Hakkâri

Hakkâri (Hekarî), in the mountainous part of Upper Mezopotamya, is a sancak and tribal region governed by Kürt beys. Its name is consistently mentioned together with the Kurds in sources ranging from medieval Islamic geography to Ottoman archival documents of the modern era.

In Medieval Geographical Sources

In Yâkūt el-Hamevî's work titled Muʿcemü'l-büldân, considered the most comprehensive geographical encyclopedia of the Islamic world to have survived to the present day, Hakkâri is listed among the region's centers known for their rich libraries, along with Hulvân, Erbil, Karmîsîn (Kirmanşah), Nihavend, and Şehrezor (Volume 2, p. 26). According to the information provided by the same work, Hakkâri is a city located above Musul in Cezîretu İbn Ömer, and here, Kurds called "Hekarîye" reside (Volume 2, p. 26).

Beylik Tradition

One of the most concrete records regarding the region's beylik tradition concerns the Mahmudî beys. The Mahmudî tribe, which was initially in the service of the Safevi Devleti, entered Ottoman rule during the Kanûni period, showed great usefulness, and governed the Albak nahiye of Hakkâri. It has been recorded that Kurds resided in regions subject to Hakkâri; places like Görgil, İmadiye, and Bay were associated with the region, and Bitlis was under the rule of İzeddin Şir Bey (Volume 4, p. 40).

Ottoman Administration and Border

Within the Ottoman administrative structure, Hakkâri was among the border sancaks governed by the yurtluk-ocaklık system, differing from the classical sancak arrangement; in this system, the sancakbeyliği continued from father to son or within the same kin (Volume 3, p. 49). From the 16th century onwards, in the mühimme defters, Hakkâri, along with cities like Van and Bitlis, became the subject of military matters and border security (Volume 3, p. 14). During this period, numerous decrees sent by the central government regarding Kürt mirs and their tribes being in conflict with each other as well as with other tribes were recorded (Volume 3, p. 17). In the Cevdet classification, Hakkâri, along with cities like Diyarbekir, Mardin, Erzurum, Van, Bitlis, and Musul, is mentioned in records of debts and credits, public order, and exile (Volume 3, p. 41).

The region's location on the Iranian border made it a constant area of tension. There are records of Iran attacking the Hakkâri Kurds located on the Ottoman side (Volume 4, p. 75). In documents related to the financial and economic order, monthly registers of başıbozuk soldiers assigned to tax collection in the Muş and Hakkâri sancaks (Volume 3, p. 71), measures to prevent the import of salt from Iran to Hakkâri (Volume 3, p. 96), and measures to prevent the purchase of animals from the Hakkâri region (Volume 3, p. 69) are included.

19th Century and Communities

In 19th-century documents, Hakkâri stands out in the context of relations with non-Muslim communities in the region. The Kürt-Nesturi conflicts that occurred along the Hakkâri-Musul line are reflected in archival correspondence (Volume 3, p. 95). Furthermore, the appointment to the Ermeni murahhaslığı of Kürdistan Eyaleti and the Hakkâri council report issued regarding the dispute between the Van Ermeni murahhası and the local Ermeni cemaati, became the subject of investigations concerning the region's administrative and inter-communal issues (Volume 3, p. 68).