Ezidi Mirza

Together with his siblings, Ezidi Mirza was raised as an orphan by his relatives after a battle against Kurdish and Arab Muslim raiders in circa 1605 AD in which his family was killed. During his childhood, Mirza spent most of his time in the markets of Mosul together with his two brothers as orphans living in poverty. They would often steal food from the market to survive, but the merchants tolerated this. After an attempt to steal plants from a farm, the three brothers were caught and brought to the Ottoman guards and imprisoned. Once the guards realized that they are Yezidis, the three brothers were tortured. Each of the brothers, starting from the oldest, were then told to kill their brothers in order to be set free, after both of the older brothers refused, they moved on to Ezidi Mîrza, who was young and could not understand what was going on. They put a knife in his hand and he was forced to cut his own brothers' throats before being thrown into an alley by the guards.

He wandered on the streets alone while covered in blood, until a trader recognized him, asked him what had happened and took him back to Bashiqa. The news of this tragedy quickly spread, which angered the community. Ezidi Mirza was sheltered by the religious clergy, who gave him training in religious knowledge and taught him to read and write.

Once Mirza grew up, he got married and became a religious teacher himself. He also began to show interest in military strategies and tactics from a young age. The constant raids by the Muslims on the Yezidis and his tragic childhood had convinced Mirza that military expertise was essential.^[2]

Approximately 15 years after the Muslim raid on Bashiqa and Bahzani, in which Mirza lost his family, the settlement was attacked again by raiders from Sunni Kurdish and Arab tribes. Despite being outnumbered, Ezidi Mîrza was still successful in gathering up fighters, organizing a counter-attack and cornering the raiders, resulting in a devastating defeat for the raiders. News of Mirza's victory spread in the region and was celebrated by Yezidis. The 20 year old Mirza gained fame as a heroic figure in the community, became known for his bravery and horsemanship, and proved himself a capable leader. Ottoman sources report that Mirza later commanded around 3,000 trained Yezidi fighters.^[2]

At the age of 25, Mirza was appointed as the head of Bashiqa-Bahzani community. He had intimate and cordial contacts with the Yezidi Mir, Zeynal Begê Çavbixalî. When the Ottoman-Safavid war broke out, the Yezidis ended up in the middle of two fronts. Ezidi Mirza, who had now become the commander in chief of all Yezidis, was aware that the Yezidis could only survive this war by siding with only one of the two sides. Since the invasion, the Safavids had launched attacks on his Yezidi brethren further east, in addition, the Ottomans were stationed in the immediate vicinity of the Yezidi centre near Mosul, therefore, Ezidi Mirza chose to fight on the Ottomans' side. According to the reports of Mustafa Naima, Ezidi Mirza was personally received and recognized by Sultan Murad IV as the commander-in-chief of the Yezidi fighters. In the report, Ezidi Mirza is heroized for his service during the Battle of Baghdad between the Safavids and Ottomans in 1638. The Mîr of the Yezidis at the time, Mîr Zeynal Begê Çavbixalî, was also involved in the battle together with six other eminent Yezidi chieftains, Temo Babikî, Pîrikê Xoşabî, Qerece Rexacî, Qere Babikî, Xizikî Dumilî, Şêx Dirî and Şêx Babikê Kuremîş, who joined Ezidi Mirza.^[2][5][6]

The Ottoman troops were able to besiege Baghdad in this battle. During the clashes, the Yezidi troops under Ezidi Mirza were not only successful in holding and defending their position, but also in advancing into the camp of a Safavid commander. The Yezidi units gained the upper advantage and killed the Safavid commander. After this, Ezidi Mirza and his troops advanced further, attacking the demoralized Safavid troops and killing their commander Saru Khan in his own tent. Ezidi Mirza's exploits did not go unnoticed by the Ottomans. The reputation and the strength of the Ezidi Mirza decreased further attacks and hostility from the neighbouring Muslims. The Sheikhan region in particular experienced a period of calm and security.^[5][7][6]