HAMIDIYE

In 1891, theOttomansultan Abdul Hamid II established an irregular cavalry of Kurds modeled on theRussianCossacks and named after himself, the Hamidiye. The purpose was to police eastern Anatolia by divide-and-rule policies that would reward loyal Kurdishtribesand make revolt against the government more difficult.

The Hamidiye were also notoriously used against theArmenians. By the end of the 19th century, there were probably more than 50,000 of these irregulars. Some of the Hamidiye also used their power in lawless assaults on their Kurdish tribal enemies. When the Committee of Union and Progress overthrew the sultan in 1908, it abolished the Hamidiye. However, it was soon reconstituted as Tribal Light Cavalry Regiments and used during wars up through Turkey's War of Independence following World War I. Today'svillage guards(in Turkey) andjosh(inIraq) are reminiscent.