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Kurds

January 09, 2023

"Kurd" redirects here. For other uses, see Kurd (disambiguation).

Kurds (Kurdish: کورد, Kurd) or Kurdish people are an Iranian[33][34][35] ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria.[36] There are exclaves of Kurds in Central Anatolia, Khorasan, and the Caucasus, as well as significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey (in particular Istanbul) and Western Europe (primarily in Germany). The Kurdish population is estimated to be between 30 and 45 million.[2][37]

Kurds
Kurd کورد
Total population
30–40 million[1]
(The World Factbook, 2015 estimate)
36.4–45.6 million[2]
(Kurdish Institute of Paris, 2017 estimate)
Regions with significant populations
 Turkeyest. 14.3–20 million[1][2]
 Iranest. 8.2–12 million[1][2]
 Iraqest. 5.6–8.5 million[1][2]
 Syriaest. 2–3.6 million[1][2]
 Germany1.2–1.5 million[3][4]
 Azerbaijan180,000[5][6]
 France150,000[7]
 Netherlands100,000[8]
 Sweden83,600[9]
 Russia63,818[10]
 Belgium50,000[11]
 United Kingdom49,841[12][13][14]
 Kazakhstan47,938[15]
 Armenia37,470[16]
 Switzerland35,000[17]
 Denmark30,000[18]
 Jordan30,000[19]
 Austria23,000[20]
 Greece22,000[21]
 United States20,591-40,000[22]
 Canada16,315[23]
 Finland15,850[24]
 Georgia13,861[25]
 Kyrgyzstan13,200[26]
 Australia10,171[27]
Languages
Kurdish
In their different varieties: Sorani, Kurmanji, Pehlewani, Laki[28]
Zazaki, Gorani[29]
Religion
Predominantly Sunni Islam
with minorities of Shia Islam, Kurdish Alevism, Yazidism, Yarsanism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity[30][31][32]
Related ethnic groups
Other Iranian peoples

Kurds speak the Kurdish languages and the Zaza–Gorani languages, which belong to the Western Iranian branch of the Iranian languages.[38][39]

After World War I and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the victorious Western allies made provision for a Kurdish state in the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres. However, that promise was broken three years later, when the Treaty of Lausanne set the boundaries of modern Turkey and made no such provision, leaving Kurds with minority status in all of the new countries.[40] Recent history of the Kurds includes numerous genocides and rebellions, along with ongoing armed conflicts in Turkish, Iranian, Syrian, and Iraqi Kurdistan. Kurds in Iraq and Syria have autonomous regions, while Kurdish movements continue to pursue greater cultural rights, autonomy, and independence throughout Kurdistan.

Etymology

Main article: Name of the Kurds

The exact origins of the name Kurd are unclear.[41] The underlying toponym is recorded in Assyrian as Qardu and in Middle Bronze Age Sumerian as Kar-da.[42] Assyrian Qardu refers to an area in the upper Tigris basin, and it is presumably reflected in corrupted form in Classical Arabic Ǧūdī, re-adopted in Kurdish as Cûdî.[43] The name would be continued as the first element in the toponym Corduene, mentioned by Xenophon as the tribe who opposed the retreat of the Ten Thousand through the mountains north of Mesopotamia in the 4th century BC.

There are, however, dissenting views, which do not derive the name of the Kurds from Qardu and Corduene but opt for derivation from Cyrtii (Cyrtaei) instead.[44]

Regardless of its possible roots in ancient toponymy, the ethnonym Kurd might be derived from a term kwrt- used in Middle Persian as a common noun to refer to "nomads" or "tent-dwellers," which could be applied as an attribute to any Iranian group with such a lifestyle.[45]

The term gained the characteristic of an ethnonym following the Muslim conquest of Persia, as it was adopted into Arabic and gradually became associated with an amalgamation of Iranian and Iranianized tribes and groups in the region.[46][47]

Sherefxan Bidlisi in the 16th century states that there are four division of "Kurds": Kurmanj, Lur, Kalhor, and Guran, each of which speak a different dialect or language variation. Paul (2008) notes that the 16th-century usage of the term Kurd as recorded by Bidlisi, regardless of linguistic grouping, might still reflect an incipient Northwestern Iranian "Kurdish" ethnic identity uniting the Kurmanj, Kalhur, and Guran.[48]

Language

Main article: Kurdish languages
 
Kurdish-inhabited areas in the Middle East (1992)
 
Maunsell's map of 1910, a Pre-World War I British Ethnographical Map of the Middle East, showing the Kurdish regions in yellow (both light and dark)

Kurdish (Kurdish: Kurdî or کوردی) is a collection of related dialects spoken by the Kurds.[48] It is mainly spoken in those parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey which comprise Kurdistan.[49] Kurdish holds official status in Iraq as a national language alongside Arabic, is recognized in Iran as a regional language, and in Armenia as a minority language. The Kurds are recognized as a people with a distinct language by Arab geographers such as Al-Masudi since the 10th century.[50]

Many Kurds are either bilingual or multilingual, speaking the language of their respective nation of origin, such as Arabic, Persian, and Turkish as a second language alongside their native Kurdish, while those in diaspora communities often speak three or more languages. Turkified and Arabised Kurds often speak little or no Kurdish.

According to Mackenzie, there are few linguistic features that all Kurdish dialects have in common and that are not at the same time found in other Iranian languages.[51]

The Kurdish dialects according to Mackenzie are classified as:[52]

  • Northern group (the Kurmanji dialect group)
  • Central group (part of the Sorani dialect group)
  • Southern group (part of the Xwarin dialect group) including Laki

The Zaza and Gorani are ethnic Kurds,[53] but the Zaza–Gorani languages are not classified as Kurdish.[54]

Population

Main article: Kurdish population

The number of Kurds living in Southwest Asia is estimated at between 30 and 45 million, with another one or two million living in the Kurdish diaspora. Kurds comprise anywhere from 18 to 25% of the population in Turkey,[1][55] 15 to 20% in Iraq;[1] 10% in Iran;[1] and 9% in Syria.[1][56] Kurds form regional majorities in all four of these countries, viz. in Turkish Kurdistan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Iranian Kurdistan and Syrian Kurdistan. The Kurds are the fourth-largest ethnic group in West Asia after Arabs, Persians, and Turks.

The total number of Kurds in 1991 was placed at 22.5 million, with 48% of this number living in Turkey, 24% in Iran, 18% in Iraq, and 4% in Syria.[57]

Recent emigration accounts for a population of close to 1.5 million in Western countries, about half of them in Germany.

A special case are the Kurdish populations in the Transcaucasus and Central Asia, displaced there mostly in the time of the Russian Empire, who underwent independent developments for more than a century and have developed an ethnic identity in their own right.[58] This groups' population was estimated at close to 0.4 million in 1990.[59]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Kurdistan

Islam

Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims who adhere to the Shafiʽi school, while a significant minority adhere to the Hanafi school[60] and also Alevism. Moreover, many Shafi'i Kurds adhere to either one of the two Sufi orders Naqshbandi and Qadiriyya.[61]

Beside Sunni Islam, Alevism and Shia Islam also have millions of Kurdish followers.[62] Other religions with significant Kurdish adherents are Yarsanism and Yazidism.[63][64]

In recent years, a growing number of Kurds have converted to Zoroastrianism.[65]

Yazidism

Main articles: Yazidis and Yazidism
 
Yazidi new year celebrations in Lalish, 18 April 2017

Yazidism is a monotheistic ethnic religion with roots in a western branch of an Iranic pre-Zoroastrian religion.[66][67][68][69] It is based on the belief of one God who created the world and entrusted it into the care of seven Holy Beings.[70][71] The leader of this heptad is Tawûsê Melek, who is symbolized with a peacock.[70][72] Its adherents number from 700,000 to 1 million worldwide[73] and are indigenous to the Kurdish regions of Iraq, Syria and Turkey, with some significant, more recent communities in Russia, Georgia and Armenia established by refugees fleeing persecution by Muslims in Ottoman Empire.[71] Yazidism shares with Kurdish Alevism and Yarsanism many similar qualities that date back to the pre-Islamic era.[74][75][76]

Yarsanism

Main article: Yarsanism

Yarsanism (also known as Ahl-I-Haqq, Ahl-e-Hagh or Kakai) is also one of the religions that are associated with Kurdistan.

Although most of the sacred Yarsan texts are in the Gorani and all of the Yarsan holy places are located in Kurdistan, followers of this religion are also found in other regions. For example, while there are more than 300,000 Yarsani in Iraqi Kurdistan, there are more than 2 million Yarsani in Iran.[77] However, the Yarsani lack political rights in both countries.

Zoroastrianism

Main article: Zoroastrianism
 
Faravahar (or Ferohar), one of the primary symbols of Zoroastrianism, believed to be the depiction of a Fravashi (guardian spirit)

The Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism has had a major influence on the Iranian culture, which Kurds are a part of, and has maintained some effect since the demise of the religion in the Middle Ages. The Iranian philosopher Sohrevardi drew heavily from Zoroastrian teachings.[78] Ascribed to the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster, the faith's Supreme Being is Ahura Mazda. Leading characteristics, such as messianism, the Golden Rule, heaven and hell, and free will influenced other religious systems, including Second Temple Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity, and Islam.[79]

In 2016, the first official Zoroastrian fire temple of Iraqi Kurdistan opened in Sulaymaniyah. Attendees celebrated the occasion by lighting a ritual fire and beating the frame drum or 'daf'.[80] Awat Tayib, the chief of followers of Zoroastrianism in the Kurdistan region, claimed that many were returning to Zoroastrianism but some kept it secret out of fear of reprisals from Islamists.[80]

Christianity

Main articles: Kurdish Christians, Bible translations into Kurdish, and Christianity

Although historically there have been various accounts of Kurdish Christians, most often these were in the form of individuals, and not as communities. However, in the 19th and 20th century various travel logs tell of Kurdish Christian tribes, as well as Kurdish Muslim tribes who had substantial Christian populations living amongst them. A significant number of these were allegedly originally Armenian or Assyrian,[81] and it has been recorded that a small number of Christian traditions have been preserved. Several Christian prayers in Kurdish have been found from earlier centuries.[82] In recent years some Kurds from Muslim backgrounds have converted to Christianity.[83][84][85]

Segments of the Bible were first made available in the Kurdish language in 1856 in the Kurmanji dialect. The Gospels were translated by Stepan, an Armenian employee of the American Bible Society and were published in 1857. Prominent historical Kurdish Christians include the brothers Zakare and Ivane Mkhargrdzeli.[86][87][88]

