Hamidiye (cavalry)

1890–1908 Ottoman irregular cavalry regiment

For the Ottoman warship, see Ottoman cruiser Hamidiye.

Hamidiye

A major in the Hamidiye

Active| 1890-1908
Country| Ottoman Empire
Branch| Ottoman Army
Type| Cavalry
Size| 16,500+ in 1892.[1]
Commanders
Notable
commanders| Zeki Pasha

Military unit

Part of a series on the

Military of the
Ottoman Empire

Classical army (1451–1826)

* Kapıkulu
* Janissaries
* Six Divisions of Cavalry
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* Azap
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* Deli
* Martolos
* Arnaut

Reform period

* Nizam-i Djedid
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* Auspicious Incident
* Mansure Army
* Hamidieh

Modern army (1861–1922)

* Modern Army

Navy

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* Naval battles

Aviation

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* Conscription

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The Hamidiye regiments (literally meaning "belonging to Hamid",[2] full official name Hamidiye Hafif Süvari Alayları, Hamidiye Light Cavalry Regiments) were well-armed, irregular, mainly Sunni Kurdish[3] but also Turkish, Circassian,[4][5][6] Turkmen,[7] Yörük,[8][9] and Arab cavalry formations that operated in the south eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire.[10] Established in 1891 by Sultan Abdul Hamid II and named after him, the regiments were intended to be modeled after the Cossacks and were supposedly tasked with patrolling the Russo-Ottoman frontier. However, the Hamidiye regiments were frequently used by the Ottoman authorities to harass and assault Armenians living in Eastern Provinces of the Ottoman Empire (Western Armenia in some sources).[11]

A major role in the Hamidian massacres of 1894-96 had been often ascribed to the Hamidiye regiments, particularly during the bloody suppression of the revolt of the Armenians of Sasun (1894).[12][13]

After Sultan Abdul Hamid II's reign, the cavalry was not dissolved but given a new name, the Tribal Light Cavalry Regiments.[14]

## Historical background

[edit]

Sultan Abdul Hamid II's reign has the reputation of being "the most despotic and centralized era in modern Ottoman History".[15] Sultan Abdul Hamid II is also considered the last sultan to have full control over the territories of the Ottoman Empire. His reign struggled with the culmination of 75 years of change throughout the empire and an opposing reaction to that change.[15] Abdul Hamid II was particularly concerned with the centralization of the empire.[16] His efforts to centralize the Sublime Porte were not unheard of among other sultans. The Ottoman Empire's local provinces had more control over their areas than the central government. Sultan Abdul Hamid II's foreign relations came from a "policy of non-commitment."[17] The sultan understood the fragility of the Ottoman military, and the Empire's weaknesses of its domestic control.[17] Pan-Islamism became Sultan Abdülhamid's solution to the empire's loss of identity and power.[18] His efforts to promote Pan-Islamism were for the most part unsuccessful because of the large non-Muslim population, and the European influence onto the empire.[19] Abdul Hamid II's policies essentially isolated the Ottoman Empire, which further aided in its decline. Several of the elite who sought a new constitution and reform for the empire were forced to flee to Europe.[19] After the Treaty of Berlin (1878), the Ottoman Empire began to contract and it lost certain territories. New groups of radical uprisings began to threaten the power of the Ottoman Empire.

## Creation of Hamidiye cavalry

[edit]

