Experiences and Reports accounted by Assyrian

Hamidiye Alaylari

Nearly every state or leading power facing its fall does not respect the principles of laws and rights. As a result, they use violent or war-like measures in order to regain their authority. Examples of such actions can be seen during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. The Hamidiye Aylalari battle force, which stood under the immediate order of Sultan Abdulhamid, was raised as a militia army for this reason.…and used for extraordinary situations and violent measures.) This army was a tactical necessity for Ottoman empire. Whenever the government suffered a heavy defeat or showed signs of ruin, it was used to keep the leading power of the empire upright. The commanders in chief of later Hamidiye regiments were the sons of the tribal chiefs (Agha), who had been educated in special tribal schools. These regiments consisted mainly of Kurds, Arabs, Circassians and other Islamic tribes and stood by as regional riders or infantry forces. The main reason why Ottoman rulers created the Hamidiye regiments was to erase all Christian people living under their power and to create throughout the country a Pan-Turkish/Pan-Islamism.

The "Hamidiye Aylalari" was organised and named by the Sultan Abdulhamid. When the Sultan came to power on September 1, 1876, the Ottoman Empire was very chaotic. Disorder reigned, politicians were quarrelling, and the Empire had few authorities. The idea to create the Hamidiye Alaylari came from Sheik Chamil's nephew Müshri M. Zeki Pasha. When he visited Van, Erzurum, and Bitlis, he recognised the disobedience of Kurdish tribes against the Ottoman Empire and the disagreement of the other people. He also feared the troop formation of the Cossacks and their loyalty to the Russian Tsar. (The Cossacks were Special Forces who served the Tsar and former warriors from Cossack tribes who were living in the inner frontiers of former Russia.) Zeki Pasha proposed to the Sultan that he form a similar coalition with the Kurdish tribes. The Sultan agreed with it and in 1890 they founded an agreement with the Kurdish tribal chiefs.

The military was realigned and those men who had to join the Hamidiye Alaylari were freed from military service. This way, Kurdish tribal chiefs received weapons, financial support, distinctions, compensations and privileges. Under the order of Sultan Abdulhamid and with the help of Abraham and Kerim Pasha, the Hamidiye Alaylari was born. First, they chose two zones for its formation. The first zone was Erzurum, Van, and the frontier regions of Russia. The second was located between Mardin and Urfa. Zeki Pasha himself was authorised by the Sultan to realise the plan. The commander in chief of the 4th army began in the springtime 1891 with his plan, first in Erzincan as a centre and then sent the Brigadier General Mahmut Pasha to Van, Malazgirt, and Hinis to organise troops. In 1896, one hundred troops were raised in the regions of Erzincan, Dersim, Erzurum, Van, Malazgirt, Diyarbakir, and Urfa and in other Kurdish settlements.

In the beginning, they could not create great or effectual divisions, brigades, or regiments. Therefore, they were of little assistance to the Ottoman Military Forces. Despite the Kurdish tribes that joined the Hamidiye riders in the north and east, those tribes in the south refused to do so.

At that time three laws existed, that means orders and decrees. The first order passed in 1891 was a frontier guard determination (Hatti-i Hümayun) that gave the reason for the raising of the Hamidiye Alaylari, and also addressed other points concerning military reform and the discipline. Moreover, this determination previewed a wider participation for the forces.

Therefore, it should not consist of less than four regiments and more than six companies.

Each regiment should have at least 512 men and not more than 1 152 men. The big tribes allowed forming one or two regiments together and the small tribes only allowed forming some companies.

The deployment of the Hamidiye Alaylari depended on each region. There were 9 small cavalry regiments in the region of Diyarbakir. The 41^st regiment consisted of the Milli tribe in Viranshehir and was lead by Major (Miralay) Abraham Bey. The 42nd stood under the order of District Administrator (Kaymakam) Abdulhamid (Humüd), Abraham Bey's son. The 43rd regiment was lead by Bey’s second son, Kaymakam Mahmut. The Karakeqi tribe in Siverek formed the 44th regiment and was lead by Kaymakam Halil Bey. The 45th was formed by the Kiki-Kikan tribe between Ras-al-Ayn and Mardin and stood under the order of Reshit Bey. The Bucak tribe in Siverek was lead by Major (Binbashi) Yusuf Agha and formed by the 46th. District Administrator Mustafa Pasha lead formed the 48th in Cizre, which consisted of the Miran tribe. In springtime 1908 the 41st, 42nd and 43rd, which belonged to the Milli tribe and the 63rd and 64th joined the listed regiments. These had two Commanders in Chief, Halil and Temur. Both were District Administrators and sons of Ibrahim Pasha. At that, time 20 out of 56 regiments were stationed in Erzurum. Regiments 1, 2, 3 and 7 were in Tutak/Awri; the 4th was in Eleshkirt; numbers 5, 6, 11 and 12 were in Karaköse, and the 8th in Diyadin. Numbers 26, 29,32 and 35 were in Hinis, the 34th in Tekman, and the 36th in Kiwi. Numbers 41 through 49, which were formed in 1898, were in Diyarbakir. The other 27 regiments were stationed in 4 other cities. The 4th regiment was in Tutak and the 40th in Sivas. These two formed from the Karapapaklilar tribe, which had flown from Kars, during the Ottoman -Russian war in 1877 to 1879. In the decree from 1910, the number of the regiments reached 64.

In the time of the Ottoman Empire, normally the tribal chief (Agha) was also the District Administrator of the city or village. The commanders of the tribal regiments in the Mush region during the 1st world war were the following District Administrators: Cibranli Mehmet Bey and Cibranli Sincar Bey in Varto, Cibranli Maksut Bey in Karliova, and Fethullah Bey, Hasanli Halil Bey and Sipkanli Abdulmecit Bey in Malazgirt.

The 1915 genocide by the Hamidiye Alaylari caused a great harassment in the world public. This put great pressure on the Ottomans. The Hamidiye Aylalari was not as strong in the new war with Russia as it had been before and became a burden to the Ottomans. Many of its warriors went over to the Russian side. After 1915, they divided and the Officers of the regiments became members in the official army.