History

Main article: History of the Kurdish people

Antiquity

Main article: Origin of the Kurds

"The land of Karda" is mentioned on a Sumerian clay tablet dated to the 3rd millennium BC. This land was inhabited by "the people of Su" who dwelt in the southern regions of Lake Van; the philological connection between "Kurd" and "Karda" is uncertain, but the relationship is considered possible.[89] Other Sumerian clay tablets referred to the people, who lived in the land of Karda, as the Qarduchi (Karduchi, Karduchoi) and the Qurti.[90] Karda/Qardu is etymologically related to the Assyrian term Urartu and the Hebrew term Ararat.[91] However, some modern scholars do not believe that the Qarduchi are connected to Kurds.[92][93]

Qarti or Qartas, who were originally settled on the mountains north of Mesopotamia, are considered as a probable ancestor of the Kurds. The Akkadians were attacked by nomads coming through Qartas territory at the end of 3rd millennium BC and distinguished them as the Guti, speakers of a pre-Iranic language isolate. They conquered Mesopotamia in 2150 BC and ruled with 21 kings until defeated by the Sumerian king Utu-hengal.[94]

Many Kurds consider themselves descended from the Medes, an ancient Iranian people,[95] and even use a calendar dating from 612 BC, when the Assyrian capital of Nineveh was conquered by the Medes.[96] The claimed Median descent is reflected in the words of the Kurdish national anthem: "We are the children of the Medes and Kai Khosrow."[97] However, MacKenzie and Asatrian challenge the relation of the Median language to Kurdish.[98][99] The Kurdish languages, on the other hand, form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages like Median.[48][100] Some researchers consider the independent Kardouchoi as the ancestors of the Kurds,[101] while others prefer Cyrtians.[102] The term Kurd, however, is first encountered in Arabic sources of the seventh century.[103] Books from the early Islamic era, including those containing legends such as the Shahnameh and the Middle Persian Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan, and other early Islamic sources provide early attestation of the name Kurd.[104] The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins.[105][106]

During the Sassanid era, in Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan, a short prose work written in Middle Persian, Ardashir I is depicted as having battled the Kurds and their leader, Madig. After initially sustaining a heavy defeat, Ardashir I was successful in subjugating the Kurds.[107] In a letter Ardashir I received from his foe, Ardavan V, which is also featured in the same work, he is referred to as being a Kurd himself.

You've bitten off more than you can chew
and you have brought death to yourself.
O son of a Kurd, raised in the tents of the Kurds,
who gave you permission to put a crown on your head?[108]

The usage of the term Kurd during this time period most likely was a social term, designating Northwestern Iranian nomads, rather than a concrete ethnic group.[108][109]

Similarly, in AD 360, the Sassanid king Shapur II marched into the Roman province Zabdicene, to conquer its chief city, Bezabde, present-day Cizre. He found it heavily fortified, and guarded by three legions and a large body of Kurdish archers.[110] After a long and hard-fought siege, Shapur II breached the walls, conquered the city and massacred all its defenders. Thereafter he had the strategically located city repaired, provisioned and garrisoned with his best troops.[110]

Qadishaye, settled by Kavad in Singara, were probably Kurds[111] and worshiped the martyr Abd al-Masih.[112] They revolted against the Sassanids and were raiding the whole Persian territory. Later they, along with Arabs and Armenians, joined the Sassanids in their war against the Byzantines.[113]

There is also a 7th-century text by an unidentified author, written about the legendary Christian martyr Mar Qardagh. He lived in the 4th century, during the reign of Shapur II, and during his travels is said to have encountered Mar Abdisho, a deacon and martyr, who, after having been questioned of his origins by Mar Qardagh and his Marzobans, stated that his parents were originally from an Assyrian village called Hazza, but were driven out and subsequently settled in Tamanon, a village in the land of the Kurds, identified as being in the region of Mount Judi.[114]

Medieval period

 
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb, or Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty in the Middle East

Early Syriac sources use the terms Hurdanaye, Kurdanaye, Kurdaye to refer to the Kurds. According to Michael the Syrian, Hurdanaye separated from Tayaye Arabs and sought refuge with the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus. He also mentions the Persian troops who fought against Musa chief of Hurdanaye in the region of Qardu in 841. According to Barhebreaus, a king appeared to the Kurdanaye and they rebelled against the Arabs in 829. Michael the Syrian considered them as pagan, followers of mahdi and adepts of Magianism. Their mahdi called himself Christ and the Holy Ghost.[115]

In the early Middle Ages, the Kurds sporadically appear in Arabic sources, though the term was still not being used for a specific people; instead it referred to an amalgam of nomadic western Iranian tribes, who were distinct from Persians. However, in the High Middle Ages, the Kurdish ethnic identity gradually materialized, as one can find clear evidence of the Kurdish ethnic identity and solidarity in texts of the 12th and 13th centuries,[116] though, the term was also still being used in the social sense.[117] Since 10th century, Arabic texts including al-Masudi's works, have referred to Kurds as a distinct linguistic group.[118] From 11th century onward, the term Kurd is explicitly defined as an ethnonym and this does not suggest synonymity with the ethnographic category nomad.[119] Al-Tabari wrote that in 639, Hormuzan, a Sasanian general originating from a noble family, battled against the Islamic invaders in Khuzestan, and called upon the Kurds to aid him in battle.[120] However, they were defeated and brought under Islamic rule.

 
Kurdish Warriors by Frank Feller

In 838, a Kurdish leader based in Mosul, named Mir Jafar, revolted against the Caliph Al-Mu'tasim who sent the commander Itakh to combat him. Itakh won this war and executed many of the Kurds.[121][122] Eventually, Arabs conquered the Kurdish regions and gradually converted the majority of Kurds to Islam, often incorporating them into the military, such as the Hamdanids whose dynastic family members also frequently intermarried with Kurds.[123][124]

In 934, the Daylamite Buyid dynasty was founded, and subsequently conquered most of present-day Iran and Iraq. During the time of rule of this dynasty, Kurdish chief and ruler, Badr ibn Hasanwaih, established himself as one of the most important emirs of the time.[125]

In the 10th-12th centuries, a number of Kurdish principalities and dynasties were founded, ruling Kurdistan and neighbouring areas:

Due to the Turkic invasion of Anatolia, the 11th-century Kurdish dynasties crumbled and became incorporated into the Seljuk Dynasty. Kurds would hereafter be used in great numbers in the armies of the Zengids.[133] Succeeding the Zengids, the Kurdish Ayyubids established themselves in 1171, first under the leadership of Saladin. Saladin led the Muslims to recapture the city of Jerusalem from the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin; also frequently clashing with the Assassins. The Ayyubid dynasty lasted until 1341 when the Ayyubid sultanate fell to Mongolian invasions.

Safavid period

Further information: Safavid dynasty

The Safavid Dynasty, established in 1501, also established its rule over Kurdish-inhabited territories. The paternal line of this family actually had Kurdish roots, tracing back to Firuz-Shah Zarrin-Kolah, a dignitary who moved from Kurdistan to Ardabil in the 11th century.[134][135] The Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 that culminated in what is nowadays Iran's West Azerbaijan Province, marked the start of the Ottoman-Persian Wars between the Iranian Safavids (and successive Iranian dynasties) and the Ottomans. For the next 300 years, many of the Kurds found themselves living in territories that frequently changed hands between Ottoman Turkey and Iran during the protracted series of Ottoman-Persian Wars.

The Safavid king Ismail I (r. 1501–1524) put down a Yezidi rebellion which went on from 1506 to 1510. A century later, the year-long Battle of Dimdim took place, wherein the Safavid king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) succeeded in putting down the rebellion led by the Kurdish ruler Amir Khan Lepzerin. Thereafter, many Kurds were deported to Khorasan, not only to weaken the Kurds, but also to protect the eastern border from invading Afghan and Turkmen tribes.[136] Other forced movements and deportations of other groups were also implemented by Abbas I and his successors, most notably of the Armenians, the Georgians, and the Circassians, who were moved en masse to and from other districts within the Persian empire.[137][138][139][140][141]

The Kurds of Khorasan, numbering around 700,000, still use the Kurmanji Kurdish dialect.[142][143] Several Kurdish noblemen served the Safavids and rose to prominence, such as Shaykh Ali Khan Zanganeh, who served as the grand vizier of the Safavid shah Suleiman I (r. 1666–1694) from 1669 to 1689. Due to his efforts in reforming the declining Iranian economy, he has been called the "Safavid Amir Kabir" in modern historiography.[144] His son, Shahqoli Khan Zanganeh, also served as a grand vizier from 1707 to 1716. Another Kurdish statesman, Ganj Ali Khan, was close friends with Abbas I, and served as governor in various provinces and was known for his loyal service.

Zand period

Further information: Zand dynasty
 
Karim Khan, the Laki ruler of the Zand Dynasty
 
Impression of a Kurdish man by American artist Antonio Zeno Shindle circa 1893

After the fall of the Safavids, Iran fell under the control of the Afsharid Empire ruled by Nader Shah at its peak. After Nader's death, Iran fell into civil war, with multiple leaders trying to gain control over the country. Ultimately, it was Karim Khan, a Laki general of the Zand tribe who would come to power.[145]

The country would flourish during Karim Khan's reign; a strong resurgence of the arts would take place, and international ties were strengthened.[146] Karim Khan was portrayed as being a ruler who truly cared about his subjects, thereby gaining the title Vakil e-Ra'aayaa (meaning Representative of the People in Persian).[146] Though not as powerful in its geo-political and military reach as the preceding Safavids and Afsharids or even the early Qajars, he managed to reassert Iranian hegemony over its integral territories in the Caucasus, and presided over an era of relative peace, prosperity, and tranquility. In Ottoman Iraq, following the Ottoman–Persian War (1775–76), Karim Khan managed to seize Basra for several years.[147][148]

After Karim Khan's death, the dynasty would decline in favour of the rival Qajars due to infighting between the Khan's incompetent offspring. It was not until Lotf Ali Khan, 10 years later, that the dynasty would once again be led by an adept ruler. By this time however, the Qajars had already progressed greatly, having taken a number of Zand territories. Lotf Ali Khan made multiple successes before ultimately succumbing to the rivaling faction. Iran and all its Kurdish territories would hereby be incorporated in the Qajar dynasty.

The Kurdish tribes present in Baluchistan and some of those in Fars are believed to be remnants of those that assisted and accompanied Lotf Ali Khan and Karim Khan, respectively.[149]

Ottoman period

Further information: Ottoman Empire and Sheik Ubeydullah

When Sultan Selim I, after defeating Shah Ismail I in 1514, annexed Western Armenia and Kurdistan, he entrusted the organisation of the conquered territories to Idris, the historian, who was a Kurd of Bitlis. He divided the territory into sanjaks or districts, and, making no attempt to interfere with the principle of heredity, installed the local chiefs as governors. He also resettled the rich pastoral country between Erzerum and Erivan, which had lain in waste since the passage of Timur, with Kurds from the Hakkari and Bohtan districts. For the next centuries, from the Peace of Amasya until the first half of the 19th century, several regions of the wide Kurdish homelands would be contested as well between the Ottomans and the neighbouring rival successive Iranian dynasties (Safavids, Afsharids, Qajars) in the frequent Ottoman-Persian Wars.

