Establishment of the Botan Emirate and the beginning of the Emirate
The Emirate of Botan (Kurdish: Mîrektîya Bota) was one of the Kurdish emirates in Southeastern Anatolia under the Ottoman Empire between 1338-1855.
It includes Cizre, Şırnak and the Eruh district of Siirt.
The Bûhtî Kurds, from whom the emirate takes its name, lived between the present-day Hakkari province and Mosul in the Middle Ages. In addition, the Bûhtî Kurds have been associated by some historians with the Humeydi Kurds, the founder of the Marwanid dynasty.
The 16th century Kurdish historian Şerefhan-ı Bitlisi, in his work Şerefname, states that the Emirate of Botan was named after the Bûhtî tribe, known for their bravery and warriorship.
Anthropologist Martin van Bruinessen stated that the military power of the Emirate of Botan was divided into two as Şıllet and Çoxsor.
The Emirs of Botan, also known as Azîzan Mîrs or Aziziye Principality, traced their ancestry to Khalid bin Walid in their classical period, probably in order to gain superiority over the tribes in the region.
In addition, the reason why the Emirs of Botan are known as Azîzan Mîrs is due to the name of the founder of this Emirate, Izzeddîn al-Bohtî.
The most influential area of the Emirate of Botan was the Cizre region. In 1514, during the Battle of Chaldiran between the Ottoman and Safavid forces, the Emirate of Botan sided with the Ottomans. From this date onwards, the Emirate of Botan continued its existence as a government sanjak under the Ottoman Empire. The Emirate of Botan, which had experienced its heyday during the reign of Bedirhan Beg, was later disbanded in 1855 during the reign of İzzeddin Şir Beg after the centralist reforms and wrong policies followed within the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, as well as Bedirhan Beg’s rebellion attempt against the Ottoman Empire.
After the death of Emir Abdullah Beg, his nephew Seyfeddin Beg took over the emirate. During the reign of Emir Seyfeddin Beg, the administration of the Emirate of Botan deteriorated and the tribes under the Emirate of Botan got out of control. Thereupon, Seyfeddin Beg voluntarily withdrew from the emirate and handed over the administration to Salih Beg, Abdullah Beg’s son.
However, Salih Beg was also unable to prevent administrative corruption and became incapable of governing the Emirate of Botan. Salih Beg later joined the Naqshbandi sect and became interested in Sufism, so he withdrew from the administration and left the emirate to his brother Bedirhan Beg.
Born in 1802 in Cizre, [⁴²] Bedirhan Beg was 19 years old when he became the head of the Emirate of Botan in 1821 [⁴³]. Bedirhan Beg was undoubtedly one of the most controversial leaders of his time. What makes him so prominent is his power and influence in the region as well as his role in the history of that period.
This period, although it was the brightest era of the Botan Emirate, also coincided with the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, during which the Ottoman administrative structure would change and central authority would be increased, marking the final phases of the Botan Emirate. During Bedirhan Beg’s period, the Ottoman Empire significantly reduced the privileges granted to Kurdish emirates, and later completely abolished their autonomy, directly linking them to the central administration.
Sultan Mahmud, with his reforms starting in 1808, reversed the administrative policies of the Ottoman Empire in the provinces and implemented a more centralized method. Initially, he brought under control the semi-autonomous ayans, whom he saw as the greatest obstacle to the state. He largely succeeded in this. Between 1812 and 1817, the largest ayans of Anatolia were brought under control, and the same situation occurred in the Balkans between 1814 and 1820. Later, in 1833, Sultan Mahmud appointed Reşit Mehmed Pasha as the governor of Sivas to organize Eastern Anatolia and bring the ayans and emirs in that region under control. During this process, Bedirhan Beg came to power in the Botan Emirate. Bedirhan Beg first unified the scattered Botan tribes under his authority and established administrative order within the Botan Emirate. In the early years of his rule, he implemented numerous reforms in the administrative field. Thus, over time, he strengthened his rule and began to govern the Botan Emirate in an authoritarian manner.
Subsequently, to ensure the safety of the lives and property of those living in his territories, Bedirhan Beg put an end to banditry and looting, thereby managing to organize tax collection. These actions established peace even in the most remote areas of Cizre and increased his respect among the people. Russian researcher V. Dittel wrote the following in his notes about Bedirhan Beg’s lands:
“He has laws and conditions for distributing land. But peace and security are preferred over all the inadequacies of these conditions.”
