The Defiant Pasha: The Epic Life and Tragic Fall of Ezidi Mirza
- Daniel Rasul
- Dec 1, 2025
- 11 min read
The 17th century was a crucible of fire and steel in Mesopotamia, a borderland relentlessly contested by the mighty Ottoman and Safavid Empires. For the indigenous peoples of the region, survival was not merely a daily task but an act of constant strategic defiance. Few figures embody this defiant spirit and the deep, enduring tragedy of conflict better than Ezidi Mirza Hesen (c. 1600 – 1651).
Known variously as Ezidi Mirza, Mirza Pasha, or Daseni Mirza Beg, his life story—preserved in Yezidi sagas, poems, and histories—is a chronicle of personal devastation transforming into public heroism. It is the story of an orphan who rose from the alleys of Mosul to command armies, to govern a great city, and ultimately, to become a martyr whose death ignited a massive rebellion for his people's freedom.
This is a deep dive into the life of the heroic leader who dared to negotiate the treacherous waters of imperial power while relentlessly pursuing justice for his faith.
I. The Crucible of Childhood: Bashiqa, the Yezidi Heartland, and the Shadow of Empires
Ezidi Mirza was born around 1600 AD into the town of Bashiqa, located near the cultural heart of the Yezidi people, east of Mosul. His family was respected, belonging to the Sheikh caste, specifically the Qatanî lineage of Şêx Simayîlê Enzelî. This heritage placed him within the spiritual aristocracy of the faith, destined for a life of learning and religious guidance.
Bashiqa and its twin village, Bahzani, sat in a precarious geographical and political location. They were nestled near the ancient city of Mosul, an important administrative and trade hub constantly shifting under Ottoman control, but also perilously close to the zones of influence of the rival Safavid Empire in Persia. For the Yezidis—adherents of an ancient, unique, monotheistic faith—life in this tumultuous corridor was defined by perpetual threat. Their religion, often misunderstood and targeted by both Sunni and Shia neighbors, made them vulnerable targets for fermans (genocidal decrees) and opportunistic raids.
The Trauma of 1605: The Orphan's Burden
The world of the young Mirza was brutally shattered around 1605 AD. While just a toddler, Arab Muslim raiders launched a devastating attack on the settlement. In the ensuing battle, Mirza's entire immediate family was killed. The infant, along with his two older brothers, was orphaned and forced to rely on distant relatives for survival, entering a life where the memory of violence was the foundational trauma.
The early years of the three brothers were spent in the sprawling, unforgiving markets of Mosul. Living in extreme poverty, their existence was a desperate struggle. They quickly adopted the necessary survival tactics of the street: stealing food to avoid starvation. The fact that the local merchants often tolerated this petty theft speaks volumes about the destitution of the Yezidi orphans and perhaps a quiet local recognition of their plight.
The Incarceration and the Unspeakable Act
The desperate reality of their situation reached its harrowing climax after an attempt to steal plants from a farm. The three brothers were caught, handed over to the Ottoman guards, and imprisoned. Once their Yezidi identity was confirmed, the abuse escalated beyond simple punishment; it became a ritualistic act of torture and psychological warfare, designed to break their very faith and kinship.
The guards presented the brothers with a terrible, impossible choice: kill one of your brothers to gain freedom. Starting with the eldest, each refused the command, choosing death over the sin of fratricide. The guards then turned to the youngest, Ezidi Mirza, who was still too young to grasp the horror of the situation, the philosophical and religious weight of the decision, or the political motives behind the torture. In a monstrous act of manipulation, a knife was placed in his hand, and the young boy was forced to cut the throats of his own, heroic older brothers.
After the brutal, forced murder, the guards simply tossed the blood-soaked, traumatized child into a Mosul alleyway.
Sanctuary and the Seed of Revenge
Mirza was found wandering alone, covered in the evidence of his tragedy, until a trader who recognized him intervened, ensuring his passage back to Bashiqa. The news of the incident spread like wildfire through the Yezidi community, triggering profound anger and grief. The community’s spiritual leaders, the clergy, immediately took him under their wing.
