Mehmed Zeki Pasha
Mehmed Zeki Pasha (Turkish: Mehmed Zeki Pasha; 1846, Istanbul - 1929, ibid.) - Turkish military leader, mushir (field marshal) of the Ottoman Empire, creator of the Hamidiye irregular cavalry. Came from the Caucasian Muhajirs. According to some information from a number of sources, he was either a Circassian, or Ubykh from the Berzek clan, or a relative of Imam Shamil. In any case, the North Caucasian origin of Mehmed Zeki Pasha is beyond doubt. Born in 1846. Since 1860, as a 14-year-old boy, he devoted himself to military service. Participated in hostilities in Libya and the Balkans. In 1887, he was awarded the title of field marshal (mushir) by Sultan Abdul Hamid, and appointed commander of the army with headquarters in the city of Erzincan. In this capacity, he proposed and implemented a project to create Hamidiye - a new type of irregular cavalry: recruited mainly from Kurds, uniformed in Circassian clothing, serving in the manner of Russian Cossacks (that is, on the border and in border areas, without a complete break from farming ), and was used mainly for the massacre of the Armenian and generally non-Muslim population of Eastern Turkey.
The Hamidiye regiments (literally meaning "belonging to Hamid", full official name Hamidiye Hafif Süvari Alayları, Hamidiye Light Cavalry Regiments) were well-armed, irregular, mainly Sunni Kurdish but also Turkish, Circassian, Turkmen, Yörük and Arab cavalry formations that operated in the south eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Established by and named after Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1891, they were intended to be modeled after the Cossacks and were supposedly tasked to patrol the Russo-Ottoman frontier. However, the Hamidiye were more often used by the Ottoman authorities to harass and assault Armenians living in Eastern Provinces of the Ottoman Empire (Western Armenia in some sources). A major role in the Armenian massacres of 1894-96 had been often ascribed to the Hamidiye regiments, particularly during the bloody suppression of the revolt of the Armenians of Sasun (1894). After Sultan Abdul Hamid II's reign, the cavalry was not dissolved but given a new name, the Tribal Light Cavalry Regiments.
Berzeks (Barzag) - Ubykh aristocratic family, the supreme rulers of Ubykhia. The most influential family in the Caucasus of the 19th century. Kazym Berzeg, a descendant of a famous family, in his work “The Policy of the Ottoman Empire towards the Circassians after 1829. About the famous descendants of the Berzek family in the Caucasus and the Ottoman Empire” reveals the roots of the Berzek family. Thus, he wrote down, from the words of Mustafa Nevzat Psak, an expert on the history of the Berzek clan, legends about the origin of the clan. It says that about 1500 years ago there lived two princely families who were at great enmity with each other. In the end, one of these families destroyed all the men of the other. All that remained were weak old men and young women, one of whom was carrying a child under her heart. The victorious princely family decided that if she gave birth to a boy, they would kill him too. Indeed, this woman gave birth to a son, who was kidnapped by the relatives of the woman in labor and raised in a hay barn, away from prying eyes. So they saved his life, and later gave him the name Berzek. The Ubykh language is dead, so it is not possible to establish the
meaning of the Berzek surname. He had sons: Emin, Degu, Babuk and Kanbulat. They laid the foundation for four lines of the surname, each of which had its own generic sign (tamga). According to historical documents of the 19th century, the Berzek family was known in the Western Caucasus as one of the most influential ruling noble families. In fact, this family ruled the entire Ubykhia starting from the 20s of the 19th century. and until the expulsion of the Ubykhs in 1864 to the Ottoman Empire. Many ruling princes and nobles of Abkhazia, Dzhigetia, Abadzekhia, Besleney, Shapsugia, Natukhai and Temirgoi were raised in this family (according to the custom of atalism). The Berzek clan also had close consanguineous relations with the feudal nobility of Abkhazia and Circassia. The Ubykhs, led by the Berzeki clan, during the 35-year Caucasian War in the Trans-Kuban region and on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, including on the territory of Abkhazia, carried out hundreds of military operations against the tsarist troops together with the free societies of the Abazins, Abkhazians and Western Circassians. The Ubykhs suffered significant casualties. The Berzek clan also suffered significant losses. Hadji Berzek Sr. lost all nine of his sons in this war, and Kerentukh Berzek lost two of his four. In 1864, after the end of the Caucasian War, the Berzek family was forced, along with all the people, to move to the Ottoman Empire. Here they took an active part in all significant events of Turkish society. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. The Ubykhs, led by Hadji Kerentukh Berzek (then already 88 years old), also successfully acted against their old opponents in the Caucasian War - the Russian troops. The Berzek clan produced many high-ranking government officials and generals well-known in Turkish circles. Berzeks in the courtyard of the sultans were always accepted officially, according to protocol. They collaborated with Sultans Abdul Aziz, Abdul Hamid II (they were related to him).
Awards: Sash and star of the Order of Osmanieh, Insignia of the Order of Glory, Star of the Order of Distinction.
