The family of Baban (1649–1850) ruled a Kurdish principality which encompassed areas of present-day Iraqi Kurdistan and western Iran from the early 17th century until 1850. The Baban principality played an active role in Ottoman-Persian conflict. The founder of the princely Baban family is thought to be Ahmad Faqih or Faqi Ahmad from the district of Pijder. The Babans claimed descent from a Frankish woman, Keghan, who was taken prisoner in a battle by the Ottomans. According to the Sharafnama the clan’s first chief was Pir Badak Babe, who is believed to have lived around 1500.
Baban princes retained some autonomy in return for providing security for the Ottoman Empire along the Iranian border. Sulaiman Beg was the first Baban prince to gain control of the province of Shahrizor and its capital, Kirkuk. He invaded Iran, defeating forces from the principality of Ardalan in 1694. Ottoman Sultan Mustafa II assigned him the district of Baban, which included the town of Kirkuk.
The city of Sulaimaniyah was also known as the capital of baban founded by Baban prince Mahmud Pasha in 1781. Baban rulers encouraged cultural and literary activities in their domain. During the first half of the 19th century a school of poetry was established under Baban patronage, of which classical Kurdish poet Nali was the central figure.
Baban princes aided Ottoman forces in Iranian wars from 1723–1746. From 1750 to 1847, Baban history was dominated by rivalries with other Kurdish principalities (such as Soran and Bohtan) and its opposition to centralization by the Ottomans and the Qajars.The principality was destroyed during the mid-19th century Ottoman modernization period. The Baban revolt lasted for three years, but was defeated by a coalition of Ottoman forces and Kurdish tribes. Ahmed Pasha Baban, the last Baban ruler, was defeated near Koya in 1847 and the region of Shahrazur was annexed to the Ottoman Empire. The last Baban prince left Sulaimaniya in 1850, after fighting the Turks for the independence of southern Kurdistan.
Timeline
Khana Mohammad Pasha takes the city of Senna, capital of the Ardalan principality, in 1132 ( 1719 AD ) and kills Persian governor Hasan Ali Khan.
Suliman Baba travels to Constantinople in 1678, gaining Ottoman recognition of the family’s hereditary rights.
Baban princes helped Ottoman forces in the Iranian wars of 1723–1746.
Abdulrahman Pasha becomes mirimiran prince of Kurdish princes in 1788.
Abdurrahman Pasha marches on Ottoman Pasha of Baghdad Suleyman in June 1810 with 10,000 men.
Princes
Faqi Ahmad, 1649–1670
Sulaiman Baba, 1670–1703
Khana Mohammad Pasha, 1721–1731
Nawaub Khalid Pasha, 1732–1742
Nawaub Salim Pasha, 1742–1754
Nawaub Sulaiman Pasha, 1754–1765
Muhammad Pasha, 1765–1775
Abdolla Pasha, 1775–1777
Ahmad Pasha, 1777–1780
Mahmoud Pasha, 1780–1782
Ibrahim Pasha, 1782–1803
Abdurrahman Pasha, 1803–1813
Mahmoud Pasha, 1813–1834
Sulaiman Pasha, 1834–1838
Ahmad Pasha, 1838–1847
Abdollah Pasha, 1847–1850
Notable descendants
Babanzade Mustafa Zihni Pasha (1839–1911)
Babanzade Ahmed Naim Bey, (1872–1934): Rector of Istanbul University and Islamist philosopher, who was appointed to the Ayan Meclisi by Sultan Mehmed VI
Babanzade Ismail Hakki Bey (1876–1913): Ottoman Minister of Education, Minister of Public Instruction, Member of Parliament and foreign-affairs expert
Babanzade Hüseyin Şükrü Bey, (1890–1980): Dean of the Faculty of Economics at Istanbul University and editor-in-chief of Tercüman
Babanzade Cihad Bey, (1911–1984): Minister of Press, Radio and Tourism, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Turkey, member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for Istanbul and İzmir (1946–1950), editor-in-chief of the newspaper Ulus and owner of the newspaper Tasvir
Babanzade Hamdi Bey: Member of the Committee of Union and Progress
Babanzade Hikmet Bey: Founding member of Kürdistan Teâli Cemiyeti and the Committee of Union and Progress
Babanzade Selim Bey: editor-in-chief of the Son Telgraf
Babanzade Ismail Pasha (1839–1920)
Babanzade Fuad Bey
Babanzade Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi: Iraqi poet and philosopher
Babanzade Mohammed Najmuldeen: One of the founding members of the first Telecommunication companies in Iraq AsiaCell TC. and the Chief technology officer in it.
Ahmad Mukhtar Baban : the last Prime Minister of Iraq under the monarchy in 1958.
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