I SHEIKH UBEYDULLAH's MOVEMENT the Institute Of
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SHEIKH UBEYDULLAH’S MOVEMENT The Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University by MEHMET FIRAT KILIÇ In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION BÝLKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA November 2003 i I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of History. Prof. Dr. Stanford J. SHAW Supervisor I certify that I have read this thesis and in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for degree of Master of History. Prof. Dr. Cadoc Leighton Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for degree of Master of History. Prof. Dr. Jeremy SALT Examining Committee Member Approval of the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences Prof. Kürşat Aydoğan Director ii ABSTRACT SHEIKH UBEYDULLAH’S MOVEMENT Kılıç, Mehmet Fırat M.A., Department of History, Bilkent Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Stanford J. SHAW November 2003 In 1880, a group of Ottoman tribes attacked land held by Persia. As a result, the whole area to the west of Lake Urumiye was affected. The extent of the attacks reached even the city of Tabriz. The leading figure in this movement was an Ottoman Naqshebandi Sheikh named Ubeydullah. His movement is considered to be the first Kurdish uprising that had national aspirations. The stance of the Ottoman Empire towards this movement had various considerations that shall be evaluated in the context of the depressed time, an era in which pressures toward the empire’s dissolution were keenly felt. The aim of the present study is to understand the nature of the sheikh’s movement and how it was shaped by international conditions, especially the Ottoman involvement in it. Key words: 1877-1878 Ottoman- Russian War, Sheikh Ubeydullah, Naqshebandi Order, Eastern Question, Kurdish Movement. iii ÖZET ŞEYH UBEYDULLAH HAREKETİ Kılıç, Mehmet Fırat Yüksek Lisans, Tarih Bölümü, Bilkent Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Stanford J. SHAW Kasım 2003 1880 yılında bir takım Osmanlı aşiretleri İran topraklarına saldırdılar. Sonuç olarak Urmiye Gölünün batısındaki tüm topraklar etkilendi. Saldıraların tesiri Tebriz şehrine bile uzadı. Şeyh Ubeydullah adındaki Osmanlı nakşibendi şeyhi, bu hareketin başını çekiyordu. Hareketi milliyetçi istekleri olan ilk Kürt ayaklanması olarak değerlendirildi. Osmanlı imparatorluğunun bu harekete karşı tavrını, içinde bulunduğu kötü zamanlarına göre değerlendirilenecek türlü fikirler oluşturdu. Uzun zamandan beri imparatorluk üzerinde çözülme etkiliydi. Bu çalışmanin amacı, şeyhin hareketinin yapısını, uluslararası şartların bu hareketi nasıl şekillendirdiğini ve özellikle de bu harekette Osmanlının rolünü incelemektir. Anahtar Kelimeler: 1877-1878 Osmanlı- Rus Savaşı, Şeyh Ubeydullah, Nakşibendilik, Doğu Sorunu, Kürt İsyanı. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Stanford J. Shaw for his patience and indispensable encouragement in the direction of my studies. I would also like to thank Professors Cadoc Leighton and Jeremy Salt for their kind interest and generous help. Nor can I ever forget my debt to Halil Inalcık for his indispensable guidance and moral support. I would also thank Marc Chennault, who edited my thesis and without whose help it could not have been finished. I want moreover to thank Gıyaseddin Emre for his kind interest and information about the Naqshabandiyya order and Sheikh Ubeydullah. I am also grateful to Zeynep Bilge Yıldırım, who helped me with some of the French texts. Finally, I would especially like to thank Mehmet Şakir Yılmaz for his motivation and encouragement. v CONTENTS Introduction pages 2-3 Chapter 1 Sheikh Ubeydullah’s Role in the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War 4-18 Chapter 2 International Conditions 18-22 The Eastern Question 22-31 Chapter 3 The Religious Order and the Tribal Basis 32-44 Chapter 4 The Border Problem 44-49 Chapter 5 The Beginning of the Sheikh Movement 49-66 The Attack on Urmiye and Sawjbulak 66-83 Escape from Istanbul 83-89 Conclusion 89-91 Bibliography 91-95 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS A. MKT. MHM. Saderet Mektubi Mühimme Kalemi Evrakı A.MKT. UM Saderet Umum Vilayetler Tahriratı HR.SYS. Hariciye Nezareti Siyasi Kısım Y. A. Res. Yıldız Saderet Resmi Maruzat Evrakı Y. A. Hus. Yıldız Sadaret Hususî Maruzat Evrakı Y. EE. Yıldız Esas Ve Sadrazam Kâmil Paşa Y. PRK A... Yıldız Saderet Y. PRK. ASK. Yıldız Perakende Evrakı Askerî Maruzat Y. PRK.AZJ. Yıldız Perakende Evrakı Arzuhal Ve Jurnaller Y. PRK. BŞK. Yıldız Perakende Evrakı Mabeyn Başkitabeti Y. PRK. ZB Yıldız Perakende Evrakı Zaptiye Nezareti Maruzatı Y. PRK. EŞA Yıldız Perakende Evrakı Elçilik, Şehbenderlik ve Ataşemiliterlik Y. PRK. HR. Yıldız Perakende Hariciye Nezareti Maruzatı Y. PRK.KOM Yıldız Perakende Komisyonlar Maruzatı Y PRK ML Yıldız Perakende Maliye Nezareti Maruzatı Y. PRK. TKM. Yıldız Perakende Evrakı Tahrirat-ı Ecnebiye