Sheikh Ubeydullah of Nehrî

Posted by Zagrosian · 15 May 2026

Sheikh Ubeydullah of Nehri was a powerful Kurdish religious leader, tribal figure, and nationalist leader in the late Ottoman period. He is remembered for leading one of the first major modern Kurdish nationalist uprisings.

He was born around 1826 in the village of Nehri (near Şemzînan/Hekarî, in Northern Kurdistan). He belonged to the influential Naqshbandi Sufi family of Nehri and was considered both a spiritual and political authority among many Kurdish tribes.

After the Russo–Turkish War of 1877–78 and growing instability in the Ottoman and Qajar Persian empires, Sheikh Ubeydullah argued that the Kurds were a distinct people who should govern themselves rather than be ruled by Istanbul or Tehran.

In 1880, he launched a large Kurdish revolt against both the Ottoman Empire and Qajar Iran. His forces moved into Eastern Kurdistan and briefly threatened major cities such as Urmiye.

One of his most famous statements, written in letters to foreign diplomats, was that:

“The Kurdish nation is a people apart... their affairs must be in their own hands.”

Because of this, many historians view him as an early figure in modern Kurdish nationalism, although his movement also had strong religious and tribal foundations.

Posted by Zagrosian · 15 May 2026

Posted by Zagrosian · 15 May 2026

Defeat and exile

The revolt was eventually defeated. The Ottoman authorities, who had initially tolerated him as a regional power, later saw him as dangerous. He was arrested and exiled first to Istanbul and later to the Hijaz (in present-day Saudi Arabia), where he died in 1883.

Historical legacy

Sheikh Ubeydullah remains an important figure in Kurdish history because:

• He united many Kurdish tribes across Ottoman and Iranian borders.
• He articulated an early political vision of Kurdish autonomy or independence.
• His uprising influenced later Kurdish nationalist movements in the 20th century.

Historians sometimes describe the 1880 revolt as one of the first organized Kurdish national movements in the modern sense, even though it still combined tribal, religious, and regional loyalties.

Posted by Zagrosian · 15 May 2026

Posted by Zagrosian · 15 May 2026

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Ubeydullah

Posted by Zagrosian · 15 May 2026

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-rise-of-sheikh-ubeydullah-and-his-disillusionment-with-the-ottomans-by-k-soleimani/

Posted by Zagrosian · 15 May 2026

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uprising_of_Sheikh_Ubeydullah

Posted by Zagrosian · 15 May 2026