DIYARBAKIR, TURKEY – JUNE 29, 1925 Sheikh Said Rebellion was a large-scale armed uprising that broke out in February 1925 in southeastern Anatolia, in what is now Turkey. It was led by the Kurdish religious leader Sheikh Said, who combined religious and Kurdish nationalist motivations. The rebels, mainly made up of Kurdish and Zaza tribes, opposed the newly established secular republic under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
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- Sheikh Said 1
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- Sheikh Said 2
The main reasons for the rebellion were dissatisfaction with the rapid secularization of the state, the abolition of the caliphate, and the restriction of traditional religious influence. The uprising quickly spread in the region around the cities of Diyarbakir and Elazig, but the Turkish army suppressed it within a few months.
After the defeat, Sheikh Said and other leaders were arrested and brought before the Independence Tribunal (Istiklal Mahkemesi) in Diyarbakir. He was sentenced to death and executed by hanging in June 1925.
The Sheikh Said Rebellion became one of the first major conflicts between Kurdish groups and the Turkish Republic and still holds an important place in the history of Turkish-Kurdish relations.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Said
