The Hamidiye regiments (literally meaning "belonging to Hamid",Balakian. Burning Tigris, p. 44. full official name Hamidiye Hafif Süvari Alayları, Hamidiye Light Cavalry Regiments) were well-armed, irregular, mainly Sunni Kurdish but also Turkish, Circassian,Palmer, Alan, Verfall und Untergang des Osmanischen Reiches, Heyne, München 1994 (engl. Original: London 1992), pp. 249, 258, 389. .Van Bruinessen, Martin. Agha, Shaikh and State – The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan. London: Zed Books, 1992, p. 185. Van Bruinessen mentions the "occasional" recruiting of a Turkish tribe (the Qarapapakh) Turkmen,Shaw, Stanford J. and Ezel Kural Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977, vol. 2, p. 246. Yörük,Öhrig, Bruno, Meinungen und Materialien zur Geschichte der Karakeçili Anatoliens, in: Matthias S. Laubscher (Ed.), Münchener Ethnologische Abhandlungen, 20, Akademischer Verlag, München 1998 (Edition Anacon), zugleich Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität zu München, München 1996, p. 36, . U. a. mit Verweis auf Ş. Beysanoğlu, Ziya Gökalp´in İlk Yazı Hayatı – 1894–1909 [Ziya Gökalp's First Writing Life, 1894–1909], Istanbul 1956, pp. 164–168.Vgl. deutschsprachige Wikipedia, Artikel "Yörük", Abschnitt "Herkunft und Einwanderung nach Kleinasien", Versions-ID 31139363 and Arab cavalry formations that operated in the southeastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Established in 1891 by Sultan Abdul Hamid II and named after him, the regiments were intended to be modeled after the Cossacks and were supposedly tasked with patrolling the Russo–Ottoman frontier. However, the Hamidiye regiments were frequently used by the Ottoman authorities to harass and assault Armenians living in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire (Western Armenia in some sources).Hovannisian, Richard G. "The Armenian Question in the Ottoman Empire, 1876–1914" in The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume II: Foreign Dominion to Statehood: The Fifteenth Century to the Twentieth Century. Richard G. Hovannisian (ed.) New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997, p. 217. .

A major role in the Hamidian massacres of 1894–1896 has been often ascribed to the Hamidiye regiments, particularly during the bloody suppression of the revolt of the Armenians of Sasun (1894).Verheij, Jelle (1998). Les Frères de terre et d'eau: sur le role des Kurdes dans les massacres arméniens de 1894–1896, in: Bruinessen, M. van & Blau, Joyce, eds., Islam des Kurdes special issue of Cahiers de l'Autre IslamJongerden, Joost; Verheij, Jelle, eds. (2012-08-03). "Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870–1915": p. 94

After Sultan Abdul Hamid II's reign, the cavalry was not dissolved but given a new name: the Tribal Light Cavalry Regiments.*Klein, Janet. The Margins of Empire: Kurdish Militias in the Ottoman Tribal Zone. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2011.

Although initially envisioned as a modernizing step in tribal-military integration, the Hamidiye regiments often became a source of tension. Their semi-autonomous status led to frequent clashes with rival tribes and conflicts with local populations. While the regiments were disbanded during the early years of the Young Turk period (post-1908), their legacy influenced later Kurdish tribal politics and paramilitary models.Selim Deringil, The Well-Protected Domains: Ideology and the Legitimation of Power in the Ottoman Empire 1876–1909, London: I.B. Tauris, 1998.

The Hamidiye operated mostly in the provinces of Erzurum, Van, Bitlis, Diyarbakır, and Mosul.Mehmet Saray, The Kurdish Tribes and the Ottoman Administration (1847–1914), İstanbul: ISIS Press, 2004.

Historical background Sultan Abdul Hamid II's reign has the reputation of being "the most despotic and centralized era in modern Ottoman History".Stephen Duguid, The Politics of Unity: Hamidian Policy of Eastern Anatolia, 139 Sultan Abdul Hamid II is also considered the last sultan to have full control over the territories of the Ottoman Empire. His reign struggled with the culmination of 75 years of change throughout the empire and an opposing reaction to that change. Abdul Hamid II was particularly concerned with the centralization of the empire.Dr. Bayram Kodaman, The Hamidiye Light Cavalry Regiments (Abdulhamid II and Eastern Anatolian Tribes) His efforts to centralize the Sublime Porte were not unheard of among other sultans. The Ottoman Empire's local provinces had more control over their areas than the central government. Sultan Abdul Hamid II's foreign relations came from a "policy of non-commitment."M.Sükrü Hanioglu, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, 129. The sultan understood the fragility of the Ottoman military, and the Empire's weaknesses of its domestic control. Pan-Islamism became Sultan Abdülhamid's solution to the empire's loss of identity and power.M.Sükrü Hanioglu, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, 130. His efforts to promote Pan-Islamism were for the most part unsuccessful because of the large non-Muslim population, and the European influence onto the empire.Dr. Bayram Kodaman, The Hamidiye Light Cavalry Regiments (Abdulhamid II and Eastern Anatolian Tribes) Abdul Hamid II's policies essentially isolated the Ottoman Empire, which further aided in its decline. Several of the elite who sought a new constitution and reform for the empire were forced to flee to Europe. After the Treaty of Berlin (1878), the Ottoman Empire began to contract and it lost certain territories. New groups of radical uprisings began to threaten the power of the Ottoman Empire.

