Bitlis uprising (1914)

"Bitlis uprising" redirects here. For the uprising in 1907, see Bitlis uprising (1907).

Bitlis uprising
Bitlis Bitlis uprising (1914) (Turkey)
Date Early March – 4 April 1914 Location Bitlis, Ottoman Empire Result Ottoman victory Uprising suppressed
Belligerents
Kurdish rebels Supported by: Russian Empire	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Mullah Selim [1] Sayyid Ali [1] Sheikh Şahabeddin [1] Abd al-Salam Barzani   Simko Shikak [2]	Unknown
Strength
Up to 8,000 [3]	Garrison at Bitlis: Unknown, but less than the Kurds [4] Reinforcements: Unknown

The Bitlis uprising ^[a] was a Kurdish uprising in the Ottoman Empire in early 1914. ^[4] It was supported by the Russian Empire. ^[4] It was fought concurrently with an unrelated Kurdish uprising in Barzan in the Mosul Vilayet, which was also supported by Russia. ^[4] Later Kurdish nationalist historiography portrayed the uprising as part of a Kurdish nationalist struggle, but its actual causes laid in opposition to conscription and taxation. ^[4] The uprising began in early March, with a skirmish between Kurdish fighters and Ottoman gendarmes, where the latter was forced to retreat. ^[4] The Kurds subsequently laid siege to the city of Bitlis, and captured the city on 2 April. ^[4] Ottoman forces were then dispatched from Muş and Van and suppressed the uprising. ^[4] After the defeat of the uprising on 4 April, one of the rebel leaders, Mulla Selim, successfully sought asylum in Russia. ^[4]

Notes

1. Turkish: Bitlis Ayaklanması
   Kurdish: Şoreşa Bitlisê

References

1. Demirtaş, Mehmet (2018). "1914 Tarihli Bitlis İsyanının Osmanlı Arşiv Belgelerindeki Yansımaları-Cezalar, Mükâfatlar". dergipark.org.tr. p. 433. The leaders of the insurrection were Mullah Selim, Sayyid Ali and Sheikh Şahabeddin who were the religious scholars of Hizan Province.
2. Islam and Competing Nationalisms in the Middle East, 1876-1926, Kamal Soleimani, 2016, pp. 234, ISBN   9781137599407
3. Reynolds, Michael A. (2011). Shattering empires : the clash and collapse of the Ottoman and Russian empires, 1908-1918. Internet Archive. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press. p. 79. ISBN   978-0-521-19553-9.
4. Henning, Barbara (2018-04-03). Narratives of the History of the Ottoman-Kurdish Bedirhani Family in Imperial and Post-Imperial Contexts: Continuities and Changes. University of Bamberg Press. pp. 322–327. ISBN   9783863095512.

External links

• Demirtaş, Mehmet (2018). "1914 Tarihli Bitlis İsyanının Osmanlı Arşiv Belgelerindeki Yansımaları-Cezalar, Mükâfatlar". dergipark.org.tr.