From wild life among the Koords.(Excerpt)

1870

BEFORE ADVANCING ANY FURTHER into the details relating to the description of this country, and to the manners and customs of the inhabitants, it is necessary to give her some general notions on the geographical position and history of Koordistan and Armenia. In the old world the name of Koordistan was unknown, as no portion of Asia went under that domination, except a part of the Anti--Taurus (Mountains of Hakkiari), where the Kardukians (Koords) used to live. The northern part of Koordistan, which now constitutes the province of Van, used to form, in ancient geography, the eastern portion of the kingdom of Armenia. The central and southern portions of Koordistan are those countries which were known partly under the names of Assyria and Mesopotamia. As for Armenia, it is difficult to define how far the limits of that ancient kingdom extended, the tide of conquest having at intervals restricted or enlarged its territory. In the utmost expansion of its limits, however, the Armenian kingdom reached on the north the banks of the Kur and the mountains of Lazistan; to the south the range of the Taurus; to the east Media; and to the west Cappadocia.

In modern times the contrary is the case. Instead of Koordistan being

unknown, it is Armenia which fades out of the knowledge of mankind, or at least of those who rule over its destinies. In the geography of the Turkish Empire, amongst the numerous provinces submitted to the authority of the Sultan, no such country as Armenia exists. Delenda est Carthago seems to have been the policy of the Turkish conquerors who decided on blotting out the name of Armenia, as lately the Russians have obliterated that of Poland, and the Turkish of this day that of Bulgaria, which countries have been shoveled up promiscuously with the other provinces of those empires. If a Turkish Pasha had not in his service a banker or a servant of Armenian nationality, it might be that, unaware of the existence of the Armenians, his Excellency would be ignorant that such a country as Armenia ever stood on the surface of the globe. In order, therefore, to be clear in my description, I will omit any further mention of Armenia as a geographical expression, and will adopt the generic of Koordistan for the whole of the country, so as to adapt my description to the present state of things.

Koordistan is that part of Asiatic Turkey which is comprised from north to south between Mount Ararat and the frontiers of Georgia on one side, and the neighborhood of Bagdad on the other; while from east to west its limits may be considered to be the Persian frontier and the borders of Asia Minor and Lazistan. These limits have nothing definite in their nature, for the simple reason that there is nothing permanent and definite in the territorial distribution of the various parts of the Turkish dominions. Whole provinces and departments, with their central towns and boundaries, are subject to frequent changes in the midst of an administrative chaos. Sometimes one province absorbs another, or the limits of the one encroach on the limits of the other, while on the frontiers of Persia large districts are pulled one way by Turkish and another by Persian pretenders, never, however, receiving any definitive settlement. Up to the epoch of the Crimean war the province of Koordistan used to form a distinct Pashalik, which consisted of the present Sandjaks of Van, Bayazid, Hakkiari and Mussul; but at the time the province of Koordistan was suppressed, the above--mentioned Sandjaks being then placed under the authority of the pasha or governor--general of Erzerum. The ecclesiastical administration of the dioceses has remained, however, unaltered, as the Mufti of Van assumes still the title of Mollah of Koordistan.

In the impossibility, therefore, of establishing in a precise and accurate manner the boundaries of this land, the best way of coming to a solution of the problem is, I think, that of setting aside the present system of territorial partition, and of calling by the name of Koordistan that extent of country where the Koordish element is found to be predominant, and which the inhabitants themselves consider to be Koordistan. The limits of this vast territory can thus be carefully traced.

To the north it extends from Mount Ararat, all along the Georgian frontier, up to 43[degrees] 20" east longitude, that is to say, to the neighbourhood of Kars. Here the Koordish race comes into contact with the Georgian, as in many places the two elements find themselves mixed up. At Bayazid and Kars the inhabitants are of Georgian and Koordish blood, the Mussulman faith being the link of union which helps their amalgamation. Beyond the walls of the towns the Koords move and shift to and fro, crossing over to the Russian territory or returning into the Turkish dominions. These wandering tribes are the Haideranlis, the Djelalis, the Mamanlis, and those worshippers of the devil named the Yezidis. Several Koordish tribes are also to be found wandering about in the neighborhood of Erivan, in Georgia.