Dersim Rebellion (1877)

The Dersim Rebellion (1877) refers to a series of local uprisings, refusals of military support, and attacks on Ottoman positions carried out by several tribes in the Dersim region (modern Tunceli Province). These events unfolded in a period marked by Russian diplomatic activity in Eastern Anatolia and longstanding tensions between Dersim’s semi-autonomous tribal structure and the Ottoman central administration.^[2]

Prior to the 1877-1878 war, Russian officers and military observers assessed that the Kurdish and Kızılbaş communities of Dersim would not assist the Ottoman state in case of conflict. Russian reports suggested that the tribes were unlikely to side with the Ottomans and might even act to Russia’s benefit if the Empire gained ground.^[3]

In the months leading up to the war, Russian agents intensified their activities in Eastern Anatolia. Several accounts state that local notables from Dersim including the kaymakam of Mazgirt, Nafiz Bey, and the notable Munzur Bey visited the Russian Consulate in Erzurum and openly declared that Dersim would support Russia if a war broke out..^[4][5]

Russian military intelligence also conducted studies on Dersim’s tribes and developed plans on how the population could be used in a possible Russo–Ottoman confrontation.^[3]

When Russian armies advanced toward Erzurum, the Ottoman government requested auxiliary support from Dersim tribes. Dersim Tribes refused this. The kaymakam of Kuzucan, Sheikh Hüseyin Bey, reportedly stated that Dersim would not assist the Ottoman army and could not risk hostility with Russia.

As Ottoman forces withdrew from certain posts in Dersim, local tribes occupied or destroyed abandoned fortifications barracks (kışlas) in Hozat and Mazgirt were looted and burned^[6][7] by local groups resisting state authority.^[3]

The Dersim Kurds would later uprising again in 1885, 1892, 1907, 1911, and 1916.