The House of Tavil, is a noble Middle Eastern household, which can be traced back to the 7th century.[1] [2] They were given the title “Sheikh”, in this case used when denoting a leader of a community. The prominent male members of the family use the title to this day.
The name of the family comes from the Ottoman Sultans name for the village of Tawella. The Tavil Sheikhs became the ruling sheikhs of their region and to this day carry the right to use the title of Sheikh. They are also called the Sheikhs of Tavil, Siraj-ud-Din family, Siraj-ud-din Sheikhs, or the Sheikhs of Hawraman.[3]
The founder of the family is Uthman Sirâj-ud-Dîn Naqshbandi.
He is Uthman ibn Khâlid ibn Abdullah ibn Sayyid Muhammad ibn Sayyid Darwish ibn Sayyid Mashraf ibn Sayyid Jumu'ah ibn Sayyid Zahir, the son of Al-Hussain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib.[4]
The sheikhs of Tavil established relationships with the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Because of their influence in Kurdistan, they had a vast number of followers. They provided military support for the Ottoman sultans.[5] [6] An example of this was during the ongoing war between Ottoman-Russia, where the Sheikhs of Tavil has sent thousands of people.[7]
The Sheikhs of Tavil gained recognition through the Ottoman Empire and Qajar Empire (present day Iran).[8] They supported and promoted moral excellence, planted hundreds of trees, cultivated gardens, and banned the cutting of trees across their lands.[9]
Cecil John Edmonds, with the British intelligence at the time, explains in his book:
Some of the most prominent family members include:
The Tavil family established villages:
The family tree of the Tavil Sheikhs [11]