Maraş

Maraş is a southern Anatolian settlement that was organized during the Ottoman period both as an independent ahkâm eyalet and as a sancak dependent on the Halep eyalet, and where Kurdish tribes were intensely active. In sources, it is mentioned both as one of the western borders of Kurdish expansion and as an independent administrative unit in Ottoman archive records.

Western Border of Kurdish Geography

In an account based on Cevdet Paşa, it is stated that Kurds were among the ancient nations of Iran and spread from Şiraz in Iran to Maraş and Malatya in Anatolia; thus Maraş is depicted as one of the westernmost points of Kurdish geography (Volume 4, p. 64). In Islamic period geography and travel books, Maraş is also counted among the cities and centers of the Şam region discussed by authors like El-Umerî, along with places such as Adana, Antakya, Antep, Hısnü'l-Ekrad (Volume 2, p. 71).

Ottoman Administration and Tribal Settlement

In the Ottoman administrative structure, Maraş was one of the units for which ahkâm defters were kept according to eyalets; separate ahkâm defters were prepared for Maraş, along with Adana, Diyarbekir, Erzurum, Halep, and Karaman (Volume 3, p. 31). In the firmans sent to the governors of Maraş, Halep, and Diyarbekir on 1131/1719, the issue of the settlement of Kurdish tribes was addressed (Volume 3, p. 13). In the 18th century, the state was in an effort to settle large Kurdish tribes such as Zilan, Bisyan, Bociyan, Mili, Badıllı, Şeyh Bızıni, and Rişvan; it remained in conflict for a long time with tribes unwilling to submit to central authority, and Maraş was among the eyalets to which these orders were sent (Volume 3, p. 31).

In the orders sent to the Maraş and Adana eyalets, problems related to the Rişvan Ekradı (Rişvan Kürtleri) tribe were recorded, and it was also stated that the Karnatlıs from the Ekrad tribe residing in the Kars-ı Zülkadriye kaza engaged in looting activities on 1180/1766 (Volume 3, p. 31). In the Halep ahkâm defters, provisions related to kazas such as Andırın, Elbistan, and Pazarcık are found (Volume 3, p. 32); Pazarcık is also mentioned in sources (Volume 4, p. 105). The Aksu nehri flowing within the Maraş Sanca originates north of the Behisni kaza of Mamüretülaziz, passes through Maraş, and flows into the Ceyhan Nehrine (Volume 4, p. 104).

Administrative Borders and Language

In administrative border descriptions, the south and southeast of Mamüretülaziz Vilayeti are shown to be surrounded by the Urfa and Maraş sancaks, which are dependent on the Halep Vilayeti (Volume 4, p. 100). When describing the era of Yavuz Sultan Selim, the phrase "Kürdistan, Maraş havalisi, Mısır kıtası were directly annexed to the Ottoman eyalets" was used (Volume 4, p. 161). In terms of language, while Arabic and Turkish were spoken in the center of Halep, it is recorded that Kurdish was spoken among Kurdish tribes in the Urfa and Maraş regions (Volume 4, p. 132); The Halep Salnamesi also states that some tribes in the Halep, Urfa, and Maraş sancaks spoke Kurdish (Volume 4, p. 264).

Muhacir Settlement in World War I

During the period of World War I, the Maraş region also became a center for muhacir settlement. Turkish, Kurdish, Circassian, and Arab refugees from the Van, Bitlis, and Erzurum regions were settled in the Maraş region, and this situation was the subject of telegrams sent to the Dâhiliye Nezareti with the signature of Maraş Mutasarrıfı Kemal (Volume 3, p. 130).