The Hamidiye regiments were established in 1891 following a decree published in November 1890.[10] There are several reasons advanced as to why the Hamidiye light cavalry was created. The establishment of the Hamidiye was in one part a response to the Russian threat, although some scholars believe that the central reason was to suppress Armenian socialist/nationalist revolutionaries.[20] After the Russo-Ottoman war in 1877-1878 the six eastern provinces were left under the control of several non-state actors with spheres of interest of Kurdish tribes and Armenian revolutionaries.[21] The Armenian revolutionaries posed a threat because they were seen as disruptive, and they could work with the Russians against the Ottoman Empire.[20] The first Armenian revolutionary party was the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party.[22] The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party was made up of Armenian university students whose aim was "to create an independent Armenian state."[22] The Hamidiye Light Cavalry was created to "combat local and cross-border challenges to Ottoman authority."[23] The biggest patron of the Hamidiye was Abdul Hamid II. They were named after him and under the direct order of him and his brother-in-law Zeki Pasha,[24] the Circassian commander of the 4th Army based in Erzincan.[25] Zeki Pasha was given the task of collecting sufficient taxes in order to recruit Kurds into the Hamidiye. If one was a member of the Hamidiye and a crime was committed against him, the government would take immediate action to punish the criminals.[26] The plunder, murder, and theft that the Hamidiye carried out went unpunished, but if a non-Hamidiye group did similar actions they were punished.[27] Other groups who associated themselves with the Hamidiye received benefits as well, they rose in power with the money and land they acquired illegally.[28] Abdul Hamid II. wanted to create a relationship of commitment and loyalty with the Kurds that were chosen to make up the Hamidiye Cavalry.[29] The Hamidiye was divided into groups according to age: the ibtidaiye (ages 17–20), the nizamiye (age 20–32), and the redif (age 32–40).[19] An Ottoman diplomat, close advisor to the sultan, and contributor to the creation of the Hamidiye Light Cavalry was Şakir Pasa,[30] was put in charge of the Hamidiye following the massacres against Armenians in 1895–1896.[25] The Kurdish Hamidiye commanders were given exceptional rights to negotiate with the Sultan. Notable commanders were Ibrahim Pasha, Hacı Musa Beg [tr] or Kör Hüseyin Pasha.[25] Over time the Russians forged relationships with Armenian revolutionaries, and with Kurdish tribal leaders.[30]

The Ottoman Empire understood the threat this created and is in large part why they chose the Kurds to make-up the Hamidiye.[citation needed] The Kurdish population could potentially unite with the Russians, but with the formation of the Hamidiye they would protect the frontiers of the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed] Some argue that the creation of the Hamidiye "further antagonized the Armenian population" and it worsened the very conflict they were created to prevent.[31]

The Hamidiye shaped the "social, economic, and political transformations" in Kurdish societies.[32] The Hamidiye received several benefits for their participation. They were able to seize much of the lands they occupied, whether lawful or not.[33] The Hamidiye were protected during their annual migrations (periods when they took care of their livestock).[33] They were supplied with the most advanced weapons from the state, and were given armed escorts.[33] The Hamidiye stole money from the villages they plundered without fear of government sanction.[34] The plunder, murder, and theft that the Hamidiye carried out went unpunished, but if a non-Hamidiye group did similar actions they were punished.[27] Other groups who associated themselves with the Hamidiye received benefits as well, they rose in power with the money and land they acquired illegally.[28]

The Hamidiye were not held responsible for their actions. They were assured freedom of action in raids that involved non-Hamidiye parties.[26] The Hamidiye obtained wealth illegally with secret help from the Ottoman government. The corruption, chaos, and destruction caused by the Hamidiye is a direct cause of their lack of order and control. No guidelines in the Hamidiye cavalry led some of its members to not be a part of the indulgences that came with the corruption. Ottoman soldiers described the some Hamidiye as "miserable, hungry, and sometimes poorly clothed."[35] The Hamidiye's performance was due to their "lack of professionalism superimposed on an emotionally charged mission requiring highly disciplined troops."[36] The cavalry was not prepared for all they were intended to do because they were not trained properly and based their raids on anti-Armenian ideologies. These factors led to the slow disintegration of the Hamidiye.

## Armenian and Assyrian genocide

[edit]

Officers of the Karapapakh Hamidiye cavalry

The Hamidiye played a significant role in the Armenian genocide and largely responsible for the Hamidian Massacres that occurred from 1894 to 1896.[37] They were told to take control of many lands populated by Armenians to weaken "internal enemies" along with the hidden agenda of eventually eliminating the Armenians.[38] Regions with high Armenian revolutionary actions were targets for the Hamidiye.[39] The Hamidiye created an "Armenian Conspiracy" to justify their reasons for killing the Armenians.[40]

According to some estimates, about ten to twenty thousand Armenians were slaughtered by the Hamidiye units.[41] According to Janet Klein, Hamidiye units were involved in the large scale massacres and violence against Armenians in the period 1894-96 and 1915, and they were also "implicated in mass murder, deportation and looting" during the First World War.[42]

