| Chapter 13: | The End of the Kurdish Wars |
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He gave his envoy verbal instructions beyond his written message to use all means of persuasion on Bedr Khan to make him agree to go to Sar Askar Osman Pasha in Diarbekir, but without giving any commitment. This action was also kept secret from the pasha of Mosul, who was convinced that the issue must be settled by force.27
Bedr Khan’s reply to the letter and request, in which he asked for Rai ve Aman (pardon and security of life), was prompted by his own fear. He was aware of all the dangers that he would face as a rebel and that he was considered disloyal to the sultan despite his contrary protestations.
After arriving in Zakho, Rassam’s envoy sent a message to Bedr Khan to tell him that he was carrying a message to him and would like his permission to proceed, and when the request reached him, Bedr Khan immediately sent his secretary to escort the vice-consul’s envoy to his headquarters.
Next day, Rassam reported the desertion of Ardasheer Beg, the elder son of Saif ul Din (
) and his arrival at Mosul. Saif ul Din was the famous leader of Bohtan in whose name Bedr Khan Beg had carried out all his actions until only a few years before. He occupied a prominent place among all the Kurds, who looked on him as a holy man. The desertion of the twenty-year-old Ardasheer Beg, along with his younger brother, to the Ottoman camp created a sharp division among the Kurds and shifted the balance of power towards the Ottomans. This was a serious blow to Bedr Khan Beg and a great boost to the Ottomans, which strengthened their resolve to destroy their foe.
Ardasheer, for his part, announced that he believed Noor Allah Beg was leaning towards the Turks and against Bedr Khan. Consequently the pasha sent him an envoy with a private message. Both Ardasheer’s desertion and Noor Allah Beg’s approach to the Ottomans weakened Bedr Khan and forced him later to surrender himself to Sar Askar Osman Pasha. According to Ardasheer Beg, all these developments were a direct result of the message that the British ambassador had sent to Bedr Khan urging him to surrender peacefully to the Ottoman authority. Thus the message had influenced his decision to join the Turks with his two brothers, as had those of others.28