The revolt of Sheikh Ubeydullah (1880-1881): An instrumentalist study of a nationalist movement

At the end of the 19th century, between 1880-1881, Sheikh Ubeydullah, the leader of the Naqshbandi sect, attacked the cities and villages of the border regions of Iran and the Ottoman Empire and caused many killings and loots in the Qajar Empire's Azerbaijan state. The reason for the beginning of this rebellion was the jeopardy of the Sheikh's personal interests. The sheikh lost the right to own several villages, which were actually a gift from Shah Qajar to his father. In the following, the signing of the Berlin Treaty and the Sheikh's fear of creating an Armenian state in his claimed territory were added for this reason. Sheikh needed supporters and followers to maintain his power and wealth. By creating ethnic and religious symbols and distorting the existing symbols, he provoked the people and mobilized supporters. Therefore, it can be said that Sheikh as an elite, by creating ethnic symbols and abusing them, was able to bring the heads of Kurdish tribes and their citizens with him and try to protect his interests under the title of Kurdish nationalism. In this article, the method of discourse analysis with inductive approach is used. In the historical study of the movement, it has been tried to use more first-hand sources and government archives.