In World War I that had happened between that time’s Superpowers in 1914 to 1918, Mahabad underwent a wave of invasion and genocide.

This was a war among powers like “France”, “Russia”, and “Britain” on the one hand and “Germany”, “The Ottomans”, and “Austria_ Hungary” on the other hand.

I will attempt to discuss briefly the circumstances that made Mahabad which was called “Sablagh” at that time become a battlefield for “Germany”, “The Ottomans” and the “Austria_ Hungary” war.

Mahabad was geopolitically speaking on the way of “West Azerbaijan” (Urmia) Province and “Van” a city in the part of Kurdistan which was under the Ottoman’s authority. This city turned into a battlefield. This was one of the reasons for this city to face the highest amount of casualties in Iran during World War I.

The Ottomans had always wanted to dominate the Sunni Muslims of Iran who were the Kurds near the borders of Iran and the Ottomans from the time of the Safavids ruling over Iran. However, if we look at history, we can see that although the Ottomans succeeded in taking some parts of Kurdistan under their rule during the Qajar dynasty like “Sharazour”, the East part of Kurdistan remained within Iran’s borders intact. During the preceding years leading to World War I i.e. 1907 the Russians in an agreement between them and Britain that was signed and we know it as the Agreement of 1907 in history, they took authority of the northern parts of Iran and Britain took the authority of the southern parts of Iran including “Sistan and Balouchestan” and the southern bays. In this agreement, Mahabad was taken under Russian authority. Obviously, Iran’s king at that time, Mohammad Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty did not have enough power since the Shah was taken away from Iran and his teenage son, “Ahmad Shah”, was in charge as a king. Ahmad Shah was an inexperienced person and he was unable to take charge of Iran’s policies. During World War I Iran did not have a powerful military force to face these two powers.

One of the misfortunes of Iranians at that time was that Iran had two neighbors that each one was an ally of the opposing parties of World War I. Russia was a part of this war and it was a part of the Allies. The Ottomans on the other hand were a part of the Central Powers’ side. Although these two countries had a vast common border, they chose Iran’s land and Kurdistan fields as their battlefield. The Russians claimed they had the authority of Mahabad based on the 1907 agreement, and the consulate of Russia, the U.S., and the Ottomans were in Mahabad; so, all these countries claimed their authority in Mahabad. After the 1907 agreement the Russians began to arm the Armenians living in Urmia and it led to the Ottomans changing their strategies with the Russians. In 1913 a few months before the First World War, the Ottomans invaded Mahabad and forced the Mokri Lords out of the city. These Lords went to Maragheh. Some of the Kurds however were inclined to help the Ottomans since they considered themselves closer to the Ottoman Turks due to similar religious beliefs. Some of the Mullas at that time declared Fatwa (a religious declaration) that the Kurds must help the Ottomans. Although World War I is to be known to have been started officially in the “Balkan semi-Islands” in 1914, it is believed that “Franz Ferdinand”’s assassination in Sarajevo who was Austria’s King Successor, was the reason for World War I to begin according to many historians but a Russian figure named “Lazariev” once said: the first bullet that started World War I was shot in Mahabad in the battle of the Russians and the Ottomans. The Ottomans’ invasion of Mahabad happened a few weeks before World War I officially had begun.

After World War I began, the Russians armed almost three thousand Assyrians and added them to their military forces. The Ottomans on the other hand armed the Sunni Kurds who were supporting them. “Debokry” and “Mamash” clans particularly helped the Ottomans. When the Ottomans came to Mahabad they executed Sardar Mokri Mahabadi and Ahmad Shah’s only reaction to this was an informal protest to the Ottomans ambassador. The Ottomans and the Kurds who were their allies started to kill all the other Kurds who were Russia’s allies. This was also true for the other side. It means that Kurds were forced to kill their own people at that time. In other words, Kurds were divided into two groups, Debokri and Mamash Kurds were fighting for the Ottomans and the Chardoli Kurds were fighting for the Russians. Germany also armed 2000 Kurds and paid them handsomely to fight for the Ottomans. The Ottomans and Germany were allies. After the Ottomans concurred with Maragheh and Tabriz, they could not hold on to their victories and they were defeated gradually.

When the Russians came back from the “Black Water” war, they went to “Azerbaijan” and “Sablagh”. “Samsam Khan”, who was a Chardoli Kurd helping the Russian armies aid them to concur these areas. And this was how the Russians came back to Mahabad in 1914 and raided the homeless people of Mahabad. The Ottomans who were defeated by the Russians did not leave any kind of weaponry for the Kurds.

According to the oral history being told by the elderlies living in this region, the Russians did not even have mercy for the women or the old people, or the babies. They cut children’s arms and legs, raped young girls, and cut women’s breasts. They invaded Mahabad very violently.

The Russians are known as “Urous” in the literature of this region. That is because Russia was known as “Uroussia” in Iran at that time.

Iran sent a “Urous Nameh” (a letter of complaint) to the Russian embassy but they did not even bother to give a response to it. What the Russians did in Mahabad who had supported the Ottomans was due to the execution of one of the Russian officials named “Alexander Ivanovich” who was Russia’s Council in Mahabad in front of the “Qazi Fattah” house. As one of the Russian Historians and Socialists named “Vasiliy Nikitin” reminded us, apart from Mahabad they had eighty thousand more soldiers in Urmia who would invade Urmia’s markets three times a day to provide their supplies. They even took people’s wooden ceilings to collect firewood.

To be continued ...

Note: This article is the text of Mrs. Leila Salehi’s interview from “The Ladies of Word and Book in Bukan” about “the portrait of bloody rivers in the snow” which is downloaded by Kurdshop due to its significance.