ABSTRACT
The twentieth century was a period of false promises, betrayal, and abuse for Kurds. The Kurds had national aspirations as the Ottoman Empire started to wane. Hopes dashed, Kurds rebelled and were suppressed, their political rights and cultural identity brutally denied. The Ottoman Empire reached its zenith in 1453 with the conquest of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmed II. Its peak continued until the late sixteenth century under the sons of Suleiman Kanuni. The Ottoman army launched a counterattack. English and American missionaries turned the Christian tribes against Bedr Khan Beg. Bedr Khan, a Kurdish tribal leader and emir from Djazireh, was a powerful hereditary feudal chieftain of the Bokhti tribe. The Porte faced a growing insurrection by Armenians. Sheik Ubeydullah, a member of the powerful Kurdish Semdinan clan, took advantage of the empire's diverted attention. Kurdish-Armenian relations were also contentious, especially in light of the role played by Kurds in the expulsion and killing of Armenians.
