Sheikhan principality

Early history

The Dasini (also known as Daseni), a significant Yazidi ethnoreligious group, initially adhered to the Adawiyya Sufi Order.^[7] This order, founded by Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir in the 12th century, gradually evolved into the distinct syncretic faith of Yazidism by integrating local pre-Islamic Kurdish and regional beliefs.

In 906, the Dasini people launched a rebellion against the ruling Hamdanid dynasty, a Shia Muslim Arab power in the region. This event marked an assertion of their presence, and some historical narratives associate this period with the subsequent establishment of the Dasini's Sheikhan principality.

The 13th-century Arab geographer Yāqūt al-Hamawī (1179-1229) mentioned the Dasini as residing in "Jabal Dasin," a mountainous area within their traditional homeland. Later, in the 14th century, the Arab historian Shihāb al-Dīn al-ʿUmarī (1301-1349) recorded the presence of Dasini communities in Akre (modern-day Aqrah), a historically significant town in present-day Iraqi Kurdistan.

In 15th century, the Dasini faced attacks from the Bahdinan Emirate, a powerful neighboring Kurdish principality.^[8]

Early conflict with Soran

In 1534, during the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, Hussein Beg Daseni, the Mir (prince) of the Yezidi Daseni tribe, was granted administrative control by the Ottomans over the domain of the Soran Emirate. This territory included the key cities of Erbil and Kirkuk. Hussein Beg's father, Hassan Beg Daseni, had previously established a crucial alliance with the Ottomans following their victory at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 and was renowned for his diplomatic and political expertise. Upon Hassan Beg's death in 1534, his son Hussein Beg succeeded him as the Daseni Mir, and it was in this same year that Sultan Suleyman entrusted him with control over the Soran Emirate's domain.

Hussein Beg's rule over Soran Emirate was reportedly marked by the persecution and harsh treatment of its Muslim inhabitants, resulted in Thousands killed the Dasini also plundered and massacred the Muslims Kurds in Soran ^[9] ^[10]. Despite this, the Yezidis, under Hussein Beg's short-lived but firm leadership, were able to maintain significant political and military influence. For the Yezidi community, this period represented a rare interlude of peace and freedom from the persecutions they often faced from other quarters.

The Muslim population of Soran actively opposed what they considered Hussein Beg's tyrannical rule, launching several unsuccessful attempts to overthrow his authority. Eventually, an alliance, reportedly involving the neighboring Kurdish Ardalan dynasty and disaffected local Muslim leaders, moved against him. They successfully captured Erbil while Hussein Beg was absent. Historical accounts differ on his location at that time; some sources place him on a visit to the Yezidi center of Sheikhan, while others suggest he was in the Ottoman capital, Istanbul.

Hussein Beg's subsequent attempts to recapture Erbil failed, largely due to the strong local support for the reinstated or newly empowered Muslim leadership in the city. These efforts resulted in significant losses for the Yezidis, with reports of around 500 Yezidi warriors killed. Following this decisive defeat and the loss of control over Soran, Hussein Beg was summoned to Istanbul by the Ottoman authorities. There, he was executed, likely due to his failure to maintain stability, his controversial rule over the Muslim population, and the subsequent loss of the territory that had been entrusted to him..^[6]

Vassals of the Bahdinan Emirate

Throughout the 18th century, the Daseni Emirate was subject to the Kurdish Bahdinan Muslim Emirate. Bahdinan functioned as a semi-autonomous entity guarding the eastern frontiers of the Ottoman Empire, particularly against Persia.

Yezidi Mîrs of Sheikhan were also involved in several rebellions against the Bahdinan Emirate, often targeting its capital, Amadiya. For instance, in 1770–1771, Bedagh Beg, the Mîr of Sheikhan at the time, joined a rebellion against Ismail Pasha, the Bahdinan Prince of Amadiya. Bedagh Beg was eventually captured and fined by Ismail Pasha. Sixteen years later (c. 1786-1787), his son and successor, Jolo Beg, participated in another rebellion but was forced to retreat.

