Wansa
Mira Khatun Wansa,[1] Wansa Ismail el-Amawy[2] or simply Wansa (born 1917 in Tikrit — died June 25, 2015 in Cairo, Egypt[3]) was a Yazidi princess. In 1934–1938 she was the wife of Mir Sa'id Beg. Wansa was a daughter of Ismail Beg. Her brothers were Mua'wia,[2] Abd el-Karim and Yezid Khan.
Biography
In 1929, she entered American School for Girls in Beirut. In 1934, she became the fifth wife of Sa'id Beg, son of Ali Beg and Meyan Khatun in the Stone Palace in Ba'adra.[4] Wansa gave birth to a daughter Leyla who died after one year.[5]
In 1938, Said Beg attended a meeting where Wansa's brother Yezid Khan was accused of conspiracy and marked for death. When Said Beg informed Wansa, she pulled out a revolver from beneath her pillow and said "He will hear that you have died first!".[6] She fired multiple times, killing her husband.
In the confusion Wansa's Armenian chauffeur Hagop assisted her to escape to Mosul and then to Baghdad, where a hiding place was found for her by Hagop's family, whom Wansa's father Ismail had rescued years before. Then she moved to Aleppo.[7]
When The Second World War started, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, who was a friend of Ismail, allowed Wansa to return to Baghdad and live under official protection.[5][7]
In 1947, Wansa converted to Islam and married a Syrian doctor.
Princess Wansa died in Cairo on the 21st of June 2015.
References
- ↑ Journal of Royal Central Asian Society., 1941
- 1 2 John S. Guest, The Yezidis: a study in survival, pg. 8
- ↑ El-Wafeyat condolesses book
- ↑ John S. Guest, The Yezidis: a study in survival, pg. 175
- 1 2 E. S. Drower, Peacock Angel
- ↑ John S. Guest, The Yezidis: a study in survival, pg. 183
- 1 2 John S. Guest, The Yezidis: a study in survival, pg. 184