Narration of the Historical Event Dimdim Castle in Eskandar Beg Trukman’s Tārīkh-e ʿĀlam-ārā-ye ʿAbbāsī and Arab Shamilov’s Dimdim

One of the most important and bloodiest events in the history of Kurdistan, which occurred after the division of this region between the Safavid and Ottoman governments, was Shah Abbas Safavid’s invasion of the historic castle of Dimdim and the resistance of its inhabitants under the leadership of Amir Khan Baradoost. After much resistance and defeating the Safavid army several times, the castle was conquered by the invading forces, and Amir Khan and his companions were killed. This historical event was first recorded in Tārīkh-e ʿĀlam-ārā-ye ʿAbbāsī written by Eskandar Beg Trukman, who personally participated in the siege and all the subsequent events. This event has also been reflected in the oral and official Kurdish literature, and it has been represented in a number of forms including verses, songs, epic poems, stories, and novels. Arab Shamilov is one of the prominent Kurdish scholars and writers who has dealt with this historical event in the form of historical novel. In the present study, using descriptive-analytical method and based on the American school of comparative literature, the historical event in Dimdim castle will be investigated in Dimdim, Arab Shamilov’s historical novel, and in Tārīkh-e ʿĀlam-ārā-ye ʿAbbāsī, the official narration of Eskandar Beg Trukman who served as the secretary in Shah Abbas Safavid’s court. The investigation of these two books shows that, in their narration of the event, the two authors’ perspectives are completely different. Eskandar Beg considers the resistance of Amir Khan and the inhabitants of the castle as betrayal and rebellion. However, Arab Shamilov rejects this viewpoint and considers this event as a legitimate defense and resistance against the invaders.