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Most of the time, in historical books or among the Kurdish people, it is said that Botan Amirs were not united and they all demanded to gain everything just for themselves. However, Mir Badrkhan was a democratic and nationalist person who tried to gather all the chiefs of the Kurdish clans to unite them to be able to pioneer an independent state.
Mir Badrkhan began an honored alliance with other Amirs in Kurdistan. Mahmoud Khan from the Van region, Nour Allah Fattah Bag from the Hakari region, Khalid Bag one of the chiefs of the Hizan clan, Sharif Bag from Moush, Hossein Bag Kor from Qars and Ajar, Ardalan region Amir, Sheikh Mohammad Mosuli and Sheikh Yousof Zakhoyi participated in this alliance as great wise men. The alliance Mir Badrkhan attempted to gain shows that he wanted to include the Sna region in his state which indicates his intention to establish the great Kurdistan state.
It is known that Mir Badrkhan had strengthened his castles and headquarters and the ally Amirs had sworn to establish and protect the great Kurdistan together.
Most historians and researchers call Mir Badrkhan: "the father of the Kurdish nationalism movement" and they call him; "the great military commander". Chris Munshera says: "Mir Badrkhan was the hero of the Kurdistan Liberation Movement in the nineteenth century".
The Ottomans were furious after finding out about the Kurdish Amirs' alliance and the independence of Kurdistan declaration, thus they prepared a large army on June 26, 1847, to destroy Botan state. Their army included 30 thousand soldiers, 15 thousand hirelings, and 40 cannons. They wanted to end Mir Badrkhan's power. The Ottomans attacked the Kurdish army near Urmia resulting in a fatal war. The Ottoman army, however, did not have the strength to fight the Kurdish army so, they were defeated in several battles; the Kurds resisted greatly well. It is mentioned in historical sources that Mir Badrkhan seized many cannons and lots of other war booties from the Ottomans. "Cholera" disease had spread at that time and a lot of the Kurdish forces had caught it which resulted in their death.
After this war, Badrkhan took his most important step and declared Kurdistan's independence officially. At first, Badrkhan's state borders reached Van, Mahabad, Ruwandz, and Mosul. Later, Piranshar, Urmia, Sork, Amad, Sert, Shangal, and Ashana were added to the rest of the land.
Thus, the Ottoman rulers tried several ways to defeat the Kurdish army. The Ottoman high ranked officials held a meeting with Mir Badrkhan via "Mullah Mahmoud Bayazid" in "Erzurum". They agreed on seizing fire so that both parts of the war would stop attacking the other. However, before Mullah Mahmoud returned, the Ottoman army attacked Jazir City.
Once again, Mullah Mahmoud went back to see the Ottomans demanding a meeting with them for their disobeying of the agreement but they ordered their forces to arrest him and took him to the Ottoman prison in Istanbul.
The Ottoman's ploy and "Yazdansher's" treason
When the Ottomans were assured, they could not defeat the Kurdish state in war, they decided to deceive the prominent Kurdish figures. The Ottoman state managed to manipulate some of the Kurdish chiefs; finally, they were able to deceive "Yazdansher" who was one of the close companions of Mir Badrkhan and was the commander of a large clan of Botan to agree with their plots. Yazdansher promised the Ottomans to help them capture Jazir City, the capital of Botan state. He did so at last and helped them to seize the city, this led to the Kurdish soldiers' disappointment because one of their weapon manufacturing factories was in that city.
The Ottomans seized the city of Jazir and Mir Badrkhan went to "Arokh" castle along with a large army. Mir Badrkhan and his soldiers fought bravely there but the Ottomans surrounded the castle. After a heroic battle and when their weapons were all used up, Mir Badrkhan surrendered himself to the Ottomans after a few days on August 12, 1847.
When Mir Badrkhan was taken to Istanbul to the Ottoman Sultan, he was exiled to an island called "Krit" in Greece after several trial sessions. Mir Badrkhan did not forget the catastrophe of his closest friend's treason.
What was "Yazdansher's" reason for betrayal?
The reason for Yazdansher's betrayal could be these two: "When the Ottomans attacked "Kornel" castle belonging to "Saeed Bag", Badrkhan helped the Ottomans to seize that castle. Saeed bad was Yazdansher's uncle and Yazdansher was not happy of that attack on his uncle's castle. "Mir Sayfaddin's" arrest by Badrkhan and several other reasons made Yazdansher betray Mir Badrkhan."
Some historians and researchers, however, say: that Yazdansher was an ambitious man seeking power; he had tried to become Mir Badrkhan's successor himself.
After defeating Botan's state, the Ottomans destroyed many houses, killing a lot of people and exiling many more to distant places. They also began to seize people's homes and farmlands and sell those pieces of land to foreigners at the lowest price.
In 1858, the Ottoman Sultan announced Badrkhan's amnesty. Badrkhan returned to Istanbul and lived there for a while, then he moved to Damascus. He lived in Damascus until the last day of his life and he left his shining name in history forever in 1869 and died there. Mir Badrkhan's body was buried in "Mowlana Sheikh Khalid Naqshbandi's" cemetery in "Rukn Al-Din" neighborhood in Damascus.
Mir Badrkhan died but his righteous name will always remain. He left justice and equality for his future generations. He recorded Botan's name as a patriotic and nationalist city in the history of Kurdistan.
Now, we all know that Mir Badrkhan and his family have served the Kurdish history, literature, and culture to a great deal and their services have influenced all four parts of Kurdistan nowadays.
