Cizre | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Cizre | |
  Cizre Location in Turkey | |
| Coordinates:37°19′55″N42°11′13″E / 37.332°N 42.187°E /37.332; 42.187 | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Şırnak |
| District | Cizre |
| Government | |
| • Acting Mayor | Davut Sinanoğlu |
| Population (2021)[1] | 130,916 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Website | www.cizre.bel.tr |
Cizre (Turkish:[ˈdʒizɾe])[a] is a city in theCizre District ofŞırnak Province inTurkey.[14] It is located on the riverTigris by theSyria–Turkey border and close to theIraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region ofUpper Mesopotamia and thecultural region ofTurkish Kurdistan.[15] The city had a population of 130,916 in 2021. It is predominantly inhabited byKurds.[1][16]
Cizre was founded as Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in the 9th century byAl-Hasan ibn Umar,Emir of Mosul, on a manmade island in the Tigris.[17] The city benefited from its situation as a river crossing and port in addition to its position at the end of an old Roman road which connected it to theMediterranean Sea, and thus became an important commercial and strategic centre in UpperMesopotamia.[17] By the 12th century, it had adopted an intellectual and religious role, and sizeable Christian and Jewish communities are attested.[18] Cizre suffered in the 15th century from multiple sackings and ultimately came under the control of theOttoman Empire after 1515.[19]
Under Ottoman control, Cizre stagnated and was left as a small district centre dominated by ruins by the end of the 19th century.[20] The city's decline continued, exacerbated by the state-orchestrated destruction of its Christian population in theArmenian andAssyrian genocides in 1915,[21] andexodus of its Jewish population toIsrael in 1951.[22] It began to recover in the second half of the 20th century through urban redevelopment, and its population saw a massive increase as a place of refuge from 1984 onwards as many fled theKurdish–Turkish conflict.[23] At the close of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, Cizre has emerged as a battleground between Kurdish militants and the Turkish state, which inflicted significant devastation on the city to retain control.[24]
The various names for the city of Cizre descend from the originalArabic name Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, which is derived from 'jazira' (island), "ibn" (son of), and the name Umar, thus Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar translates to 'island of the son of Umar'.[25] The city's alternative Arabic name Madinat al-Jazira is composed of "madinat" ('city') and 'al-Jazira' (the island), and therefore translates to 'the island city'.[26] Cizre was known inSyriac as Gāzartā d'Beṯ Zabdaï (island of Zabdicene), from 'gazarta' (island) and 'Beṯ Zabdaï' (Zabdicene).[12]
Hamdanid ???–978
Buyid 978–984
Marwanid 984–990
Uqaylid 990–???
UnderBuyid suzerainty 990–996
Marwanid ???–1096UnderSeljuk suzerainty 1056–1096
Zengid 1127–1251
UnderAyyubid suzerainty 1183–1251
Luluid 1251–1261UnderMongol suzerainty 1252–1261
Bohtan 1336/1337–1456Aq Qoyunlu 1456–1495/1496
Bohtan 1496–1847UnderSafavid suzerainty 1507–1515
UnderOttoman suzerainty 1515–1847
Turkey 1923–present
Cizre is identified as the location ofAd flumen Tigrim, a river crossing depicted on theTabula Peutingeriana, a Roman 4th/5th century map.[27] The river crossing lay at the end of a Roman road that connected it withNisibis,[20] and was part of the region ofZabdicene.[28] It was previously assumed by most scholars thatBezabde was located at the same site of what would later become Cizre,[29] but is now agreed to be at Eski Hendek, 13 km (8.1 mi) northwest of Cizre.[30]
Cizre was originally known as Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, and was founded by and named afteral-Hasan ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab al-Taghlibi (d. c. 865),Emir of Mosul, in the early 9th century, as recorded byYaqut al-Hamawi inMu'jam al-Buldan.[21][31] The city was constructed in a bend in the river Tigris, and al-Hasan ibn Umar built a canal across the bend, placing the city on an island in the river, hence the city's name.[17] Eventually, the original course of the river disappeared due to sedimentation and shifted to the canal, leaving the city on the west bank of the Tigris.[32] Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was situated to take advantage of trade routes from the direction ofAmid to the northwest,Nisibin to the west, and Iran to the northeast.[33] The city also functioned as a river port, and goods were transported by raft down the Tigris to Mosul and further south.[34] Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar supplanted the neighbouring city of Bezabde as its inhabitants gradually left for the new city, and was likely abandoned in the early 10th century.[33]
Medieval Islamic scholars recorded competing theories of the founder of the city asal-Harawi noted inZiyarat that it was believed that Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was the second city founded byNuh (Noah) after theGreat Flood.[7] This belief rests on the identification of nearbyMount Judi as theapobaterion (place of descent) ofNoah's Ark.[35] TheshahanshahArdashir I ofIran (180–242) was also considered a potential founder.[21] InWafayāt al-Aʿyān,Ibn Khallikan reported thatYusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi (d. 744) was considered by some to be responsible for the city's foundation, whilst he argued that Abd al-Aziz ibn Umar was the founder and namesake of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar.[31]