The Ottoman centralist policies in the beginning of the 19th century aimed to remove power from the principalities and localities, which directly affected the Kurdish emirs. Bedirhan Bey was the last emir of the Cizre Bohtan Emirate after initiating an uprising in 1847 against the Ottomans to protect the current structures of the Kurdish principalities. Although his uprising is not classified as a nationalist one, his children played significant roles in the emergence and the development of Kurdish nationalism through the next century.[150]

The first modern Kurdish nationalist movement emerged in 1880 with an uprising led by a Kurdish landowner and head of the powerful Shemdinan family, Sheik Ubeydullah, who demanded political autonomy or outright independence for Kurds as well as the recognition of a Kurdistan state without interference from Turkish or Persian authorities.[151] The uprising against Qajar Persia and the Ottoman Empire was ultimately suppressed by the Ottomans and Ubeydullah, along with other notables, were exiled to Istanbul.

Kurdish nationalism of the 20th century

Further information: Kurdish nationalism, Rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire, Deportations of Kurds (1916–1934), and Iraqi Kurdistan
 
Provisions of the Treaty of Sèvres for an independent Kurdistan (in 1920)

Kurdish nationalism emerged after World War I with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, which had historically successfully integrated (but not assimilated) the Kurds, through use of forced repression of Kurdish movements to gain independence. Revolts did occur sporadically but only in 1880 with the uprising led by Sheik Ubeydullah did the Kurds as an ethnic group or nation make demands. Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II (r. 1876–1909) responded with a campaign of integration by co-opting prominent Kurdish opponents to strengthen Ottoman power with offers of prestigious positions in his government. This strategy appears to have been successful, given the loyalty displayed by the Kurdish Hamidiye regiments during World War I.[152]

The Kurdish ethno-nationalist movement that emerged following World War I and the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 largely represented a reaction to the changes taking place in mainstream Turkey, primarily to the radical secularization, the centralization of authority, and to the rampant Turkish nationalism in the new Turkish Republic.[153]

Jakob Künzler, head of a missionary hospital in Urfa, documented the large-scale ethnic cleansing of both Armenians and Kurds by the Young Turks.[154] He has given a detailed account of the deportation of Kurds from Erzurum and Bitlis in the winter of 1916. The Kurds were perceived[by whom?] to be subversive elements who would take the Russian side in the war. In order to eliminate this threat, Young Turks embarked on a large-scale deportation of Kurds from the regions of Djabachdjur, Palu, Musch, Erzurum and Bitlis. Around 300,000 Kurds were forced to move southwards to Urfa and then westwards to Aintab and Marasch. In the summer of 1917 Kurds were moved to Konya in central Anatolia. Through these measures, the Young Turk leaders aimed at weakening the political influence of the Kurds by deporting them from their ancestral lands and by dispersing them in small pockets of exiled communities. By the end of World War I, up to 700,000 Kurds had been forcibly deported and almost half of the displaced perished.[155]

Some of the Kurdish groups sought self-determination and the confirmation of Kurdish autonomy in the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres, but in the aftermath of World War I, Kemal Atatürk prevented such a result. Kurds backed by the United Kingdom declared independence in 1927 and established the Republic of Ararat. Turkey suppressed Kurdist revolts in 1925, 1930, and 1937–1938, while Iran in the 1920s suppressed Simko Shikak at Lake Urmia and Jaafar Sultan of the Hewraman region, who controlled the region between Marivan and north of Halabja. A short-lived Soviet-sponsored Kurdish Republic of Mahabad (January to December 1946) existed in an area of present-day Iran.

 
Kurdish-inhabited areas of the Middle East and the Soviet Union in 1986, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

From 1922 to 1924 in Iraq a Kingdom of Kurdistan existed. When Ba'athist administrators thwarted Kurdish nationalist ambitions in Iraq, war broke out in the 1960s. In 1970 the Kurds rejected limited territorial self-rule within Iraq, demanding larger areas, including the oil-rich Kirkuk region.

During the 1920s and 1930s, several large-scale Kurdish revolts took place in Kurdistan. Following these rebellions, the area of Turkish Kurdistan was put under martial law and many of the Kurds were displaced. The Turkish government also encouraged resettlement of Albanians from Kosovo and Assyrians in the region to change the make-up of the population. These events and measures led to long-lasting mutual distrust between Ankara and the Kurds.[156]

Kurdish officers from the Iraqi army [...] were said to have approached Soviet army authorities soon after their arrival in Iran in 1941 and offered to form a Kurdish volunteer force to fight alongside the Red Army. This offer was declined.[157]

During the relatively open government of the 1950s in Turkey, Kurds gained political office and started working within the framework of the Turkish Republic to further their interests, but this move towards integration was halted with the 1960 Turkish coup d'état.[152] The 1970s saw an evolution in Kurdish nationalism as Marxist political thought influenced some in the new generation of Kurdish nationalists opposed to the local feudal authorities who had been a traditional source of opposition to authority; in 1978 Kurdish students would form the militant separatist organization PKK, also known as the Kurdistan Workers' Party in English. The Kurdistan Workers' Party later abandoned Marxism-Leninism.[158]

Kurds are often regarded as "the largest ethnic group without a state",[159][160][161][162][163][164] Some researchers, such as Martin van Bruinessen,[165] who seem to agree with the official Turkish position, argue that while some level of Kurdish cultural, social, political and ideological heterogeneity may exist, the Kurdish community has long thrived over the centuries as a generally peaceful and well-integrated part of Turkish society, with hostilities erupting only in recent years.[166][167][168]Michael Radu, who worked for the United States' Pennsylvania Foreign Policy Research Institute, notes that demands for a Kurdish state comes primarily from Kurdish nationalists, Western human-rights activists, and European leftists.[166]

Kurdish communities

Further information: Kurdistan and Kurdish refugees

Turkey

Main articles: Kurds in Turkey, Kurds of Central Anatolia, Turkish Kurdistan, Human rights in Turkey, Kurdistan Workers Party, and Human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey
 
Two Kurds From Constantinople 1899

According to CIA Factbook, Kurds formed approximately 18% of the population in Turkey (approximately 14 million) in 2008. One Western source estimates that up to 25% of the Turkish population is Kurdish (approximately 18–19 million people).[55] Kurdish sources claim there are as many as 20 or 25 million Kurds in Turkey.[169] In 1980, Ethnologue estimated the number of Kurdish-speakers in Turkey at around five million,[170] when the country's population stood at 44 million.[171] Kurds form the largest minority group in Turkey, and they have posed the most serious and persistent challenge to the official image of a homogeneous society. To deny an existence of Kurds, the Turkish Government used several terms. "Mountain Turks" was a term was initially used by Abdullah Alpdoğan [tr]. In 1961, in a foreword to the book Doğu İlleri ve Varto Tarihi of Mehmet Şerif Fırat, the Turkish president Cemal Gürsel declared it of utmost importance to prove the Turkishness of the Kurds.[172] Eastern Turk was another euphemism for Kurds from 1980 onwards.[173] Nowadays the Kurds, in Turkey, are still known under the name Easterner (Doğulu).

Several large scale Kurdish revolts in 1925, 1930 and 1938 were suppressed by the Turkish government and more than one million Kurds were forcibly relocated between 1925 and 1938. The use of Kurdish language, dress, folklore, and names were banned and the Kurdish-inhabited areas remained under martial law until 1946.[174] The Ararat revolt, which reached its apex in 1930, was only suppressed after a massive military campaign including destruction of many villages and their populations.[175] By the 1970s, Kurdish leftist organizations such as Kurdistan Socialist Party-Turkey (KSP-T) emerged in Turkey which were against violence and supported civil activities and participation in elections. In 1977, Mehdi Zana a supporter of KSP-T won the mayoralty of Diyarbakir in the local elections. At about the same time, generational fissures gave birth to two new organizations: the National Liberation of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Workers Party.[176]

 
Kurdish boys in Diyarbakir

The words "Kurds", "Kurdistan", or "Kurdish" were officially banned by the Turkish government.[177] Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life.[178] Many people who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.[179] The Kurds are still not allowed to get a primary education in their mother tongue and they do not have a right to self-determination, even though Turkey has signed the ICCPR. There is ongoing discrimination against and "otherization" of Kurds in society.[180]

The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK (Kurdish: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê) is Kurdish militant organization which has waged an armed struggle against the Turkish state for cultural and political rights and self-determination for the Kurds. Turkey's military allies the US, the EU, and NATO label the PKK as a terrorist organization while the UN,[181] Switzerland,[182] Russia,[183] China and India have refused to add the PKK to their terrorist list.[184] Some of them have even supported the PKK.[185]

Between 1984 and 1999, the PKK and the Turkish military engaged in open war, and much of the countryside in the southeast was depopulated, as Kurdish civilians moved from villages to bigger cities such as Diyarbakır, Van, and Şırnak, as well as to the cities of western Turkey and even to western Europe. The causes of the depopulation included mainly the Turkish state's military operations, state's political actions, Turkish deep state actions, the poverty of the southeast and PKK atrocities against Kurdish clans which were against them.[186] Turkish State actions have included forced inscription, forced evacuation, destruction of villages, severe harassment, illegal arrests and executions of Kurdish civilians.[187][188][189]

Since the 1970s, the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Turkey for the thousands of human rights abuses.[187][190] The judgments are related to executions of Kurdish civilians,[188] torturing,[191] forced displacements[192] systematic destruction of villages,[193] arbitrary arrests[194] murdered and disappeared Kurdish journalists.[195]

Leyla Zana, the first Kurdish female MP from Diyarbakir, caused an uproar in Turkish Parliament after adding the following sentence in Kurdish to her parliamentary oath during the swearing-in ceremony in 1994: "I take this oath for the brotherhood of the Turkish and Kurdish peoples."[196]

In March 1994, the Turkish Parliament voted to lift the immunity of Zana and five other Kurdish DEP members: Hatip Dicle, Ahmet Turk, Sirri Sakik, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak. Zana, Dicle, Sadak and Dogan were sentenced to 15 years in jail by the Supreme Court in October 1995. Zana was awarded the Sakharov Prize for human rights by the European Parliament in 1995. She was released in 2004 amid warnings from European institutions that the continued imprisonment of the four Kurdish MPs would affect Turkey's bid to join the EU.[197][198] The 2009 local elections resulted in 5.7% for Kurdish political party DTP.[199]

