EURASIAN Studies 15 (2017) 222-249 brill.com/eurs Matrimonial Alliances and the Transmission of Dynastic Power in Kurdistan: The Case of the Diyādīnids of Bidlīs in the Fifteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Sacha Alsancakli Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3 / UMR 7528 Mondes iranien et indien [email protected] Abstract The Diyādīnids of Bidlīs, one of the important Kurdish principalities of the early mod- ern period (fourteenth to seventeenth centuries), have constantly claimed a central role in the political powers of Kurdistan. This article will explore the ways in which the Diyādīnid’s matrimonial alliances helped bolster that claim and otherwise secure and enhance the political standing of the dynasty. * An earlier version of this paper was presented at the DYNTRAN panel “Familles, autorité et savoir dans l’espace moyen-oriental (XVe-XVIIe siècles)” of the 2nd Congress of the GIS “Moyen-Orient et mondes musulmans” (Paris, 5-8 July 2017). The French-German collective project DYNTRAN (Dynamics of Transmission: Families, Authority and Knowledge in the Early Modern Middle East [15th-17th centuries]) is cofounded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (ANR-14-FRAL-0009-01). All translations are my own unless stated otherwise. I have chosen to use a mixed translit- eration system in this article: Persian and Kurdish proper names are transliterated accord- ing to the system of the German Oriental Society (DMG, 1969) for Persian, except for the vocalization of the names of some Kurdish tribes and places, where forms closer to Kurdish prononciation have been preferred (eg. Boḫtān, not Buḫtān, Ḥazzō, not Ḥazzū). Meanwhile, Ottoman proper names have been transliterated according to the Ottoman transliteration system of the Library of Congress. While one could argue that using a single transliteration scheme for all proper names would have been simpler, I have considered that the resulting forms for Ottoman names (Malak Aḥmad Pāšā, Muḥammad III) would have been too far removed from common usage. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/24685623-12340037Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 08:13:54AM via free access Matrimonial Alliances and the Transmission of Dynastic Power 223 Keywords Kurdish history – Diyādīnids – Bidlīs – marriage The Diyādīnids of Bidlīs, sometimes known by the name Rōžikids, referring to the tribal confederation which supported their rule for several centuries, are one of the most well-known Kurdish dynasties of the modern era.1 There are several reasons to this. For most of this period, the city of Bidlīs stood at a com- mercial and economical crossroads in the region, meaning it was frequently visited by merchants and travellers, including Europeans, some of whom have left brief accounts of the city.2 It also represented a highly strategic spot on the road to Tabriz, in the Ottoman-Safavid border area. Control of the city and its surroundings was thus paramount for both empires in their struggle for re- gional supremacy.3 As a result, the Diyādīnid princes had important leverage 1 The use of the name “Diyādīnids”, derived from the name of the supposed founder of the dynasty, Żiyā’ al-Dīn, is suggested by the author of the Šarafnāma, Šaraf Ḫān II (r. 986- 1009/1578-1600), himself a prince of that dynasty. See Véliaminof-Zernof, Vladimir, Scheref- nameh ou histoire des Kourdes, par Scheref, Prince de Bidlis (St. Petersburg: Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1860-2): I, p. 364. 2 See, for example: Tavernier, Jean-Baptiste, Les six voyages (Paris: G. Clouzier et C. Barbin, 1676): pp. 273-5; English transl. by John Phillips, see Tavernier, Jean-Baptiste, The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier, translated by John Philipps (London: R. L. and M. P., 1678): p. 105. 3 Thus, J.