The Ottoman State Policy towards the Shammar Tribes during the Sheikhdom of Farhan Pasha (1846-1890)

Abstract

Farhan bin Safouk Al-Jarba was the sheikh of the Shammar tribe in Iraq for the period (1846-1890). His sheikhdom lasted for more than 40 years. He was a beloved figure among his cousins, and was even nicknamed (Shahr Al-Batoul) for his good fortune and religion. He assumed the sheikhdom during the lifetime of his father (Safouk Al-Jarba) after the governor of Baghdad appointed him to the position on the condition that the leadership of Shammar be for his father Safouk. After his father was killed in November 1847, he officially assumed the position in 1850.

The beginning of his rule is considered the arrival of modernization to the sons of his tribe, especially during the reign of Governor Midhat Pasha (1869-1872), when Farhan Pasha responded to the governor’s call regarding the issue of settling the Arab tribes and was able to settle his tribe in Sharqat and support the Ottoman government and submit to its rule in the issue of paying taxes and protecting the trade caravan routes. The most prominent feature of Farhan Pasha’s rule was the process of unifying the Shammar tribes around him and standing by the Ottoman government in order to The suppression of the revolts of some Arab tribes in the Hindiya region and the Middle Euphrates regions. Shammar relations continued between tension and attraction until 1890, when Farhan Pasha faced the orders of his rule. The loyalty of part of the Shammar tribe shifted towards his brother (Faris), who emerged as a rival leader during this period, in addition to the return of the Shammar tribe to looting and plundering trade caravans. He was forced to pay fines to the government because of the actions of his tribe. Sheikh Farhan died in 1890, and the sheikhdom was divided among his sons. Shammar, Farhan Pasha, Safouk al-Jarba, Madhat Pasha, the Ottoman Empire.