According to Richar G. Hovannisian, an Armenian-American, the Ottoman armed forces and Hamidiye units slaughtered Assyrians in the Tur Abdin region in 1915. It is estimated that ten thousand Assyrians were killed, and according to a document from the same years, "the skulls of small children were smashed with rocks, the bodies of girls and women who resisted rape were chopped into pieces live, men were mostly beheaded, and the clergy skinned or burnt alive".[43]

## Uniforms

[edit]

The uniform ranking system was based on the 1861 patterns of cuff chevrons.[44] Several ceremonies took place for the Hamidiye, where they wore elegant uniforms showing their ranks and accomplishments. The new uniforms were to take the place of the colorful uniforms previously worn by the Kurds.[45] Its purpose was to create an identity for the Hamidiye who were spread across the frontiers of the empire.[45] Other than this, the Ottoman army was greatly influenced by the Circassians. They wore cherkeska and they were armed with shashka Circassian swords and Caucasian dagger.[46] They sometimes consisted of grey tunics or waist-belts, grey trousers with a narrow red stripe, and kalpak with the imperial arms.[47] The uniforms slightly varied depending on the region the Hamidiye was located.

## Units

[edit]

The Hamidiye Regiments were stationed in the following towns and villages:[48]

| Number  | Group or tribe  | Place  | Cavalry | Infantry | Total

|
|
|
|
|

1  | Sipkân | Dutak | 400  | 250  | 650
2  | Sipkân  | Hosuna  | 400  | 175  | 575
3  | Sipkân  | Cemal Verdi | 400  | 225  | 625
4  | Zilan | Toprakkale | 250  | 360  | 610
5  | Zilan  | Karakilise | 450  | 250  | 700
6  | Karapapak | Eleşkirt and Karakilise | 400  | 150  | 650
7  | Terekeme | Tutak \- Karakilise | 300  | 200  | 500
8  | Keşvan | Hasankale | 200  | 175  | 475
9  | Şapikan and Badayan  | Kızıldiz  | 250  | 325  | 575
10  | Taşkesen, Diyadin | Kasatkanlı  | 198  | 350  | 548
11  | Mikaili | Karakilise, Diyadin | 175  | 325  | 500
12  | Hamdiki, Başımi, Hal Hesini  | Karakilise, Diyadin | 225  | 350  | 525
13  | Haydaran | Bergiri (Muradiye)  | 200  | 318  | 518
14  | Haydaran  | Bergiri (Muradiye)  | 175  | 350  | 525
15  | Şevli  | Van, Timar | 200  | 350  | 550
16  | Kalıkan, Livi  | Erciş | 255  | 270  | 525
17  | Mukuri | Saray | 215  | 315  | 530
18  | Takari | Zermaniz, Saray | 300  | 380  | 680
19  | Milli, Şemsiki | Saray | 225  | 425  | 650
20  | Şkeftka  | Eblak  | 327  | 213  | 540
21  | Adaman, Zilan, Hecidıran  | Erciş  | 250  | 275  | 525
22  | Haydaran  | Erciş | 175  | 350  | 525
23  | Haydaran  | Adilcevaz | 200  | 350  | 550
24  | Heydaran  | Erciş | 175  | 350  | 525
25  | Marhoran | Adilcevaz | 250  | 300  | 550
26  | Hasenan | Hınıs (Kumdeban)  | 335  | 205  | 540
27  | Hasenan  | Malazgirt | 340  | 200  | 540
28  | Hasenan  | Malazgirt (Diknuk, Dinbut)  | 304  | 230  | 534
29  | Hasenan  | Moranköyü  | 310  | 230  | 540
30  | Hasenan  | Bulanık | 308  | 232  | 540
31  | Cibran | Gümgüm | 308  | 232  | 540
32  | Cibran  | Hınıs | 310  | 235  | 545
33  | Cibran  | Varto | 315  | 330  | 545
34  | Zirkan [ku] | Hınıs | 300  | 250  | 550
35  | Zirkan  | Hınıs (Halilçavuş)  | 375  | 500  | 875
36  | Cibran  | Kiğı | 285  | 265  | 550
37  | Jalali | Bayezit (Örtülü kışlağı)  | 305  | 370  | 540
38  | Celali  | Bayezit (Şeyhlu kışlağı)  | 300  | 240  | 540
39  | Takori | Mahmudiye (Saray)  | 305  | 301  | 606
40  | Caucasian muhajirs  | Sivas | 275  | 500  | 775
41  | Milli  | Mardin | 275  | 265  | 540
42  | Milli  | Siverek | 255  | 375  | 630
43  | Milli  | Siverek | 303  | 247  | 550
44  | Karakeçi | Siverek | 305  | 225  | 530
45  | Kikan  | Ra's al-'Ayn, Mardin | 350  | 270  | 620
46  | Tayy | Nusaybin | 445  | 185  | 630
47  | Karakeçi  | Siverek | 310  | 230  | 540
48  | Miran | Cezire | 335  | 205  | 540
49  | Miran  | Cezire | 308  | 232  | 540
50  | Ertoşi | Elbak | 375  | 300  | 625
51  | Kays  | Urfa | 450  | 200  | 650
52  | Kays  | Harran | 400  | 150  | 550
53  | Berazı | Urfa | 250  | 300  | 550
54  | Berazı  | Urfa | 300  | 300  | 600
55  | Berazı  | Urfa | 275  | 300  | 575
56  | Gevdan | Hakkari | 200  | 300  | 500
57  | Şadili | Hasankale | 300  | 250  | 550
58  | Adaman  | Erciş | 200  | 350  | 550
59  | Pinyan  | Hakkari | 150  | 400  | 550
60  | Şidan  | Hakkari | 350  | 300  | 650
61  | Kasıkan | Söylemez  | 250  | 300  | 550
62  | Kiki  | Harran | 250  | 350  | 600
63  | Milli  | Viranşehir | 550  | 250  | 800
64  | Milli  | Viranşehir | 600  | 225  | 825
65  | Belideyi  | Erciş, Patnos, Malazgirt | 250  | 200  | 450