Creation of Hamidiye cavalry

The Hamidiye regiments were established in 1891 following a decree published in November 1890. There are several reasons advanced as to why the Hamidiye light cavalry was created. The establishment of the Hamidiye was in one part a response to the Russian threat, although some scholars believe that the central reason was to suppress Armenian socialist/nationalist revolutionaries.Summary of Janet Klein's Power in the Periphery: The Hamidiye Light Cavalry and the Struggle over Ottoman Kurdistan, 1890-1914. After the Russo-Ottoman war in 1877-1878 the six eastern provinces were left under the control of several non-state actors with spheres of interest of Kurdish tribes and Armenian revolutionaries. The Armenian revolutionaries posed a threat because they were seen as disruptive, and they could work with the Russians against the Ottoman Empire. The first Armenian revolutionary party was the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party. The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party was made up of Armenian university students whose aim was "to create an independent Armenian state." The Hamidiye Light Cavalry was created to "combat local and cross-border challenges to Ottoman authority."Joost Jongerden; Joost Jongerden, Jelle Verheij (ed.), Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1975, p. 62 The biggest patron of the Hamidiye was Abdul Hamid II. They were named after him and under the direct order of him and his brother-in-law Zeki Pasha,Jongerden, Joost; Verheij, Jelle, eds. (2012-08-03). "Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1915": p. 61 the Circassian commander of the 4th Army based in Erzincan. Zeki Pasha was given the task of collecting sufficient taxes in order to recruit Kurds into the Hamidiye. If one was a member of the Hamidiye and a crime was committed against him, the government would take immediate action to punish the criminals.Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 69. The plunder, murder, and theft that the Hamidiye carried out went unpunished, but if a non-Hamidiye group did similar actions they were punished. Other groups who associated themselves with the Hamidiye received benefits as well, they rose in power with the money and land they acquired illegally. Abdul Hamid II. wanted to create a relationship of commitment and loyalty with the Kurds that were chosen to make up the Hamidiye cavalry.Manfred Berg, Simon Wendt, Globalizing Lynching History: Vigilantism and Extralegal Punishment from an International Perspective, 127. The Hamidiye was divided into groups according to age: the ibtidaiye (ages 17–20), the nizamiye (age 20–32), and the redif (age 32–40). An Ottoman diplomat, close advisor to the sultan, and contributor to the creation of the Hamidiye Light Cavalry was Şakir Pasa, was put in charge of the Hamidiye following the massacres against Armenians in 1895–1896. The Kurdish Hamidiye commanders were given exceptional rights to negotiate with the Sultan. Notable commanders were Ibrahim Pasha, or Kör Hüseyin Pasha. Over time the Russians forged relationships with Armenian revolutionaries, and with Kurdish tribal leaders.

The Ottoman Empire understood the threat this created and is in large part why they chose the Kurds to make-up the Hamidiye. The Kurdish population could potentially unite with the Russians, but with the formation of the Hamidiye they would protect the frontiers of the Ottoman Empire. Some argue that the creation of the Hamidiye "further antagonized the Armenian population" and it worsened the very conflict they were created to prevent.Janet Klein, Joost Jongerden, Jelle Verheij, Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1975, 152

The Hamidiye shaped the "social, economic, and political transformations" in Kurdish societies.Janet Klein, Joost Jongerden, Jelle Verheij, Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1975, 154 The Hamidiye received several benefits for their participation. They were able to seize much of the lands they occupied, whether lawful or not.Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 68. The Hamidiye were protected during their annual migrations (periods when they took care of their livestock). They were supplied with the most advanced weapons from the state, and were given armed escorts. The Hamidiye stole money from the villages they plundered without fear of government sanction.Janet Klein, Joost Jongerden, Jelle Verheij, Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1975, 160 The plunder, murder, and theft that the Hamidiye carried out went unpunished, but if a non-Hamidiye group did similar actions they were punished.Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 70. Other groups who associated themselves with the Hamidiye received benefits as well, they rose in power with the money and land they acquired illegally.Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 75.

The Hamidiye were not held responsible for their actions. They were assured freedom of action in raids that involved non-Hamidiye parties. The Hamidiye obtained wealth illegally with secret help from the Ottoman government. The corruption, chaos, and destruction caused by the Hamidiye is a direct cause of their lack of order and control. No guidelines in the Hamidiye cavalry led some of its members to not be a part of the indulgences that came with the corruption. Ottoman soldiers described the some Hamidiye as "miserable, hungry, and sometimes poorly clothed."Klein, The Margins of the Empire, 87. The Hamidiye'''s performance was due to their "lack of professionalism superimposed on an emotionally charged mission requiring highly disciplined troops."Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913, 14 The cavalry was not prepared for all they were intended to do because they were not trained properly and based their raids on anti-Armenian ideologies. These factors led to the slow disintegration of the Hamidiye.

Armenian and Assyrian genocide