Mahmudi Principality orMahmudis was aKurdish principality founded in 1406 by theMahmudi tribe. This principality ruled effectively in strategic areas such asHakkari andDonboli. However, it collapsed in 1829 after a siege byHan Mahmud,Prıncıpalıty of Miks, and other Kurdish beys.[1][2]
In 1406, theTurkish rulerKara Yusuf gave some districts inVan to the Mahmuditribe and established a beylik called 'Mahmudi Beylik' or Mahmudi government. This beylik was tabbi[clarification needed] toKarakoyunlu andAq Qoyunlu respectively.[3] During the Aq Qoyunlu administration, it was ruled by Hüseyin bey. Supported by Aq QoyunluTurkmen, the Mahmudis took Albari (Başkale) andShambo districts from theEmirate of Hakkari and with the help of Hakkari Bey Izzettin Şir Bitlis pushed the mahmudis awayMan.[4] During the reign of Mahmudi theSafavid was subordinated toIsmail I, andIsmail I Safavid, son ofArdebil Sheikh, defeated him in the battle he conquered with theAq Qoyunlu Sultan of 1503, occupying his lands and arresting the Kurdish rulers.When the Ottomans were victorious in thewar of Caldiran, some Kurdish rulers in the region joined the Ottoman Empire. Mahmudi Beys maintained their allegiance toShah Ismail and later to Shah Tahmasp. During the first Iranian expedition in 1533, ıvaz Bey became a Safavid eTabi after the rule of the Ottoman rulerSuleiman the Magnificent. In 1537, after the death of Ivaz Bey's son Hamza Bey,Tahmasp I appointed Hasan Bey as the head of the Mahmudis.[5]When the Ottomans organized an expedition to the region in 1548, this beylik certainly joined the Ottomans when the reigning Mahmudi ruler, Hasan Bey converted fromYazidism toIslam[6] and the beylik became subordinated to theOttomans. Hosap Castle, which was occupied by Safavids in 1604, was built by Süleyman Bey in 1643. The castle gate has its own inscriptions.[7][8] Turkish travelerEvliya Çelebi describes Hosap Castle and the Mahmudi government in the mid-17th century. Regarding Mahmudi government, he says: "They are all soldiers with six thousand swords. This is the land of the nobility and there is only one Choogoog Mountain. In a country called Ibrahim Bey. These Mahmudis have entered the fire of tribute and there are tribes of timar and zema. 120 tribes." AfterEvliya Çelebi's account, in 1829, the Mahmudi principality came to an end when Miks' EmirKhan Mahmud and other Kurdish lords seizedHoşap Castle through a bloody siege.[9]
