In the late 10th century, the Kurdish Humaydi tribe had their winter pastures in the Jazira region and clashed with forces of
Buyid ruler
Adud al-Dawla. During the
Ottoman Empire (1299–1922), large
Kurdish-speaking tribal groups both settled in and were deported to areas of northern Syria from
Anatolia. The largest of these tribal groups was the Reshwan confederation, which was initially based in
Adıyaman Province but eventually also settled throughout Anatolia. The Milli confederation, mentioned in 1518 onward, was the most powerful group and dominated the entire northern
Syrian steppe in the second half of the 18th century. Danish writer
C. Niebuhr who
traveled to Jazira in 1764 recorded five nomadic Kurdish tribes (Dukurie, Kikie, Schechchanie, Mullie and Aschetie) and six Arab tribes (Tay, Kaab, Baggara, Geheish, Diabat and Sherabeh). According to Niebuhr, the Kurdish tribes were settled near
Mardin in Turkey, and paid the governor of that city for the right to graze their herds in the Syrian Jazira. The Kurdish tribes gradually settled in villages and cities and are still present in Jazira (modern Syria's
Hasakah Governorate). The Ottoman province of
Diyarbekir, which included parts of modern-day northern
Syria, was called
Eyalet-i Kurdistan during the
Tanzimat reforms period (1839–67). Until the 19th century, Kurdistan did not include the lands of Syrian Jazira in some books. According to McDowall, Kurds slightly outnumbered Arabs in Jazira in 1918. The demographics of Northern Syria saw a huge shift in the early part of the 20th century when the
Ottoman Empire (
Turks) conducted
ethnic cleansing of its Christian Armenian and Assyrian populations. Some
Kurdish tribes joined in the atrocities committed against them. Many Assyrians fled to Syria during the genocide and settled mainly in the Jazira area. Until the 19th century, Kurdistan did not include the lands of Syrian Jazira in some books. It is estimated that 25,000 Kurds fled at this time to Syria. While many of the Kurds in Syria have been there for centuries, waves of Kurds fled their homes in Turkey and settled in Syria, where they were granted citizenship by the
French mandate authorities. In the late 1930s a small but vigorous separatist movement emerged in Qamishli. With some support from French Mandate officials, the movement actively lobbied for autonomy direct under French rule and separation from Syria on the ground that majority of the inhabitants were not Arabs. Syrian nationalists saw the movement as a profound threat to their eventual rule. The Syrian nationalists allied with local
Arab Shammal tribal leader and Kurdish tribes. They together attacked the Christian movement in many towns and villages. Local Kurdish tribes who were allies of
Shammar tribe sacked and burned Assyrian town of Amuda. In 1941, the Assyrian community of
al-Malikiyah was subjected to a vicious assault. Even though the assault failed, Assyrians felt threatened and left in large numbers, and the immigration of Kurds from Turkey to the area converted al-Malikiya,
al-Darbasiyah and
Amuda to Kurdish-majority cities. According to the French report to the
League of Nations in 1937, the population of Jazira consisted of 82,000 Kurdish villagers, 42,000 Muslim Arab pastoralists, and 32,000 Christian town dwellers (Assyrians and Armenians). Between 1932 and 1939, a Kurdish-Christian autonomy movement emerged in Jazira. The demands of the movement were autonomous status similar to the
Sanjak of Alexandretta, the protection of French troops, promotion of Kurdish language in schools and hiring of Kurdish officials. The movement was led by Michel Dome, mayor of Qamishli, Hanna Hebe, general vicar for the Syriac-Catholic Patriarch of Jazira, and the Kurdish notable Hajo Agha. Some Arab tribes supported the autonomists while others sided with the central government. In the legislative elections of 1936, autonomist candidates won all the parliamentary seats in Jazira and Jarabulus, while the nationalist Arab movement known as the National Bloc won the elections in the rest of Syria. After victory, the National Bloc pursued an aggressive policy toward the autonomists. The Jazira governor appointed by Damascus intended to disarm the population and encourage the settlement of Arab farmers from Aleppo, Homs and Hama in Jazira. In July 1937, armed conflict broke out between the Syrian police and the supporters of the movement. As a result, the governor and a significant portion of the police force fled the region and the rebels established local autonomous administration in Jazira. In August 1937 a number of Assyrians in Amuda were killed by a pro-Damascus Kurdish chief. In September 1938, Hajo Agha chaired a general conference in Jazira and appealed to France for self-government. The new French High Commissioner, Gabriel Puaux, dissolved parliament and created autonomous administrations for Jabal Druze, Latakia and Jazira in 1939 which lasted until 1943. == Politics and administration ==