Jazira ibn Umar, displaced its emir Bedir Khan (Azizan), and spread fear among the people of Hasankeyf, Nusaybin, and even Mardin." (P.75-76)
    • "However, after attacking Bohtan, Mir Muhammad was forced to return immediately to Amadiya, which Mir Said had once again brought under his control. Fighting with relentless fury, he recaptured the city, put many of its leading figures to the sword, effectively eliminated the Bahdinan emirs, and formally annexed Bahdinan to Rawanduz." (P.76)
  10. Jwaideh, Wadie (2009). Kürt Milliyetçiliğinin Tarihi: Kökenleri ve Gelişimi. İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları. ISBN 978-975-470-170-8.
    • "Muhammad Pasha turned his attention to conquering neighboring regions, attacking Bradost, Şirvan, Surçi, Hoşnaviye, and Mamiş, and quickly bringing them under his authority." (P.119)
    • "Determined to control the entire region between the Zab tributaries, the Tigris, and the Iranian frontier, Mir Muhammad captured Harir, Koye (Köysancak), Raniya, Erbil, and Altınköprü." (P.119)
    • "After capturing Amadiya, Muhammad Pasha became the sole ruler of the region between the Greater Zab and the Khabur rivers, including the important centers of Duhok and Zakho." (P.125)
    • "His next objective was the mountainous region of Botan, located north of Bahdinan. He marched toward Cizre and captured it with little difficulty before advancing into Botan." (P.125)
    • "Muhammad Pasha occupied the whole Rawanduz region and appointed his brother Rasul Bey as governor of Bahdinan, effectively bringing an end to the centuries-old Bahdinan Emirate." (P.126)
    • "His sphere of influence extended from the Iranian frontier in the east to the approaches of Diyarbakır and Mosul in the west." (P.135)
  11. Nebez, Jamal (1970). Der kurdische Fürst Mir Muhammad-i Rawandizi genannt Mir-i Kora im Spiegel der Morgenländischen und Abendländischen Zeugnisse: Ein Beitrag zur kurdischen Geschichte (PhD thesis). University of Hamburg. pp. 78–79.
  12. Mustafa (2019), p. 1.
  13. Ghalib (2011), p. 50.
  14. Ebraheem (2013), p. 235.
  15. Bidlīsī, Sharaf Khān; Elişêr (2014). Şerefname: dîroka Kurdistanê. Dirok. Mersin: Azad. pp. 319–320. ISBN 978-605-64041-8-4.
  16. Bidlīsī, Sharaf Khān (1971). Şerefname: Yazan Şeref Han, Arapçadan çeviren, Mehmet Emin Bozarslan (in Turkish). Ant Yayinlari. pp. 303–305.
  17. Muhammad, Qadir Muhammad (14 December 2017). Kurds and Kurdistan in the View of British Travellers in the Nineteenth Century (Thesis). University of Leicester. p. 94-98.
  18. Ghalib (2011), p. 52.
  19. Guli, Nizar (2025-01-01). "Mîrnişînên Dasin ȗ Şêxan li Serdemê Osmanîyan (1515- 1750) Vêkolîneke Dokûmenkarî- The Emirate of Dasin and Sheikhan in the Ottoman Era 1515-1755 A Documentary Study". Peywend: 52–64.
  20. Ates, Sabri (2021), "The End of Kurdish Autonomy: The Destruction of the Kurdish Emirates in the Ottoman Empire", in Gunes, Cengiz; Bozarslan, Hamit; Yadirgi, Veli (eds.), The Cambridge History of the Kurds, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 76, ISBN 978-1-108-47335-4, retrieved 2021-12-15
  21. Aboona, Hirmis (2008). Assyrians, Kurds, and Ottomans: Intercommunal Relations on the Periphery of the Ottoman Empire. Cambria Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-1-61336-471-0.
  22. Eppel (2016), p. 56.
  23. Eppel (2018), p. 43.
  24. Millingen (1870), p. 184.
  25. Ghalib (2011), p. 111.

Bibliography