Fazli Beg was an official in the service of the Safavids, and his chronicle preserves a considerable body of material on Kurdish history that has received far less attention than it deserves. Within its pages are rare accounts of Kurdish tribes, Safavid military campaigns, and even the author's own experiences in the field, where he fought against Kurdish forces.
It is a source of considerable historical value, yet it remains strangely neglected. Historians of the Safavid Empire and Kurdistan alike would do well to give it closer attention. For beneath the accounts of campaigns and political affairs, one finds fragments of a Kurdish past that have otherwise escaped notice.
One example from his chronicle:
The year of the Dog (it il), 959/1551-2. The Amirs attacked 'Ādiljūz and Arjish in Rūm. The citadel of Akhlāt was captured. Vān (in Kurdistan) was invaded. Ismail Mirzā departed on the campaign to attack and capture the citadel of Pāsīn. Iskandar Pāshā was besieged in the citadel of Arz al-Rüm. Ismail Mirzā was appointed the governor of 'Alishikar. The ambassador (ilchi) of Humāyūn Pādishāh was granted permission to leave with a letter of friendship. 'Adiljūz was captured and Arjish was encircled and that province was destroyed.
The year of the Pig (tangüz il), 960/1552-3. The citadels of Arjish and Bārgiri were captured. Ismail Mirzā attacked and sacked Kurdistan. Qāż i Jahān died. Sayyid Shams al-Din Ilkhāni went on a mission to the Ottomans carrying a letter of friendship. Winter camp in Nakhjivān.
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