| Chapter 13: | The End of the Kurdish Wars |
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The place was filled with Kurdish leaders, which forced Rassam’s envoy to lodge with thirty of them, who treated him rudely, cursing him and accusing him of having brought about their leader’s downfall. He was even more alarmed for his safety when he discovered that the wooden bridge across the Tigris had been destroyed, which obliged him to seek leave to visit a nearby village, from which he made his escape southward to Zakho. He was instructed, however, to write to Bedr Khan Beg informing him that if he wished to go with Yousif Effendi and was anxious to have his companionship, he must set out from Feash Kahabour (
), a village west of Zakho. Bedr Khan replied that he would not surrender unless the sultan issued a firman freeing him from any blame for the affairs of the Nestorians and the Yazidis and offering him pardon.
Rassam’s moves and contacts with Bedr Khan Beg annoyed the Pasha of Mosul, who viewed them as contradicting the policy of the sultan’s government. Meanwhile Rassam’s envoy Khawaja Anton reported that Ardasheer’s supporters represented a formidable power and that his younger brother had barricaded himself in a castle which could be considered a key to the district of Bohtan.30
6. The Last Kurdish Battle and Its Aftermath
14 June 1847
Rassam reported that after all attempts to convince Bedr Khan Beg to surrender had failed, a fight broke out between the Turkish army and his force. According to the details that his informant reported, the Sar Askar was assembling his forces in large numbers for the upcoming contest. Bedr Khan Beg was occupying the other bank of the Tigris River, where clashes between the two sides had broken out and two Turkish soldiers had been killed. The Kurds’ losses were unknown, despite the assistance sent by Khan Mahmud.
As for the Assyrian tribes of Tiyari and Hakkari, Rassam informed Wellesley that the news from their country indicated that Noor Allah Beg had released the detained Assyrian leaders. The country was now cautiously watching developments, and the people were keen not to disturb their neighbours. The Kurds were involved in watching the Turks, and they were also keen for the moment not to disturb their neighbours.