Officially protected death squads are accused of the disappearance of 3,200 Kurds and Assyrians in 1993 and 1994 in the so-called "mystery killings". Kurdish politicians, human-rights activists, journalists, teachers and other members of intelligentsia were among the victims. Virtually none of the perpetrators were investigated nor punished. Turkish government also encouraged Islamic extremist group Hezbollah to assassinate suspected PKK members and often ordinary Kurds.[200] Azimet Köylüoğlu, the state minister of human rights, revealed the extent of security forces' excesses in autumn 1994: While acts of terrorism in other regions are done by the PKK; in Tunceli it is state terrorism. In Tunceli, it is the state that is evacuating and burning villages. In the southeast there are two million people left homeless.[201]

Iran

Main articles: Kurds in Iran, Kurds of Khorasan, Iranian Kurdistan, and History of the Kurds

The Kurdish region of Iran has been a part of the country since ancient times. Nearly all Kurdistan was part of Persian Empire until its Western part was lost during wars against the Ottoman Empire.[202] Following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 Tehran had demanded all lost territories including Turkish Kurdistan, Mosul, and even Diyarbakır, but demands were quickly rejected by Western powers.[203] This area has been divided by modern Turkey, Syria and Iraq.[204] Today, the Kurds inhabit mostly northwestern territories known as Iranian Kurdistan but also the northeastern region of Khorasan, and constitute approximately 7–10%[205] of Iran's overall population (6.5–7.9 million), compared to 10.6% (2 million) in 1956 and 8% (800,000) in 1850.[206]

Unlike in other Kurdish-populated countries, there are strong ethnolinguistical and cultural ties between Kurds, Persians and others as Iranian peoples.[205] Some modern Iranian dynasties like the Safavids and Zands are considered to be partly of Kurdish origin. Kurdish literature in all of its forms (Kurmanji, Sorani, and Gorani) has been developed within historical Iranian boundaries under strong influence of the Persian language.[204] The Kurds sharing much of their history with the rest of Iran is seen as reason for why Kurdish leaders in Iran do not want a separate Kurdish state.[205][207][208]

The government of Iran has never employed the same level of brutality against its own Kurds like Turkey or Iraq, but it has always been implacably opposed to any suggestion of Kurdish separatism.[205] During and shortly after the First World War the government of Iran was ineffective and had very little control over events in the country and several Kurdish tribal chiefs gained local political power, even established large confederations.[207] At the same time waves of nationalism from the disintegrating Ottoman Empire partly influenced some Kurdish chiefs in border regions to pose as Kurdish nationalist leaders.[207] Prior to this, identity in both countries largely relied upon religion i.e. Shia Islam in the particular case of Iran.[208][209] In 19th-century Iran, Shia–Sunni animosity and the describing of Sunni Kurds as an Ottoman fifth column was quite frequent.[210]

During the late 1910s and early 1920s, tribal revolt led by Kurdish chieftain Simko Shikak struck north western Iran. Although elements of Kurdish nationalism were present in this movement, historians agree these were hardly articulate enough to justify a claim that recognition of Kurdish identity was a major issue in Simko's movement, and he had to rely heavily on conventional tribal motives.[207] Government forces and non-Kurds were not the only ones to suffer in the attacks, the Kurdish population was also robbed and assaulted.[207][211] Rebels do not appear to have felt any sense of unity or solidarity with fellow Kurds.[207] Kurdish insurgency and seasonal migrations in the late 1920s, along with long-running tensions between Tehran and Ankara, resulted in border clashes and even military penetrations in both Iranian and Turkish territory.[203] Two regional powers have used Kurdish tribes as tool for own political benefits: Turkey has provided military help and refuge for anti-Iranian Turcophone Shikak rebels in 1918–1922,[212] while Iran did the same during Ararat rebellion against Turkey in 1930. Reza Shah's military victory over Kurdish and Turkic tribal leaders initiated a repressive era toward non-Iranian minorities.[211] Government's forced detribalization and sedentarization in 1920s and 1930s resulted with many other tribal revolts in Iranian regions of Azerbaijan, Luristan and Kurdistan.[213] In particular case of the Kurds, this repressive policies partly contributed to developing nationalism among some tribes.[207]

 
Iranian Kurds celebrating Newroz, 20 March 2018

As a response to growing Pan-Turkism and Pan-Arabism in region which were seen as potential threats to the territorial integrity of Iran, Pan-Iranist ideology has been developed in the early 1920s.[209] Some of such groups and journals openly advocated Iranian support to the Kurdish rebellion against Turkey.[214] Secular Pahlavi dynasty has endorsed Iranian ethnic nationalism[209] which saw the Kurds as integral part of the Iranian nation.[208] Mohammad Reza Pahlavi has personally praised the Kurds as "pure Iranians" or "one of the most noble Iranian peoples". Another significant ideology during this period was Marxism which arose among Kurds under influence of USSR. It culminated in the Iran crisis of 1946 which included a separatist attempt of KDP-I and communist groups[215] to establish the Soviet puppet government[216][217][218] called Republic of Mahabad. It arose along with Azerbaijan People's Government, another Soviet puppet state.[205][219] The state itself encompassed a very small territory, including Mahabad and the adjacent cities, unable to incorporate the southern Iranian Kurdistan which fell inside the Anglo-American zone, and unable to attract the tribes outside Mahabad itself to the nationalist cause.[205] As a result, when the Soviets withdrew from Iran in December 1946, government forces were able to enter Mahabad unopposed.[205]

 
Qazi Muhammad, the President of the Republic of Kurdistan

Several nationalist and Marxist insurgencies continued for decades (1967, 1979, 1989–96) led by KDP-I and Komalah, but those two organization have never advocated a separate Kurdish state or greater Kurdistan as did the PKK in Turkey.[207][220][221][222] Still, many of dissident leaders, among others Qazi Muhammad and Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, were executed or assassinated.[205] During Iran–Iraq War, Tehran has provided support for Iraqi-based Kurdish groups like KDP or PUK, along with asylum for 1.4 million Iraqi refugees, mostly Kurds. Kurdish Marxist groups have been marginalized in Iran since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In 2004 new insurrection started by PJAK, separatist organization affiliated with the Turkey-based PKK[223] and designated as terrorist by Iran, Turkey and the United States.[223] Some analysts claim PJAK do not pose any serious threat to the government of Iran.[224] Cease-fire has been established in September 2011 following the Iranian offensive on PJAK bases, but several clashes between PJAK and IRGC took place after it.[167] Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, accusations of "discrimination" by Western organizations and of "foreign involvement" by Iranian side have become very frequent.[167]

Kurds have been well integrated in Iranian political life during reign of various governments.[207] Kurdish liberal political Karim Sanjabi has served as minister of education under Mohammad Mossadegh in 1952. During the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi some members of parliament and high army officers were Kurds, and there was even a Kurdish Cabinet Minister.[207] During the reign of the Pahlavis Kurds received many favours from the authorities, for instance to keep their land after the land reforms of 1962.[207] In the early 2000s, presence of thirty Kurdish deputies in the 290-strong parliament has also helped to undermine claims of discrimination.[225] Some of the more influential Kurdish politicians during recent years include former first vice president Mohammad Reza Rahimi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Mayor of Tehran and second-placed presidential candidate in 2013. Kurdish language is today used more than at any other time since the Revolution, including in several newspapers and among schoolchildren.[225] Many Iranian Kurds show no interest in Kurdish nationalism,[205] particularly Kurds of the Shia faith who sometimes even vigorously reject idea of autonomy, preferring direct rule from Tehran.[205][220] The issue of Kurdish nationalism and Iranian national identity is generally only questioned in the peripheral Kurdish dominated regions where the Sunni faith is prevalent.[226]

Iraq

Further information: Kurds in Iraq; Iraqi Kurdistan; Al-Anfal genocide; Halabja poison gas attack; and Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum, 2017
 
The President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, meeting with U.S. officials in Baghdad, Iraq, on 26 April 2006

Kurds constitute approximately 17% of Iraq's population. They are the majority in at least three provinces in northern Iraq which are together known as Iraqi Kurdistan. Kurds also have a presence in Kirkuk, Mosul, Khanaqin, and Baghdad. Around 300,000 Kurds live in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, 50,000 in the city of Mosul and around 100,000 elsewhere in southern Iraq.[227]

Kurds led by Mustafa Barzani were engaged in heavy fighting against successive Iraqi regimes from 1960 to 1975. In March 1970, Iraq announced a peace plan providing for Kurdish autonomy. The plan was to be implemented in four years.[228] However, at the same time, the Iraqi regime started an Arabization program in the oil-rich regions of Kirkuk and Khanaqin.[229] The peace agreement did not last long, and in 1974, the Iraqi government began a new offensive against the Kurds. Moreover, in March 1975, Iraq and Iran signed the Algiers Accord, according to which Iran cut supplies to Iraqi Kurds. Iraq started another wave of Arabization by moving Arabs to the oil fields in Kurdistan, particularly those around Kirkuk.[230] Between 1975 and 1978, 200,000 Kurds were deported to other parts of Iraq.[231]

 
Kurdish girls in traditional Kurdish costume, Newroz picnic in Kirkuk

During the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, the regime implemented anti-Kurdish policies and a de facto civil war broke out. Iraq was widely condemned by the international community, but was never seriously punished for oppressive measures such as the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians, the wholesale destruction of thousands of villages and the deportation of thousands of Kurds to southern and central Iraq.

The genocidal campaign, conducted between 1986 and 1989 and culminating in 1988, carried out by the Iraqi government against the Kurdish population was called Anfal ("Spoils of War"). The Anfal campaign led to destruction of over two thousand villages and killing of 182,000 Kurdish civilians.[232] The campaign included the use of ground offensives, aerial bombing, systematic destruction of settlements, mass deportation, firing squads, and chemical attacks, including the most infamous attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988 that killed 5000 civilians instantly.