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Balakian, Peter (2003). The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response. New York: HarperCollins. p. 51. ISBN 0-06-055870-9.
2. ^ Balakian. Burning Tigris, p. 44.
3. ^ Eppel, Michael (13 September 2016). A People Without a State: The Kurds from the Rise of Islam to the Dawn of Nationalism, page 81. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9781477311073.
4. ^ Eppel, Michael (2016-09-13). A People Without a State: The Kurds from the Rise of Islam to the Dawn of Nationalism. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9781477311073.
5. ^ Palmer, Alan, Verfall und Untergang des Osmanischen Reiches, Heyne, München 1994 (engl. Original: London 1992), pp. 249, 258, 389. ISBN 3-453-11768-9.
6. ^ Van Bruinessen, Martin. Agha, Shaikh and State - The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan. London: Zed Books, 1992, p. 185. Van Bruinessen mentions the "occasional" recruiting of a Turkish tribe (the Qarapapakh)
7. ^ Shaw, Stanford J. and Ezel Kural Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977, vol. 2, p. 246.
8. ^ Öhrig, Bruno, Meinungen und Materialien zur Geschichte der Karakeçili Anatoliens, in: Matthias S. Laubscher (Ed.), Münchener Ethnologische Abhandlungen, 20, Akademischer Verlag, München 1998 (Edition Anacon), zugleich Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität zu München, München 1996, p. 36, ISBN 3-932965-10-8. U. a. mit Verweis auf Ş. Beysanoğlu, Ziya Gökalp´in İlk Yazı Hayatı - 1894-1909 [Ziya Gökalp's First Writing Life, 1894-1909], Istanbul 1956, pp. 164-168.
9. ^ Vgl. deutschsprachige Wikipedia, Artikel "Yörük", Abschnitt "Herkunft und Einwanderung nach Kleinasien", Versions-ID 31139363
10. ^ a b Jongerden, Joost (2012). Jorngerden, Joost; Verheij, Jelle (eds.). Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1915. Brill. p. 61\. ISBN 9789004225183.
11. ^ Hovannisian, Richard G. "The Armenian Question in the Ottoman Empire, 1876-1914" in The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume II: Foreign Dominion to Statehood: The Fifteenth Century to the Twentieth Century. Richard G. Hovannisian (ed.) New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997, p. 217. ISBN 0-312-10168-6.
12. ^ Verheij, Jelle (1998). Les Frères de terre et d'eau: sur le role des Kurdes dans les massacres arméniens de 1894-1896, in: Bruinessen, M. van & Blau, Joyce, eds., Islam des Kurdes special issue of Cahiers de l'Autre Islam
13. ^ Jongerden, Joost; Verheij, Jelle, eds. (2012-08-03). "Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1915": p. 94
14. ^ *Klein, Janet. The Margins of Empire: Kurdish Militias in the Ottoman Tribal Zone. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2011.
15. ^ a b Stephen Duguid, The Politics of Unity: Hamidian Policy of Eastern Anatolia, 139
16. ^ Dr. Bayram Kodaman, The Hamidiye Light Cavalry Regiments (Abdulhamid II and Eastern Anatolian Tribes)
17. ^ a b M.Sükrü Hanioglu, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, 129.
18. ^ M.Sükrü Hanioglu, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, 130.
19. ^ a b c Dr. Bayram Kodaman, The Hamidiye Light Cavalry Regiments (Abdulhamid II and Eastern Anatolian Tribes)
20. ^ a b Summary of Janet Klein's Power in the Periphery: The Hamidiye Light Cavalry and the Struggle over Ottoman Kurdistan, 1890-1914.