The city was fortified in the 10th century at the latest.[17] In the 10th century,Ibn Hawqal inSurat al-Ard described Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar as an entrepôt engaged in trade with theByzantine Empire,Armenia, and the districts ofMayyafariqin,Arzen, and Mosul.[36]Abu Taghlib,Hamdanid Emir of Mosul, allied himself with theBuyid EmirIzz al-Dawla Bakhtiyar of Iraq in his civil war against his cousin Emir'Adud al-Dawla of Fars in 977 on the condition that Bakhtiyar hand over Abu Taghlib's younger brother Hamdan, who had conspired against him.[37] Although Abu Taghlib had secured his reign by executing his rival brother Hamdan, the alliance quickly backfired following Adud al-Dawla's victory over Abu Taghlib and Bakhtiyar atSamarra in the spring of 978 as he then annexed Hamdanid territory in upper Mesopotamia, and thus Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar came under Buyid rule, forcing Abu Taghlib to go into exile.[37][38] Buyid control of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was cut short by the civil war that followed the death of Adud al-Dawla in 983 as it allowed theKurdish chiefBadh ibn Dustak to seize Buyid territory in upper Mesopotamia in the following year, and he was acknowledged as its ruler by the claimant EmirSamsam al-Dawla.[39] Bādh attempted to conquer Mosul in 990, and the Hamdanid brothers Abu Abdallah Husayn and Abu Tahir Ibrahim were sent by the Buyid EmirBaha al-Dawla to repel the threat.[40] TheUqaylid clan agreed to aid the brothers against Bādh in return for the cities of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, Balad, andNisibin, and Bādh was subsequently defeated and killed.[40] The leader of the Uqaylids,Abu'l-Dhawwad Muhammad ibn al-Musayyab, secured control of the cities, and acknowledged Emir Baha al-Dawla as his sovereign.[40] On Muhammad's death in 996, his brother and successor as emir,al-Muqallad, asserted his independence, expelling the Buyid presence in the emirate, and thus ending Buyid suzerainty.[40]
Turkmen nomads arrived in the vicinity of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in the summer of 1042, and carried out raids inDiyar Bakr and upper Mesopotamia.[41] TheMarwanid emirate became a vassal of theSeljuk SultanTughril in 1056.[42]
In the summer of 1083, the former Marwanid vizierFakhr al-Dawla ibn Jahir persuaded the Seljuk SultanMalikshah to send him with an army against the Marwanid emirate,[43] and eventually Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, the last remainingMarwanid stronghold, was captured by theSeljuk Turks in 1085.[44][45] Although the Marwanid emirate was severely reduced, its final emir, Nasir al-Dawla Mansur, was permitted to continue to rule solely Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar under the Seljuk Sultanate from 1085 onwards.[46] ThemamlukJikirmish seized Mansur and usurped the emirate of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar on Mansur's death in January 1096.[47] In late 1096, Jikirmish set out to relieveKerbogha's siege of Mosul following a request for aid from the Uqaylid emirAli ibn Sharaf al-Dawla of Mosul, but was defeated by Kerbogha's brother Altuntash, and submitted to him as a vassal.[47] Jikirmish was forced to aid in the ultimately successful siege against his former ally, and thus came under the suzerainty of Kerbogha as Emir of Mosul.[47] Kerbogha died in 1102, and SultanBarkiyaruq appointed Jikirmish as his replacement as emir.[48] Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was thereafter directly ruled over by a string of Seljuk emirs of Mosul until the appointment of Zengi.[48]
EmirAqsunqur al-Bursuqi of Mosul was murdered byAssassins in 1126, and was succeeded by his son Mas'ud. He died after several months, and his younger brother became emir with the mamluk Jawali serving asatabeg (regent).[49] Jawali sent envoys to SultanMahmud II to receive official recognition for al-Bursuqi's son as emir of Mosul, but the envoys bribed the vizier Anu Shurwan to recommendImad al-Din Zengi be appointed as emir of Mosul instead.[49] The sultan appointed Zengi as emir in the autumn of 1127, but he had to secure the emirate by force as forces loyal to al-Bursuqi's son resisted Zengi, and retained control of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar.[49] After taking Mosul, Zengi marched north and besieged Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar; in an attack, he ferried soldiers across the river whilst others swam to the city, and eventually the city surrendered.[50] Later, anArtuqid coalition of Da'ud ofHisn Kayfa,Timurtash ofMardin, andIlaldi of Amid threatened Zengi's realm in 1130 whilst he campaigned in the vicinity ofAleppo in Syria, forcing him to return and defeat them atDara.[51] After the battle, Da'ud marched on Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar and pillaged its surroundings, thus Zengi advanced to counter him, and Da'ud withdrew to the mountains.[51]
Thedozdar (governor of the citadel) of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, Thiqat al-Din Hasan, was reported to have sexually harassed soldiers' wives whilst their husbands were on campaign, and thus Zengi sent hishajib (chamberlain) al-Yaghsiyani to handle the situation.[52] To avoid a rebellion, al-Yaghsiyani told Hasan he was promoted todozdar of Aleppo, so he arranged to leave the city, but was arrested, castrated, and crucified by al-Yaghsiyani upon leaving the citadel.[52] The Jewish scholarAbraham ibn Ezra visited the city in November 1142.[53] On Zengi's death in 1146, his eldest sonSayf al-Din Ghazi I received the emirate of Mosul, including Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar,[54] and Izz al-Dīn Abū Bakr al-Dubaysī was appointed as the city's governor.[21] The city was transferred toQutb al-Din Mawdud on his seizure of the emirate of Mosul after his elder brother Sayf al-Din's death in November 1149.[54]
TheGrand Mosque of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was constructed in 1155.[55] After Qutb al-Din's death in September 1170, Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was inherited by his son and successorSayf al-Din Ghazi II as emir of Mosul.[54]Michael the Syrian recorded that aSyriac Orthodox monastery was confiscated and the city's bishop Basilius was imprisoned in 1173.[56] Upon the death of Sayf al-Din Ghazi in 1180, Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was granted as aniqta' to his son Mu'izz al-Din Sanjar Shah within the emirate of Mosul, however, in late 1183, Sanjar Shah recognisedSaladin as his suzerain, thus becoming a vassal of theAyyubid Sultanate of Egypt, and effectively forming an autonomous principality.[54] Sanjar Shah continued to mint coins in his own name, and copperdirhams were minted at Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in 1203/1204.[57]
