5.133.46.255: /* Last offensive against Mount Ararat */

2025-06-22T17:31:58Z

Last offensive against Mount Ararat

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{{Short description|1930 Kurdish uprising in eastern Turkey}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Ararat rebellion
| partof = [[Kurdish rebellions in Turkey]]
| image = Halis-Ihsan Nuri-Ferzende.jpg
| image_size = 275
| caption = ''From left to right:'' [[Halis Öztürk|Halis Bey]], [[Ihsan Nuri|Ihsan Nuri Pasha]], [[Ferzende|Ferzende Bey]]<ref>Rohat Alakom, ''Hoybûn örgütü ve Ağrı ayaklanması'', Avesta, 1998, {{ISBN|975-7112-45-3}}, p. 180. {{in lang|tr}}</ref>
| date = October 1927 – September 1931
| place = [[Ağrı Province|Karaköse Province]] (present-day Ağrı Province), [[Turkey]]
| result = Turkish victory
*Revolt suppressed
| combatant1 = {{flagdeco|Ottoman Empire}} [[Turkey]]
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Kurdish flag (Khoiboun).svg}} [[Republic of Ararat]]
| commander1 = {{flagdeco|Ottoman Empire}} [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Gazi Mustafa Kemal]] {{flagdeco|Ottoman Empire}} [[İsmet İnönü|İsmet Bey]] {{flagdeco|Ottoman Empire}} [[Fevzi Çakmak|Fevzi Pasha]] {{flagdeco|Ottoman Empire}} [[İbrahim Tali Öngören]] {{flagdeco|Ottoman Empire}} [[İzzettin Çalışlar|İzzettin Pasha]] {{flagdeco|Ottoman Empire}} [[Salih Omurtak|Salih Pasha]] {{flagdeco|Ottoman Empire}} [[Salih Hulusi Pasha]]
| commander2 = {{flagicon image|Kurdish flag (Khoiboun).svg}} [[Ihsan Nuri]] {{flagicon image|Kurdish flag (Khoiboun).svg}} [[Ibrahim Heski]] {{flagicon image|Kurdish flag (Khoiboun).svg}} [[Ferzende]] {{flagicon image|Kurdish flag (Khoiboun).svg}} [[Halis Öztürk]]
| units1 = [[Third Army (Turkey)|Third Army]]
* IX Corps
* [[VII Corps (Turkey)|VII Corps]]
| units2 = *[[Xoybûn]] party
| strength1 = 10,000–15,000 troops<ref name="olson1996">Robert W. Olson: ''Imperial meanderings and republican by-ways: essays on eighteenth century Ottoman and twentieth century history of Turkey'', Isis Press, 1996, {{ISBN|9754280975}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=EmVpAAAAMAAJ&q=%22troops+against+the+rebellion%22 p. 142].</ref><ref name="bidwell1997"/><ref name="soner">[[Soner Çağaptay]]: ''Islam, secularism, and nationalism in modern Turkey: who is a Turk?'', Routledge, {{ISBN|1134174489}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnu43A3ZVD8C&q=%22a+counter-attack+and+mobilized%22&pg=PA38 p. 38]</ref>
| strength2 = 5,000–8,000<ref name="bidwell1997">[[Robin Leonard Bidwell]], Kenneth Bourne, Donald Cameron Watt, Great Britain. Foreign Office: ''British documents on foreign affairs – reports and papers from the Foreign Office confidential print: From the First to the Second World War. Series B, Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East, 1918–1939, Vol. 32'', University Publications of America, 1997, p. 82.</ref>
| casualties1 =
| casualties2 =
| casualties3 = 4,500–47,000<ref name="Cumhurıyetı16">Yusuf Mazhar, ''Cumhuriyet'', 16 Temmuz 1930, ''... Zilan harekatında imha edilenlerin sayısı 15,000 kadardır. Zilan Deresi ağzına kadar ceset dolmuştur...''</ref><ref name="Kahraman211">Ahmet Kahraman, ''ibid'', p. 211, ''[[Ağrı|Karaköse]], 14 (Özel muhabirimiz bildiriyor) ...''</ref><ref name="Ayse">[[Ayşe Hür]], [http://www.taraf.com.tr/haber/osmanlidan-bugune-kurtler-ve-devlet-4.htm "Osmanlı'dan bugüne Kürtler ve Devlet-4"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225123429/http://www.taraf.com.tr/haber/osmanlidan-bugune-kurtler-ve-devlet-4.htm |date=2011-02-25 }}, ''[[Taraf]]'', October 23, 2008, Retrieved August 16, 2010.</ref><ref>M. Kalman, ''Belge, tanık ve yaşayanlarıyla Ağrı Direnişi 1926–1930'', Pêrî Yayınları, İstanbul, 1997, {{ISBN|975-8245-01-5}}, p. 105.</ref><ref>"Der Krieg am Ararat" (Telegramm unseres Korrespondenten) ''[[Berliner Tageblatt]]'', October 3, 1930, "... die Türken in der Gegend von Zilan 220 Dörfer zerstört und 4500 Frauen und Greise massakriert."</ref>|
| territory = Dissolution of the [[Republic of Ararat]]
}}
{{Campaignbox Kurdish Rebellions}}
{{Campaignbox
| title = [[Ararat Rebellion]]
| battles = {{hlist|[[First Operation Ararat]]|[[Second Operation Ararat]]|[[Third Operation Ararat]]|[[Zilan massacre]]|[[Republic of Ararat]]}}
}}

