The Tragic End of General Alexander Iyas

This article recounts the life and tragic death of General Alexander Iyas, a Finnish-born Russian general and diplomat who served in Persia (Iran) in the early 20th century, and his connection to the author's friend Ersin Hakan.

Dear Readers:

One of the most beautiful things in the world, perhaps the foremost, is to acquire sincere, genuine, and devoted friends. If you don't have a friend or friends you can rely on, I'm sorry to say, you are as good as dead. I mean to say that having a good friend is the embodiment of the saying, "Worth the world!" in the human soul.

In this transient world, I have made friends in various countries. With most, I have deepened and strengthened my friendships by meeting them face-to-face and sharing life experiences. With some, even though I have never met them, I have become friends through correspondence and phone calls, by the coincidences of life. One of these exceptional friends is my brother Ersin Hakan, who lives with his family in Switzerland.

A GOOD MAN, ERSIN HAKAN

Ersin Hakan

(Brief biography: Ersin Hakan was born on April 12, 1971, in the village of Karahan, Arpaçay district of Kars, into a Karapapak -Terekeme- family. After graduating from the History Teaching Department of Amasya Education Faculty at Ondokuz Mayıs University, he began his teaching career. He worked as a History Teacher in various high schools in Kars. In 2005, he served as a lecturer in the Atatürk's Principles and History of Revolution department at Sakarya University. He is currently continuing his scientific research in Switzerland. I wish my brother Ersin Hakan, who is married and a father of four children—two daughters and two sons—many long and healthy years.)

In a previous article, I introduced my brother Ersin Hakan's latest work, a book titled "A Short History of Kurds and Kars Kurds in Ottoman Documents." To honor Ersin Hakan, I would like to present the cover and back cover text of his latest book to my readers once again.

Back Cover Text

Yusuf Ziya (Koçoğlu), the Deputy of Bitlis, addressed the delegates from the rostrum of the First Assembly as follows:

"Europeans say: The largest and most numerous of the minorities living in Turkey are the Kurds. I am a Kurd, son of a Kurd. Therefore, as a member of the Kurds, I assure you that the Kurds want nothing. (Applause) We Kurds, long ago, trampled underfoot all the rights and laws given to us by Europe with the rag of Sèvres, and returned them to those who wished to grant us rights in every sense. Just as we fought on the El-Cezire Front. (Applause) Just as we shed our blood with the Turks, we did not separate from them, and we did not want to separate, and we do not want to. (Applause) Therefore, as I conclude my speech, I request from our Delegation that when minorities are discussed, they state and assert that the Kurds have no demands whatsoever, and that what I have said here translates the opinion of the Kurds..."

(Note: Yusuf Ziya Bey, the Deputy of Bitlis, who uttered these words from the rostrum of the First Assembly in 1923, was tried in Bitlis as a member of the Azadi Organization and executed by firing squad on April 15, 1925. Mücahit)

(Back cover continues)

"In this study titled 'A Short History of Kurds and Kars Kurds in Ottoman Documents,' an attempt has been made to shed light on a history that has remained in darkness or is being forgotten, based on archival documents.

The book also touches upon the historical beliefs, sociological, and ethnological positions of the Kurds.

Based on Ottoman archival documents, the lives of the Kurds and their relations with states are examined through regional studies.

The struggles in the Kars region (Ardahan-Iğdır-Kars) during the Ottoman period, and the relations of the tribes and tribal leaders with states, are presented impartially and plainly."

THE BOOK SENT BY ERSIN HAKAN?

It was a few days ago. My brother Ersin, with his usual generosity and bond of friendship, sent me a photocopy of a book he thought might interest me, which he obtained from an archive in Switzerland. I read the book, written in English, with great interest and pleasure. The book, which left an impression on me like "a film within a film," also contained old black and white photographs that soothed my soul. Sometimes, a beautifully taken old photograph is more valuable than a thousand-page book. Every picture in this book held such value, drawing me into the magical, mysterious life of the past. I wanted to share these beautiful feelings with you.