In 1789–1790, Jolo Beg still held the title of Mîr and engaged in battles against the Tayy Arabs, who were raiding Sheikhan. However, in the following year (1791), Jolo Beg and his unnamed brother were executed by Ismail Pasha. Ismail Pasha then appointed Khanjar Beg, reportedly a descendant of a previous Mîr, in their place. Khanjar Beg's tenure was short-lived. Following disputes (the nature of which is not fully specified, but likely involving Bahdinan authorities or Yezidi factions), the Mîrship was returned to Jolo Beg's lineage, with his son, Hasan Beg, replacing Khanjar Beg, presumably with Bahdinan approval.^[11]

A separate incident occurred in 1804 when the Mizuri tribe, a Sunni Kurdish group with a history of conflict with the Yezidis, attacked Amadiya. They imprisoned the Bahdinan prince, Qubad Pasha, and his brother, plundered the city, and occupied it. Order was restored when, at the request of Ahmed Pasha (another Bahdinan prince who governed Akre), Yezidis of the Dina tribe intervened, expelling the Mizuris from Amadiya.^[12]^[13]

Following these events, Ahmed Pasha of Akre sought to mediate inter-tribal feuds, particularly between the Yezidis and the Mizuris. Consequently, Mîr Ali Beg, the Yezidi Mîr of Sheikhan, sent word to the Mizuri chieftain, Ali Agha al-Balatayi, expressing a desire for peace and offering him the honor of acting as kirîv (a sacred sponsor in Kurdish tradition) for the circumcision of his (Ali Beg's) son.

This peace initiative was undermined by another Bahdinan prince, Said Pasha. He persuaded Mîr Ali Beg to treacherously kill the Mizuri chieftain, aiming to eliminate Ali Agha and install a Mizuri leader more favorable to Said Pasha's interests. Some accounts state that Said Pasha threatened Mîr Ali Beg's entire family to ensure his compliance. Unaware of the plot, Ali Agha al-Balatayi accepted Mîr Ali Beg's invitation. A few days later, he arrived with only a small escort at Baadre, the historical seat of the Yezidi Mîrs in Sheikhan. Whether his small escort signified disdain for the Yezidi leader or a demonstration of trust in his host remains a matter of speculation. Upon Ali Agha's arrival, Mîr Ali Beg had him and his son, Sinjan Agha, treacherously murdered.

This act of treachery was condemned by many Yezidi clergy and chieftains, as it violated Yezidi religious canons and tribal customs of hospitality and honor. The murders enraged the Mizuris, who gathered for a large-scale retaliatory raid against Baadre. However, the planned Mizuri raid was called off. This occurred when Said Pasha of Bahdinan (the Prince of Amadiya, who had instigated the assassination and was thus suspected of conspiracy) announced his opposition to the raid, likely to prevent wider conflict or maintain a semblance of control, leading the Mizuris to fear intervention by Bahdinan forces.^[14]^[12]

In the aftermath, Mulla Yahya al-Mizuri, a cousin or nephew of the murdered Ali Agha and a respected Mizuri religious figure, sought justice from the Bahdinan princes Ahmed Pasha and Said Pasha. However, they refused to sanction punitive action against the Yezidis. Instead, they blamed Ali Agha for his naivety in trusting Mîr Ali Beg and entering his territory with an inadequate escort. Compounding the injustice, these Bahdinan princes (or forces under their command) then killed Mulla Yahya's own son.

Devastated and denied justice, Mulla Yahya turned for aid to Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz, also known as Muhammad Kor, the ambitious ruler of the Soran Emirate. By this period, Muhammad Kor had risen to become one of the most powerful and independent rulers in Kurdistan.

He asserted his autonomy by minting his own coins and had effectively declared independence from the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire, at this time, was heavily preoccupied with the rebellion of Muhammad Ali Pasha in Egypt. Seizing this opportunity, Muhammad Kor of Soran had expanded his own domains by annexing several neighboring Kurdish principalities and harbored ambitions to seize the Bahdinan Emirate and Yezidi lands as well. Muhammad Kor was known for his ruthlessness in consolidating power; for instance, around 1814-1815, he had executed his own uncles (named in some sources as Timur Khan and Wahbi Beg, or Teymur Aga and Yahya Bey) and their sons to eliminate rivals.

Aware of Muhammad Kor's power, ambition, and willingness to use force, Mulla Yahya successfully persuaded him to launch a punitive expedition against the Yezidis of Sheikhan. Historical accounts vary on how Mulla Yahya secured Muhammad Kor's support. Some suggest he appealed to the Ottoman Wali of Baghdad, who then urged Muhammad Kor to act against the Yezidis. Other accounts state Mulla Yahya, who was reportedly on friendly terms with the Soran ruler, directly petitioned him.