The '''Ararat rebellion''', also known as the '''Ağrı rebellion''' ({{langx|tr|Ağrı ayaklanmaları}} or ''Ağrı isyanı''), was a 1930 uprising of the [[Kurds]] of [[Ağrı Province]], in eastern [[Turkey]], against the [[Government of Turkey|Turkish government]]. The leader of the guerrilla forces during the rebellion was [[Ihsan Nuri]] of the Jibran branch of the [[Jalali (tribe)|Jalali]] tribe.<ref>Rohat Alkom, ''Hoybûn örgütü ve Ağrı ayaklanması'', Avesta, 1998, {{ISBN|975-7112-45-3}}, p. 80. {{in lang|tr}}</ref>

==Background==
In 1926, before the Ararat revolt, [[Ibrahim Heski]] led the [[Hesenan]], [[Jalali (Kurdish tribe)|Jalali]] and Haydaran tribes in a rebellion (May 16–June 17, 1926).<ref>Faik Bulut, ''Devletin Gözüyle Türkiye'de Kürt İsyanları'', Yön Yayıncılık, 1991, p. 79. {{in lang|tr}}</ref> On 16 May, the Kurdish forces fought against the 28th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division of the [[Turkish army]] and a [[Gendarmerie (Turkey)|Gendarmerie]] regiment in the Demirkapı region. The Turkish forces were defeated and the scattered 28th Regiment had to retreat towards [[Doğubeyazıt]].<ref>Bulut, ''ibid'', p. 80. {{in lang|tr}}</ref> On June 16/17, Heski and his forces were surrounded by the 28th and 34th regiments of the Turkish army and had to retreat over [[Yukarı Demirkapı]] to [[Iran]].<ref>Bulut, ''ibid'', p. 83. {{in lang|tr}}</ref>

==Xoybûn==
On 11 June 1930, armed responses under the leadership of [[Salih Hulusi Pasha|Salih Pasha]] to the rebellion were initiated by the Turkish military against the Ağrı insurgents.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chaliand|first=Gérard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W78I4hK0JLQC&dq=law+1850+Turkey+ararat+rebellion&pg=PA56|title=A People Without a Country: The Kurds and Kurdistan|publisher=[[Zed Books]]|year=1993|isbn=978-1-85649-194-5|page=55|language=en|author-link=Gérard Chaliand}}</ref> According to [[Wadie Jwaideh]], [[Xoybûn]], the [[Kurmanci]] [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] [[nationalist]] organization co-ordinating the rebellion, urgently appealed for help from Kurds. It was a Kurdish rebellion by mostly Kurmancî Kurds, which greatly outnumbered the [[Qizilbash]] of [[Dersim]]. That is why, much to the Turks' dismay, Xoybûn's appeal was answered on a wide front by a counteroffensive at [[Mount Tendürek]], [[Iğdır]], [[Erciş]], [[Mount Süphan]], [[Van, Turkey|Van]] and [[Bitlis]], forcing the Turks to temporarily abandon their offensive against Ağrı.<ref name="Paul">Paul J. White, ''Primitive rebels or revolutionary modernizers?: the Kurdish national movement in Turkey'', Zed Books, 2000, {{ISBN|978-1-85649-822-7}}, p. 78. {{in lang|en}}</ref> In July, the Xoybun decided to send reinforcements from Syria to the revolt in the night from the 4–5 August. Five separate groups should have been led by Hadjo Agha, Kadri Cemilpasha, Khamil, the son of Ibrahim Pasha, Rassoul Agha Mohammed from the Bohtan area and Mustafa and Bozan Sahin. But the plan was not executed as planned, and three reinforcements returned after they noticed their men's exhaustion.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gorgas|first=Jordi Tejel|title=Le mouvement kurde de Turquie en exil: continuités et discontinuités du nationalisme kurde sous le mandat français en Syrie et au Liban (1925–1946)|date=2007|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=978-3-03911-209-8|pages=257–258|language=fr}}</ref>