Book cover (Pictures from the Last Game / Persia from a Russian Lens 1901-1914)

WHO IS JOHN TCHALENKO?

The author of the book, John Tchalenko, is of Finnish origin. Within his family, he often heard the name of his mother's uncle, General Iyas. All he knew was that his great-uncle lived in Persia for about 20 years in the early 20th century as a General of Tsarist Russia and never returned.

Such is fate! John Tchalenko becomes an earthquake engineer. As you know, Iran is an unfortunate country located on fault lines, frequently experiencing earthquakes. John Tchalenko goes to Iran. He discovers new fault lines. It was at such a time that he heard the name "General Iyas." He asked himself, "Could this be my mother's uncle, General Iyas?" In his research at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he realized that the name he heard was indeed his mother's uncle, General Iyas. He decided to deepen his research.

He began to gather information about his great-uncle. Eventually, he realized that the most important information was stored in Soviet and Tsarist Russian diplomatic and military archives. However, research in these archives was forbidden. His applications were rejected. One day, he received news that he could conduct archival work. Joyfully, he pursued the traces of his great-uncle in the Soviet and Tsarist Russian archives. One door opened another, and eventually, everything came to light. John Tchalenko, with a great sense of loyalty, collected the documents and pictures he had into a book and published it.

THREE "RUSSIANS", THREE DIPLOMATS, THREE KURDOLOGISTS

To better understand General Iyas's mission and the characteristics of his era, we need to discuss a longing and characteristic of Tsarist Russia:

With the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1829, Tsarist Russia settled in the South Caucasus (present-day Georgia, Armenia, and Northern Azerbaijan). The northern part of Azerbaijan remained under Tsarist Russia, and the southern part in Persia.

You know, in high school history classes, there was a phrase often told to us about Tsarist Russia, almost a cliché: "Tsarist Russia's greatest ambition was, on one hand, to seize Istanbul and the Dardanelles, and on the other, to reach warm seas."

Tsarist Russia never gave up on this goal. It wanted to reach the Persian Gulf through a corridor connecting Western Persia with Eastern Ottoman Empire. For this reason, the cities of Tabriz, Urmia, and Mahabad in Persia were important. It opened Russian Consulates in these cities. It also established Consulates in the Ottoman Empire in the cities of Batumi, Erzurum (Kars, Ardahan, Iğdır were already under Russian rule). The Consuls appointed by Tsarist Russia to these cities were not ordinary diplomats. On the contrary, they were highly educated individuals with a deep capacity for research on the language, religion, history, and folklore of the local people, and a particular interest in languages. Tsarist Russia, unlike the Ottoman Empire, adopted as an imperial strategy to thoroughly research the population of the territories it intended to occupy.

It was with such an understanding that, in the same time period, Basil Nikitin served in Urmia; Alexander Jaba in Erzurum (in the 1850s); and Vladimir Minorsky in the Consulates of Tabriz and Tehran. (I put the word RUSSIAN in quotation marks in the title because Alexander Jaba and Basil Nikitin were of Polish origin; Vladimir Minorsky was of Russian origin.)

The most important characteristic of these three diplomats, considered the founders of contemporary Kurdology, was that they had learned 7-8 languages, especially Kurmanji, as if they were their native tongues. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, these three diplomats, who emigrated to Paris, carried out very important studies, especially on the Kurds. All three diplomats are still honored today as the founders of contemporary Kurdology, and their books are considered reference books and sources.

MINORSKY AND GENERAL IYAS'S FRIENDSHIP

Orientalist and Kurdologist Vladimir Minorsky

In 1901, a serious plague epidemic broke out in the Khorasan region of Persia. A Quarantine Corridor was established to control the plague. Tsarist Russia assigned General Iyas to this task. General Iyas continued this duty until 1911.

