The Principality of Ezdikhan () was a Yazidi principality centered in the Abagha (modern Çaldıran of Turkey and Chaldoran of Iran) region of eastern Anatolia from the late 16th century until the early 19th century. It was governed by the Kok Agha (Axaleri) lineage of the Mahmudi tribal union and exercised authority over a territory traditionally said to comprise 366 villages in the Van vilayet as well as several market towns such as Mahmudiya, Turdchin, Sakimanis and Kurkit. Operating within the Ottoman–Safavid frontier zone, the principality combined tribal leadership with territorial administration under nominal Ottoman suzerainty.Mossaki (2024)
The term Ezdikhan (Êzdîxan), meaning "House of the Yezidis", was applied to dominions of this principality under the rule of Kok Agha family to the north and east of Van. It was characteristic for Yazidi rulers to refer to their territories with a certain level of independence as Ezdikhan (Êzdîxan) or Ezidkhan (Êzîdxan). This was also the name of the Yazidi principality in Sheikhan.
History
Background & early history
The founders of the Ezdikhan principality, known as the Kok Agha lineage or the Axaleri (Aglar/Agalari), were a Yazidi noble lineage of the Mehemdî (Mahmudi) tribal union which had already founded the principality of Mahmudi in eastern Anatolia. Beginnings of the Mahmudi principality trace back to the early 15th century, during the rule of the Qara Koyunlu confederation. According to the chronicle Sharafnama by Sharafkhan Bidlisi, in which a chapter is devoted to the Mahmudi princes, the Mahmudi originally came from Syria or Jezira. A certain Shaykh Mahmud received the districts of Ashut and Khoshab as a hereditary fief from Qara Yusuf (r. 1389–1420). Furthermore, his son Hussain Beg received the Albak district, which had been taken from the Hakkari rulers. The Mahmudi tribe at this stage was Yazidi in religious affiliation. The early rulers governed mountainous districts east of Lake Van, controlling strategic routes between Anatolia and northwestern Iran.Mossaki (2024) p.133
In recounting the lineage of Shaykh Mahmud, Sharafkhan Bidlisi notes that Hasan bin Iwaz Beg bin Mir Hamid "eliminated the Yazidi heresy" within the Mahmudi tribe, implying that prior to the rule of Hasan Beg, around the mid-16th century, the Mahmudi were entirely Yazidi in religious affiliation. Sharafkhan further records that Hasan Beg later sought refuge at the court of Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576), who appointed him governor of Mahmudi and granted him control of the fortress of Khoshab, an event dated by scholar Açikyildiz-Şengül to approximately 1550.Mossaki (2024) p.134
This period, during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520–1566), marked the consolidation and growing strength of the Mahmudi tribe along the Ottoman–Safavid frontier. The 17th-century traveler Evliya Çelebi refers to the tribe on several occasions, noting that the fortress of Maku was entrusted to a Mahmudi Bey after his submission to Suleiman I. He also records that Mahmudi Beys held Malazgirt and describes the tribe as a formidable military force in eastern Anatolia.
By the mid-16th century, while Khoshab itself had come under the control of the islamized Mahmudi branch, the surrounding districts continued to be inhabited by the Yazidi Mahmudi population. As a result, in the second half of the 16th century, the Mahmudi tribe underwent a religious division when the faction that remained adherent to the Yazidi faith broke away from the Khoshab-based branch and relocated northward to the Abagha plain under the leadership of the aristocratic Kok Agha family (Axaleri), who came to be the founders and hereditary rulers of the Yazidi branch of Mahmudi principality centered in Abagha, which at its height comprised 366 villages and several towns with marketplaces, including Mahmudiya. Genealogical traditions trace the ruling family to ancestors Kok Agha and Mîr Choban, who are said to have settled in the Abagha plain in the Van district.Mossaki (2024) pp.135-136
The family is associated with Ottoman service in the second half of the 16th century during the conflicts with Safavid Iran. Some modern accounts attribute the family's imperial grant to the reign of Murad IV; however, archival evidence indicates that the relevant ruler was Murad III. Ottoman records describe the issuance of a charter confirming hereditary rights and privileges to members of the family following their participation in campaigns against Safavid forces.Mossaki (2024) pp.124-125
Yazidi oral tradition preserves a parallel narrative concerning the origins of the family's authority. In this version, a shepherd named Mîro, later known as Choban Agha, hosted an Ottoman ruler or provincial official during a journey through the region. Impressed by his hospitality, the ruler allegedly granted him the title of agha and recognized him as leader of the local Yazidi community. The epithet "Choban" (meaning "shepherd") is understood to derive from this account.