ve Mabeyn M Mütercimliği Y. PRK.UM. Yıldız Perakende Evrakı Umum Vilayetler Tahriratı vii Sheikh Ubeydullah’s Movement 1 Introduction This study tries to analyze the Sheikh Ubeydullah movement of 1880. As a Naqshebandi- Halidi sheikh with an important position in the order, his movement seemed to be instigated by the religious differences between the Ottoman and Persian Empires. Until this time, both states had been trying to settle their borders and unfortunately the sheikh had some estates that straddled both sides. The recent increasing interest in the Kurdish problem made his movement the most cited example of the first Kurdish arising with national aspirations. Thus the most-quoted letter of Sheikh Ubeydullah to William Abbot, the British consul-general in Tabriz, delivered by Dr. Cochran: “The Kurdish nation, consisting of more than 500,000 families, is a people apart. Their religion is different [from that of others], and their laws and customs are distinct …... The Chiefs and Rulers of Kurdistan, whether Turkish or Persian subjects, and the inhabitants of Kurdistan, one and all are united and agreed that matters cannot be carried on in this way with the two Governments [Ottoman and Qajar], and that necessarily something must be done, so that European Governments having understood the matter, shall inquire into our state. We also are a nation apart. We want our affairs to be in our own hands….”1 These words were also shocking for the Ottoman central government. In fact, the Ottoman government spent considerable time trying to establish the authenticity of the letter. The state did not find evidence of his conspiracy based on the letter, but when it began to believe that the sheikh would not use his influence in favor of the Ottoman government, he was exiled. His movement did not seem to have a political agenda. As a movement, which suddenly appeared in the midst of such a sensitive period, it received great attention. The Armenian issue after the Treaty of Berlin brought the allegation that the sultan had tried to create a Kurdish problem in order to curtail “reforms” for the Ottoman Empire’s Christian 1John Joseph, The Nestorians and Their Muslim Neighbors, pp. 109-10. 2 subjects. The nationalism of the sheikh should be reconsidered in light of this. Although the sheikh always insisted that he had his own land problem with the Persian Empire, he was not reluctant to pursue other problems on behalf of the Kurds. His opponents charged that he had other intentions beside the return of his estates. However, to date no Ottoman documents have been examined towards clearing up this issue. The present study will try to address this gap. Another point that makes this study crucial is that establishing Hamidian regiments became a political decision after his movement; therefore one cannot comprehend them without first examining his movement. Initially, the study will focus on the roots of the sheikh’s influence. His role in the 1877-78 Ottoman and Russian war has been neglected. The disaster of this great defeat makes this neglect even more glaring and lamentable. The international conditions that levered his carrier will be described in the following chapter. Next comes an attempt to explain the sheikh’s charisma in the tribal context. Finally, the anatomy of his movement, covered in the final two chapters, will be examined to show what the sheikh’s intentions truly were. 3 Chapter 1 Sheikh Ubeydullah’s Role in the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War At the beginning of 1877, political problems in the Balkan region caused the Ottoman Empire’s involvement in military conflict with Russia. The empire was constantly pressed for what the Europeans called “reforms” for its Christian subjects, with much of the unrest in the Balkan provinces supported and encouraged by Russia. Under the guise of such “reforms,” Russia was pursuing its pan-Slavic interests, hoping that the situation would give it a suitable opportunity to secure revenge for the Crimean War in both the Balkans and Transcaucasia, where it was using Christian ambitions for conquest to its own advantage. The policies of Czarist imperialism had altered the demographic ratios of the entire east and left local populations to be decimated by local hatreds. According to Richard Hovannisian, a historian of Armenian nationalist movements, “In 1838, after the influx of immigrants from Persia and Turkey, the Armenians constituted one-half of the province’s (i.e. Armenian oblast in the Russian Caucasus) 165,000 inhabitants. Moreover, in the remainder of Transcaucasia lived more than 200,000 Armenians, some of whom, moving subsequently to Yerevan- Nakhichevan, contributed to the reestablishment of a Christian majority in the province.” 2 The creation of an Armenian majority in the area left the Muslims as a persecuted minority, forcing the latter to flee to Azerbaijan and elsewhere. These demographic changes generally came after the wars, often through forced immigration.