page_title: Sheikh Ubeydullah
section_title: Expeditions and subsequent fall
hierarchical_section_title: Sheikh Ubeydullah / Expeditions and subsequent fall
caption_attribution_description: Les Costumes Populaires De La Turquie, en 1873.A collection of photographs by the famous photographer Pascal Sebah on the occasion of the universal exposition in Viena in 1873. The album represents the costumes of the different regions, and ethnic and religious groups of the Ottoman Empire. On the rightis a Kurd from Aljazeera (Mesopotamia). Center, a Kurd of Mardin (a city on the Syrian border). On the left is a shepard from the province of Diyarbekir. Shepherd from the environs of Diarbèkir (Diyarbakır); (2): Kurde of Djizrè (Cizre); and (3): Kurd from the environs of Mardin.
context_page_description: Sheikh Ubeydullah also known as Sayyid Ubeydullah, was the leader of the first modern Kurdish nationalist struggle. Ubeydullah demanded recognition from Ottoman Empire and Qajar dynasty authorities for an independent Kurdish state, or Kurdistan, which he would govern without interference from Ottoman or Qajar authorities. He was a Sayyid, a descendant of Prophet Muhammad. He claimed descent from Shaykh Abdul Qadir Gilani.
  Sheikh Ubeydullah was an influential landowner in the 19th century and a member of the powerful Kurdish Şemdinan family from Nehri. He was the son of Sheikh Taha and a nephew to Sheikh Salih, from whom he inherited the leadership of the Naqshbandi order in Şemdinan. After his rebellion was suppressed, he was exiled first to Istanbul, then to Hijaz where he died.
context_section_description: Sheikh Ubeydullah was able to successfully assert his control over the area by gaining the support of Kurdish tribesmen who were hopeful of his objective to restore order in the war-ravaged region. British correspondence during the height of Ubeydullah's power indicates that he was able to successful assert control over a vast region that stretched the former Bohtan, Badinan, Hakkari, and Ardalan confederacies. A late nineteenth century writer, George Curzon, wrote, "A chieftain named Shaykh Obeidallah acquired a great reputation for personal sanctity...and gradually came to be looked upon as the head of Kurdish nationality."
  In 1880, Ubeydullah's militia invaded the northwestern Kurdish territories of Qajar dynasty in attempt to expand his control. Ubeydullah demanded recognition of a Kurdistan state and his rule over the region. His militia was defeated by the Qajar army and he withdrew his forces to Ottoman territories. Facing attacks from both sides of his territory, Ubeydullah eventually surrendered to Ottoman authorities in 1881 and brought to Istanbul. From there he escaped and returned to Nehri for some time. But he was re-arrested by the Ottoman Empire and sent into exile to Hijaz, in present day Saudi Arabia. He passed away in Mecca in 1883.
caption: Kurdish tribesmen, 1873.
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