The Greatest Military Genius in Kurdish History: Shirkuh (Shergo)

(Note: My article titled "Anatomy of My 2007 Iğdır Independent Candidacy" was removed from publication after the newspaper owner, Akay Aktaş Hoca, received threats. To the cowards, I say this: If you have the courage, call me (0543 901 38 57) and threaten me! There was an aphorism embroidered on silk fabric above the tent of the Kurdish Sultan Saladin Ayyubi: "Saladin is a servant condemned to death, like everyone else." I am the spiritual grandson of Sultan Saladin. Never forget this, you fake political mafia remnants! With respect.)

Dear Readers:

Every tribe, every nation has a military hero. This is a very natural and understandable thing. Human history has been shaped by wars, reaching the present day. It continues its path with wars even now. My aim is not to prove that the military leader of one tribe or nation is superior to another.

From the perspective of Kurdish history, the greatest military genius is Shirkuh. There is neither a serious article nor a book about such an important figure. The reason for this is the prominence of Sultan Saladin's name. Let us not forget that Sultan Saladin learned the intricacies of the art of war from his uncle, Shirkuh. Yet, Shirkuh possessed a talent for war strategy on par with Alexander the Great of Macedon and Hannibal of Carthage.

WHO IS SHIRKUH (SHERGO)?

First, allow me to explain the meaning of the name "Shirkuh": As you know, Kurdish and Persian belong to the same language group. Therefore, common words are quite numerous. The word "Şîr" means "Lion"; the word "Kûh" means "Mountain". Thus, it is possible to translate the word "Şîrkûh" as "Lion of the Mountain(s)". In Arabic, the equivalent of "Lion" is "Asad". For this reason, Arab historians called him "Asad ad-Din", meaning "Lion of the Faith", while Europeans referred to him as "Siraconus", a Latin word, in their works.

Shirkuh was born in the city of Dvin, which is now within the borders of Armenia. His father Shadi and grandfather Marwan served the Shaddadid Kurdish State, which covered a large part of present-day Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Governor of Baghdad, Bihruz, appointed Shadi as governor of Tikrit, a city now within the borders of Iraq. Shadi and his two sons, Najm ad-Din Ayyub and Shirkuh, settled in Tikrit. When Shadi passed away, Najm ad-Din Ayyub took over the position. Shirkuh had a feud with the Christians in the region, even killing a few of them. Consequently, Bihruz dismissed Najm ad-Din Ayyub from the governorship of Tikrit. The two brothers set off for Mosul one night in 1137. That night, Saladin, the greatest hero of the Islamic world, was born. The two brothers had previously gone to the Turkish Atabeg Imad ad-Din Zengi, who had given them refuge and assistance, and entered his service.

After Imad ad-Din Zengi was killed, his son Sultan Nur ad-Din succeeded him and captured Aleppo. Due to his outstanding bravery, Shirkuh became his greatest assistant. Nur ad-Din appointed Shirkuh as a General. When he captured Damascus, Najm ad-Din Ayyub was also appointed as the fortress commander.

Without going into too much detail, I want to mention an important event that brought Shirkuh onto the stage of history: In those years, there was the Fatimid State in Egypt, which belonged to the Ismaili sect. One day, the Turkish Sultan Nur ad-Din tasked the Kurdish General Shirkuh with conquering Egypt. Shirkuh made his preparations before setting out.

His army consisted of two parts: a 10,000-strong Kurdish cavalry unit, entirely composed of Kurds and named 'Asadiyya' after Shirkuh's Arabic name, and an infantry unit consisting of Turkmens and a small number of Arabs.

Shirkuh set out on the campaign, taking his nephew Saladin with him. Shirkuh gave Saladin duties, helping him gain experience.