===Last offensive against Mount Ararat===
By the end of summer 1930 the Turkish Air Force was bombing Kurdish positions around [[Mount Ararat]] ({{langx|tr|Ağrı Dağı}}) from all directions. According to Gen. [[Ihsan Nuri]], the military superiority of the Turkish Air Force demoralized Kurds and led to their capitulation.<ref>{{harv|Olson|2000|p=81}}</ref>

During the insurrection, the [[Turkish Air Force]] also bombed several [[Kurds|Kurdish]] tribes and villagers. For instance, Halikanli and [[Herki]] tribes were bombed on July 18 and August 2, respectively. Rebel villages were continually bombed from August 2–29.<ref>{{harv|Olson|2000|p=82}}</ref> From June 10–12 Kurdish positions were extensively bombed, and this forced the Kurds to retreat to higher positions around [[Mount Ararat]]. On July 9 the newspaper ''[[Cumhuriyet]]'' reported that the Turkish Air Force was "raining down" Mount Ararat with bombs.<ref>{{harv|Olson|2000|p=83}}</ref> Kurds, who escaped the bombings, were captured alive. On July 13, the rebellion in [[Zilan massacre|Zilan]] was suppressed.<ref name="Olson 2000 p=84">{{harv|Olson|2000|p=84}}</ref> Squadrons of 10–15 aircraft were used in crushing the revolt. On July 16, two Turkish planes were downed.<ref name="Olson 2000 p=84"/> Aerial bombardment continued for several days and forced Kurds to withdraw to the height of {{convert|5000|m|ft|abbr=on}}. By July 21, bombardment had destroyed many Kurdish forts. During these operations, Turkish military mobilized 66,000 soldiers (contrary to this Robert W. Olson gives the number of 10,000–15,000 troops in another work,<ref name="olson1996"/> other works state these numbers as well<ref name="bidwell1997"/><ref name="soner"/>) and 100 aircraft.<ref>{{harv|Olson|2000|p=86}}</ref> The last reported major offensive by the Kurds was directed at [[Van, Turkey|Van]] on the 2 September.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jwaideh|first=Wadie|title=The Kurdish National Movement: Its Origins and Development|publisher=Syracuse University Press|year=2006|isbn=081563093X|language=en}}</ref> The rebels were gradually crushed by the superior numbers of the Turkish military.<ref name="White1995">{{cite journal
|title = Ethnic Differentiation among the Kurds: Kurmancî, Kizilbash and Zaza|last = White|first = Paul J.|journal = Journal of Arabic, Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies|volume = 2|issue = 2|pages = 67–90|year = 1995|url = http://members.tripod.com/~zaza_kirmanc/research/paul.htm#8}}</ref><ref>Jwaideh, Wadie (1960). ''[http://www.syracuseuniversitypress.syr.edu/spring-2006/kurdish-national.html The Kurdish Nationalist Movement: Its Origins and Development]''. Unpublished PhD thesis. Syracuse University, New York, p. 623. {{ISBN|0-8156-3093-X}}</ref> The campaign against the Kurds was over by September 17, 1930.

The insurrection was defeated in 1931, and Turkey resumed control over the territory.<ref>Kemal Kirişci, Gareth M. Winrow, ''The Kurdish Question and Turkey: An Example of a Trans-state Ethnic Conflict'', Routledge, 1997, {{ISBN|978-0-7146-4746-3}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=34yogVZh9oUC&dq=%22but+this+was+crushed+by+the+Turkish+military+in+September+%22&pg=PA101 p. 101.]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Kurdistan: Short-lived independent states|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/krd_slvd.html|access-date=2020-12-08|website=CRW Flags }}</ref>

