Şehrizor

Şehrizor (Şehrezor) is a geography mentioned in historical sources as a region inhabited by Kürtler and an administrative center, which also gave its name to a sanjak/eyalet bearing the same name during the Osmanlı period. The region was later recorded under the name Süleymaniye.

Geographical Location

Şehrizor is used as an important reference point when drawing the borders of the Cibal (Irak-ı Acem) region, which is mentioned in the history and geography sources of Muslim scholars. According to Ebü'l-Fidâ, Cibal refers to the mountains separating the Arap lands from the Acem lands; this border starts from the Hemedan and Şehrezor Mountains, ends in the lands of Tekfur, reaches the Dicle in Cezîre, and extends from Kevar in Musul beyond the Dicle to the Fırat (Volume 2, p. 55).

Ottoman Administrative Records

In Osmanlı archival documents, Şehrizor is an administrative unit that, along with Kerkük and Musul, was subject to tahrir defters (cadastral registers). In addition to Kerkük and Musul, tahrir defters were also kept for Şehrizor (Süleymaniye); among these is a Şehrizor İcmal Defteri (summary register) dating to 1039/1629-30. In this register, Şehrizor consists of nahiyes (sub-districts) such as Zalim, Neva, Şemiran, Sebul, Şehripazar, Sürüccük, Davudan, Paski, Pave, Hevr (Havar), Çağangedüğü, Dulkıran (Dulhavran), Karadağ, Zengebad, Dolge (Vilge), Çınarkopser, and Sazan (Volume 3, p. 26).

Tımar ruznamçe defters (timar daily registers) contain information about the administrative division of the eyalet and the sancak has (fiefs). These records show that the Şehrizor sancak was a has and that the sancakbeyi's (sanjak-bey's) has value was increased over time: the has value, which was not so high in earlier dates, was increased from 180,798 akçes to 190,068 akçes, and then to 369,443 akçes (Volume 3, p. 28).

Social and Economic Life

Records regarding social and religious-economic life in the region are also available. In the Maliyeden Müdevver defters (registers transferred from the treasury), there are records concerning the relations between the Kürtler and the Sekbanan community in the villages of a waqf (endowment) in Şehrizor dated 1009/1600 (Volume 3, p. 30). In the military fund of the Cevdet classification, there are documents for Şehrizor, as well as for cities such as Diyarbekir, Mardin, Erzurum, Van, Hakkâri, Bitlis, Bayezid, Musul, Kerkük, and Bağdad, on matters such as receivables-payables, public order, exile, and interventions against non-Muslims (Volume 3, p. 41).

Late Ottoman Sources

Periodicals from the Late Osmanlı period also shed light on Şehrizor. In the Zevra newspaper published in Bağdad, there is data regarding the activities of the Hemavend tribe, which was in motion between Süleymaniye and Şehrizor, and other tribes in the region (Volume 4, p. 238).