Sanjar Shah ruled until his murder by his son Ghazi in 1208, and was succeeded by his sonMu'izz al-Din Mahmud.[58] Mahmud successfully maintained Zengid control over Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar with the marriage of his son Al-Malik al-Mas'ud Shahanshah to the daughter ofBadr al-Din Lu'lu', who had overthrown the Zengids at Mosul, and usurped power for himself in 1233.[58] The Grand Mosque of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was renovated during Mahmud's reign.[55] In the early 13th century, the city's fort and madrasa are attested by Ibn al-Athir inAl-Tārīkh al-bāhir fī al-Dawlah al-Atābakīyah bi-al-Mawṣil, and its mosque by Ibn Khallikan inWafayāt al-Aʿyān.[31] According to the Arab scholarIzz al-Din ibn Shaddad, theMongol Empire demanded 100,000dinars in tribute from the ruler of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in 1251.[59] The end of the Zengid dynasty was heralded by the death of Mahmud in 1251, as Badr al-Din Lu'lu' had Mahmud's successor Al-Malik al-Mas'ud Shahanshah killed soon after, and assumed control of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar.[58]
Badr al-Din Lu'lu' acknowledged Mongol suzerainty to secure his realm as early as 1252,[60] and minted coins in the name ofGreat KhanMöngke Khan in 1255 at the latest.[61] He is also known to have had a mosque built at Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar.[21] Badr al-Din became subject to the MongolIlkhanate onHulagu Khan's assumption of the titleIlkhan (subject khan) in 1256.[62] Badr al-Din Lu'lu' died in July/August 1259,[60] and his realm was divided between his sons, and Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was bequeathed to his son al-Malik Al-Mujahid Sayf al-Din Ishaq.[63] The sons of Badr al-Din Lu'lu' chafed under Mongol rule and soon all had rebelled and travelled toEgypt seeking military assistance as al-Muzaffar Ala al-Din Ali leftSinjar in 1260,[63] al-Salih Rukn al-Din Ismail leftMosul in June 1261,[60] and finally Ishaq fled Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar forMamluk Egypt shortly afterwards.[64] Prior to his flight, Ishaq extorted 700 dinars from the city's Christians, and news of his impending escape pushed the populace to riot against his decision to leave the city to the wrath of the Mongols.[65]
In Ishaq's absence, 'Izz ad-Din 'Aibag, Emir ofAmadiya, seized the city, and an attack by Abd Allah, Emir ofMayyafariqin, was repelled.[65]Baibars,Sultan of Egypt, refused to provide an army to the sons of Badr al-Din against the Mongols, but they were permitted to accompany CaliphAl-Mustansir on his campaign to reconquer Baghdad from the Mongols.[64] The three brothers marched with the caliph's campaign until they split atAl-Rahba, and travelled to Sinjar,[66] where Ali and Ishaq briefly remained whilst Ismail continued onwards to Mosul. However, the two brothers abandoned Sinjar and Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar to the Mongols, and returned to Egypt upon learning of the caliph's death and defeat in November.[67] Mosul was sacked and Ismail was killed by a Mongol army, after a siege from November to July/August 1262.[67] After the sack of Mosul, the Mongol army led by Samdaghu besieged Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar until the summer of 1263; the siege was lifted and the city spared when theChurch of the East bishop Henan Isho claimed to have knowledge ofchrysopoeia, and offered to render his services.[68] Jemal ad-Din Gulbag was appointed to govern Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, but he was later executed for conspiring with the city's former ruler Ishaq, and was replaced by Henan Isho,[68] who was also executed in 1268, following accusations of impropriety.[69]
In the second half of the 13th century, Mongol gold, silver, and copper coins were minted at Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar,[70] and production there increased after KhanGhazan's (r. 1295–1304) reforms.[71] It was later attested that the vizierRashid-al-Din Hamadani had planned to construct a canal from the Tigris by the city.[71] Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was visited by the Moroccan scholarIbn Battuta in 1327, and he noted the city's mosque, bazaar,[72] and three gates.[21] In 1326/1327, the city was granted as a fief to a Turkman chief, and Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar remained under his control until the disintegration of the Ilkhanate in 1335, soon after which it was seized by theBohtan clan in 1336/1337 with the aid of al-Ashraf,Ayyubid Emir ofHisn Kayfa.[73] In the 1330s,Hamdallah Mustawfi inNuzhat Al Qulub reported that Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar had an annual revenue of 170,200 dinars.[74] The emirate of Hisn Kayfa had aimed to control Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar through theBohtan clan in providing military assistance to its capture and the marriage of a daughter to Izz ad-Din, Emir of Bohtan, but this was unsuccessful as theBohtan emirate developed the city and consolidated their rule, and eventually the emir of Hisn Kayfa attempted to take Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar by force in 1384/1385, but was repelled.[73]
The emirate of Bohtan submitted to theTimurid Empire in 1400, afterTimur sacked Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in retribution for the emir having seized one of his baggage convoys.[19] As punishment for the emir's refusal to participate in Timur's campaign in Iraq, the city was sacked by Timur's sonMiran Shah.[19]
Uzun Hasan usurped leadership of theAq Qoyunlu from his elder brother Jahangir in a coup at Amid in 1452, and set about expanding his realm by seizing Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in 1456, whilst the emir of Bohtan withdrew into the mountains.[75] Rebellion and civil war followed the death of Uzun Hasan in 1478, and the emir of Bohtan retook Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar from the Aq Qoyunlu in 1495/1496.[76]
Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar came underSafavid suzerainty in the first decade of the 16th century, but after the Ottoman victory at thebattle of Chaldiran over ShahIsmail I in 1514, SultanSelim I sentIdris Bitlisi to the city and he successfully convinced the emir ofBohtan to submit to theOttoman Empire.[77] The emirate of Bohtan was incorporated into the empire as ahükûmet (autonomous territory),[78] and was assigned to theeyalet (province) ofDiyarbekir upon its formation in 1515.[79] Sayyid Ahmad ruled in 1535.[21]