 
Pro-independence rally in Erbil in September 2017

After the collapse of the Kurdish uprising in March 1991, Iraqi troops recaptured most of the Kurdish areas and 1.5 million Kurds abandoned their homes and fled to the Turkish and Iranian borders. It is estimated that close to 20,000 Kurds succumbed to death due to exhaustion, lack of food, exposure to cold and disease. On 5 April 1991, UN Security Council passed resolution 688 which condemned the repression of Iraqi Kurdish civilians and demanded that Iraq end its repressive measures and allow immediate access to international humanitarian organizations.[233] This was the first international document (since the League of Nations arbitration of Mosul in 1926) to mention Kurds by name. In mid-April, the Coalition established safe havens inside Iraqi borders and prohibited Iraqi planes from flying north of 36th parallel.[106]: 373, 375  In October 1991, Kurdish guerrillas captured Erbil and Sulaimaniyah after a series of clashes with Iraqi troops. In late October, Iraqi government retaliated by imposing a food and fuel embargo on the Kurds and stopping to pay civil servants in the Kurdish region. The embargo, however, backfired and Kurds held parliamentary elections in May 1992 and established Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).[234]

The Kurdish population welcomed the American troops in 2003 by holding celebrations and dancing in the streets.[235][236][237][238] The area controlled by Peshmerga was expanded, and Kurds now have effective control in Kirkuk and parts of Mosul. The authority of the KRG and legality of its laws and regulations were recognized in the articles 113 and 137 of the new Iraqi Constitution ratified in 2005.[239] By the beginning of 2006, the two Kurdish administrations of Erbil and Sulaimaniya were unified. On 14 August 2007, Yazidis were targeted in a series of bombings that became the deadliest suicide attack since the Iraq War began, killing 796 civilians, wounding 1,562.[240]

Syria

Main articles: Kurds in Syria and Rojava
 
Kurdish YPG and YPJ fighters in Syria

Kurds account for 9% of Syria's population, a total of around 1.6 million people.[241] This makes them the largest ethnic minority in the country. They are mostly concentrated in the northeast and the north, but there are also significant Kurdish populations in Aleppo and Damascus. Kurds often speak Kurdish in public, unless all those present do not. According to Amnesty International, Kurdish human rights activists are mistreated and persecuted.[242] No political parties are allowed for any group, Kurdish or otherwise.

Techniques used to suppress the ethnic identity of Kurds in Syria include various bans on the use of the Kurdish language, refusal to register children with Kurdish names, the replacement of Kurdish place names with new names in Arabic, the prohibition of businesses that do not have Arabic names, the prohibition of Kurdish private schools, and the prohibition of books and other materials written in Kurdish.[243][244] Having been denied the right to Syrian nationality, around 300,000 Kurds have been deprived of any social rights, in violation of international law.[245][246] As a consequence, these Kurds are in effect trapped within Syria. In March 2011, in part to avoid further demonstrations and unrest from spreading across Syria, the Syrian government promised to tackle the issue and grant Syrian citizenship to approximately 300,000 Kurds who had been previously denied the right.[247]

On 12 March 2004, beginning at a stadium in Qamishli (a largely Kurdish city in northeastern Syria), clashes between Kurds and Syrians broke out and continued over a number of days. At least thirty people were killed and more than 160 injured. The unrest spread to other Kurdish towns along the northern border with Turkey, and then to Damascus and Aleppo.[248][249]

As a result of Syrian civil war, since July 2012, Kurds were able to take control of large parts of Syrian Kurdistan from Andiwar in extreme northeast to Jindires in extreme northwest Syria. The Syrian Kurds started the Rojava Revolution in 2013.

Kurdish-inhabited Afrin Canton has been occupied by Turkish Armed Forces and Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army since the Turkish military operation in Afrin in early 2018. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people were displaced due to the Turkish intervention.[250]

In October 2019, Turkey and the Syrian Interim Government began an offensive into Kurdish-populated areas in Syria, prompting about 100,000 civilians to flee from the area fearing that Turkey would commit an ethnic cleansing.[251][252]

Transcaucasus

See also: Kurdish-Armenian relations and Kurds in Azerbaijan
 
Tunar Rahmanoghly singing Kurdish song "Rinda Min". Khari Bulbul Music Festival

Between the 1930s and 1980s, Armenia was a part of the Soviet Union, within which Kurds, like other ethnic groups, had the status of a protected minority. Armenian Kurds were permitted their own state-sponsored newspaper, radio broadcasts and cultural events. During the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, many non-Yazidi Kurds were forced to leave their homes since both the Azeri and non-Yazidi Kurds were Muslim.

In 1920, two Kurdish-inhabited areas of Jewanshir (capital Kalbajar) and eastern Zangazur (capital Lachin) were combined to form the Kurdistan Okrug (or "Red Kurdistan"). The period of existence of the Kurdish administrative unit was brief and did not last beyond 1929. Kurds subsequently faced many repressive measures, including deportations, imposed by the Soviet government. As a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, many Kurdish areas have been destroyed and more than 150,000 Kurds have been deported since 1988 by separatist Armenian forces.[253]

Diaspora

Main articles: Kurds in Germany, Kurds in France, Kurds in the Netherlands, Kurds in Sweden, Kurds in Russia, Kurds in the United Kingdom, Kurds in Canada, Kurds in the United States, Kurds in Australia, Kurdish Jews in Israel, and Kurds in Japan
 
Protest in Berlin, Germany against Turkey's military offensive into north-eastern Syria on 10 October 2019
 
Hamdi Ulukaya, Kurdish-American billionaire, founder and CEO of Chobani

According to a report by the Council of Europe, approximately 1.3 million Kurds live in Western Europe. The earliest immigrants were Kurds from Turkey, who settled in Germany, Austria, the Benelux countries, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and France during the 1960s. Successive periods of political and social turmoil in the region during the 1980s and 1990s brought new waves of Kurdish refugees, mostly from Iran and Iraq under Saddam Hussein, came to Europe.[142] In recent years, many Kurdish asylum seekers from both Iran and Iraq have settled in the United Kingdom (especially in the town of Dewsbury and in some northern areas of London), which has sometimes caused media controversy over their right to remain.[254] There have been tensions between Kurds and the established Muslim community in Dewsbury,[255][256] which is home to very traditional mosques such as the Markazi. Since the beginning of the turmoil in Syria many of the refugees of the Syrian Civil War are Syrian Kurds and as a result many of the current Syrian asylum seekers in Germany are of Kurdish descent.[257][258]

There was substantial immigration of ethnic Kurds in Canada and the United States, who are mainly political refugees and immigrants seeking economic opportunity. According to a 2011 Statistics Canada household survey, there were 11,685 people of Kurdish ethnic background living in Canada,[259] and according to the 2011 Census, 10,325 Canadians spoke Kurdish languages.[260] In the United States, Kurdish immigrants started to settle in large numbers in Nashville in 1976,[261] which is now home to the largest Kurdish community in the United States and is nicknamed Little Kurdistan.[262] Kurdish population in Nashville is estimated to be around 11,000.[263] The total number of ethnic Kurds residing in the United States is estimated by the US Census Bureau to be 20,591.[22] Other sources claim that there are 20,000 ethnic Kurds in the United States.[264]

Culture

Main articles: Kurdish culture and Kurdish literature

Kurdish culture is a legacy from the various ancient peoples who shaped modern Kurds and their society. As most other Middle Eastern populations, a high degree of mutual influences between the Kurds and their neighbouring peoples are apparent. Therefore, in Kurdish culture elements of various other cultures are to be seen. However, on the whole, Kurdish culture is closest to that of other Iranian peoples, in particular those who historically had the closest geographical proximity to the Kurds, such as the Persians and Lurs. Kurds, for instance, also celebrate Newroz (21 March) as New Year's Day.[265]

Education

A madrasa system was used before the modern era.[266][267] Mele are Islamic clerics and instructors.[268]

Women

Main article: Kurdish women
 
YPG's female fighters in Syria

In general, Kurdish women's rights and equality have improved in the 20th and 21st centuries due to progressive movements within Kurdish society. However, despite the progress, Kurdish and international women's rights organizations still report problems related to gender equality, forced marriages, honor killings and in Iraqi Kurdistan also female genital mutilation (FGM).[269]

Folklore

 
The fox, a widely recurring character in Kurdish tales

The Kurds possess a rich tradition of folklore, which, until recent times, was largely transmitted by speech or song, from one generation to the next. Although some of the Kurdish writers' stories were well known throughout Kurdistan; most of the stories told and sung were only written down in the 20th and 21st centuries. Many of these are, allegedly, centuries old.

Widely varying in purpose and style, among the Kurdish folklore one will find stories about nature, anthropomorphic animals, love, heroes and villains, mythological creatures and everyday life. A number of these mythological figures can be found in other cultures, like the Simurgh and Kaveh the Blacksmith in the broader Iranian Mythology, and stories of Shahmaran throughout Anatolia. Additionally, stories can be purely entertaining, or have an educational or religious aspect.[270]

Perhaps the most widely reoccurring element is the fox, which, through cunning and shrewdness triumphs over less intelligent species, yet often also meets his demise.[270] Another common theme in Kurdish folklore is the origin of a tribe.

Storytellers would perform in front of an audience, sometimes consisting of an entire village. People from outside the region would travel to attend their narratives, and the storytellers themselves would visit other villages to spread their tales. These would thrive especially during winter, where entertainment was hard to find as evenings had to be spent inside.[270]

Coinciding with the heterogeneous Kurdish groupings, although certain stories and elements were commonly found throughout Kurdistan, others were unique to a specific area; depending on the region, religion or dialect. The Kurdish Jews of Zakho are perhaps the best example of this; their gifted storytellers are known to have been greatly respected throughout the region, thanks to a unique oral tradition.[271] Other examples are the mythology of the Yezidis,[272] and the stories of the Dersim Kurds, which had a substantial Armenian influence.[273]

During the criminalization of the Kurdish language after the coup d'état of 1980, dengbêj (singers) and çîrokbêj (tellers) were silenced, and many of the stories had become endangered. In 1991, the language was decriminalized, yet the now highly available radios and TV's had as an effect a diminished interest in traditional storytelling.[274] However, a number of writers have made great strides in the preservation of these tales.

Weaving

 
Modern rug from Bijar

Kurdish weaving is renowned throughout the world, with fine specimens of both rugs and bags. The most famous Kurdish rugs are those from the Bijar region, in the Kurdistan Province. Because of the unique way in which the Bijar rugs are woven, they are very stout and durable, hence their appellation as the 'Iron Rugs of Persia'. Exhibiting a wide variety, the Bijar rugs have patterns ranging from floral designs, medallions and animals to other ornaments. They generally have two wefts, and are very colorful in design.[275] With an increased interest in these rugs in the last century, and a lesser need for them to be as sturdy as they were, new Bijar rugs are more refined and delicate in design.

Another well-known Kurdish rug is the Senneh rug, which is regarded as the most sophisticated of the Kurdish rugs. They are especially known for their great knot density and high-quality mountain wool.[275] They lend their name from the region of Sanandaj. Throughout other Kurdish regions like Kermanshah, Siirt, Malatya and Bitlis rugs were also woven to great extent.[276]

Kurdish bags are mainly known from the works of one large tribe: the Jaffs, living in the border area between Iran and Iraq. These Jaff bags share the same characteristics of Kurdish rugs; very colorful, stout in design, often with medallion patterns. They were especially popular in the West during the 1920s and 1930s.[277]

Handicrafts

 
A Kurdish nobleman bearing a jambiya dagger

Outside of weaving and clothing, there are many other Kurdish handicrafts, which were traditionally often crafted by nomadic Kurdish tribes. These are especially well known in Iran, most notably the crafts from the Kermanshah and Sanandaj regions. Among these crafts are chess boards, talismans, jewelry, ornaments, weaponry, instruments etc.[citation needed]

Kurdish blades include a distinct jambiya, with its characteristic I-shaped hilt, and oblong blade. Generally, these possess double-edged blades, reinforced with a central ridge, a wooden, leather or silver decorated scabbard, and a horn hilt, furthermore they are often still worn decoratively by older men. Swords were made as well. Most of these blades in circulation stem from the 19th century.