==Aftermath==
Because the border between Turkey and [[Persia]] ran up the side of [[Lesser Ararat]] to its peak, [[Turkey]] was unable to stop [[Kurds|Kurdish]] fighters from crossing the border at that location.<ref>{{cite book|last=Parrot|first=Friedrich|author-link=Friedrich Parrot|translator=[[William Desborough Cooley]]|others=Introduction by Pietro A. Shakarian|title =Journey to Ararat|publisher=[[Gomidas Institute]]|place=London|date=2016|orig-year=1846|page=xxiii|isbn=978-1909382244}}</ref> To solve this problem Turkey demanded that it be ceded the entire mountain. On January 23, 1932, Persia and Turkey signed the Agreement related to the fixing of the frontier between Persia and Turkey (official name in French "Accord relatif à la fixation de la ligne frontière entre la Perse et la Turquie") in [[Tehran]].<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Burdett|editor-first=Anita L.P.|title=Armenia: Political and Ethnic Boundaries, 1878–1948|chapter=Accord relatif à la fixation de la ligne frontière entre la Perse et la Turquie|year=1998|publisher=Cambridge Archive Editions|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-1852079550|pages=959–962}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Tsutsiev|first=Arthur|translator=Nora Seligman Favorov|title=Atlas of the Ethno-Political History of the Caucasus|year=2014|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|isbn=978-0300153088|page=92}}</ref> Turkey received total control over the Lesser Ararat and Ağrı Mountains and territory between the Armenian village of Guirberan and Kuch Dagh. As compensation, Persia gained ninety square miles in the neighbourhood of [[Qotur]] ([[:fa:قطور|قطور]]).<ref>Pirouz Mojtahed-Zadeh, ''Boundary Politics and International Boundaries of Iran: A Study of the Origin, Evolution, and Implications of the Boundaries of Modern Iran with Its 15 Neighbors in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, Central Asia, and West Asia by a Number of Renowned Experts in the Field'', Universal-Publishers, 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-58112-933-5}}, p. 142.</ref>

The commander of the rebellion documented the role of the Turkish air force in defeating the Ağrı revolt in his book entitled ''La Révolte de L'Agridagh'' (The Mount Ararat revolt).<ref>Ihsan Nuri Pasha, ''La Révolte de L'Agridagh'', with a preface by Ismet Cheriff Vanly, Éditions Kurdes, Geneva, 1985. (translated into Turkish: Ağrı Dağı İsyanı, Med Publications, Istanbul, 1992. (pp. 98, 105, 131, 141, 156 and 164) {{ISBN?}}</ref>

==Cultural influences==
{{more citations needed|section|date=September 2018}}
*[[Kemal Tahir]], ''Yol Ayrımı'' (''"The fork in the road"'', novel)
*[[Esat Mahmut Karakurt]], ''Dağları Bekliyen Kız'' (''"The Girl who is waiting for the Mountains"'', novel)
*[[Dağları Bekleyen Kız (1955)|Dağları Bekleyen Kız]] (''"The Girl who is waiting for the Mountains"'', 1955, film)
*[[Dağları Bekleyen Kız (1968)|Dağları Bekleyen Kız]] (''"The Girl who is waiting for the Mountains"'', 1968, film)<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0345095/ www.imdb.com]</ref>
* Rohat Alakom, Bir Türk Subayının Ağrı Dağı İsyanı Anıları, Avesta, 2011 {{ISBN?}}

==See also==
* [[Republic of Ararat]]
* [[Zilan Massacre]]
* [[Dersim rebellion]]
* [[Kurdish rebellions]]
* [[List of modern conflicts in the Middle East]]

==References==
{{Reflist|3}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite journal|jstor=1571104|doi=10.1163/1570060001569893|last=Olson|first=Robert|journal=[[Die Welt des Islams]]|volume=40|issue=1|pages=67–94|year=2000|title=The Kurdish Rebellions of Sheikh Said (1925), Mt. Ararat (1930), and Dersim (1937–8): Their Impact on the Development of the Turkish Air Force and on Kurdish and Turkish Nationalism
}}
*{{Cite book |last=Cağaptay |first=Soner |title=Islam, Secularism and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who is a Turk? |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-17448-5 |location= |pages= |language=}}
{{Ararat rebellion}}
{{Middle East conflicts}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ararat Rebellion}}
[[Category:Ararat rebellion| ]]
[[Category:1927 protests]]
[[Category:1928 protests]]
[[Category:1929 protests]]
[[Category:1930 protests]]
[[Category:Kurdish–Turkish conflict]]
[[Category:Kurdish rebellions]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1930]]
[[Category:1927 in Turkey]]
[[Category:1928 in Turkey]]
[[Category:1929 in Turkey]]
[[Category:1930 in Turkey]]
[[Category:History of Ağrı Province]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1927]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1928]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1929]]
[[Category:Mount Ararat]]
[[Category:Rebellions in Turkey]]
[[Category:Wars involving Turkey]]

Ararat rebellion - Revision history

5.133.46.255: /* Last offensive against Mount Ararat */