Christian families fromErbil found refuge and settled in Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in 1566.[21] In the mid-17th century,Evliya Çelebi visited Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar en route from Mosul to Hisn Kayfa,[80] and noted the city possessed fourmuftis and anaqib al-ashraf, and itsqadis (judges) received a daily salary of 300akçes.[81] In the late 17th century, Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar is mentioned byJean-Baptiste Tavernier inLes Six Voyages de J. B. Tavernier as a location on the route toTabriz.[82]
TheEgyptian invasion of Syria in 1831-1832 allowedMuhammad Pasha of Rawanduz, Emir ofSoran, to expand his realm, and he seized Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in 1833.[83] TheOttoman response to Muhammad Pasha was delayed by the war with Egypt until 1836, in which year Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was retaken by an Ottoman army led byReşid Mehmed Pasha.[84] Reşid deposed Sayf al-Din Shir, Emir of Bohtan andmütesellim of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, and he was replaced byBedir Khan Beg.[84] In 1838, an Ottoman army was sent to Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar during the campaign to suppress the rebellion of Abdul Agha and Khan Mahmud in the vicinity ofLake Van.[85][86] The German adviserHelmuth von Moltke the Elder accompanied the Ottoman army and reported back to the Ottoman government from Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in June 1838.[87]Bedir Khan Beg reportedly established a munitions and arms factory in the city.[88]
In 1842, as part of the centralisation policies of theTanzimat reforms, thekaza (district) of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was attached to theeyalet ofMosul, whilst thekaza of Bohtan, which constituted the remainder of the emirate, remained within theeyalet of Diyarbekir, thus administratively dividing the emirate, and provoking Bedir Khan.[86] The administrative reform aimed to increase Ottoman state revenue, but left the previously loyal emir disgruntled with the Ottoman state.[89] Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was visited by the American missionaryAsahel Grant on 13 June 1843.[90] Bedir Khan's1843 and 1846 massacres in Hakkari led the British and French governments to demand his removal from power,[88] and he was subsequently summoned to Constantinople, but Bedir Khan refused, and an Ottoman army was sent against him.[91] The emir defeated the Ottoman army, and he declared the independence of the Emirate of Bohtan.[88] Bedir Khan's success was brief as a large Ottoman army led by Osman Pasha, withOmar Pasha and Sabri Pasha, marched against him, and his relativeYezdanşêr defected and allowed for the Ottoman occupation of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar.[88] The Ottoman government unsuccessfully encouraged Bedir Khan to surrender, and thevali (governor) of Diyarbekir wrote to theNaqshbandisheikhs İbrahim, Salih, and Azrail at Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar to mediate in June 1847.[92] Although Bedir Khan retook Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, the emir was forced to withdraw and surrendered on 29 July.[93]
As a consequence of Bedir Khan's rebellion, the emirate of Bohtan was dissolved and Yezdanşêr succeeded him asmütesellim of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar.[94] Also, theeyalet of Kurdistan was formed on 5 December 1847, and included thekazas of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar and Bohtan.[95] Yezdanşêr met with Lieutenant Colonel (later General)Fenwick Williams at Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in 1849 whilst he participated as the British representative in a commission to settle the Ottoman-Iranian border.[96] Yezdanşêr was soon replaced by thekaymakam Mustafa Pasha, sent away to Constantinople in March 1849, and forbidden from returning to Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar.[94] In 1852, theiane-i umumiye (temporary tax) was introduced, and thekaza of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was expected to provide 23,140piastres.[97] During theCrimean War, in 1854, Yezdanşêr was ordered to recruit soldiers for the war, and 900 Kurds were recruited from Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar and Bohtan.[98] Yezdanşêr claimed to be maltreated by local officials and revolted in November, with Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar under his control.[98] He offered to surrender in January 1855 on the condition that he received thekazas of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar and Bohtan, but this was rejected.[99] An Ottoman army consisting of a regiment of infantry, a regiment of cavalry, and a battery of six guns was ordered to march on Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in February.[100] In March, Yezdanşêr accepted terms offered by General Williams, the British military commissioner with the Ottoman Anatolian army, and surrendered.[101]
In 1867, theeyalet of Kurdistan was dissolved and replaced by theDiyarbekir Vilayet, and Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar became the seat of akaza in thesanjak of Mardin.[102] Thekaza was subdivided into ninenahiyes, and possessed 210 villages.[103] Osman, son of Bedir Khan, seized Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in 1878 after his escape from captivity at Constantinople using demobilised Kurdish veterans of theRusso-Turkish War of 1877–78, and proclaimed himself as emir.[104] Therebellion endured for eight months until it was quelled by an Ottoman army led by Shevket Bey.[105] The city was visited by the German scholarEduard Sachau in 1880.[32] In the late 19th century, the French geographerVital Cuinet recorded inLa Turquie d'Asie the city's fivecaravanserais, one-hundred and six shops, ten cafés, and a vaultedbazaar.[21] At the inception of theHamidiye cavalry corps in 1891, Mustafa,agha (chief) of the localMiran clan, enrolled and was made a commander with the rank ofpaşa, hereafter known as Mustafa Paşa.[106] Throughout the 1890s, Mustafa Paşa exploited his position to seize goods from merchants and plunder Christian villages in the district.[107] In 1892,[108] Mustafa Paşa converted a mosque at Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar into a barracks for his soldiers.[109]