21. ^ Klein, Janet (2012). Jorngerden, Joost; Verheij, Jelle (eds.). Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1915. Brill. p. 150\. ISBN 9789004225183.
22. ^ a b "Social Democrat Hunchakian Party". hunchak.org.au.
23. ^ Joost Jongerden; Joost Jongerden, Jelle Verheij (ed.), Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1975, p. 62
24. ^ Jongerden, Joost; Verheij, Jelle, eds. (2012-08-03). "Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1915": p. 61
25. ^ a b c Georgeon, François (2013). Penser, agir et vivre dans l'Empire ottoman et en Turquie: Études réunies pour François Georgeon. Peeters. p. 25\. ISBN 978-9042925984.
26. ^ a b Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 69.
27. ^ a b Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 70.
28. ^ a b Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 75.
29. ^ Manfred Berg, Simon Wendt, Globalizing Lynching History: Vigilantism and Extralegal Punishment from an International Perspective, 127.
30. ^ a b Klein, Janet (2012). Jorngerden, Joost; Verheij, Jelle (eds.). Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1915. Brill. p. 151\. ISBN 9789004225183.
31. ^ Janet Klein, Joost Jongerden, Jelle Verheij, Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1975, 152
32. ^ Janet Klein, Joost Jongerden, Jelle Verheij, Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1975, 154
33. ^ a b c Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 68.
34. ^ Janet Klein, Joost Jongerden, Jelle Verheij, Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1975, 160
35. ^ Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 87.
36. ^ Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913, 14
37. ^ Klein, Janet (2012). Jorngerden, Joost; Verheij, Jelle (eds.). Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1915. Brill. p. 152\. ISBN 9789004225183.
38. ^ Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 5.
39. ^ Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 26.
40. ^ Janet Klein, Joost Jongerden, Jelle Verheij, Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1975, 153.
41. ^ Ernest Edmondson Ramsaur, Jr. The Young Turks: Prelude to the Revolution of 1908, Beirut, Khayats, 1965, p.10.
42. ^ Klein, Janet. The Margins of Empire: Kurdish Militias in the Ottoman Tribal Zone. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2011.
43. ^ The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies, Richard G. Hovannisian, Transaction Publishers
44. ^ "WW1 Turkish Flaherty". Archived from the original on 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
45. ^ a b Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 37.
46. ^ G, F. Çerkez Kılıcı
47. ^ Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 38.
48. ^ (in Turkish) Avyarov. Osmanlı-Rus ve İran Savaşlar'ında Kürtler 1801-1900 [The Kurds in the Ottoman-Russian and -Iranian Wars, 1801-1900]. Ankara: SİPAN, 1995, OCLC 38764140.

## Bibliography

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hamidiye regiments.

* Klein, Janet. The Margins of Empire: Kurdish Militias in the Ottoman Tribal Zone. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2011.
* Klein Janet, Joost Jongerden, Jelle Verheij, Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1975. Koninklijke Brill NV, Leidin, Netherlands, 2012
* Edward J. Erickson, "Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913". 2003

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