Bedirhan Beg worked to improve social and economic life by ensuring order, relieving the region’s inhabitants from fear and suspicion, protecting properties from thieves and robbers, and establishing a fair tax system. Thus, Bedirhan Beg believed that solving these issues would enhance his authority among the people. To this end, he took various measures to ensure security in the social structure and reduced the tax burden on the oppressed people under heavy taxation and tribute. The establishment of shipping operations on Lake Van was a significant event. Bedirhan Beg worked tirelessly to realize this project. The steps taken in this regard were met with great interest from the public and gained the support of tribal leaders loyal to the Beg. Operating boats on the lake not only facilitated trade in the region but also provided significant ease in inter-regional transportation. For this, Bedirhan Beg sent students to Europe to learn shipbuilding. Bedirhan Beg also began to establish factories based on the region’s rich mineral resources and, with the help of the masters he invited to Cizre, built two factories: one for gunpowder and the other for weapon manufacturing. This significantly increased his respect among the Kurdish lords. He also sent students to Europe to have reliable experts in the military field.
During Bedirhan Beg’s period, he maintained good relations with the state and pursued a policy of getting along with the government. However, during the 1828-1829 Ottoman-Russian War, he took a stance against the state for the first time by not providing the military support he was supposed to give to the Ottoman Empire.
However, he later abandoned this attitude and sided with the Ottoman army during the Eastern Campaign conducted by Sultan Mahmud to bring the ayans in the region under control between 1833 and 1839. By following this policy, Bedirhan Beg avoided being eliminated like other Kurdish lords and gained significant power during this process. Due to his pro-state policy, he was rewarded with the title of Redif Military Colonel by the state. Thus, he added the state’s support to his existing power, gaining significant strength and influence in the region. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the 1839 Nizip War, in which Bedirhan Beg participated with his tribal forces, the political sovereignty and power of the Ottoman Empire in the region were greatly shaken. The existing situation marked the beginning of a new era for Bedirhan Beg in the region. Until that day, he had pursued a peaceful policy with the state, but afterward, taking advantage of the government’s current situation, he began to follow policies to increase his influence in the region. To this end, during the Eastern Campaign of the Sublime Porte in 1838, he gathered powerful tribes that had been dispersed and made efforts to eliminate existing hostilities among the tribes. Although Bedirhan Beg followed a pro-state policy in his relations with the state, at times, his opposition to the government’s current situation led to suspicions about him. Following the Tanzimat, the centralization policy initiated by the Ottoman Empire and the administrative changes made in connection with it brought Bedirhan Beg and the Ottoman administration into conflict, and the government sought to diminish his influence in the Cizre region. With the new administrative reorganization, some districts of Cizre were attached to the Mosul Province. Having maintained good relations with the state until that day while increasing his influence and political activity in the region, Bedirhan Beg did not want to lose his current position. Although he made some efforts in the government to achieve this, he did not achieve any results. n response, he contacted Van’s Han Mahmut and İmadiyeli İsmail Pasha, who were in rebellion against the state at that time, and once again adopted an oppositional policy against the government. After the changes made to Cizre’s administrative status, Bedirhan Beg launched a campaign against the Nasturis, who lived in the mountainous region of Hakkari and were originally Christians, in 1259 (1843) to draw the government’s attention to himself. During this campaign, thousands of Nasturis were killed by his forces, and some were taken captive.