The appointment of Mehmed Enis Paşa asvali of Diyarbekir on 4 October 1895 was quickly followed bymassacres of Christians throughout the province,[110] and in mid-November an Ottoman army repelled an attempt by Mustafa Paşa to enter the city and slaughter its Christian inhabitants.[111] Mustafa Paşa subsequently complained to Enis Paşa, and the officer in charge of the regiment was summoned to Diyarbekir.[111] Later, the British and French vice-consuls at Diyarbekir, Cecil Marsham Hallward and Gustave Meyrier, respectively, suspected that Enis Paşa was responsible for the massacres in the province.[112] In 1897, the British diplomatTelford Waugh reported that Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was used as a place of exile by the Ottoman Empire as he noted the presence of Albanians deported there, and that the city's governor Faris,agha of the Şammar clan, had been exiled there after his fall from grace.[113]
_2.434_Diyarbekir_Vilayet.jpg)
Mustafa Paşa feuded withagha Muhammad Aghayê Sor, and in 1900 thekaymakam of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar intervened to aid the Tayan clan, Mustafa Paşa's allies, against Aghayê Sor.[108] Several months later, Mustafa Paşa had twenty villages in the district loyal to his rival destroyed, and Aghayê Sor wrote to the Brigadier General Bahaeddin Paşa seeking protection.[108] Bahaeddin Paşa travelled to Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar to conduct an inquiry, but was imprisoned there for five days by Mustafa Paşa,[108] and the two rivals continued to attack each other's territories until Mustafa Paşa was assassinated on Aghayê Sor's orders in 1902.[114] Within thekaza of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, in 1909, there were 1500 households, 1000 of which possessed over 50dönüms.[115] As late as 1910, the Miran clan annually migrated from their winter pastures in the plain of Mosul to Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in the spring to trade and pay taxes, and then across the Tigris to summer grazing grounds at the source of the riverBotan.[116][117] The British scholarGertrude Bell visited the city in May 1910.[118]
In 1915, amidst the ongoing genocide ofArmenians andAssyrians perpetrated by the Ottoman government and localKurds, Aziz Feyzi and Zülfü Bey carried out preparations to destroy the Christian population of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar on orders fromMehmed Reshid,vali of Diyarbekir.[119] From 29 April to 12 May, the officials toured the district and incited the Kurds against the Christians;[120] Halil Sâmi,kaymakam of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar since 31 March 1913, was replaced by Kemal Bey on 2 May 1915 due to his refusal to support the plans for genocide.[121] At this time, tworedif (reserve) battalions were stationed in the city.[103] Julius Behnam, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Gazarta, fled toAzakh upon hearing of the commencement of massacres in the province in July.[103] Christians in rural areas of the district were massacred over several days from 8 August onwards,[121] and several Jacobite and 15 Chaldean Catholic villages were destroyed.[103]
On the night of 28 August,Flavianus Michael Malke, Syriac Catholic Bishop of Gazarta, andPhilippe-Jacques Abraham, Chaldean Catholic Bishop of Gazarta, were killed.[122] On 29 August, Aziz Feyzi, Ahmed Hilmi, Mufti of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, and Ömer,agha of the Reman clan, coordinated the arrest, torture, and execution of all Armenian men and a number of Assyrians in Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar.[121][119] The men's bodies were dumped in the Tigris, and, two days later, the children were abducted into Muslim households, and most women were raped and killed, and their bodies were also thrown into the river.[119] Walter Holstein, German vice-consul at Mosul, reported the massacre to the German embassy atConstantinople on 9 September, and the German ambassadorErnst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg informed the GermanForeign Office on 11 September that the massacre had resulted in the death of 4750Armenians (2500Gregorians, 1250Catholics, and 1000Protestants) and 350Assyrians (250Chaldeans and 100 Jacobites).[119] After the massacre, eleven churches and three chapels were confiscated.[103] 200 Armenians fromErzurum were exterminated near Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar by GeneralHalil Kut on 22 September.[121] Kemal Bey continued in the office ofkaymakam until 3 November 1915.[121]
In the aftermath of Ottoman defeat in theFirst World War,Ali İhsan Sâbis, commander of the OttomanSixth Army, was reported to have recruited and armed Kurds at Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in February 1919 in an effort to prevent British occupation.[123] After the murder of Captain Alfred Christopher Pearson,assistant political officer atZakho, by Kurds on 4 April 1919, the occupation of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was considered to ensure the security ofBritish Iraq, but ultimately dismissed.[124] Ahmed Hilmi, Mufti of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, was ordered to be arrested in May 1919 for his role in the massacre in 1915 as part of theTurkish courts-martial of 1919–1920, but he evaded arrest as he was under the protection of local Kurdish clans.[125]
Appeals from Kurds to the British government to create an independent Kurdish state spurred the appointment ofNihat Anılmış as commander at Cizre in June 1920 with instructions from thePrime Minister of TurkeyMustafa Kemal to establish local government and secure control of local Kurds by inciting them to engage in armed clashes against British and French forces, thus preventing good relations.[126] Local Kurdish notables complained to theGrand National Assembly of Turkey of alleged illegal activity by Nihat Anılmış, and although it was decided no action was to be taken in July 1922,[127] he was transferred away from Cizre in early September.[128]