This marked the first major pivot in Mirza’s life. Shelter and support were provided, but most importantly, he was given rigorous training in religious knowledge, taught to read, and write. This spiritual education provided a structure and identity to counter the trauma. The child who was a victim of an imperial power game was now being transformed into a man deeply rooted in the history, theology, and philosophy of his people.
Yet, the religious teachings could not erase the memory of the blood on his hands. The trauma, the forced betrayal, and the constant threat of raids fused into a powerful conviction: while spiritual knowledge was essential for the soul, military expertise was essential for the survival of the community. Ezidi Mirza, the gentle religious student, was already nurturing the soul of a relentless military strategist.
II. The Rise of the Warrior-Teacher: Military Genius and Yezidi Sovereignty
As Ezidi Mirza grew to manhood, he married and established himself, fulfilling his initial destiny by becoming a religious teacher. Yet, the call to action, fueled by the violence of his past, was too strong to ignore. He began to dedicate himself to studying military strategies and tactics, anticipating the inevitable return of conflict.
The First Taste of Victory (Circa 1620)
Approximately fifteen years after the raid that orphaned him, violence returned to Bashiqa and Bahzani. The settlements were again attacked, this time by raiders from a coalition of hostile Sunni Kurdish and Arab tribes.
By this time, Ezidi Mirza was roughly twenty years old. He did not retreat. Instead, demonstrating a natural aptitude for leadership and tactics, he successfully organized a counter-attack. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Mirza was successful in gathering fighters, organizing their movements, and cornering the raiders. The result was a devastating defeat for the attacking forces.
The news of this victory was monumental. For a people accustomed to suffering and retreat, the success represented a profound psychological shift. Mirza’s bravery, leadership, and skilled horsemanship elevated him overnight from a respected teacher to a celebrated hero and figurehead. The Ottoman records themselves would later attest to his military strength, reporting that he commanded approximately 3,000 trained Yezidi fighters—a powerful, autonomous military force capable of challenging regional stability.
At the age of 25, his status was formalized; he was appointed as the official head of the Bashiqa-Bahzani community.
The Grand Strategic Choice: Navigating the Empires
Mirza’s military ascendancy coincided with the inevitable geopolitical collision of the 17th century: the renewal of the Ottoman-Safavid War. The Yezidis, inhabiting the land directly contested by these two massive Islamic empires, found themselves trapped between two fronts.
Ezidi Mirza, now the commander-in-chief of all Yezidi forces, understood that neutrality was suicide. The Yezidis could only survive by aligning themselves, temporarily, with one power.
The Safavid Threat: The Safavids, from the east, had recently launched attacks on Yezidi communities further east, demonstrating continued hostility.
The Ottoman Reality: The Ottomans, despite being oppressors at times, were the de facto local power, stationed immediately near the Yezidi center near Mosul.
Mirza made a pragmatic, if dangerous, choice: to side with the Ottomans. This was not an alliance of friendship, but a calculated survival mechanism—using one empire’s need for local strength to secure temporary protection and recognition for his own people.
III. The Siege of Baghdad: Mirza on the Imperial Stage
The Yezidi forces were officially integrated into the Ottoman war effort, culminating in the critical 1638 campaign led by Sultan Murad IV to retake Baghdad from the Safavids.
The decision to join was supported by the official Mir of the Yezidis, Mir Zeynal Begê Çavbixalî, and six other eminent Yezidi chieftains, demonstrating the unified Yezidi commitment under Mirza's command.
Recognition by the Sultan
The significance of this period cannot be overstated. According to the reports of the Ottoman chronicler Mustafa Naima, Ezidi Mirza was personally received and recognized by Sultan Murad IV as the commander-in-chief of the Yezidi fighters. This recognition was a massive diplomatic and political achievement, granting the Yezidis a rare official status within the imperial structure, even if temporary.
