The little kingdom had extended its borders during the preceding centuries to include all the provinces and weaker tribes up to the borders of the Jaf, Mukri, and Rawanduz rulers.
These provinces were Juanru, Aoraman, Merivan, Bana, Saqiz, and the Persian districts of Hasanabad and Isfandabad.
Of these, undoubtedly the most interesting is Aoraman. This tiny province was practically independent, living under its own rulers, a proud family claiming descent from Rustam, the Persian national hero, speaking a language of their own, not admitting themselves Kurds, but “Aorami.”
These Aoramani live in a knot of great mountains, guarded on every side by the mighty walls of Nature, and their habit and temperament is as exclusive as their country. According to their legend, Darius the Mede expelled the original Aoram from his native place near Demavend, in northern Persia, and he fled with his brother Kandul[86] to Media, finding in the recesses of these mountains a refuge. Here he established himself and founded the Aorami tribe.
At times during the ascendancy of the Ardalan khans attempts were made to dislodge and subdue the Aoramani, but they were fruitless, and alone among the small tribes of the Perso-Turkish frontier Aoraman can still look over its own mountain slopes to-day, and bid defiance to all and sundry, for the ruler, Ali Shah, of Aoram Castle, is to-day independent in all but name.
The sub-provinces of Merivan and Bana, which lie to the north of Aoraman, were under their respective beys and khans, and never gave the trouble that Aoraman did, being purely Kurdish, and also possessing but little strength. The begs of Merivan had a habit of fighting with the sultans of Aoraman (as they have to-day), but so long as the Ardalan family retained their normal power the whole province was kept in good order.
The Court at Sina was kept up till well into the last century, and probably one of the most noted of all the Sina khans was Amanullah Khan, vali of Ardalan in the first two decades of the 19th century, who kept regal style in his little capital.
The family had, however, thrown in its lot to a great extent with the Qajar tribe of Persia when it first began to contest the Persian throne, and had made treaties of friendship and alliance. And once having given their allegiance to the Qajar dynasty (the present reigning one of Persia),[87] they kept true to their word, and assisted with men in the battles against the unfortunate Lutf Ali Khan Zend, whose defeat and death left the throne in Qajar hands.
Khosru Khan married a daughter of Fath Ali Shah, who, being a woman of strong character, still continued to hold the reins of government after her husband’s death, and was succeeded by Ghulam Shah Khan in 1865.
Upon the demise of this, the last Ardalan vali, Nasir ud Din Shah took advantage of his power both as relative and sovereign, to introduce such factors into the succession as should render the candidate uncertain, and in the meantime, while the young khans were waiting a decision, he by a coup established his own uncle, Mu’tamed ud Douleh, a strong man, as governor of Kurdistan.