Amidst thepartition of the Ottoman Empire, Cizre was allocated to become part of 'the specifically French zone of interests' as per theTreaty of Sèvres of 10 August 1920.[129] However, Turkey concentrated a significant number of forces at Cizre in January 1923 to bolster the Turkish position at theLausanne Conference of 1922–23,[130] and the city itself was retained by Turkey, but part of the district was transferred toSyria andIraq.[131] In response toKurdish revolts in the 1920s, the Turkish government aimed toTurkify the population of eastern Turkey, but Christians were deemed unsuitable, and thus attempted to eradicate those who had survived the genocide.[132] In this effort, 257 Syriac Orthodox men fromAzakh and neighbouring villages were imprisoned by the government at Cizre in 1926, where they were beaten and denied food.[132]
Cizre received electricity and running water in the mid-1950s.[133] In the 1960s, the infrastructure of the city was developed as a newbridge, municipal buildings, and new roads were constructed and streets were widened, and amenities such as a public park named afterAtatürk and a cinema were built.[133]
Roughly 60 people were detained and tortured for 20 days by Turkish police after the killing of two Turkish policemen in Cizre on 13 January 1989.[134] The economy of Cizre was severely disrupted by the eruption of theGulf War as trade with Iraq was embargoed and the border was closed, resulting in the closure of 90% of shops in the city.[133] Kurdish militants clashed with Turkish security forces in Cizre on 18 June 1991, and five Turkish soldiers and one militant were killed, according to official reports, howeverAmnesty International reported the death of one civilian also.[134] On 21 March 1992, a pro-PKK demonstration to celebrateNewroz in contravention of a state ban was dispersed by Turkish soldiers, and led to violence as Kurdish militants retaliated, resulting in the death of 26-30 people.[135] Properties in Cizre were damaged by Turkish soldiers in two shootouts against PKK militants in August and September 1993, and three militants were killed.[23]
.jpg)
Riots erupted in Cizre in October 2014 in response to the Turkish government's decision to prohibit Kurds from travelling to Syria to participate in theSyrian Civil War,[136] as well as in reaction to accusations that the Turkish governmentsupported theIslamic State (ISIS) against theKurds in Syria.[137] It is claimed that 17 Kurds from Cizre fought and died in theSiege of Kobanî.[138] Finally, the breakdown of the2013–2015 PKK–Turkey peace process,[139] which was part of the broaderthird phase of theKurdish–Turkish conflict, prompted local Kurdish youth, affiliated with theYDG-H, the militant youth wing of theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and laterYPS, to erect blockades, ditches, and armed checkpoints, declare "autonomy",[140] and to carry out patrols in several neighbourhoods to block the movement ofTurkish police.[136][141]
Amilitary operation was launched by theTurkish Armed Forces to reestablish control over the city on 4 September 2015, and acurfew was imposed,[142] which has also been described as a militarysiege.[143] An estimated 70 Kurdish militants responded with rocket-propelled grenade attacks, when Turkish soldiers tried to enter the city.[142][144] From the mountains that surround Cizre, the Turkish army used itsheavy armour, includingtanks andartillery to shell buildings inflicting great damage.[145][146] In wake of the clashes, the TurkishMinistry of the Interior claimed that 32 "PKK militants" and 1 civilian had been killed, whereas thePeoples' Democratic Party (HDP) argued that 21 civilians were killed.[144] On 10 September, an investigating delegation of 30 HDPMPs led bySelahattin Demirtaş were denied entry to the city by Turkish police.[142] The curfew was briefly relaxed on 11 September, but was reimposed just two days later.[147]
On 14 December 2015, Turkish military operations resumed in Cizre, and thecurfew was renewed.[148] The military operation continued until 11 February, but the curfew was maintained until 2 March.[149]
During the clashes between 24 July 2015 and 30 June 2016 at Cizre, the Turkish Armed Forces claimed to have killed or captured 674 PKK militants, and to have suffered 24 killed military and police officers as casualties.[150] The pro-KurdishDemocratic Regions Party (DBP) said in a statement that 300 people had been killed during the curfew.[145] TheUnion of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects reported that four neighbourhoods were completely destroyed, with 1200 buildings severely damaged and approximately 10,000 buildings damaged, and c. 110,000 people fled the district.[24]
During the military confrontation, the infamousCizre basement massacre occurred, in which independentU.N. monitors accused the Turkish military of burning alive more than 100 civilians in a basement by pouring gasoline and setting it on fire.[151][152]U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Raad al-Hussein urged Turkey to grant the U.N. unimpeded access to the affected areas following the events and said there were accounts of unarmed civilians, including women and children, being shot by snipers and that government forces also caused "huge damage" to the local infrastructure.[151] TheHuman Rights Watch (HRW) confirmed these accounts, stating that in some cases the Turkish security forces opened fire on civilians on the streets carryingwhite flags, deployed military vehicles at the Cizre State Hospital, destroyed residential buildings on a large scale, and deliberately and unjustifiably killed about 130 people, among whom were unarmed civilians and injured combatants, trapped in Cizre's basements.[153] TheAssociation for Human Rights and Solidarity for the Oppressed concluded that between 203 and 266 people were killed during the military curfew, the majority of whom died when Turkish security forces stormed three residential basements where hundreds had been sheltering from the fighting. Kadir Kunur, co-mayor of Cizre said "a total of 176 people were massacred altogether in three basements."[146] A Turkish oppositon newspaper said that at least 60 civilians were killed in one of the basements.[154]
Furthermore the HRW accused the Turkish government of blocking access for independent investigations into alleged mass abuses against civilians, including unlawful killings of civilians, massforced displacement, and widespread unlawful destruction of private property.[153]
