The Kurdish chiefdoms or principalities were several semi-independent entities which existed during the 16th to 19 centuries in a state of continuous warfare against the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Iran, at times siding with either of them.[1] The Kurdish principalities were almost always divided and entered into violent rivalries against each other.[1] The demarcation of borders between the Safavid Shah Safiuddin and the Ottoman caliph Sultan Murad IV in 1639 effectively divided Kurdistan between the two empires.[1]
The eyalet of Diyarbakir ultimately covered all major and minor Kurdish chiefdoms except for Kelhor, Erdalan (Ardalan), Baban, Sehrizor (Shahrizor) and Mukri (Mokri).[2]
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