During World War I, several Kurdish rebellions took place within the Ottoman Empire.
The rebellions were preceded by the emergence of early Kurdish nationalism and Kurdish revolts in Bitlis in 1907 and early 1914. The primary Kurdish war aim was the creation of an independent Kurdish state, a goal that Britain and Russia promised to fulfil in order to incite Kurdish resistance. Other reasons for resistance include a fear that they would suffer the same fate as the Armenians, the desire for more autonomy, and according to Ottoman sources, banditry.
The first Kurdish rebellion was launched in August 1914, before the Ottoman entry into World War I. From 1915 to 1916, further Kurdish rebellions took place in Botan, Dersim, and south of Kiğı. 1917 saw 2 additional waves of rebellion in summer and August, the latter of which received Russian military support. Besides direct military opposition, Kurdish civilians also partook in passive resistance by assisting advancing Russian forces, hiding or adopting Armenian refugees during the genocide, and resisting Ottoman military drafts. Shortly before the Armistice of Mudros in October 1918, Mahmud Barzanji broke away from the Ottoman Empire and established a quasi-independent Kurdish state under British supervision.
British wartime promises of an independent Kurdistan were included in the Treaty of Sèvres (1920), which assigned a small amount of territory for a planned Kurdish state, but these plans were abandoned with the Turkish nationalist victory in the Turkish War of Independence and the ensuing Treaty of Lausanne (1923). Kurdish rebellions in Turkey continued after 1923 and are still ongoing in the present day.
Several villages were looted, burned or destroyed by both the Kurdish rebels and the Ottoman authorities. In reprisal to the rebellions, Ottoman authorities deported large populations of Kurds.
Background
The rebellions were preceded by the emergence of early Kurdish nationalism and Kurdish revolts in Bitlis in 1907 and early 1914.
Kurdish aims
The Kurds hoped that the Allies of World War I would aid them in creating an independent Kurdish nation if they were to fight against the Ottomans. Indeed, Britain and Russia promised to support Kurdish independence to encourage resistance. As the war progressed, the advance of Russian troops into the Eastern Anatolian hinterland with an idea of the "Liberation of Armenia" gradually turned (for a while) into an unspoken "Liberation of Kurdistan". Other reasons for resistance include a fear that they would suffer the same fate as the Armenians, as well as increasing autonomy.
Ottoman staff officer Barhan Ozkok, writing in 1932, attributes Kurdish resistance to a desire for independence as well as banditry.
A 2022 article by Turkish academic Erhan Taş contests claims that Kurdish resistance (specifically the 1916 Dersim revolt) was driven by nationalism or a desire for independence, as these are not backed by contemporary war documents and based on statements by authors writing in later decades.
Timeline
Initial revolt (1914) The first Kurdish rebellion during World War I took place prior to the Ottoman entry into World War I. In August 1914, the nephew of the mayor of Dersim was killed by a member of the Ferhatuşağı tribe, and in response to Ottoman reprisals the Ferhatuşağı tribe rebelled. The Ferhatuşağı were joined by the Karaballı, Lower Abbas, Abbasuşağı and Koçuşağı tribes. The murder of the chieftain of the Ferhatuşağı tribe ended the rebellion.
Uprising in Botan (1915–1916) In spring 1915, a Kurdish revolt broke out in Botan. The revolt drove out the Ottoman troops entirely and as a result, the locals would govern the region for over a year.
Uprising in Dersim, Ottoman deportations (1916) The Dersim uprising of 1916 was an Alevi Kurdish uprising led by Ali Ağa in the region of Dersim. Its causes laid in the Kurdish fear that they would suffer the same fate as the Armenians, as well as the desire to remove the state control in Dersim. This revolt was encouraged by Russian emissaries, who had promised to local chieftains that Dersim would be given independence after Russian occupation.