This situation further increased the suspicions against Bedirhan Beg within the Ottoman Government. The 1843 incident put the Sublime Porte in a difficult position in foreign policy and led Western powers to intervene in the matter, exerting pressure on the government through their envoys in Istanbul. Following Bedirhan Beg’s 1843 Nasturi campaign, the strong reactions and interventions of Western states, along with his close relations with Han Mahmut and some Kurdish lords who were in rebellion, led the Sublime Porte to take radical measures to eliminate this problem. Consequently, Bedirhan Beg launched the second Nasturi campaign in October 1846, attacking the Tuhuba Nasturis in the Hakkari region with over 10,000 armed men and committing a large massacre. Bedirhan Beg’s independent actions placed the Ottoman Empire in a difficult position both domestically and internationally. Following the second Nasturi campaign in 1846, despite all warnings and advice, the Sublime Porte initiated efforts to eliminate Bedirhan Beg, whose opposition to the state continued. Müşir Osman Pasha, the Commander of the Anatolian Army, completed preparations for a military campaign against Bedirhan Beg while also working to break the alliance between him and the Kurdish lords. The common method used during this period was to attract Kurdish tribal chiefs and lords who were allied with or close to him to the Ottoman side by offering them various titles and gifts, thereby isolating him. Many Kurdish lords contacted for this purpose were persuaded to leave the alliance with Bedirhan Beg and side with the state. Upon hearing news that the government would launch a military campaign against him, Bedirhan Beg, filled with anxiety, sent a letter through the British consul in Mosul, proposing an agreement with the terms he would accept, but the Sublime Porte rejected his request, demanding unconditional surrender. After the Ottoman forces launched a military campaign against the rebellious Bedirhan Beg and his allied Kurdish lords, Müşir Osman Pasha inflicted a heavy defeat on Bedirhan Beg and his troops in Cizre. Following this, Bedirhan Beg retreated with his family and forces to Orak Castle, which he considered a safe place. At one point, he sought asylum from Iran, but this request was rejected. As Ottoman forces besieged the castle, Bedirhan Beg, facing a dire situation, surrendered to the Anatolian Army on the third day of the siege (June 30, 1847). After surrendering, Bedirhan Beg was taken to Istanbul and later exiled to the island of Crete. He spent a long time (15 years) in Crete with his family, and with the permission of Sultan Abdulaziz, he returned to Istanbul, from where he was transferred to Damascus at his own request and died in Damascus in 1868.
İzzeddin Şir Beg and the Disintegration of the Emirate
İzzeddin Şir Beg is the son of Emir Seyfeddin, Bedirhan Beg’s nephew. During his uncle Bedirhan Beg’s rebellion, he sided with the Ottomans, contributing to the disintegration of the Botan Emirate. İzzeddin Şir Beg’s uncle’s siding with the Ottomans against Bedirhan Beg caused concern among the Botan tribes and led to the collapse of the Kurdish alliance. The process of disintegration of the Botan Emirate accelerated with the arrest and exile of Bedirhan Beg in 1847. İzzeddin Şir Beg considered opposing his uncle and taking over the Botan Emirate. However, the reform movements within the Ottoman Empire during this period and the changing administrative structure hindered this. İzzeddin Şir Beg attempted to gain favor with the Ottoman administration and sought to take control of the Botan Emirate by moving against the Kurdish principalities in the region. After severing ties with the Botan region, İzzeddin Şir Beg entered Garzan from Telan (Oyacık village), first capturing the Begkent lords of the time, and then marched to Zok Castle. In this way, he removed obstacles to the Ottoman regional policy and greatly contributed to the formation of a new administrative structure. However, later, a different mütesellim was appointed to Cizre by the government instead of İzzeddin Şir Beg. In response, İzzeddin Şir Beg declared his emirate and rebelled, but was subsequently defeated by Ottoman forces. As a result, in 1855, the Botan Emirate disintegrated, and Cizre began to be governed by mütesellims appointed from the center.
Current Heirs of the Botan Emirate
After the disintegration of the emirate, Bedirhan Beg had two sons. One of his sons was Sheikh Ramadani Beg, and the other was Mir Hasan Beg. Sheikh Ramadani Beg went to Damascus and was assassinated there. He was buried next to Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi. Mir Hasan Beg remained in the Botan region and continued his lineage. Mir Hasan Beg’s son was Mir Ömer, and his son was Mir Muhyeddin. With the Surname Law enacted in 1935, the heirs of the Botan Emirate adopted the surname “Bektaş.” Mir Muhyeddin Bektaş’s wife, Nurten Hanım, is the daughter of Yasin Beg, one of the prominent figures of the Raman tribe, one of the most well-known tribes in the East. The union of this emirate and tribe has nearly approached the population of a small country. Their children born from this union are Yılmaz Bektaş, Nevzat Bektaş, Kesra Bektaş, and Güney Bektaş. These names are considered the current representatives of the Botan Emirate. Even today, the number of members of this emirate remains unknown.