The Soran Conquest and the Fall of the Daseni Emirate

Muhammad Kor prepared an army estimated at 40,000 to 50,000 men for a campaign against the Yezidis. He divided his forces into two main groups, one led by his brother, Rasul, and the other by himself. These forces commenced their march in March 1832, crossing the Great Zab River. Their first major action was against the Yezidi village of Kallak-a Dasinyya, situated near Erbil. This village had marked the border between the Yezidi Daseni Emirate and the Soran Emirate up to this period in the early 19th century; its capture signified the beginning of the Soran territorial expansion into Daseni lands. Many inhabitants of Kallak-a Dasinyya were killed.

Following this initial success, the Soran forces proceeded to march through and capture other Yezidi villages. Upon arriving in the Sheikhan region, Muhammad Kor's forces seized the village of Khatara. They then marched onwards to the Christian town of Alqosh. Here, they were confronted by a joint defensive force composed of Yezidis and fighters from the Bahdinan Emirate. This joint force was led by Yusuf Abdo, a Bahdinan leader from Amadiya, and Baba Hurmuz, the head of the prominent Christian Rabban Hormizd Monastery in Alqosh, who took up arms to defend his community. These defending forces later strategically withdrew from Alqosh and relocated to Baadre, the town where the Yezidi princely family resided.

Ali Beg wished to negotiate a peaceful resolution. However, Muhammad Kor, heavily influenced by powerful clerics such as Mulla Yahya al-Mizuri and his won Mufti, Muhammad Khati, rejected any possibility of reconciliation. Mulla Yahya, from the rival Sunni Kurdish Mizuri tribe, harbored long-standing grievances and had issued religious edicts (fatwas) against the Yezidis, providing a religious pretext for the invasion that aligned with Muhammad Kor's expansionist goals.

Consequently, the Yezidis of the Sheikhan region were defeated and subjected to devastating massacres. The Soran forces employed brutal tactics, including the widespread slaughter of the elderly and the young, rape, and the enslavement of survivors. Yezidi property, including valuable gold and silver, was systematically plundered. Numerous towns and villages previously inhabited by Yezidis were demographically altered through forced conversions to Islam or the settlement of new Muslim populations after the original inhabitants were killed or expelled.

After subduing much of Sheikhan, Muhammad Kor dispatched a large contingent of his forces to the Shingal (Sinjar) region, another significant Yezidi area. There, they encountered fierce resistance from the Yezidis, notably led by Ali Beg's wife. Despite suffering several initial defeats at the hands of the determined Yezidi defenders, Muhammad Kor's forces eventually succeeded in capturing the Shingal district.

The Yezidis who survived these widespread massacres sought refuge in distant or more defensible areas, including but not limited to Tur Abdin, Mount Judi, and the more remote, less-affected mountainous parts of the Shingal region itself, which likely remained difficult for the Soran forces to fully control.

Having gained control over most of the Yezidi territories, Muhammad Kor's forces enslaved and transported approximately 10,000 Yezidi captives, predominantly women and children, along with the captured Yezidi leader Ali Beg, to Rawanduz, the capital of the Soran Emirate. Upon their arrival in Rawanduz, the prisoners were pressured to convert to Islam. Many, including Ali Beg and his immediate entourage, refused. As a result of their defiance, Ali Beg and his loyal followers were taken to a nearby gorge and executed. This location, Gali Ali Beg (Ali Beg's Gorge/Valley), is named after him to this day in commemoration of his martyrdom.

Christian communities that lay in the path of Muhammad Kor's advancing army also fell victim to the campaign's brutality. The town of Alqosh was sacked after its defenders withdrew, and a large number of its Christian inhabitants were killed. The ancient Rabban Hormizd Monastery was plundered; its monks, along with its courageous Abbot, Gabriel Dambo, were put to death. A significant number of ancient manuscripts housed in the monastery were destroyed or lost during this devastation. The Monastery of Mar Mattai (Sheikh Matta) reportedly suffered a similar fate, facing plunder and destruction.^[13]^[14]

The conquest of 1832 resulted in the death of the Daseni Emir, Ali Beg, the dismantling of Yezidi autonomy in Sheikhan, and the incorporation of their lands into the expanding Soran Emirate, thus marking the fall of the Daseni Emirate.

Sheikhan principality

Territory

History

Early history

Early conflict with Soran

Vassals of the Bahdinan Emirate

The Soran Conquest and the Fall of the Daseni Emirate

Relations with Neighboring Peoples

Relations with Christians

Muslims under Daseni Rule

List of Daseni rulers

See also

References

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