In 1880, a group of Ottoman tribes attacked land held by Persia. As a result, the whole
area to the west of Lake Urumiye was affected. The extent of the attacks reached even the
city of Tabriz. The leading figure in this movement was an Ottoman Naqshebandi Sheikh
named Ubeydullah. His movement is considered to be the first Kurdish uprising that had
national aspirations. The stance of the Ottoman Empire towards this movement had
various considerations that shall be evaluated in the context of the depressed time, an era
in which pressures toward the empire’s dissolution were keenly felt. The aim of the
present study is to understand the nature of the sheikh’s movement and how it was
shaped by international conditions, especially the Ottoman involvement in it.
