Sheikh Abdulqadir Nehri (d. 1925) and the Pursuit of an Independent Kurdistan

FAIN: FA-252460-17

Sabri Ates
Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX 75205-1902)

A book-length study explaining why an independent or autonomous Kurdistan never came into being, anchored in the biography of the Kurdish leader Seyyid Abdulqadir Nehri (1851-1925).

What historical conditions account for how the Kurds became the largest ethnic group without its own nation? Constraining Kurdistan sets out to answer this question on the basis of a wide variety of primary sources in Modern Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Persian, English and French. Anchored in the biography of its protagonist, Seyyid Abdulqadir of Nehri, it explores efforts to establish or prevent the creation of Kurdistan as an independent state or autonomous entity starting in the mid 1870s. In particular, it focuses on the tumultuous period between 1880-1925, during which the creation of a Kurdish state emerged as a distinct possibility and then quickly unraveled. Moreover, it studies what role the Kurds themselves played in making or unmaking a state of their own.

Associated Products

Sectarian Affiliations and Turkish Iranian Relations (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Sectarian Affiliations and Turkish Iranian Relations
Author: Sabri Ates
Abstract: This paper suggests that the history of Iran–Turkey relations is one of secularisation notwithstanding the intense religious wars that consumed them in the early 16th century and their recent antagonistic projects in places like Syria. Shi'a Iran and the Sunni Ottoman Turks signed their first treaty in 1555 and recognised each other despite their sectarian differences. Subsequently, 10 years before the establishment of the Westphalian state system, the two parties signed a treaty that emphasised the principle of non-interference in each other’s affairs and respect for territorial sovereignty. Iran-Turkey relations thereafter closely mirrored the development of European ideas about territorial sovereignty and non-sectarianism in international relations. The paper concludes that, given this history of secularisation, Iran and Turkey are likely to manage their interstate contention in the long haul.
Date Range: 07/05/2018
Location: Singapore National University

1639 Treaty of Zohab: Foundational Myth or Foundational Document (Article)
Title: 1639 Treaty of Zohab: Foundational Myth or Foundational Document
Author: Sabri Ates
Abstract: Beginning with their first confrontation in 1514, the Ottomans and the dynasties ruling over Iran fought over the borderlands extending from the Persian Gulf to Mount Ararat. However, domination of these regions, where autonomous peoples of different cultures lived and interacted, remained an elusive dream, as the borderland peoples defied the authority of the two powers, and the two powers failed to recognize each other’s sovereignty. The transformation of this indeterminate borderland into a clearly defined and increasingly monitored border took almost four centuries. It became an internationally recognized border only after seven decades (1843-1914) of intermittent work by mixed international commissions. Despite such a tangled history, a well-entrenched tradition of Middle Eastern history suggests that the Iranian-Ottoman frontier was firmly established by the Qasr-i Shirin/Zohab Treaty of 1639; and it is one of the oldest boundaries of the world. The myth of 1639 is powerfully enshrined in the historiographies and nationalisms of the countries sharing this boundary. Questioning this myth in the light of Ottoman-Iranian relations, this paper analyzes different versions of 1639 Treaty that were brought to boundary negotiations and exist in various chronicles and suggests an alternative reading of this foundational myth.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cist20
Primary URL Description: Publishers Website.
Access Model: Subscription Only
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Iranian Studies
Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Shi’i-Sunni Differences and the Emergence of the Ottoman-Iranian Border (Article)
Title: Shi’i-Sunni Differences and the Emergence of the Ottoman-Iranian Border
Author: Sabri Ates
Abstract: Struggles for domination over the borderlands dividing Iran and the post-Ottoman states of Turkey and Iraq have a long history. Starting in early sixteenth century this borderland became the scene of wars of domination between the Sunni Ottoman and Shia Safavid states. This article suggests that the first fifty years of the destructive confrontations between these two states are of outmost importance for scholars and the general public trying to understand the dynamics of sectarianism that still informs the modern-day tensions in the Middle East. Moreover, this period is the foundational period of the formation of the Ottoman-Safavid frontier, a process that lasted for almost four hundred years. This article argues that sectarian and territorial boundary drawing went hand in hand and these processes should be studied together.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://english.snnu.edu.cn/Research/SNNU_Publications.htm
Primary URL Description: This is the limited webpage of the Shaanxi Normal University publications. Not specific to the journal.
Format: Journal
Publisher: Shanxi Normal University

---