Another distinct form of art from Sanandaj is 'Oroosi', a type of window where stylized wooden pieces are locked into each other, rather than being glued together. These are further decorated with coloured glass, this stems from an old belief that if light passes through a combination of seven colours it helps keep the atmosphere clean.

Among Kurdish Jews a common practice was the making of talismans, which were believed to combat illnesses and protect the wearer from malevolent spirits.

Tattoos

Main article: Deq (tattoo)
 
Kurdish woman with deq tattoo

Adorning the body with tattoos (deq in Kurdish) is widespread among the Kurds; even though permanent tattoos are not permissible in Sunni Islam. Therefore, these traditional tattoos are thought to derive from pre-Islamic times.[278]

Tattoo ink is made by mixing soot with (breast) milk and the poisonous liquid from the gall bladder of an animal. The design is drawn on the skin using a thin twig and is injected under the skin using a needle. These have a wide variety of meanings and purposes, among which are protection against evil or illnesses; beauty enhancement; and the showing of tribal affiliations. Religious symbolism is also common among both traditional and modern Kurdish tattoos. Tattoos are more prevalent among women than among men, and were generally worn on feet, the chin, foreheads and other places of the body.[278][279]

The popularity of permanent, traditional tattoos has greatly diminished among newer generation of Kurds. However, modern tattoos are becoming more prevalent; and temporary tattoos are still being worn on special occasions (such as henna, the night before a wedding) and as tribute to the cultural heritage.[278]

Music and dance

Main article: Kurdish music
 
Kurdish musicians, 1890

Traditionally, there are three types of Kurdish classical performers: storytellers (çîrokbêj), minstrels (stranbêj), and bards (dengbêj). No specific music was associated with the Kurdish princely courts. Instead, music performed in night gatherings (şevbihêrk) is considered classical. Several musical forms are found in this genre. Many songs are epic in nature, such as the popular Lawiks, heroic ballads recounting the tales of Kurdish heroes such as Saladin. Heyrans are love ballads usually expressing the melancholy of separation and unfulfilled love. One of the first Kurdish female singers to sing heyrans is Chopy Fatah, while Lawje is a form of religious music and Payizoks are songs performed during the autumn. Love songs, dance music, wedding and other celebratory songs (dîlok/narînk), erotic poetry, and work songs are also popular.[citation needed]

Throughout the Middle East, there are many prominent Kurdish artists. Most famous are Ibrahim Tatlises, Nizamettin Arıç, Ahmet Kaya and the Kamkars. In Europe, well-known artists are Darin Zanyar, Sivan Perwer, and Azad.

Cinema

Main article: Kurdish cinema
 
Bahman Ghobadi at the presentation of his film Nobody Knows About Persian Cats in San Sebastián, 2009

The main themes of Kurdish cinema are the poverty and hardship which ordinary Kurds have to endure. The first films featuring Kurdish culture were actually shot in Armenia. Zare, released in 1927, produced by Hamo Beknazarian, details the story of Zare and her love for the shepherd Seydo, and the difficulties the two experience by the hand of the village elder.[280] In 1948 and 1959, two documentaries were made concerning the Yezidi Kurds in Armenia. These were joint Armenian-Kurdish productions; with H. Koçaryan and Heciye Cindi teaming up for The Kurds of Soviet Armenia,[281] and Ereb Samilov and C. Jamharyan for Kurds of Armenia.[281]

The first critically acclaimed and famous Kurdish films were produced by Yılmaz Güney. Initially a popular, award-winning actor in Turkey with the nickname Çirkin Kral (the Ugly King, after his rough looks), he spent the later part of his career producing socio-critical and politically loaded films. Sürü (1979), Yol (1982) and Duvar (1983) are his best-known works, of which the second won Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival of 1982,[282] the most prestigious award in the world of cinema.

Another prominent Kurdish film director is Bahman Qubadi. His first feature film was A Time for Drunken Horses, released in 2000. It was critically acclaimed, and went on to win multiple awards. Other movies of his would follow this example,[283] making him one of the best known film producers of Iran of today. Recently, he released Rhinos Season, starring Behrouz Vossoughi, Monica Bellucci and Yilmaz Erdogan, detailing the tumultuous life of a Kurdish poet.

Other prominent Kurdish film directors that are critically acclaimed include Mahsun Kırmızıgül, Hiner Saleem and the aforementioned Yilmaz Erdogan. There's also been a number of films set and/or filmed in Kurdistan made by non-Kurdish film directors, such as The Wind Will Carry Us, Triage, The Exorcist, and The Market: A Tale of Trade.

Sports

 
Eren Derdiyok, a Kurdish footballer, striker for the Swiss national football team

The most popular sport among the Kurds is football. Because the Kurds have no independent state, they have no representative team in FIFA or the AFC; however a team representing Iraqi Kurdistan has been active in the Viva World Cup since 2008. They became runners-up in 2009 and 2010, before ultimately becoming champion in 2012.

On a national level, the Kurdish clubs of Iraq have achieved success in recent years as well, winning the Iraqi Premier League four times in the last five years. Prominent clubs are Erbil SC, Duhok SC, Sulaymaniyah FC and Zakho FC.

In Turkey, a Kurd named Celal Ibrahim was one of the founders of Galatasaray S.K. in 1905, as well as one of the original players. The most prominent Kurdish-Turkish club is Diyarbakirspor. In the diaspora, the most successful Kurdish club is Dalkurd FF and the most famous player is Eren Derdiyok.[284]

Another prominent sport is wrestling. In Iranian Wrestling, there are three styles originating from Kurdish regions:

Furthermore, the most accredited of the traditional Iranian wrestling styles, the Bachoukheh, derives its name from a local Khorasani Kurdish costume in which it is practised.[285]

Kurdish medalists in the 2012 Summer Olympics were Nur Tatar,[286] Kianoush Rostami and Yezidi Misha Aloyan;[287] who won medals in taekwondo, weightlifting and boxing, respectively.

Architecture

The traditional Kurdish village has simple houses, made of mud. In most cases with flat, wooden roofs, and, if the village is built on the slope of a mountain, the roof on one house makes for the garden of the house one level higher. However, houses with a beehive-like roof, not unlike those in Harran, are also present.

Over the centuries many Kurdish architectural marvels have been erected, with varying styles. Kurdistan boasts many examples from ancient Iranian, Roman, Greek and Semitic origin, most famous of these include Bisotun and Taq-e Bostan in Kermanshah, Takht-e Soleyman near Takab, Mount Nemrud near Adiyaman and the citadels of Erbil and Diyarbakir.

The first genuinely Kurdish examples extant were built in the 11th century. Those earliest examples consist of the Marwanid Dicle Bridge in Diyarbakir, the Shadaddid Minuchir Mosque in Ani,[288] and the Hisn al Akrad near Homs.[289]

In the 12th and 13th centuries the Ayyubid dynasty constructed many buildings throughout the Middle East, being influenced by their predecessors, the Fatimids, and their rivals, the Crusaders, whilst also developing their own techniques.[290] Furthermore, women of the Ayyubid family took a prominent role in the patronage of new constructions.[291] The Ayyubids' most famous works are the Halil-ur-Rahman Mosque that surrounds the Pool of Sacred Fish in Urfa, the Citadel of Cairo[292] and most parts of the Citadel of Aleppo.[293] Another important piece of Kurdish architectural heritage from the late 12th/early 13th centuries is the Yezidi pilgrimage site Lalish, with its trademark conical roofs.

In later periods too, Kurdish rulers and their corresponding dynasties and emirates would leave their mark upon the land in the form mosques, castles and bridges, some of which have decayed, or have been (partly) destroyed in an attempt to erase the Kurdish cultural heritage, such as the White Castle of the Bohtan Emirate. Well-known examples are Hosap Castle of the 17th century,[294] Sherwana Castle of the early 18th century, and the Ellwen Bridge of Khanaqin of the 19th century.

Most famous is the Ishak Pasha Palace of Dogubeyazit, a structure with heavy influences from both Anatolian and Iranian architectural traditions. Construction of the Palace began in 1685, led by Colak Abdi Pasha, a Kurdish bey of the Ottoman Empire, but the building would not be completed until 1784, by his grandson, Ishak Pasha.[295][296] Containing almost 100 rooms, including a mosque, dining rooms, dungeons and being heavily decorated by hewn-out ornaments, this Palace has the reputation as being one of the finest pieces of architecture of the Ottoman Period, and of Anatolia.

In recent years, the KRG has been responsible for the renovation of several historical structures, such as Erbil Citadel and the Mudhafaria Minaret.[297]

Genetics

See also: Genetic history of the Middle East

A 2005 study genetically examined three different groups of Zaza and Kurmanji speakers in Turkey and Kurmanji speakers in Georgia. In the study, mtDNA HV1 sequences, eleven Y chromosome bi-allelic markers and 9 Y-STR loci were analyzed to investigate lineage relationship among Kurdish groups. When both mtDNA and Y chromosome data are compared with those of the European, Caucasian, West Asian and Central Asian groups, it has been determined that the Kurdish groups are most closely related to West Asians and the furthest to Central Asians. Among the European and Caucasian groups, Kurds were found to be closer to Europeans than Caucasians when considering mtDNA, and the opposite was true for Y chromosome. This indicates a difference in maternal and paternal origins of Kurdish groups. According to the study, Kurdish groups in Georgia went through a genetic bottleneck while migrating to the Caucasus. It has also been revealed that these groups were not influenced by other Caucasian groups in terms of ancestry. Another phenomenon found in the research was that Zazas are closer to Kurdish groups rather than peoples of Northern Iran, where ancestral Zaza language hypothesized to be spoken before its spread to Anatolia.[298]

11 different Y-DNA haplogroups have been identified in Kurmanji-speaking Kurds in Turkey. Haplogroup I-M170 was the most prevalent with 16.1% of the samples belonging to it, followed by haplogroups J-M172 (13.8%), R1a1 (12.7%), K (12.7%), E (11.5%) and F (11.5%). P1 (8%), P (5.7%), R1 (4.6%), G (2.3%) and C (1.1%) haplogroups were also present in lower proportions. Y-DNA haplogroup diversity were determined to be much lower among Georgian Kurds, as 5 haplogroups were discovered in total, where the dominant haplogroups were P1 (44%) and J-M172 (32%). The lowest Y-DNA haplogroup diversity was observed in Turkmenistan Kurds with only 4 haplogroups in total; F (41%) and R1 (29%) were dominant in this population.[299][298][A]

