The Ararat rebellion, also known as the Ağrı rebellion, was a 1930 uprising of the Kurds of Ağrı Province, in Turkish Kurdistan, against the Turkish government. The leader of the guerrilla forces during the rebellion was Ihsan Nuri of the Jibran tribe.
On June 11, 1930, armed responses to the rebellion were initiated by the Turkish military against the Ağrı insurgents. According to Wadie Jwaideh, Xoybûn, the Kurmanci Kurdish nationalist organization co-ordinating the rebellion, urgently appealed for help from Kurds. It was a Kurdish rebellion by mostly Kurmancî Kurds, which greatly outnumbered the Qizilbash of Dersim. That is why, much to the Turks' dismay, Xoybûn's appeal was answered on a wide front by a counteroffensive at Mount Tendürek, Iğdır, Erciş, Mount Süphan, Van and Bitlis, forcing the Turks to temporarily abandon their offensive against Ağrı. The rebels were gradually crushed by the superior numbers of the Turkish military. The commander of the rebellion documented the role of the Turkish air force in defeating the Ağrı revolt in his book entitled La Révolte de L'Agridagh.
By the end of summer 1930 the Turkish Air Force was bombing Kurdish positions around Mount Ararat from all directions. According to Gen. Ihsan Nuri, the military superiority of the Turkish Air Force demoralized Kurds and led to their capitulation. During the insurrection, the Turkish Air Force also bombed several Kurdish tribes and villagers. For instance, Halikanli and Herki tribes were bombed on July 18 and August 2, respectively. Rebel villages were continually bombed from August 2–29. From June 10–12 Kurdish positions were extensively bombed, and this forced the Kurds to retreat to higher positions around Mount Ararat. On July 9 the newspaper Cumhuriyet reported that the Turkish air force was "raining down" Mount Ararat with bombs. Kurds, who escaped the bombings, were captured alive. On July 13, the rebellion in Zilan was suppressed. Squadrons of 10-15 aircraft were used in crushing the revolt. On July 16, two Turkish planes were downed. Aerial bombardment continued for several days and forced Kurds to withdraw to the height of. By July 21, bombardment had destroyed many Kurdish forts. During these operations, Turkish military mobilized 66,000 soldiers and 100 aircraft. The campaign against the Kurds was over by September 17, 1930. The insurrection was defeated in 1931, and Turkey resumed control over the territory.
Aftermath
Because the border between Turkey and Persia ran up the side of Lesser Ararat to its peak, Turkey was unable to stop Kurdish fighters from crossing the border at that location. To solve this problem Turkey demanded that it be ceded the entire mountain. On January 23, 1932, Persia and Turkey signed the Agreement related to the fixing of the frontier between Persia and Turkey in Tehran. Turkey received total control over the Lesser Ararat and Ağrı Mountains and territory between the Armenian village of Guirberan and Kuch Dagh. As compensation, Persia gained ninety square miles in the neighbourhood of Qotur.