Throughout human history, the horse has played an important role in wars. Shirkuh taught a new combat technique to his Kurdish cavalry unit, which he named "Asadiyya". In battle, the Asadiyya cavalry unit would suddenly split into four separate columns; two would attack the enemy from the flanks, while the other two would perform an encircling maneuver, attacking the enemy from behind. Thus, only infantry units remained in front of the enemy. With this tactic, Shirkuh won all his battles, eventually conquering Egypt and becoming Vizier.

Shirkuh was short, stocky, and overweight. He was one-eyed due to a cataract in one eye. He loved to eat and drink. At the same time, he was resilient enough to endure hunger and thirst for weeks. In short, he was an intelligent, brave, cautious, and dignified statesman. He was generous. He built madrasas and mosques. Two months after becoming vizier, he suffered a heart attack and died from overeating at a feast he gave (March 23, 1169). He was first buried in Cairo, and in 1183, his tomb was moved to Medina.

William of Tyre describes Shirkuh, referring to the 1163 campaign, as follows:

«A skillful and energetic warrior, eager for victory and with extensive experience in military affairs. Shirkuh, who was generous far beyond his inherited resources, was much loved by his followers because of this generosity. He was small, very fat and stocky. He had already collapsed over the years. Although not from a deeply rooted family, he had become rich and had risen by merit from his modest inheritance to the rank of prince. He had a cataract in one eye. He was a very resilient man under difficulties, one who suffered hunger and thirst with a calmness quite unusual for that period of life.»

His nephew, Sultan Saladin, became the Vizier of Egypt in his place.

THE STRANGE CYCLE OF HISTORY

Sultan Saladin kept the Kurdish Asadiyya Cavalry Unit by his side, just like his uncle. He emerged victorious from all battles.

After Sultan Saladin's death, the Ayyubid State did not last long and collapsed. The "Asadiyya Cavalry Unit" continued its existence with slave soldiers brought from the Caucasus. This time, the cavalry unit was referred to as "Mamluk".

When Napoleon attacked Egypt, the "Mamluk" Cavalry Unit defeated Napoleon. Napoleon, admiring the cavalry unit's tactics, tasked his brother-in-law Joachim Murat with forming a similar cavalry unit.

During Napoleon's Russian campaign, Murat's Cavalry Unit displayed great heroism. This time, the Tsar wanted a similar cavalry unit to be established. Thus, the famous Russian Cossack Cavalry Unit emerged. Soon after, Sultan Abdülhamid II, imitating the Russian Cossack Cavalry Unit, established the Kurdish Hamidiye Regiments.

In short, the war method and cavalry unit of the Kurdish General Shirkuh, centuries later, circled back to the Kurds, but having become a copy of a copy of a copy, it lost its content and essence.

(Note: I quickly penned this article so that my column would not be empty. I apologize!)

ANECDOTE… ANECDOTE… ANECDOTE…

"I RAN DOWN ITS BATTERY"

(Inspired by the narration of Mr. Mehmet Bayrak, the author.)

One day, a villager came down to the city. He wanted to light his cigarette but had no fire. He approached a well-dressed city dweller, showing his cigarette:

"Excuse me, do you happen to have a match or a lighter?"

The city dweller handed the villager his flashlight:

"Light it with this!"

The villager turned on the flashlight, struggled constantly, but couldn't light the cigarette. He struggled and struggled… The city gentleman, meanwhile, was smiling with pleasure under his mustache, enjoying himself. Finally, the flashlight's battery ran out, and the villager returned the flashlight to the city dweller.

The city dweller met his friends at the coffeehouse and recounted the flashlight prank he played on the villager. The city friends burst into laughter at the villager's foolishness.

The villager returned to his village in the evening and went to the village coffeehouse. His friends, curious, asked:

"What's new in the city? Tell us!"

"These city people are truly fools! I asked one man for fire to light my cigarette, and he handed me his flashlight. I realized he was making fun of me! So, I pretended to be very ignorant and tried to light my cigarette with the flashlight, keeping him standing there and running down his flashlight's battery until it died."

The villagers burst into laughter at the trap the foolish city dweller had fallen into.