Çemişgezek

Çemişgezek was an administrative unit (sancak/liva) located in the Diyarbekir region during the Ottoman period, governed by Kurdish mîrs, and later became a kaza connected to the Dersim and Mamüretülaziz regions. It is frequently mentioned in Ottoman archival sources as one of the Kurdish provinces administered under the yurtluk-ocaklık and government system.

Çemişgezek in the Tahrir Defters

In the Ottoman tahrir tradition, Çemişgezek is one of the main Kurdish administrative units that were subject to defters. In the 937/1530 dated 'Vilayet-i Diyar-i Bekr ve ‘Arap ve Zü’l-Kadiriyye Defteri', it was recorded as a sancak along with Amid, Mardin, Sincar, Musul, Arabgir, Ergani, Çermük, Siverek, Kiğı, Harput, and Ruha (Cilt 3, s. 20). Similarly, Çemişgezek liva is seen in tahrirs containing village revenues and tax items of the livas connected to Diyarbekir (Cilt 3, s. 21). In the 52 numbered and 975/1567-68 dated Çemişgezek Mufassal Defteri, found in the fund of the Tapu Kadastro Genel Müdürlüğü, the liva was recorded in detail with its administrative units such as Şehir, Sebtoros, Ocacık, İpek, Gündüz, Çatalkale, and Mazgird (Cilt 3, s. 22). In the Amid Evkaf Defteri, information regarding Çemişgezek vakıfs is found, and the liva is recorded along with Amid, Hısn-ı Keyf, Mardin, Ruha, Siirt, Harbrud, Nusaybin, and Birecik (Cilt 3, s. 22).

Administrative Status

The administrative status of Çemişgezek appears in two distinct forms in the sources. In the records of the Kamil Kepeci Tasnifi, it is listed among the units connected to Eyalet-i Kürdistan, along with places such as Cizre, İmadiye, Palu, Genç, Eğil, Sağman, and Siirt (Cilt 3, s. 51). In contrast, in another record, it was evaluated in the status of classical Ottoman sancaks along with Hasankeyf, Harput, Siverek, Ergani, Nusaybin, Akçakale, and Sincar (Cilt 3, s. 51). This dual appearance shows that Ottoman provincial administrative units frequently changed, and this variability can be traced through the tahrir defters (Cilt 3, s. 20).

Kurdish Mîrs and Yurtluk-Ocaklık

A concrete record regarding intra-dynastic succession and administrative status issues in the sancak is related to Pir Hüseyin Bey. When a tahrir was intended to be carried out in the sancaks of Mazgirt, Pertek, and Sağman, Pir Hüseyin's children objected to this situation, stating to the central administration that it was contrary to the sancak status. As a result of the objection, the document sent from the center decreed that the provincial kâtib should not change the identity of the sancaks they held from their fathers and their brothers' zeamets, and that they should be left in their possession like other Kürdistan beys (Cilt 3, s. 50). Such records reveal that Kurdish beys governed the region for centuries within a hereditary system of possession with yurtluk-ocaklık status (Cilt 3, s. 50). Yurtluk-ocaklık was defined as a status possessed by Kürdistan beys and rulers, granted eternally to some ümera in the form of sancak and has in return for their services and obedience during the conquest (Cilt 3, s. 19).

Another type of document providing valuable information about Çemişgezek and Kurdish mîrs are the müzehheb ferman and berats; these documents contain important information for Kurdish history and Kurdish mîrs (Cilt 3, s. 51).

Late Period and Kaza Status

In terms of administrative geography, Çemişgezek descended to kaza level in the late period. It was listed as a kaza under the Dersim (Hozat) sancak of Mamüretülaziz vilayet, along with Ovacık, Çarsancak, Mazgird, Pağ, and Pülümür (Cilt 4, s. 119; Cilt 4, s. 261), and Çemişgezek kazası appeared as a separate unit in statistical records (Cilt 4, s. 126). A testimony regarding the region's Kurdish derebeyi tradition states that in areas such as Çemişgezek, Pertek, Palu, Sason, Hizan, and Şirvan, over three hundred derebeyis ruled, sometimes subject to sultans and sometimes to emirs, and that this system ended during the time of Sultan Mecid (Cilt 4, s. 216).