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The last quarter of the nineteenth century was crucial for the development of Kurdish nationalism. It coincided with the reign of Abdulhamid II (1876-1909), who emphasized Pan-Islamic policies in order to strengthen the Ottoman Empire against European and Russian imperialism, The Pan-Islamic doctrines of the Ottoman Empire enabled sheikhs (religious leaders) from Sheikh Ubaydallah of Nehri in the 1870s and 1880s to Sheikh Said in the 1920s-to become the principal nationalist leaders of the Kurds. This represented a new development in Middle Eastern and Islamic history and began an important historical pattern in the Middle East long before the emergence of the religiousnationalist leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran.
This is the first work in any Western language dealing with the development of Kurdish nationalism during this period and is supported with documentation not previously utilized, principally from the Public Record Office in Great Britain. In addition, the author provides much new material on Turkish, Armenian, Iranian, and Arab history and new insights into Turkish-Armenian relations during the most crucial era of the history of these two peoples.
List of contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Spelling and Names
- Introduction by William F. Tucker
- 1. The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism: Sheikh Ubaydallah and the Kurdish League
- 2. Kurdish Nationalism: From Sèvres to Said
- 3. The Second Time Around: British Policy toward the Kurds from Mudros to Lausanne
- 4. Mobilization for Rebellion: From Beyt ¿ebab to Piran
- 5. The Rebellion and Its Aftermath
- 6. The International Aspects of the Sheikh Said Rebellion
- Conclusion
- Appendixes
- I. British and Turkish Army Officer Equivalents and Abbreviations
- II. Draft Law for a Proposed Autonomy of Kurdistan as Debated in the Grand National Assembly on 10 February 1922
- III. Azadi Membership as of September 1924
- IV. List of Kurdish Officers Who Deserted after the Mutiny of Beyt ¿ebab
- V. Intercepted Letter from Turkish Intelligence Meant to Implicate Ihsan Nuri as a Spy
- VI. Colonel (Miralay) Özdemir's Proclamations to the Kurdish Tribes
- VII. Selected List of Turkish Officers in the Eastern Provinces in April 1925
- VIII. Diary of Events at Mezreh [Mamouret-el-Aziz], 23 March to 15 April
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
By Robert Olson
Summary
The first work in any Western language dealing with the development of Kurdish nationalism during this period.