The Turkish government announced plans in April 2016 to rebuild damaged 2700 houses in a project estimated to cost 4 billionTurkish lira.[155]
The Turkish physician Dr Şebnem Korur Fincanci was arrested and imprisoned on charges of involvement in the propaganda of terrorism by the Turkish government on 20 June 2016 as a consequence of her report on conditions in Cizre after the end of the curfew in March 2016; she was later acquitted in July 2019.[156][157]
On 26 August 2016, 11 policemen were killed and 78 were injured in acar bomb attack, which was attributed to the PKK. The attack targeted a police checkpoint and severely damaged a nearby riot police headquarters.[158] The Turkish government banned journalists and independent observers from entering the city to report on the bombing.[159]
At the city's foundation in the early 9th century, it was included in thediocese of Qardu,[33] a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Nisibis in theChurch of the East.[160] In c. 900, the diocese of Bezabde was moved and renamed to Gazarta (Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in Syriac), and partially assumed the territory of the diocese of Qardu,[33] which was also moved and renamed to its new seat Tamanon, having previously been based at Penek.[161] Tamanon declined and at some point after the mention of its last bishop in 1265, its diocese was subsumed into the diocese of Gazarta.[162]
Eliya was archbishop of Gazarta and Amid in 1504.[163] Gazarta was a prominent centre of manuscript production, and most surviving east Syriac manuscripts from the late 16th century were copied there.[164]
The Catholic Church of Mosul, later known as the Chaldean Catholic Church, split from the Church of the East in theschism of 1552, and its inaugural patriarchShimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa appointedAbdisho as archbishop of Gazarta in 1553.[165]Shemon VII Ishoyahb, Patriarch of the Church of the East, appointed Joseph as archbishop of Gazarta in response in 1554.[165][166] Abdisho succeeded Sulaqa as patriarch on his death in 1555.[165]
Gabriel was archbishop of Gazarta in 1586.[167] There was an archbishop of Gazarta named John in 1594.[168] Joseph was archbishop of Gazarta in 1610.[169] A certain Joseph, archbishop of Gazarta, is mentioned in a manuscript in 1618 with the patriarch Eliya IX.[170] An archbishop of Gazarta named Joseph is also mentioned in a manuscript in 1657.[170]
Joseph, archbishop of Gazarta, resided at the village of Shah in 1822.[171] An archbishop named Joseph had two suffragan bishops, and served until his death in 1846.[172]
In 1850, the Church of the East diocese of Gazarta had 23 villages, 23 churches, 16 priests, and 220 families,[173] whereas the Chaldean diocese of Gazarta had 7 villages, 6 churches, 5 priests, and 179 families.[174] The Chaldean Catholic Church expanded considerably in the second half of the 19th century, and consequently its diocese of Gazarta grew to 20 villages, 15 priests, and 7,000 adherents in 1867.[174] The Chaldean diocese decreased to 5200 adherents, with 17 churches and 14 priests, in 1896, but recovered by 1913 to 6400 adherents in 17 villages, with 11 churches and 17 priests.[175]
TheSyriac Orthodox diocese of Gazarta was established in 864,[176] and supplanted the diocese ofBezabde.[177] It is first mentioned under the authority of themaphrian in the tenure of Dionysius I Moses (r. 1112–1142).[176] There were 19 villages in the Syriac Orthodox diocese of Azakh and Gazarta in 1915.[178]
The following is a list of incumbents of the see:
TheSyriac Catholic diocese of Gazarta was established in 1863, and endured until its suppression in 1957. The following is a list of incumbents of the see:[192]
Seyyit Haşim Haşimi wasRP mayor of Cizre in 1989–1994.[193] Haşimi was detained by police in the summer of 1993 on suspicion of aiding the PKK; Saki Işıkçı was deputy mayor at this time.[194]
On 29 October 2019, Mehmet Zırığ, HDP co-mayor of Cizre, who was elected in the2019 Turkish local elections with 77% of the vote, was removed from office by theGovernor of Şırnak amidst an investigation into charges of "praising the crime and the criminal", "propagandising for a terrorist organisation", and "being a member of a terrorist organisation", and kaymakam (district governor) Davut Sinanoğlu was appointed as acting mayor.[195] Berivan Kutlu,HDP co-mayor of Cizre, was detained by police on 12–19 March 2020.[196][197]
Until 1915, Cizre had a diverse population of Christian Armenians and Assyrians, who constituted half of the city's population, Jews, and Muslim Kurds.[103][198] The genocide of Armenians and Assyrians reduced the city's population significantly,[21] and it declined further with the departure of the Jews in 1950–1951.[22] The population began to recover in the second half of the 20th century,[21] and later increased dramatically from 1984 onwards due to theKurdish–Turkish conflict as thousands of people fled to Cizre to escape pressure from both the Turkish armed forces and PKK militants.[23]
|
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| Source: Wilmshurst (1850),[199] Elisséeff (1890, 1940, 1960),[21] Henning (1918),[20] Marcus (1980),[23] Population censuses (1985-1997)[200][201][202] and TÜIK (2007-2022)[203] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the Syriac Orthodox patriarchal register of dues of 1870, it was recorded that the city had 32 Syriac Orthodox households, who paid 107 dues, and was served by the Church of Morī Behnān and one priest.[204] According to the census carried out by theArmenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, 4281 Armenians inhabited thekaza of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar in 1913, with only one functioning church: 2716 Armenians lived in Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar itself and eleven nearby villages, and 1565 Armenians were nomadic.[205] 60 Chaldean Catholic families inhabited the city in 1850, and were served by one church and one priest.[199] There were 300 Chaldeans in 1865, 240 Chaldeans in 1880, 320 Chaldeans in 1888, 350 Chaldeans in 1890, and 600 Chaldeans, with 2 priests and 2 churches, in 1913.[199]