While Minorsky was serving at the Tehran Embassy (1911), he decided that a diplomat needed to be appointed to the city of Savuçbulak (Mahabad). It was during this search that he met General Iyas. Basil Nikitin, Alexandre Jaba, and Vladimir Minorsky were of diplomatic background, but General Iyas was of military background. Minorsky appointed General Iyas as Consul to the city of Mahabad as a diplomat.

Mahabad is located in a valley south of Lake Urmia. The city's inhabitants speak Sorani. The majority of the population belongs to the Sunni Shafi'i sect. Since Mahabad was an important city for Iranian Kurds, Minorsky made such a move to draw the Kurdish tribes there to the side of Tsarist Russia. The footsteps of World War I were being heard, and oil regions were causing great rivalry between the Ottoman Empire, Persia, Tsarist Russia, and Britain.

WHO IS ALEXANDER IYAS?

Born in 1869, Alexander Iyas was of Finnish origin. Iyas joined the Tsar's Lithuanian Regiment. In 1891, he had a brief assignment in Turkestan as a second lieutenant. When the plague epidemic broke out in the Khorasan region, he was appointed head of the unit in Turbat-i Haydari in 1901.

Upon Vladimir Minorsky's recommendation, Vladimir Iyas was appointed to the Tabriz Russian Consulate in 1912, and immediately thereafter to the Mahabad Consulate. In those years, Mahabad was a town of 9,000 inhabitants.

General Iyas served on border demarcation commissions. Photography had long been his special interest. General Iyas developed a keen interest in languages. He spoke Russian, Swedish, Finnish (his native language), French, English, Persian, Urdu, Pashto, Turkish, and Kurmanji perfectly. Before long, he became one of the important figures determining Tsarist Russia's strategy in Persia.

He carried out political and diplomatic work among Kurdish tribes in Iranian Kurdistan. He ensured that Kurdish tribes within the Ottoman Empire's borders were brought under Persian influence. He reconciled feuding Kurdish tribes and consolidated his authority.

World War I was about to begin. It was at such a time that a commission was established to redefine the Ottoman-Persian border. While the commission continued its work, World War I broke out. As is known, Turkey entered the war alongside Germany against Russia.

Ottoman armies, along with Kurdish tribes, attacked Mahabad. General Iyas withdrew Russian officials from Mahabad. However, unfortunately, he had forgotten some personal belongings that were very important to him in his home.

General Iyas returned to Mahabad alone. He fell into the hands of Kurdish tribal forces (Hamidiye Regiments) on December 29, 1914. His head was cut off. It was paraded as a trophy on the tip of a spear. Russian forces recaptured Mahabad on February 2, 1915. They found and secured General Iyas's personal belongings but could not find his body.

General Iyas was extremely fond of photography. He meticulously archived photographs of excellent quality, some of which would be impossible to take even today, using his own developed methods.

Now, I leave you with General Iyas's photographs and a mysterious page from an era:

Alexander Iyas (1 year old) with his mother and father (1870)

Alexander Iyas, Reserve Officer student (Helsinki)

Alexander Iyas (far left) with Cossack guards

Alexander Iyas (far right) in Ashgabat (1899)

Alexander Iyas (far left) 1901

Russian officials at the quarantine post on the Iran-Afghanistan border (1901)

Silk Road caravan merchants in the city of Turbat-i Haydari (1901)

Alexander Iyas (fourth from right) with Cossack guards

Ahmet Shah (12 years old) 1909 (Qajar Dynasty)

Tabriz

Karapapak falconers

Karapapak falconers

American missionary women

Iranian state officials (1912)

Kurdish tribal forces in the city of Mahabad (1913)

Iranian Cossack forces organized by the Russians (1913)

Turkish border soldiers (1913)

Turkish border post (1913)

Members of the Surçi tribe (Leader Kerim Han in the middle)

A Kurdish house

Surçi Kurds

Mamesh and Heylani tribal leaders together

Ottoman-Persian border demarcation Russian commission members: Alexander Iyas (third from left), Vladimir Minorsky (fourth from left) and his wife Mrs. Minorsky (1914)