Bohtan | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1161/1247/1335–1855 | |||||||||||
 Bohtan Emirate after the captures of Bedir Khan Beg in 1846 | |||||||||||
| Status |
| ||||||||||
| Capital | Cizre | ||||||||||
| Religion | Yazidism,Sunni Islam (from 14th century) | ||||||||||
| Government | Principality | ||||||||||
| Mir | |||||||||||
• 1821–1847 | Bedir Khan Beg (last) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established | 1161/1247/1335 | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1855 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | Turkey,Syria,Iraq | ||||||||||
Bohtan[a] was a medievalKurdishprincipality in theOttoman Empire centered on the town ofJazirah ibn 'Omar in northernMesopotamia (or northernJazira). The official religion of this principality wasYezidism in 14th century, although the rulers eventually converted toIslam. Bohtan constituted the third majorYezidi enclave afterShekhan andSinjar until the 19th century.[1][2]
The earliest known reference to the region now called Botan appears in the works ofHerodotus (484–426 BC). He identified a land known as “Bukht and ikh” as part of theAchaemenid Empire’s dominions. Over the centuries, the name gradually shifted in pronunciation and form, evolving through Bokhti and Buhtan before becoming Botan.[3]
It is not fully clear when the Bohtan Emirate was exactly established. According toSharafnama, Botan rulers are descendants of Suleman Khalid, the Bokhti tribal chief.[4] He was succeeded by his eldest son Abdulaziz, whom all the Botan rulers are descended, hence why the ruling dynasty was calledAzizan. Abdul-aziz and appointed each of his brothers (Mir Abdal and Mir Badir) as Governors of a districts of the emirate. While there's no recorded date on when it was established,Sharafkhan wrote in Sharafnama that the eighth Botan ruler, Mir Ezzaddin Abdal in 1394 went to Mardin to swore his allegiance toTimur.[4] Kurdish historians conflict on the exact date of Botan Emirate establishment, according to Anwar Al-Maei, the Emirate was established in 1161 by Abdulaziz succeeding theZengids rule. While according toMuhammad Amin Zaki, the Botan Emirate was established in 1247.[5]
Cizre was seized by theBohtan tribe in 1336/1337 with the aid of al-Ashraf,Ayyubid Emir ofHisn Kayfa.[6] In the 1330s,Hamdallah Mustawfi in Nuzhat Al Qulub reported that Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar had an annual revenue of 170,200 dinars.[7] Theemirate of Hisn Kayfa had aimed to control Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar through the Bohtan clan in providing military assistance to its capture and the marriage of a daughter to Izz ed-Din, Emir of Bohtan, but this was unsuccessful as the Bohtan 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.[6]
The principality ruled over an area extending fromDiyarbakir toVan and fromZakho to Sinjar at its peak.[8] The first governors of Bohtan, were from the Azizan family, who originally followedYezidism[9][10] later converted toSunni Islam[10] and were related to the Governors of thePrincipality of Bitlis.[11] Following their role in the Ottoman defeat of theSafavids in theBattle of Çaldiran in 1514,[11] Bohtan was granted the status of a Hükümet, and it became a hereditary Kurdish principality within theOttoman Empire.[12]
An important Mir of Bohtan wasBedir Khan Bey, who succeeded Mir Seyfeddin.[13] Bedir Khan Bey wasMîr of the principality between 1821 and 1847.[8] He reformed the military forces in establishing an elite force consistent with members of the several tribes within the emirate[14][15] which brought security into Bohtan.[16] According to European diplomats in the region, he even tested if the regional chief was observant enough.[16] He would try to raid a tribe by night, and if he succeeded he would punish the tribal chief in whose territory the robbery was successful.[16] He then returned what he had robbed the night before.[16]
The security standard in Bohtan was such, that it encouraged the population of neighboring provinces to move into the territory under Bedir Khans control.[17] This led to the opposition by the Ottoman Vali ofMosul, who demanded an end to the emigration of the habitants from theMosul province to Bohtan.[17] Following, Bedir Khan expelled 2000 immigrants who settled into Bohtan during the Governorship of Mehmet Pasha in Mosul,[17] but they returned after four years.[17] The renewed emigration lead the Vali of MosulMehmet Şerif Pasha to file a report against Bedir Khan, who in 1847 had to agree to bring an end to the immigration of foreigners in Bohtan.[17] Bedir Khan Bey resigned after an unsuccessful uprising against theOttoman Empire and following, Bohtan lost its independence.[8]
list of Bukhti rulers of Bohtan:[18]
