Firman of Mir Muhammad

The **Firman of Mir Muhammad** was a, genocidal campaign by Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz against the Yazidi religious minority from 1832 to 1834. It is considered the bloodiest event in Yazidi history that is still remembered today. Estimates suggest that between 70,000 to 135,000 Yazidis were killed. Sadiq al Damaluji puts the number of survivors of the Firman at about 5% of the targetted population.

## Background

Mohammed Pasha was given an opportunity to expand his territory. Mullah Yahya, a member of the Mizuri tribe from the Principality of Bahdinan, asked Mohammed Pasha for help in a feud. The Mizuri tribal leader Ali Agha was killed by the Yazidi tribal leader Mir Ali Beg. However, the Prince of Bahdinan. Said Pasha refused to allow the Mizuri to take revenge. Mullah Yahya turned to Mir Muhammad and asked him to take revenge on the Yazidis of Sinjar Mountains.

## The Campaign

Mohammed Pasha was given an opportunity to expand his territory. Mullah Yahya, a member of the Mzurî tribe from the Principality of Bahdinan, asked Mohammed Pasha for help in a feud. The Mzurî tribal leader Ali Agha was murdered by the Yazidi tribal leader Mir Ali Beg. However, the Prince of Bahdinan Said Pasha refused to allow the Mzuri to take revenge. So Mullah Yahya turned to Mohammed Pasha and asked him to take revenge on the Yazidis of Sinjar Mountains. Mohammed Pasha was able to use this punitive expedition to conquer the principality of Badinan. He issued a fatwa against the "infidel" Yazidis by his own Mufti Mullah Mohammed Khalti and crossed the Great Zab in 1832.In the year 1832, about 70,000 to 120,000 Yazidis were killed by the Sunni Kurdish princes Bedir Khan Beg and Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz. Muhammad Pasha reportedly gave the Yazidis an ultimatum: convert to Islam or be killed. Those who refused were executed.Ali Beg was captured and executed Yazidi women and children were abducted and sold in markets. on the orders of Mir Muhammad. Fearing the consequences, the inhabitants of Sheikhan fled to Mosul for refuge. In the spring, the Tigris River burst its banks and destroyed the pontoon bridge. While some Yazidis managed to swim to the other side, the elderly, women, and children sought shelter on the Mountain of Kouyunjik. The Mir of Rawanduz pursued them, resulting in a massacre in which an estimated 12,000 Yazidis were killed. Some of the surviving Yazidis fled towards Tur Abdin and Mosul.During his research trips in 1843, the Russian traveller and orientalist Ilya Berezin mentioned that 7,000 Yazidis were killed by Kurds of Rawandiz on the hills of Nineveh near Mosul, shortly before his arrival. According to many historical reports, the massacres can today be classified as a genocide. After most of the Yazidis in Sheikhan were killed, the survivors fled to Sinjar, Mohammed Pasha decided to attack Sinjar in 1833. Hundreds of Yazidis fell victim to the massacre. Before occupying the town of Aqrah and expelling its leader.
In another attempt he and his troops occupied over 300 Yazidi villages. The emir kidnapped over 10,000 Yazidis and sent them to Rawandiz and gave them the ultimatum of converting to Islam or being killed. Most of them converted to Islam and those who refused to convert to Islam were killed.

## Aftermath

In 1843, the traveller Elyah Berezina wrote that several thousand Yazidis were killed by Muslims in the Nineveh area.
As a result of repeated persecution in the 1830s and 1840s, many Yazidis migrated toward the Caucasus within the Russian Empire. Sinjar, Sheikhan, and the Caucasus remain major Yazidi population centers.

## See also

- Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz
- Yazidis

## Infobox (military conflict)

- **conflict**: Conquest of the Dasini Principality
- **date**: 1832-1834
- **place**: Sheikhan region, present-day Iraq
- **territory**: Soran Emirate annexes the Dasini Principality
- **result**: Soran Victory
*Dasini is defeated and dissolved in 1832
*The massacres continue until 1834.
- **combatant1**:  Soran Emirate
- **combatant2**:  Dasini Principality
- **commander1**: * Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz, Muhammad Kor
- **commander2**:  Ali Beg
- **strength1**: Unknown
- **strength2**: Unknown
- **casualties1**: Unknown
- **casualties2**: *70,000-135,000 killed
*kidnapped over 10,000 Yazidis
*Mîr Kor is Forces Occupied Over 300 Yazidi villages
- **image**: The Mountains of Kuyunjik.jpeg
- **caption**: Many Yazidis from Sheikhan, who had fled but could not cross the Tigris river, gathered on the mountain of Kouyunjik, where they pursued and massacred.