Modern Kurdish-majority entities and governments

Gallery

See also

References

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ A study examining the HLA alleles and haplotypes of Turkish people and other neighbouring populations concluded that Turks are genetically closely related to non-Ashkenazi Jews, Armenians, Lebanese, Iranians, Ashkenazis, Italians, Cretans, and Kurds. According to the study, Indo-European migrations dating to c. 1200 BC and following Turkish migrations had a low genetic impact on the region, and the aforementioned modern peoples, including the Kurds, are genetically largely descended from the ancient Mediterranean peoples who settled in the region before (<2000 BC) the migration events.[300]

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  297. ^ UNESCO Office for Iraq (2007) 'Revitalization Project of Erbil Citadel'. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  298. ^ a b Nasidze, Ivan; Quinque, Dominique; Ozturk, Murat; Bendukidze, Nina; Stoneking, Mark (July 2005). "MtDNA and Y-chromosome Variation in Kurdish Groups: MtDNA and Y-chromosome Variation in Kurdish Groups". Annals of Human Genetics. 69 (4): 401–412. doi:10.1046/j.1529-8817.2005.00174.x. PMID 15996169. S2CID 23771698.
  299. ^ Amirzargar, Ali; Rey, Diego; Muñiz, Ester; Palacio-Grüber, Jose; Nikbin, Behrouz; Nicknam, Hosein; Khosravi, Farideh; Joshghan, Hamidreza; Areces, Cristina; Enríquez-de-Salamanca, Mercedes; Martinez-Quiles, Narcisa (31 August 2015). "Kurds HLA Genes: Its Implications in Transplantation and Pharmacogenomics". Open Medicine Journal. 2 (1): 43–47. doi:10.2174/1874220301401010043. ISSN 1874-2203.
  300. ^ Arnaiz-Villena, A.; Karin, M.; Bendikuze, N.; Gomez-Casado, E.; Moscoso, J.; Silvera, C.; Oguz, F.S.; Sarper Diler, A.; De Pacho, A.; Allende, L.; Guillen, J. (April 2001). "HLA alleles and haplotypes in the Turkish population: relatedness to Kurds, Armenians and other Mediterraneans: HLA in Turks". Tissue Antigens. 57 (4): 308–317. doi:10.1034/j.1399-0039.2001.057004308.x. PMID 11380939.

General and cited references

  • Aslanian, Sebouh (2011). From the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean: The Global Trade Networks of Armenian Merchants from New Julfa. California: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520947573.
  • Blow, David (2009). Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-0857716767.
  • Bournoutian, George (2002). A Concise History of the Armenian People: (from Ancient Times to the Present) (2 ed.). Mazda Publishers. p. 208. ISBN 978-1568591414.
  • Floor, Willem; Herzig, Edmund (2012). Iran and the World in the Safavid Age. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1850439301.
  • Barth, F. 1953. Principles of Social Organization in Southern Kurdistan. Bulletin of the University Ethnographic Museum 7. Oslo.
  • Hansen, H.H. 1961. The Kurdish Woman's Life. Copenhagen. Ethnographic Museum Record 7:1–213.
  • Kennedy, Hugh (1994). Crusader Castles. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-79913-3.
  • Leach, E.R. 1938. Social and Economic Organization of the Rowanduz Kurds. London School of Economics Monographs on Social Anthropology 3:1–74.
  • Longrigg, S.H. 1953. Iraq, 1900–1950. London.
  • Masters, W.M. 1953. Rowanduz. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan.
  • McKiernan, Kevin. 2006. The Kurds, a People in Search of Their Homeland. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-32546-6
  • Mikaberidze, Alexander (2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia (2 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1442241466.
  • Matthee, Rudi. "ŠAYḴ-ʿALI KHAN ZANGANA". Encyclopaedia Iranica.

Further reading

  • Samir Amin (October 2016). The Kurdish Question Then and Now, in Monthly Review, Volume 68, Issue 05
  • Dundas, Chad. "Kurdish Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 3, Gale, 2014), 3:41-52. online
  • Eppel, Michael. A People Without a State: The Kurds from the Rise of Islam to the Dawn of Nationalism, 2016, University of Texas Press
  • Maisel, Sebastian, ed. The Kurds: An Encyclopedia of Life, Culture, and Society. ABC-Clio, 2018.
  • Shareef, Mohammed. The United States, Iraq and the Kurds: shock, awe and aftermath (Routledge, 2014).

Historiography

  • Maxwell, Alexander; Smith, Tim (2015). "Positing 'not-yet-nationalism': limits to the impact of nationalism theory on Kurdish historiography". Nationalities Papers. 43 (5): 771–787. doi:10.1080/00905992.2015.1049135. S2CID 143220624.
  • Meho, Lokman I., ed. The Kurdish Question in U.S. Foreign Policy: A Documentary Sourcebook (Praeger, 2004).
  • Sharif, Nemat. "A Brief History of Kurds and Kurdistan: Part I: From the Advent of Islam to AD 1750." The International Journal of Kurdish Studies 10.1/2 (1996): 105.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kurdish people.
  • The Kurdish Institute of Paris Kurdish language, history, books and latest news articles.
  • Kurdish Library, supported by the Swedish Government.
  • The Kurds in the Ottoman Hungary by Zurab Aloian
  • "The Other Iraq" Kurdish Information Website

The Kurdish issue in Turkey

  • The Guardian – What's in a name? Too much in Turkey – 2001
  • Sonia Roy (22 April 2011). "The impact on the politics of Iraq and Turkey and their bilateral relations regarding the Kurds in the post-Saddam regime". Foreign Policy Journal.

