17th-century description of the Kurdish dynasty of Palu

This brief account by an Ottoman explorer from the 17th century is one of the few examples of a contemporary account of the Kurdish dynasty of Palu.

Evliya Celebi (17th century):

The emir of Palu made his voluntary submission to Bıyıklı Mehemmed Paşa, the vizier of Sultan Selim I, in 921/1515, and in return was granted possession of the district in perpetuity, as an autonomous government (hükûmet) in the province of Diyarbakir. Rulership remains in the family. In official correspondence, the ruler is addressed with the honorary title Cem-cenab. The entire revenue of the district is granted to the ruler himself; no villages have been made into fiefs (timar, ze`amet) to support sipahi troops and their officers. There are no Janissaries or other central government troops in Palu either. In time of war, the ruler joins the imperial campaign with 2000 mounted soldiers. 

Palu is the seat of a qadi with salary of 150 aqchas, but it has no mufti or naqib al-ashraf. There are however a market inspector (muhtesib) and a tax collector (şehir voyvodasi). 

The fortress is small, unconquerable stronghold built on a steep rock beside the Murad (upper Euphrates) river. Not even Timur succeeded in taking it. The only inhabitants of the fortress are Ibrahim Beg and his soldiers. The fortress is not fit for ordinary habitation, for the ascent to it is extremely demanding. It has a secret tunnel leading down to the river for water-supply, and besides cisterns for [rain-] water. The town itself, below the fortress, consists of some thousand houses with clay roofs.

Roads connect Palu with Ergani and Egil in the west, each at a day's distance, with Harput in the north, also a day away, and towards the south with Diyarbakir at two day journeys' distance. Behind Palu is a village named Baghin, which is like one of the gardens of Paradise, and which belongs to the domains of the begs of Palu. It is famous in Kurdistan as a pleasure resort. A crystal-clear river springs from the rocks here, one of the three sources of the Euphrates.