A report submitted to theParis Peace Conference by the Syriac Orthodox bishopSeverios Barsoum in July 1919 testified that 7510 Syriac Orthodox Christians in 994 families and 8 clergymen had been killed in thekaza of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar during the genocide.[206][207] 26 Syriac Orthodox villages and 13 churches had been affected.[208] In total, 35 Assyrian villages in the vicinity of Cizre were destroyed in the genocide.[209] A separate memorandum was submitted on behalf ofShimun XX Paulos, Patriarch of the Church of the East, in which it was requested that the city become part of an independent Assyrian state.[210]
After the genocide, in 1918, it was reported Kurds made up the majority of the city, with approximately 500 Chaldeans.[20] There were 960 Assyrians at Cizre in total in 1918.[211]
The Jewish community of Cizre is attested byBenjamin of Tudela in the mid-12th century,[2] and he noted the city was inhabited by 4000 Jews led byrabbis named Muvhar, Joseph, and Hiyya.[7]J. J. Benjamin remarked on the presence of 20 Jewish families in Cizre during his visit in 1848.[212] Jews of Cizre spokeJudaeo-Aramaic and Kurdish.[22][213] There were 10 Jewish households in Cizre when visited by Rabbi Yehiel Fischel in 1859, and were described as very poor.[214] 126 Jews inhabited Cizre in 1891, as recorded by the Ottoman census.[215] The community had grown to 150 people by 1906,[216] and the synagogue was renovated in 1913.[217] In 1914, 234 Jews inhabited Cizre.[198] The Jewish community of Cizreemigrated toIsrael in 1950–1951.[22] The Israeli politicianMickey Levy is a notable descendant of the Jews of Cizre.[213]
The town is presently populated by Kurds of the Aluwa, Amara, Elîkan, Kiçan and Memantribes.[16]
As the capital of the Bohtan emirate, Cizre served as an important Kurdish cultural centre, and music, poetry, and science flourished under the protection of the emirs.[218]
Cizre formerly played a significant role in the dissemination of Islamic education in Upper Mesopotamia.[21] In the 11th century, amadrasa was constructed by the SeljukvizierNizam al-Mulk.[219] In the following century, there were fourShafi'imadrasas, and twoSufikhanqahs outside the city walls.[21] The two Sufi khanqahs were noted byIzz al-Din ibn Shaddad in the 13th century, and he also recorded the names of the four Shafi'i madrasas as Ibn el-Bezri Madrasa, Zahiruddin Kaymaz al-Atabegi Madrasa, Radaviyye Madrasa and Kadi Cemaleddin Abdürrahim Madrasa.[220]
Until 1915, FrenchDominican priests operated a Chaldean Catholic school and Syriac Catholic school in the city, as well as other schools of those denominations in the vicinity.[103]
In the 12th century, there was abimaristan (hospital), 19 mosques, 14hammams (baths), and 30sabils (fountains).[21] This increased to twobimaristans, two grand mosques, 80 mosques, and 14hammams when recorded byIbn Shaddad in the next century.[220]
Cizre became a place of pilgrimage in the 15th century due to its association with Nuh (Noah), and it attracted notable figures, such as the Ottoman SultanMehmed the Conqueror and potentially also his sons.[221] The Mosque of the Prophet Noah in Cizre purports to containhis tomb.[222][223] The tomb of the Kurdish poetAli Hariri (1425–c. 1495), who died at Cizre, is considered sacred and visited by pilgrims.[224]
TheSyriac Orthodox Church ofMarBehnam was renovated by Gregorius Jacob, archbishop ofGargar, in 1704.[186] Gregorius Thomas,archbishop of Jerusalem, was buried at the Church of Mar Behnam in 1748 behind the right wing of the altar; his grave and an inscription inGarshuni was still extant when visited byAphrem Barsoum in 1910.[225] A number of archbishops of Gazarta were also buried here, including Dioscorus Gabriel of Bartella (d. 7 September 1300),[226] Dioscorus Shukr Allah (d. c. 1785), and Athanasius Stephan (d. 1869).[189]
The citadel of Cizre (Kurdish:Birca Belek, 'multicoloured palace') was constructed by the emirate of Bohtan,[227] and is prominently presented as the residence of Zin in the tale ofMem and Zin.[228] After the emirate's dissolution in 1847, the citadel was periodically used as a barracks by Turkish soldiers, and was closed to the public.[229] It remained in military use, and was used by Turkish border guards from 1995 onwards, until 2010.[229] Excavations by archaeologists fromMardin Museum began in May 2013,[230] and continued until December 2014.[231]
Cizre Serhat Sports Club (Turkish:Cizre Serhat Spor Kulübü) was founded in 1972, and later renamed toCizrespor.[232]
Cizre is located at the easternmost point of theTur Abdin in the Melabas Hills (Syriac:Turo d-Malbash, "the clothed mountain"), which is roughly coterminous with the region of Zabdicene.[28]
Cizre has aMediterranean climate (Csa in theKöppen climate classification) with wet, cool, occasionally snowy winters and dry, extremely hot summers. On 25 July 2025, Cizre recorded 49.4 °C (120.9 °F), setting a new highest temperature record for the city.[233] The previous highest temperature records in Turkey at 49.1 °C (120.4 °F) on 20 July 2021[234] and at 49.0 °C (120.2 °F) on 27 August 1961 were recorded in Cizre.[235] Cizre's 62-year-long highest temperature record was surpassed two years later inSarıcakaya,Eskişehir Province in northwest Turkey.[236]
| Climate data for Cizre (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 11.8 (53.2) | 13.7 (56.7) | 18.4 (65.1) | 24.0 (75.2) | 31.0 (87.8) | 38.4 (101.1) | 42.3 (108.1) | 42.0 (107.6) | 37.3 (99.1) | 30.0 (86.0) | 20.4 (68.7) | 14.0 (57.2) | 27.0 (80.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) | 8.7 (47.7) | 12.9 (55.2) | 17.6 (63.7) | 24.0 (75.2) | 31.0 (87.8) | 34.7 (94.5) | 34.0 (93.2) | 28.9 (84.0) | 22.2 (72.0) | 13.8 (56.8) | 8.7 (47.7) | 20.4 (68.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.3 (37.9) | 4.5 (40.1) | 7.9 (46.2) | 11.8 (53.2) | 16.7 (62.1) | 22.3 (72.1) | 25.5 (77.9) | 24.7 (76.5) | 20.3 (68.5) | 15.4 (59.7) | 8.9 (48.0) | 5.0 (41.0) | 13.9 (57.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 115.99 (4.57) | 109.02 (4.29) | 109.56 (4.31) | 72.83 (2.87) | 32.06 (1.26) | 3.16 (0.12) | 0.84 (0.03) | 0.51 (0.02) | 2.73 (0.11) | 27.26 (1.07) | 66.4 (2.61) | 112.32 (4.42) | 652.68 (25.70) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 9.5 | 9.0 | 9.1 | 7.5 | 4.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 3.9 | 5.9 | 8.4 | 62.7 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 70.7 | 67.0 | 62.5 | 59.3 | 46.9 | 30.9 | 27.2 | 27.9 | 32.1 | 45.4 | 62.3 | 70.6 | 49.8 |
| Source:NOAA[237] | |||||||||||||
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