State, Tribe, Dynasty, and the Contest over Diyarbekir at the Turn of the 20th Century

Abstract

This chapter examines the state's vision for the Hamidiye Light Cavalry and the unforeseen tensions that arose as this Kurdish tribal militia was put into play in the complex game of power that involved the Ottoman state, Kurdish tribes, Russia, the British, and settled Armenian and Kurdish villagers. As the Diyarbekir province was a focal point of the contest between center and periphery/state and tribe/Turkish nationalist and Kurdish nationalist, this chapter focuses on the Hamidiye Light Cavalry in this context. It locates Diyarbekir in the larger story of Ottoman state-building at the turn of the 20th century, and examines the Ottoman state's efforts to co-opt a group that it ultimately sought to suppress. The Hamidiye organization also played a key role in certain social, economic, and political transformations within Kurdish society quite beyond anything that had been envisioned by its creators or participants at the time of their formation. Keywords: Diyarbekir; Hamidiye Light Cavalry; Kurdish nationalist; Ottoman state; Turkish nationalist