Mustafa Naima’s report heroized Mirza for his service, proving that the Yezidi leader was not merely a local auxiliary but a critical commander on the imperial battlefield.
The Critical Role in the Battle
The Ottoman siege of Baghdad was a grueling, protracted affair. During the clashes, the Yezidi troops under Ezidi Mirza proved their immense value. They were not only successful in holding and defending their assigned position—a crucial necessity during any large-scale siege—but they achieved far more.
Mirza led his units in a bold advance into the camp of a Safavid commander, successfully gaining the upper hand and killing the commander. This act of tactical aggression was followed by an even greater strategic victory. Mirza and his troops advanced further, attacking the demoralized Safavid forces and, in a stunning display of audacity, managed to kill the prominent Safavid commander Saru Khan inside his own tent.
This exploit—killing a key general within his own secure perimeter—sent a powerful message to both the Ottomans and the Safavids about the skill, ferocity, and dedication of the Yezidi forces.
The Sheikhan Calm
The rewards for Mirza’s service were immediate and profound for his community. The reputation and documented military strength of Ezidi Mirza drastically decreased the attacks and hostility from neighboring Muslim groups. The Sheikhan region, the heart of the Yezidi territory, experienced a period of unprecedented calm and security. For a community that had lived under the shadow of the ferman for generations, this hard-won security, purchased with the blood of their warriors, was the ultimate validation of Mirza’s pragmatic, military-focused leadership.
IV. The Fragile Peace and the Shadow of Shingal
The formal peace treaty between the Ottomans and the Yezidis, solidified by the Baghdad campaign, proved to be an illusion, a temporary truce dictated by the needs of imperial war. As soon as the major external threat (Safavids) subsided, the Ottomans turned their attention back to consolidating control and extracting taxes from the difficult, fiercely independent mountainous regions.
The Rebellion in Sinjar (Shingal)
The primary flashpoint was Shingal (Sinjar), a rugged, self-governing Yezidi stronghold in the northwest. The Yezidis of Shingal had a long history of resistance, having successfully defeated an Ottoman force under Nasuh Pasha only a few years earlier, allegedly killing over 7,000 Ottoman soldiers—a claim recorded by the famous Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi.
The Yezidis of Shingal controlled crucial trade routes, refused to pay the taxes levied by the Ottomans, and frequently attacked Ottoman trade caravans on the Sinjar road. This was an intolerable challenge to Ottoman sovereignty and a clear source of friction that Ezidi Mirza’s previous cooperation could not paper over.
The Great Invasion of 1640
The response came from the Governor of Mosul, Melek Ahmed Pasha, a man known to harbor deep hostility towards the Yezidis. He mobilized a massive force of 70,000 troops and launched a full-scale invasion of Shingal. Melek Ahmed Pasha demanded the return of plundered goods and the payment of all due taxes.
The Yezidi response was characteristic: the battle-hardened warriors retreated into the near-impregnable Sinjar Mountains and offered fierce resistance. Despite being completely outnumbered, the terrain and Yezidi skill inflicted heavy casualties on the Turkish forces. Ultimately, the overwhelming numbers and persistence of the Ottomans prevailed, but the cost was high, demonstrating once again the extraordinary tenacity of the Yezidi defense.
This period was perhaps the most complex for Ezidi Mirza. Although he was a respected leader who had fought with the Ottomans, he could not truly separate himself from the fate of the Shingal Yezidis. The conflict highlighted the fundamental, irreconcilable difference between the two parties: the Ottomans sought absolute submission, while the Yezidis sought autonomous survival.
V. Governor of Mosul: The Peak and the Final Act
Despite the renewed conflict in Shingal, Ezidi Mirza’s reputation for military capability and administrative stability remained undeniable in Istanbul. In 1649 AD, a significant political maneuver took place: the Grand Vizier Kara Murad Pasha appointed Ezidi Mirza as the Governor of Mosul.
The Prosperity of Mirza Pasha
The appointment, a rare and strategic move by the central Ottoman authority to leverage a local minority leader’s power for regional stability, was a monumental event. Ezidi Mirza, now effectively Mirza Pasha, governed Mosul with immediate success.
