'Kurdistan and the Kurds' [‎17v] (34/122)

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tolerance. In fact, the word “ Milli ” denotes a collection of creeds,* and
the Kurds in the Milli confederation include Shi‘ites, Pagans, Pantheists,
Zazas and Orthodox Moslems.”
His brother Khalil is like his elder brother in face, but more gay,
alert, and impetuous in manner. He is very shrewd and intelligent, and
is able both to read and to write ; he has spent much time in Constan-
tinople, and is anxious to travel further. He commanded a Kurdish
contingent and saw some fighting at Bulair in 1913 and near Erzerum in
1914. Ismail is very like Khalil; he both reads and writes, but has not
tiavelled. Another brother is Timur, who is considerably younger than
the others ; he cannot read or write but has visited Constantinople.
For many years the Milli tribes have been at enmity with the'Anazah,
a neighbouring Arab tribe, who are under the rule of Hachim and Mojeim
Bcj'. This quarrel was assiduously fomented by the Turks, whose policy
seems to have been based on the well-known principle of divide et
impera. The Milli seized the opportunity offered them by the
confusion consequent on the retreat of the Turkish armies to obtain more
arms and ammunition, chiefly from demobilised Turkish soldiers and
deserters, and to prepare for a war of extermination against their
hereditary enemy before the arrival of British troops to enforce law and
order. Early in February the two tribes declared war on each other ; the
fighting strength of the Milli is probably about 1,500 horsemen and that
of the Arabs about 2,300, but neither side mobilised its full forces.
It was reported in the middle of March that Hachim had attacked the
Jubur,+ a friendly tribe encamped on the river Khabur, near the Jebel-el-
Aziz. Meanwhile, Mojeim Bey was in that part of the desert called
Shamieh, which lies between Aleppo and Deir-ez-Zor, and was watching
the course of events. The struggle throughout was little more than a
series of small skirmishes, resulting in the death of about 100 Arabs, and
200 men from the Milli and Jubur tribes. The Milli were further said to
have lost a considerable number of sheep and cattle, as well as many tents.
I he latest information was that hostilities were likely to be soon renewed,
for the sons of Ibrahim Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. were calling on the Kurds of Mardin and
Diarbekr, and even on demobilised soldiers of the 6th Turkish Army, to
join them.
In April, 1919, the influence of Mahmud prevented the leading chiefs
of the tribes from interfering in the struggle between the Dukurlu and.
Badelli tribes, from fear of the punishment which was likely to ensue, when
a British contingent arrived in the neighbourhood to quell the prevalent
disturbances.
On the 15th of May the British authorities received information from
etymologically impossible, if Mahmud is correct in calling his people
the Melane Kebire ” (see page 26), which confirms the alternative form of the name
Milan, given by some authorities. The -Arabic word, “ Millah’,’ creed, comes from
the root MLL,” which is philologically unconnected with the root “ MLN.”
I Their chief was Muslat Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. .