Avdal Agha, the son of Amar Agha and grandson of Mîr Choban, participated in the Ottoman–Safavid conflict during the reign of Murad III. He is described as having distinguished himself in battle against Safavid (Persian) forces, performing "courageous deeds". In recognition of his service, during a tour of the areas bordering Iran in 1593, the Ottoman sultan issued a charter, granting him and his descendants control over a number of towns and districts, along with associated tax revenues and administrative authority. The charter lists multiple generations of ancestors bearing the title of agha, suggesting that the family held elevated status prior to the formal confirmation of its authority:"This charter was given to Avdal-agha Amar-agha-oghlu Amar-agha Mîr Choban-oghly Mir Choban Avdal-agha-oghly Avdal-agha Avdal-agha-oghly Avdal-agha Haji-agha-oghly Haji-agha Mirza-agha sons of Kiovkan-agha (Kok Axa) and all his hereditary successors"This charter conferred hereditary possession of the Abagha region, said to comprise 366 villages and several market towns, including Mahmudiya, Turdchin, Sakimanis and Kurkit. This charter is regarded by some scholars as marking the formal establishment of a Yazidi principality under the leadership of the Amar Agha family. It consolidated their territorial holdings in the Abagha region and affirmed their fiscal privileges. The grant also appears to have recognized a form of leadership over Yazidi tribes within the Ottoman domains, although the effective extent of this authority is generally understood to have been limited to eastern Anatolia.Mossaki (2024) pp.125-127, 150
Choban Agha and his correspondence with Heraclius II In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Kok Agha dynasty continued to exercise authority within the Mahmudi region of the Van vilayet, an area that retained elements of autonomous Kurdish and Yazidi principalities despite Ottoman administrative reforms. The Abagha plain (modern Çaldıran), situated northeast of Lake Van, formed the core of the Yazidi Mahmudi domain. In correspondence dated 13 August 1770, Choban Agha styled himself "of Abaghlu" and referred to his community as "Mahmud Yezidis", indicating the identification of the Yazidi population of Abagha with the Mahmudi tribal and territorial designation. The region was described as consisting of a large steppe assigned to the Van sanjak, together with surrounding highland pastures (yaylaks) in the Aladag area.Mossaki (2024) pp.136-138
In 1770, the Georgian King Heraclius II established contact with the Yazidis. In a letter he sent to Choban Agha through the Assyrian archbishop Isaiah as intermediary, he proposed a coalition with other non-Muslim communities of the region, such as Armenians and Assyrians, against the Ottomans.
Choban Agha accepted the proposal on the condition that the king would give him his ancestral fortress of Khoshab in return. In his letter to Heraclius II, Bishop Isaiah conveyed that Choban Agha would ask the Georgian king to assist him in the conquest of the Khoshab fortress, which once belonged to his family, who later lost it and moved north. Choban Agha wanted to regain his native lands. Not long before this in 1762, Choban Agha had captured the son of Khoshab's ruler. Subsequently, in response, the ruler of Van launched a campaign against Abagha, took the fortress, and Choban Agha was forced to flee.
Armenian historian Abgar Ioannisyan, who wrote about Joseph Emin based on Simeon Yerevantsi Etchmiadzin's Memorial Book, wrote that several years before Choban Agha's correspondence with King Heraclius II, the well-known Armenian clergyman Hovnan "assigned to the Yazidis, as well as to the Assyrians, a very important role in the joint uprising against the Turks that they were preparing for" and "conducted some negotiations with the Yazidis (i.e. Choban Agha)". In 1764 he wrote with confidence to Emin that the Yazidis also agreed to join them together with the Armenians and take up arms.
According to correspondence dated 23 September 1770, Choban Agha wrote to Heraclius II expressing agreement with a proposed joint action against the Ottoman Empire and referring to the possibility of the king's patronage. The Armenian chronicler Simeon Yerevantsi also described Choban Agha's contacts with an Armenian clergyman, including references to financial assistance and to efforts by an abbot to intercede with the Georgian court on his behalf. In one such account, the abbot stated that Choban Agha, described as a local ruler, had suffered losses at the hands of neighboring authorities, including pashas and khans.
The sources indicate that Choban Agha sought permission from Heraclius II to relocate with his followers to Georgian territory. After initially receiving no effective support, he reportedly left his homeland and moved toward Khoy. Upon arriving there, he again appealed to Heraclius II to accept him and his people. In November 1778, the Georgian king dispatched a detachment to Khoy to escort Choban Agha; however, the Khan of Khoy, identified in the sources as Ahmat Khan, opposed his departure, and the detachment returned without him.
Subsequent correspondence stated that the Khan of Khoy posed a threat to Choban Agha, after which Choban Agha traveled to the Georgian court, where he remained for approximately six months, until May 1779. Heraclius II then sent envoys with Choban Agha to Khoy to request permission for his followers to depart. Although initial approval was reportedly granted for 200 families, the arrangement was later rescinded, and the delegation returned without achieving its objective.
At a later stage, Choban Agha returned to Khoy. According to the same accounts, the Pasha of Van wrote to the Armenian abbot requesting mediation with Heraclius II to allow Choban Agha to depart and return to his homeland under the pasha's authority. Following this intervention, Choban Agha and a representative of Heraclius II set out on 5 June 1779. One source notes that at that time Choban Agha lacked personal resources, and that the Armenian Catholicos provided him with a horse.