Draft:Yazidi genocide (1915)

Yazidi genocide (1915)
Part of the late Ottoman genocides
Location	Ottoman Empire
Date	1915–1917
Deaths	300,000-500,000 entire Yazidi population nearly wiped out
Perpetrators	Ottoman Empire, Kurdish tribes, Hamidiye regiments
Motive	Anti-Yazidi sentiment, Islamization, Kurdification, Turkification

The Yazidi genocide (1915–1917) refers to the mass killing, forced displacement, and forced conversion of Yazidis by Ottoman and allied Kurdish forces during World War I. This genocide is part of the broader pattern of genocidal violence against various minorities during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Background

The Yazidis are an ethnoreligious group that had been marginalized under Ottoman rule due to their distinct religious practices and beliefs. During the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the Ottomans with their allied Kurdish tribes targeted Yazidis, alongside Armenians and Assyrians, in a series of violent campaigns. These campaigns were driven by a desire to Islamize the non-Muslim populations of the Ottoman Empire, and to eliminate perceived threats to the new national identity forming in the region.

Massacres

Between 1915 and 1917, Ottoman forces with the help of Kurdish tribesmen, carried out massacres against Yazidi communities in the regions of Mosul, Diyarbakir, and Bitlis. Entire Yazidi villages were destroyed, and men were killed while women and children were enslaved or forced to convert to Islam. The campaigns resulted in the deaths of thousands of Yazidis. The massacres were part of the broader pattern of genocidal violence against various minorities during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Scholarly perspectives

Most academics classify the Yazidi massacres as part of the Ottoman Empire's systematic campaign against non-Muslim minorities during World War I. Research shows Kurdish participation varied regionally, with some tribes attacking Yazidis while others offered protection. These events remain less studied than the Armenian and Assyrian genocides.

Legacy

While the 1915 Yazidi genocide is often overshadowed by other genocides of the time, it remains a traumatic part of Yazidi history. Survivors of the genocide sought refuge in neighboring areas such as Armenia and Iraq, where they rebuilt their communities. The memory of the 1915 atrocities has resurfaced in recent years, especially following the Yazidi genocide carried out by ISIS in 2014, drawing similarities between the two events.

See also

• Armenian genocide
• Yazidi genocide
• Persecution of Yazidis
• Yazidism in Turkey

References

Verified Works cited

• Astourian, Stephan; Kévorkian, Raymond (2020-11-01). Collective and State Violence in Turkey: The Construction of a National Identity from Empire to Nation-State. Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-78920-451-3.
• Bennett, Georgette F.; White, Jerry (2022-11-22). Religicide: Confronting the Roots of Anti-Religious Violence. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-63758-102-5.
• Charny, Israel W. (2021-04-27). Israel's Failed Response to the Armenian Genocide: Denial, State Deception, Truth versus Politicization of History. Academic Studies Press. ISBN 978-1-64469-525-8.
• Dougherty, Beth; Ghareeb, Edmund A. (2004-03-18). Historical Dictionary of Iraq. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810865686.
• Zovighian, Lynn (2025-05-01). "The World Must Embrace Pope Francis' Moral Clarity | Opinion". Newsweek. Retrieved 2025-05-04.

Failed verification Works cited

• Akçam, Taner (2012). The Young Turks' Crime Against Humanity. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691153339.
• Jongerden, Joost; Verheij, Jelle, eds. (2012). Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870–1915. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004231511.
• Kurt, Mehmety (2021-04-22). Bozarslan, Hamit; Gunes, Cengiz; Yadirgi, Veli (eds.). The Cambridge History of the Kurds. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-58301-5.
• McDowall, David (2004). A Modern History of the Kurds. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781850434160.
• Naby, Eden (2009). "Yazīdīs". In Esposito, John (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195305135. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020.
• Üngör, Uğur Ümit (2011). The Making of Modern Turkey. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199603602.

Unable to verify Works cited

• Rezvani, Babak (2014-03-15). Ethno-territorial conflict and coexistence in the caucasus, Central Asia and Fereydan: academisch proefschrift. Amsterdam University Press. p. 145. ISBN 9789048519286.
• Robins, Christine (23 January 2024). "The Ezidis of Turkey". In Tee, Caroline; Vicini, Fabio; Dorroll, Philip (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Religion in Turkey. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-762488-3. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
• Scham, Sandra (2024-11-29). An Archaeology of Persecuted Peoples: Religion and Hate in the Mountains of Asia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-040-19409-6.