Battle of DimDim

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict = Battle of DimDim
partof =


caption =
date = November, 1609 to Summer of 1610
place = Fortress of DimDim on Mt. Dimdim, Iran
casus = Amir Khan Lapze sought to maintain the independence of his expanding principality in the face of both Ottoman and Safavid penetration into the region.
territory =
result = Safavid Victory
*Dimdim captured by Safavids
*All the inhabitants of DimDim are massacred.
*General massacre in Beradost and Mukriyan.
*Resettled the regions of Baradust and Mokr with Turkish Afshar tribe.
*Deportation of many Kurdish tribes to Khorasan.
combatant1 = Kurdish Principality of Baradust
combatant2 = Safavid Empire
commander1 = - Amir Khan Lepzerin
commander2 = - Shah Abbas I
- Hatem Beg
strength1 =
strength2 =
casualties1 =Military:Civilian:
casualties2 =
notes =

The Battle of DimDim is the name for the battle between the Kurds and the Safavid Empire between 1609 and 1610.

Combatants

afavid army

Kurdish army

Location

The battle took place at the fortress of DimDim located on Mt. Dimdim in Beradost region around Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran. The fortress that Amir Khan Lepzerin rebuilt was eventually captured by the Safavid army and later destroyed by the order of the Ottoman governor of Urmi. Although the fortress was destroyed, today the exact location of the fortress can be determined, since small portions of the walls and piles of building materiel are still visible in what was the location of the fortress of DimDim.

Prelude

The battle took place around the fortress called "Dimdim"(DimDim) located in Beradost region around Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran. In 1609, the ruined structure was rebuilt by "Amir Khan Lepzerin" (The Khan with the Golden Hand), ruler of Beradost, who sought to maintain the independence of his expanding principality in the face of both Ottoman and Safavid penetration into the region. Rebuilding Dimdim was considered a move toward independence that could threaten Safavid power in the northwest. Many Kurds, including the rulers of Mukriyan (modern day Mahabad), rallied around Amir Khan.

The Battle

There are well documented historical accounts of a long battle from 1609 to 1610 between Kurds and the Safavid Empire.

Aftermath

After a long and bloody siege led by the Safavid grand vizier Hatem Beg, which lasted from November 1609 to the summer of 1610, Dimdim was captured. All the defenders were massacred. Shah Abbas I ordered a general massacre in Beradost and Mukriyan (reported by Eskandar Beg Turkoman, Safavid Historian in the Book "Alam Aray-e Abbasi") and resettled the Turkish Afshar tribe in the region while deporting many Kurdish tribes to Khorasan region. Although Persian historians (like Eskandar Beg ) depicted the first battle of Dimdim as a result of Kurdish mutiny or treason, in Kurdish oral traditions (Beytî dimdim), literary works (Dzhalilov, pp. 67-72), and histories, it was treated as a struggle of the Kurdish people against foreign domination. In fact, Beytî dimdim is considered a national epic second only to Mem û Zîn by Ehmedê Xanî. The first literary account of this battle is written by Faqi Tayran. [ [http://www.iranica.com/articles/v7/v7f4/v7f446.html DIMDIM ] ] [ISBN 0-89158-296-7] [O. Dzh. Dzhalilov, Kurdski geroicheski epos "Zlatoruki Khan" (The Kurdish heroic epic "Gold-hand Khan"), Moscow, 1967, pp. 5-26, 37-39, 206.]

ee also

* History of the Kurdish people
* Timeline of Kurdish uprisings
* Kurdish people
* Iranian Kurdistan
* Safavid Empire

References and Notes

External links

* [http://www.iranica.com/articles/v7/v7f4/v7f446.html DimDim] , Encyclopaedia Iranica
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0891582967/ History of Shah Abbas the Great: Tarik-E Alamara-Ye Abbasi]