Introduction
Cizre (Kurdish: Cizîr, historically Cizîra Botan) is a Kurdish town on the Tigris in the far south-east of Turkey, close to the borders with Syria and Iraq. Today it is a district of Şırnak Province — but in Kurdish memory it is something far greater: the old capital of Bohtan, one of the most powerful of all the Kurdish emirates, and the setting of the national epic Mem û Zîn.
Few places hold as central a place in Kurdish cultural and political history. This profile traces Cizre from its ancient roots on the Tigris, through the glory of the Bohtan emirate and the tragedy of Mem û Zîn, to the fall of its last great emir and the town’s difficult modern history.
Key Takeaways
• Cizre (Kurdish: Cizîr / Cizîra Botan) is a Kurdish-majority town on the Tigris in Şırnak Province, south-eastern Turkey.
• It was the capital of the Bohtan (Botan) emirate, one of the greatest Kurdish principalities.
• It is the setting of Ehmedê Xanî’s epic Mem û Zîn, often called the Kurdish national epic; the shrine of Mem and Zîn is in the town.
• Its last great ruler, Mîr Bedirxan, led Bohtan until the Ottomans crushed the emirate in 1847.
• Near Cizre stands Mount Cudi, which Islamic tradition identifies as the resting place of Noah’s Ark.
Quick Facts
Name (Kurdish): Cizîr (Cizîra Botan)
Historic Name: Jazirat ibn Umar
Country / Region: Turkey (Bakur / Northern Kurdistan)
Province: Şırnak
River: Tigris
Population: around 130,000 (district)
People: Kurdish majority
Historic Role: Capital of the Bohtan emirate
Famous For: Mem û Zîn, the Bohtan emirate, the Tigris
Contents
Cizîra Botan: Capital of an Emirate
Mem û Zîn and the Soul of Cizre
Bedirxan and the Fall of Bohtan
Related People, Places, and Topics
References and Further Reading
Where Is Cizre?
Cizre stands on the west bank of the Tigris in the far south-east of Turkey, in Şırnak Province, very close to the point where the Turkish, Syrian, and Iraqi borders meet. The river curves around the old town, which has guarded this crossing of the upper Tigris since antiquity — the medieval Arabs knew it as Jazirat ibn Umar, “the island of Ibn Umar,” for the way the river almost encircled it.
Just to the north-east rises Mount Cudi (Cûdî), which Islamic and local tradition holds to be the mountain where Noah’s Ark came to rest — one of several deep layers of sacred history attached to this stretch of the Tigris.
Cizîra Botan: Capital of an Emirate
For centuries Cizre was the seat of the emirate of Bohtan (Botan), ruled by the Azizan dynasty — one of the strongest and longest-lasting of the Kurdish principalities that governed much of Kurdistan under loose Ottoman and Persian suzerainty. From Cizre the emirs of Bohtan controlled a wide stretch of the upper Tigris, and the town became a flourishing centre of trade, religious learning, and Kurdish literary culture, adorned with monuments such as its Great Mosque and the Red Madrasa.
Mem û Zîn and the Soul of Cizre
Cizre’s greatest claim on the Kurdish imagination is literary. It is the setting of Mem û Zîn, the epic poem completed by Ehmedê Xanî in 1692 — the tragic love story of Mem and Zîn, set at the court of Cizîra Botan, which Kurds have long read as a national allegory of a people kept apart from their own fulfilment. The shrine traditionally identified as the tomb of Mem and Zîn stands in Cizre and remains a place of pilgrimage, binding the town forever to the most beloved work of Kurdish literature.
Bedirxan and the Fall of Bohtan
The emirate’s last age of greatness came under Mîr Bedirxan (Bedir Khan Beg), who in the early nineteenth century built Bohtan into one of the most powerful autonomous Kurdish states of its time. As the Ottoman Empire moved to centralise its rule and break the Kurdish emirates, Bedirxan resisted — but in 1847 Ottoman forces defeated him and dismantled Bohtan. The fall of Cizre’s emirate is remembered as one of the milestones in the end of Kurdish self-rule, and the Bedirxan family went on to play a leading role in the later Kurdish national movement.
Cizre Today
Modern Cizre is a Kurdish-majority town that has held tightly to its historical identity even through hardship. In 2015 and 2016 it was one of the towns worst affected by the renewed conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurdish movement, enduring long curfews and heavy destruction in its old quarters. Yet Cizre remains, in Kurdish eyes, a place of extraordinary weight — the city of Mem û Zîn and of Bohtan, where literature, history, and identity meet on the banks of the Tigris.
Timeline
Antiquity — A crossing-point on the upper Tigris, later known to the Arabs as Jazirat ibn Umar.
Medieval era — Cizre becomes the capital of the Kurdish emirate of Bohtan under the Azizan dynasty.
1692 — Ehmedê Xanî completes Mem û Zîn, set in Cizîra Botan.
early 19th c. — Mîr Bedirxan builds Bohtan into a powerful autonomous emirate.
1847 — The Ottomans defeat Bedirxan and dismantle the Bohtan emirate.
2015–2016 — Cizre is heavily affected by the renewed Turkish–Kurdish conflict.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Cizre important in Kurdish history?
Cizre was the capital of the Bohtan emirate, one of the greatest Kurdish principalities, and is the setting of Mem û Zîn, the Kurdish national epic.
What is Cizre’s Kurdish name?
In Kurdish it is Cizîr, and historically Cizîra Botan — “Cizre of Botan.”
What is Mem û Zîn?
An epic poem completed by Ehmedê Xanî in 1692, telling the tragic love of Mem and Zîn at the court of Cizîra Botan; it is widely regarded as the Kurdish national epic.
Who was Mîr Bedirxan?
The last great emir of Bohtan, who led a powerful autonomous Kurdish state until the Ottomans crushed the emirate in 1847.
Related People, Places, and Topics
Bohtan (Botan) emirate · Mem û Zîn · Ehmedê Xanî · Mîr Bedirxan · Mount Cudi · Hakkari · Bitlis · the Tigris.