ABSTRACT
The growing political tension between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires encouraged Kurdish elders to develop strategic alliances with one or the other, in exchange for diverse goods and a certain degree of autonomy. In effect, relations between Kurdish tribes and imperial administrations recalled the feudal system, in that they were based on the exchange between sovereigns and tribal chiefs of land for armed contingents. These relationships developed largely as a result of the strategic location of Kurdistan at the border between the two empires. The “multifaceted” Kurdish area (Badie 1995: 94) was more than a border region; it was a buffer zone between the two competing empires.
