Lady Adela
Encyclopedia
Lady Adela or Adela Khanem was a famous and cultured chief of the Jaff tribe, one of the biggest Kurdish tribes
, if not the biggest, native to the Zagros area, which is presently divided between Iran
and Iraq
.
Lady Adela exerted great influence in the affairs of Jaff tribe in the Sharazor
plain. She was born in 1847 to a leading family in Sanandaj, the major center of Kurdish culture in Iranian Kurdistan. She married Osman Pasha,a chief of the Jaff tribe, whose headquarter was in Halabja. Later Osman Pasha was appointed the kaimakam of Sharazor
, thus allowing Lady Adela to take over. The revival of commerce and restoration of law and order in the region of Halabja is attributed to her sound judgement. She was known for saving lives of many British
army officers during World War I
and was awarded the title of Khan-Bahadur by the British commander.She died in 1924 and buried in Halabja.
Gertrude Bell
, British politician and writer, describes Adela Khanem in a letter in 1921 as follow:"
The feature of Halabja is 'Adlah Khanum the great Jaf Beg Zadah lady, mother of Ahmad Beg. She is the widow of Osman Pasha, sometime dead, and continues to rule the Jaf as much as she can and intrigue more than you would think anyone could, and generally behave as great Kurdish ladies do behave. She has often written to me, feeling, I've no doubt, that we must be birds of a feather, and I hastened to call on her after lunch. She is a striking figure in her gorgeous Kurdish clothes with jet black curls (dyed, I take it) falling down her painted cheeks from under her huge headdress. We carried on in Persian, a very complimentary talk in the course of which I managed to tell them how well 'Iraq was doing under Faisal and to assure them that all we wished was that our two children, 'Iraq and Kurdistan, should live in peace and friendship with one another".Vladimir Minorsky has reported his meeting with Lady Adela in the region of Halabja
in 1913.
Major Soane wrote about her in his book To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise:" a woman unique in Islam, in the power she possesses, and the efficacy with which she uses the weapons in her hands... In a remote corner of the Turkish Empire,which decays and retrogrades, is one little spot, which,under the rule of a Kurdish woman has risen from a village to be a town, and one hill-side, once barren, now sprinkled with gardens; and these are in a measure renovations of the ancient state of these parts".
Kurdish tribes
Kurdish tribes of Kurdistan consist of:*Republic of Azerbaijan*Sheylanli tribe*West Azarbaijan Province:*Jalali*Milan*Haydaran*Donboli*korahsuni*Shekak*Herki*Bagzâdah*Zerzâ*Pirân*Pizhdar*Mâmash*Mangur*Mokri*Dehbokri*Gowrâg*Malkari*Suseni...
, if not the biggest, native to the Zagros area, which is presently divided between Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
Lady Adela exerted great influence in the affairs of Jaff tribe in the Sharazor
Sharazor
Sharazor was the name of a Sassanid district , Kurdish kingdom, Ottoman vilayet and finally a Sanjak of Mosul vilayet situated to the southern and eastern part of what is now known as Iraqi Kurdistan....
plain. She was born in 1847 to a leading family in Sanandaj, the major center of Kurdish culture in Iranian Kurdistan. She married Osman Pasha,a chief of the Jaff tribe, whose headquarter was in Halabja. Later Osman Pasha was appointed the kaimakam of Sharazor
Sharazor
Sharazor was the name of a Sassanid district , Kurdish kingdom, Ottoman vilayet and finally a Sanjak of Mosul vilayet situated to the southern and eastern part of what is now known as Iraqi Kurdistan....
, thus allowing Lady Adela to take over. The revival of commerce and restoration of law and order in the region of Halabja is attributed to her sound judgement. She was known for saving lives of many British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
army officers during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and was awarded the title of Khan-Bahadur by the British commander.She died in 1924 and buried in Halabja.
Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making due to her extensive travels in Greater Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia. Along...
, British politician and writer, describes Adela Khanem in a letter in 1921 as follow:"
The feature of Halabja is 'Adlah Khanum the great Jaf Beg Zadah lady, mother of Ahmad Beg. She is the widow of Osman Pasha, sometime dead, and continues to rule the Jaf as much as she can and intrigue more than you would think anyone could, and generally behave as great Kurdish ladies do behave. She has often written to me, feeling, I've no doubt, that we must be birds of a feather, and I hastened to call on her after lunch. She is a striking figure in her gorgeous Kurdish clothes with jet black curls (dyed, I take it) falling down her painted cheeks from under her huge headdress. We carried on in Persian, a very complimentary talk in the course of which I managed to tell them how well 'Iraq was doing under Faisal and to assure them that all we wished was that our two children, 'Iraq and Kurdistan, should live in peace and friendship with one another".Vladimir Minorsky has reported his meeting with Lady Adela in the region of Halabja
Halabja
Halabja , is a Kurdish town in Northern Iraq, located about north-east of Baghdad and 8–10 miles from the Iranian border....
in 1913.
Major Soane wrote about her in his book To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise:" a woman unique in Islam, in the power she possesses, and the efficacy with which she uses the weapons in her hands... In a remote corner of the Turkish Empire,which decays and retrogrades, is one little spot, which,under the rule of a Kurdish woman has risen from a village to be a town, and one hill-side, once barren, now sprinkled with gardens; and these are in a measure renovations of the ancient state of these parts".