His brief reign led to an economic and agricultural boom in the province. The Yezidis, under the protection of their own leader, enjoyed a period of security they had not experienced in generations. They were able to work, trade, and build wealth freely in the city. Symbolically and spiritually, Yezidi shrines in Mosul, which had often been desecrated or fallen into disrepair, were rebuilt under his command, restoring confidence and dignity to the community.
The Cost of Vengeance
However, Yezidi sagas tell a darker, more personal side to his tenure. His ascent to the highest office provided the long-awaited opportunity to settle the score for the trauma of his childhood. The Governor of Mosul used his absolute power to exact a terrible, methodical revenge.
He first ordered the demolition of the farm belonging to the farmer who had betrayed him and his brothers to the Ottoman guards decades earlier. This was followed by a chilling, deliberate act of personal justice: he had the families of the Ottoman guards who had forced him to murder his brothers captured and brought to his castle. There, Mirza confronted them, a child’s trauma realized in an adult’s power, and personally had them slaughtered.
This act, while fulfilling a deep, decades-old personal mandate of vengeance, cemented his position as both a protector and a ruthless, unforgiving figure—a hero forged by and defined by violence.
The Downfall and Martyrdom
Ezidi Mirza’s prosperity was tied directly to his patron, Kara Murad Pasha. Just a year after his appointment, Kara Murad Pasha was deposed. As was customary in the Ottoman system, Mirza immediately lost his governorship.
Refusing to accept this political fate, Mirza travelled to Istanbul to protest his removal and plead his case. This journey coincided with the political resurrection of his old enemy: Melek Ahmad Pasha, the man responsible for the brutal 1640 invasion of Shingal, became the new Grand Vizier.
Melek Ahmad Pasha's hatred for the Yezidis had not diminished. He ensured that Ezidi Mirza’s petition was rejected and that his position would not be restored. Realizing his precarious political position, Mirza began secretly planning a rebellion, a final, definitive stand for Yezidi autonomy.
But his enemies moved faster. On a trip back to Bashiqa, while traveling with sixty loyal guards, Ezidi Mirza was ambushed by Ottoman soldiers and killed.
VI. The Enduring Legacy of the Defiant Pasha
Ezidi Mirza died as he lived—a figure of conflict, caught between the impossible choices of his time. His death, however, was not the end of his struggle; it was the catalyst for its next, most fiery phase.
His martyrdom immediately ignited widespread rage across the Yezidi regions, proving his popularity and influence. This anger boiled over into a major, unified rebellion led by the new chief, Imadin Hakkari. With the support of other key leaders, including the long-time ally Mîr Zeynal Begê Çavbixalî, Imadin Hakkari raised an army of 6,000 warriors.
The Yezidi forces successfully overtook large swathes of territory, including the Barwari region, from the Ottoman and allied Sunni Kurdish forces. Although the Ottomans were eventually able to send reinforcements to Diyarbekir and push the Yezidis back, the campaign cost them heavily.
The staggering casualties forced the Ottomans to the negotiating table. As part of the peace agreement, the Ottomans were forced to withdraw their troops from the volatile Hakkari region, resulting in a crucial period of peace and harmony in Bahdinan. Thus, Ezidi Mirza’s violent death ultimately achieved a posthumous victory, securing the safety and stability he had fought for his entire life.
Ezidi Mirza Hesen remains an eternal figure in Yezidi sagas and folklore. His life story is a testament to the fact that heroism is often a direct response to immense suffering. He was the orphan who became a scholar, the scholar who became a soldier, the soldier who became a hero, and the governor who used his power to settle a debt with destiny. In the collective memory of his people, he is remembered not just as a leader, but as the Defiant Pasha—the man who dared to challenge the largest empire in the world and, even in death, forced them to yield.
His legacy is an enduring symbol of Yezidi resilience and the continuous, often tragic, pursuit of self-determination in a land defined by ancient empires and endless conflict.
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