Kurdish Emirates in The Conflicts Between The Ottoman And Safavids In The 16th And 17th Centuries

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 16th century, the Kurdish Emirates had selected the Ottoman side in a strong pragmatist manner instead of lining up and establishing a unified state against the threat of the two great powers. The Kurdish Emirates, being caught in fires between the Ottoman and the Safavids, compulsorily complied with the interests of these two states in order to protect their hereditary rights and stay autonomous. Although this strategic choice and symbiotic relationship initially seemed correct, it failed due to both the Safavid threat and the Ottoman centrist policy since the end of the 16th century. The statues of the Emirates had gradually changed and they lost their independence. Aziz Efendi, one of the advisors of the Sultan Murad IV, criticized the policies implemented by the Ottoman government on the Kurdish Emirates in his report. The Kurdish intellectual Ehmedê Xanî, at the same time, criticized the same politics by the Kurdish side