-B. Tavernier writes that “it is in the interest of those two Potentates [the Ottoman and Safavid rulers] to correspond with him [the Diyādīnid prince]; for it’s an easier thing for him to stop up the passage from Aleppo to Tauris, or from Tauris to Aleppo; the Streights of the Mountains being so narrow, that ten Men may defend them against a thousand.” (See Tavernier, The Six Voyages: p. 105.) Likewise, the situation of the city as a regional hub for trav- ellers, pilgrims, merchants and the like, is highlighted by Šaraf Ḫān II, who writes that “the qaṣaba of Bidlīs is a mountain pass at the crossroads of Azerbaijan, Diyār Bakr, Diyār Rabīʿa and Armenia, and the pilgrims from Turkistān and Hindūstān who wish to go from Iran, Iraq and Ḫorāsān to the Holy Shrines, may God increase the honour and reverence shown to them, as well as the sailors of Jidda and Zanzibar, the traders from northern China, Ḫotan (Xinjiang), Russia, Sclavia and Bulgaria, the Arab and Iranian merchants and the travellers without going through the آof the better part of the world, cannot proceed in their journey �ی ۀ ن ی ن ن ��� ن ن� ����م ن���ه ن��ع�د �ل��می��� د ر ن�����ع�د �ی������� د ر � ��ع�ا ن��ی�� ا د رنین�ع�ا � و د �ی�ع�ا ر ن� ک�ر و ر ن��ی����ع�ه وا ر � م� � ک�ه) ”.pierced rock of Bidlīs گ ن ی ی ن ن ی ن ن ن ی ن ن ن ی ن ش ن ن ن �ه ا ک� رح�ا ن���ی�ع�ا � �ر�ک���������ا � و�ه���د و���������ا � ا ر ا �ی�ع�را � و ���ع�را � وح�را ����ع�ا � ن��ع�ه ر�ی�ع�ا ر� ح�ر���ع�ی�� ا �ل���ر������ع�ی�� را د ���ع�ا ٰ ی ً گ گ ی � ّ ی ش ن ی ن ً ی � ن� ن � ن � ن ن ی � ن ن� ن� ی ن �� ا ل��ک�ه ����ع�ا لی ����ر�ی�����ع�ا و������ی�ما �و ن��ع�ه �ر�م�ا ی�����ع�د وا ک� ر������ی���ا ��ع�ا � ن��ع�د ه و ر��� ن���ع�ا ر و��ع�ا نحرا � ����ع�ا و��ع��� و رو � ی گ ن گ ن ش ی ن ن گ ��س���ع� ا � �� ن��ل���ع�ا ��س د ا ک� ا ���ع� � �ع��ع� ن��د�ا ا�ک�� ���ع�ا ل ��ع� د د �م�ا ��ن���ع�د ���ع�ا د ا م �ک�ه ا ����ع�ن��� و ل ن و ن ر و و ر � ر ن و ن م و ر و � ر م ر ی ی ر Eurasian Studies 15 (2017) 222-249 Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 08:13:54AM via free access 224 Alsancakli in their dealings with these regional powers, while also having to constantly fend off their attempts at subjugating the principality. During most of the period under scrutiny, Bidlīs was also the seat of a vi- brant culture supported by a rich courtly life. It is the only Kurdish principality where a local historiography began to develop, with the composition of the Šarafnāma, a chronicle of Kurdish dynasties, written by the ruling prince Šaraf Ḫān II (r. 986-1009/1578-1600) in 1004-7/1596-9.4 This work allows us to benefit from an internal perspective on dynastic and regional matters; it is, before the nineteenth century, unique in that respect. For the seventeenth century, the Šarafnāma is supplemented by the travel memoirs of Evliyā Çelebī.5 However, this wealth of information has not been utilized to its fullest extent and poten- tial. While books and articles have appeared on individual rulers or specific aspects of the dynasty’s past, a comprehensive account of the history of the Diyādīnid princes of Bidlīs has yet to be written.6 ن ��س ا ن �� �د ��م ���ع� �ع�� ن� ��م ن���د �م��م����ع� ن �م ��� � ی ,see Véliaminof-Zernof, Scheref-nameh: I ; ور � نع ل�ی��� ر و ر و نور ی ر ��ی� ع � p. 339). 4 The text of the Šarafnāma was first published by Vladimir Veliaminov-Zernov (1830-1904) in St. Petersburg in 1860-2, on the basis of the autograph manuscript Dorn 306, kept in the National Library of Russia (formerly Asiatic Museum) in St. Petersburg. All subsequent edi- tions were based on V. Veliaminov-Zernov’s work, which unfortunately lacks an index and critical notes. An index was provided for the first four books of the edition by Dehqan, Mustafa, Index to Sharaf-nāma (Istanbul: Nûbihar, 2015; published as a supplement to the 2nd issue of the journal Nûbihar Akademî). 5 Edited by Robert Dankoff: Dankoff, Robert, Evliya Çelebi in Bitlis. The relevant section of the Seyahatname, edited with translation, commentary and introduction by Robert Dankoff (Leiden: Brill, 1990). 6 The greater number of studies has, of course, been devoted to the Šarafnāma and Šaraf Ḫān II. Among recent articles, see Bajalan, Djene Rhys, “Şeref Xan’s Sharafnama: Kurdish Ethno- Politics in the Early Modern World, Its Meaning and Its Legacy”, IrSt, XLV/6 (2012): pp. 795- 818; Dehqan, Mustafa, “Literary Citations in the Sharaf-nāma”, Nûbihar Akademî, I/2 (2014): pp. 11-32; Dehqan, Mustafa, and Genç, Vural, “Reflections on Sharaf Khān’s autobiography”, Manuscripta Orientalia, XXI/1 (2015): pp. 46-61; Dehqan, Mustafa, and Genç, Vural, “Why was Sharaf Khān killed?”, Manuscripta Orientalia, XXI/2 (2015): pp. 14-9; Alsancakli, Sacha, “From Bidlīs to Ardabīl Via Aleppo and Iṣfahān: On the Circulation of a Manuscript of Šaraf Ḫān Bidlīsī’s Šarafnāma Revised by the Author (1007/1599)”, ES, XIII (2015): pp. 133-52; Alsancaklı, Sacha, “What’s old is new again: A study of sources in the Šarafnāma of Šaraf Xān Bidlīsī (1005-7/1596-9)”, Kurdish Studies, V/1 (2017): pp.