NURI, IHSAN

(1892-1976)

Ihsan Nuri Pasha was the famous military leader of the KurdishArarat revoltagainstTurkeyaround Mt. Ararat in 1929-1930. In 1910, he graduated from the Military College in Istanbul and then served in theOttomanarmy. After World War I he became involved in theAzadiKurdish nationalist movement and served as an informant for British intelligence. In August 1924, he was involved in the premature Kurdish uprising at Bayt Shabab, a small town in Turkey just north of theIraqiborder. This fiasco tipped the Kurds' hand to the Turks and helped lead to the ultimate failure of theSheikh Saiduprising in 1925.

In 1929, theKhoybun, a transnational Kurdish party based inSyria, sent Ihsan Nuri to organize and leadtribalchiefs already in rebellion on and near Mt. Ararat. At first the Kurds achieved some notable successes, but after Turkey was able to convinceIranto cede a small piece of Iranian territory on the eastern side of Mt. Ararat in exchange for some Turkish territory, the Turks were able to surround the area and crush the rebellion. Ihsan Nuri lived out his life in exile in Iran.