January 09, 2023
kurds, kurd, redirects, here, other, uses, kurd, disambiguation, kurdish, کورد, kurd, kurdish, people, iranian, ethnic, group, native, mountainous, region, kurdistan, western, asia, which, spans, southeastern, turkey, northwestern, iran, northern, iraq, northe. Kurd redirects here For other uses see Kurd disambiguation Kurds Kurdish کورد Kurd or Kurdish people are an Iranian 33 34 35 ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia which spans southeastern Turkey northwestern Iran northern Iraq and northern Syria 36 There are exclaves of Kurds in Central Anatolia Khorasan and the Caucasus as well as significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey in particular Istanbul and Western Europe primarily in Germany The Kurdish population is estimated to be between 30 and 45 million 2 37 KurdsKurd کوردFlag of KurdistanTotal population30 40 million 1 The World Factbook 2015 estimate 36 4 45 6 million 2 Kurdish Institute of Paris 2017 estimate Regions with significant populations Turkeyest 14 3 20 million 1 2 Iranest 8 2 12 million 1 2 Iraqest 5 6 8 5 million 1 2 Syriaest 2 3 6 million 1 2 Germany1 2 1 5 million 3 4 Azerbaijan180 000 5 6 France150 000 7 Netherlands100 000 8 Sweden83 600 9 Russia63 818 10 Belgium50 000 11 United Kingdom49 841 12 13 14 Kazakhstan47 938 15 Armenia37 470 16 Switzerland35 000 17 Denmark30 000 18 Jordan30 000 19 Austria23 000 20 Greece22 000 21 United States20 591 40 000 22 Canada16 315 23 Finland15 850 24 Georgia13 861 25 Kyrgyzstan13 200 26 Australia10 171 27 LanguagesKurdishIn their different varieties Sorani Kurmanji Pehlewani Laki 28 Zazaki Gorani 29 ReligionPredominantly Sunni Islamwith minorities of Shia Islam Kurdish Alevism Yazidism Yarsanism Zoroastrianism Judaism Christianity 30 31 32 Related ethnic groupsOther Iranian peoplesKurds speak the Kurdish languages and the Zaza Gorani languages which belong to the Western Iranian branch of the Iranian languages 38 39 After World War I and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire the victorious Western allies made provision for a Kurdish state in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres However that promise was broken three years later when the Treaty of Lausanne set the boundaries of modern Turkey and made no such provision leaving Kurds with minority status in all of the new countries 40 Recent history of the Kurds includes numerous genocides and rebellions along with ongoing armed conflicts in Turkish Iranian Syrian and Iraqi Kurdistan Kurds in Iraq and Syria have autonomous regions while Kurdish movements continue to pursue greater cultural rights autonomy and independence throughout Kurdistan Contents 1 Etymology 2 Language 3 Population 4 Religion 4 1 Islam 4 2 Yazidism 4 3 Yarsanism 4 4 Zoroastrianism 4 5 Christianity 5 History 5 1 Antiquity 5 2 Medieval period 5 3 Safavid period 5 4 Zand period 5 5 Ottoman period 5 6 Kurdish nationalism of the 20th century 6 Kurdish communities 6 1 Turkey 6 2 Iran 6 3 Iraq 6 4 Syria 6 5 Transcaucasus 6 6 Diaspora 7 Culture 7 1 Education 7 2 Women 7 3 Folklore 7 4 Weaving 7 5 Handicrafts 7 6 Tattoos 7 7 Music and dance 7 8 Cinema 7 9 Sports 7 10 Architecture 8 Genetics 9 Modern Kurdish majority entities and governments 10 Gallery 11 See also 12 References 12 1 Explanatory notes 12 2 Citations 12 3 General and cited references 13 Further reading 13 1 Historiography 14 External links 14 1 The Kurdish issue in TurkeyEtymologyMain article Name of the Kurds The exact origins of the name Kurd are unclear 41 The underlying toponym is recorded in Assyrian as Qardu and in Middle Bronze Age Sumerian as Kar da 42 Assyrian Qardu refers to an area in the upper Tigris basin and it is presumably reflected in corrupted form in Classical Arabic Ǧudi re adopted in Kurdish as Cudi 43 The name would be continued as the first element in the toponym Corduene mentioned by Xenophon as the tribe who opposed the retreat of the Ten Thousand through the mountains north of Mesopotamia in the 4th century BC There are however dissenting views which do not derive the name of the Kurds from Qardu and Corduene but opt for derivation from Cyrtii Cyrtaei instead 44 Regardless of its possible roots in ancient toponymy the ethnonym Kurd might be derived from a term kwrt used in Middle Persian as a common noun to refer to nomads or tent dwellers which could be applied as an attribute to any Iranian group with such a lifestyle 45 The term gained the characteristic of an ethnonym following the Muslim conquest of Persia as it was adopted into Arabic and gradually became associated with an amalgamation of Iranian and Iranianized tribes and groups in the region 46 47 Sherefxan Bidlisi in the 16th century states that there are four division of Kurds Kurmanj Lur Kalhor and Guran each of which speak a different dialect or language variation Paul 2008 notes that the 16th century usage of the term Kurd as recorded by Bidlisi regardless of linguistic grouping might still reflect an incipient Northwestern Iranian Kurdish ethnic identity uniting the Kurmanj Kalhur and Guran 48 LanguageMain article Kurdish languages Kurdish inhabited areas in the Middle East 1992 Maunsell s map of 1910 a Pre World War I British Ethnographical Map of the Middle East showing the Kurdish regions in yellow both light and dark Kurdish Kurdish Kurdi or کوردی is a collection of related dialects spoken by the Kurds 48 It is mainly spoken in those parts of Iran Iraq Syria and Turkey which comprise Kurdistan 49 Kurdish holds official status in Iraq as a national language alongside Arabic is recognized in Iran as a regional language and in Armenia as a minority language The Kurds are recognized as a people with a distinct language by Arab geographers such as Al Masudi since the 10th century 50 Many Kurds are either bilingual or multilingual speaking the language of their respective nation of origin such as Arabic Persian and Turkish as a second language alongside their native Kurdish while those in diaspora communities often speak three or more languages Turkified and Arabised Kurds often speak little or no Kurdish According to Mackenzie there are few linguistic features that all Kurdish dialects have in common and that are not at the same time found in other Iranian languages 51 The Kurdish dialects according to Mackenzie are classified as 52 Northern group the Kurmanji dialect group Central group part of the Sorani dialect group Southern group part of the Xwarin dialect group including LakiThe Zaza and Gorani are ethnic Kurds 53 but the Zaza Gorani languages are not classified as Kurdish 54 PopulationMain article Kurdish population The number of Kurds living in Southwest Asia is estimated at between 30 and 45 million with another one or two million living in the Kurdish diaspora Kurds comprise anywhere from 18 to 25 of the population in Turkey 1 55 15 to 20 in Iraq 1 10 in Iran 1 and 9 in Syria 1 56 Kurds form regional majorities in all four of these countries viz in Turkish Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan Iranian Kurdistan and Syrian Kurdistan The Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group in West Asia after Arabs Persians and Turks The total number of Kurds in 1991 was placed at 22 5 million with 48 of this number living in Turkey 24 in Iran 18 in Iraq and 4 in Syria 57 Recent emigration accounts for a population of close to 1 5 million in Western countries about half of them in Germany A special case are the Kurdish populations in the Transcaucasus and Central Asia displaced there mostly in the time of the Russian Empire who underwent independent developments for more than a century and have developed an ethnic identity in their own right 58 This groups population was estimated at close to 0 4 million in 1990 59 ReligionMain article Religion in Kurdistan Islam Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims who adhere to the Shafiʽi school while a significant minority adhere to the Hanafi school 60 and also Alevism Moreover many Shafi i Kurds adhere to either one of the two Sufi orders Naqshbandi and Qadiriyya 61 Beside Sunni Islam Alevism and Shia Islam also have millions of Kurdish followers 62 Other religions with significant Kurdish adherents are Yarsanism and Yazidism 63 64 In recent years a growing number of Kurds have converted to Zoroastrianism 65 Yazidism Main articles Yazidis and Yazidism Yazidi new year celebrations in Lalish 18 April 2017 Yazidism is a monotheistic ethnic religion with roots in a western branch of an Iranic pre Zoroastrian religion 66 67 68 69 It is based on the belief of one God who created the world and entrusted it into the care of seven Holy Beings 70 71 The leader of this heptad is Tawuse Melek who is symbolized with a peacock 70 72 Its adherents number from 700 000 to 1 million worldwide 73 and are indigenous to the Kurdish regions of Iraq Syria and Turkey with some significant more recent communities in Russia Georgia and Armenia established by refugees fleeing persecution by Muslims in Ottoman Empire 71 Yazidism shares with Kurdish Alevism and Yarsanism many similar qualities that date back to the pre Islamic era 74 75 76 Yarsanism Main article Yarsanism Yarsanism also known as Ahl I Haqq Ahl e Hagh or Kakai is also one of the religions that are associated with Kurdistan Although most of the sacred Yarsan texts are in the Gorani and all of the Yarsan holy places are located in Kurdistan followers of this religion are also found in other regions For example while there are more than 300 000 Yarsani in Iraqi Kurdistan there are more than 2 million Yarsani in Iran 77 However the Yarsani lack political rights in both countries Zoroastrianism Main article Zoroastrianism Faravahar or Ferohar one of the primary symbols of Zoroastrianism believed to be the depiction of a Fravashi guardian spirit The Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism has had a major influence on the Iranian culture which Kurds are a part of and has maintained some effect since the demise of the religion in the Middle Ages The Iranian philosopher Sohrevardi drew heavily from Zoroastrian teachings 78 Ascribed to the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster the faith s Supreme Being is Ahura Mazda Leading characteristics such as messianism the Golden Rule heaven and hell and free will influenced other religious systems including Second Temple Judaism Gnosticism Christianity and Islam 79 In 2016 the first official Zoroastrian fire temple of Iraqi Kurdistan opened in Sulaymaniyah Attendees celebrated the occasion by lighting a ritual fire and beating the frame drum or daf 80 Awat Tayib the chief of followers of Zoroastrianism in the Kurdistan region claimed that many were returning to Zoroastrianism but some kept it secret out of fear of reprisals from Islamists 80 Christianity Main articles Kurdish Christians Bible translations into Kurdish and Christianity Although historically there have been various accounts of Kurdish Christians most often these were in the form of individuals and not as communities However in the 19th and 20th century various travel logs tell of Kurdish Christian tribes as well as Kurdish Muslim tribes who had substantial Christian populations living amongst them A significant number of these were allegedly originally Armenian or Assyrian 81 and it has been recorded that a small number of Christian traditions have been preserved Several Christian prayers in Kurdish have been found from earlier centuries 82 In recent years some Kurds from Muslim backgrounds have converted to Christianity 83 84 85 Segments of the Bible were first made available in the Kurdish language in 1856 in the Kurmanji dialect The Gospels were translated by Stepan an Armenian employee of the American Bible Society and were published in 1857 Prominent historical Kurdish Christians include the brothers Zakare and Ivane Mkhargrdzeli 86 87 88 HistoryMain article History of the Kurdish people Antiquity Main article Origin of the Kurds The land of Karda is mentioned on a Sumerian clay tablet dated to the 3rd millennium BC This land was inhabited by the people of Su who dwelt in the southern regions of Lake Van the philological connection between Kurd and Karda is uncertain but the relationship is considered possible 89 Other Sumerian clay tablets referred to the people who lived in the land of Karda as the Qarduchi Karduchi Karduchoi and the Qurti 90 Karda Qardu is etymologically related to the Assyrian term Urartu and the Hebrew term Ararat 91 However some modern scholars do not believe that the Qarduchi are connected to Kurds 92 93 Qarti or Qartas who were originally settled on the mountains north of Mesopotamia are considered as a probable ancestor of the Kurds The Akkadians were attacked by nomads coming through Qartas territory at the end of 3rd millennium BC and distinguished them as the Guti speakers of a pre Iranic language isolate They conquered Mesopotamia in 2150 BC and ruled with 21 kings until defeated by the Sumerian king Utu hengal 94 Many Kurds consider themselves descended from the Medes an ancient Iranian people 95 and even use a calendar dating from 612 BC when the Assyrian capital of Nineveh was conquered by the Medes 96 The claimed Median descent is reflected in the words of the Kurdish national anthem We are the children of the Medes and Kai Khosrow 97 However MacKenzie and Asatrian challenge the relation of the Median language to Kurdish 98 99 The Kurdish languages on the other hand form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages like Median 48 100 Some researchers consider the independent Kardouchoi as the ancestors of the Kurds 101 while others prefer Cyrtians 102 The term Kurd however is first encountered in Arabic sources of the seventh century 103 Books from the early Islamic era including those containing legends such as the Shahnameh and the Middle Persian Kar Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan and other early Islamic sources provide early attestation of the name Kurd 104 The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins 105 106 During the Sassanid era in Kar Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan a short prose work written in Middle Persian Ardashir I is depicted as having battled the Kurds and their leader Madig After initially sustaining a heavy defeat Ardashir I was successful in subjugating the Kurds 107 In a letter Ardashir I received from his foe Ardavan V which is also featured in the same work he is referred to as being a Kurd himself You ve bitten off more than you can chew and you have brought death to yourself O son of a Kurd raised in the tents of the Kurds who gave you permission to put a crown on your head 108 The usage of the term Kurd during this time period most likely was a social term designating Northwestern Iranian nomads rather than a concrete ethnic group 108 109 Similarly in AD 360 the Sassanid king Shapur II marched into the Roman province Zabdicene to conquer its chief city Bezabde present day Cizre He found it heavily fortified and guarded by three legions and a large body of Kurdish archers 110 After a long and hard fought siege Shapur II breached the walls conquered the city and massacred all its defenders Thereafter he had the strategically located city repaired provisioned and garrisoned with his best troops 110 Qadishaye settled by Kavad in Singara were probably Kurds 111 and worshiped the martyr Abd al Masih 112 They revolted against the Sassanids and were raiding the whole Persian territory Later they along with Arabs and Armenians joined the Sassanids in their war against the Byzantines 113 There is also a 7th century text by an unidentified author written about the legendary Christian martyr Mar Qardagh He lived in the 4th century during the reign of Shapur II and during his travels is said to have encountered Mar Abdisho a deacon and martyr who after having been questioned of his origins by Mar Qardagh and his Marzobans stated that his parents were originally from an Assyrian village called Hazza but were driven out and subsequently settled in Tamanon a village in the land of the Kurds identified as being in the region of Mount Judi 114 Medieval period Ṣalaḥ ad Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub or Saladin founder of the Ayyubid dynasty in the Middle East Early Syriac sources use the terms Hurdanaye Kurdanaye Kurdaye to refer to the Kurds According to Michael the Syrian Hurdanaye separated from Tayaye Arabs and sought refuge with the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus He also mentions the Persian troops who fought against Musa chief of Hurdanaye in the region of Qardu in 841 According to Barhebreaus a king appeared to the Kurdanaye and they rebelled against the Arabs in 829 Michael the Syrian considered them as pagan followers of mahdi and adepts of Magianism Their mahdi called himself Christ and the Holy Ghost 115 In the early Middle Ages the Kurds sporadically appear in Arabic sources though the term was still not being used for a specific people instead it referred to an amalgam of nomadic western Iranian tribes who were distinct from Persians However in the High Middle Ages the Kurdish ethnic identity gradually materialized as one can find clear evidence of the Kurdish ethnic identity and solidarity in texts of the 12th and 13th centuries 116 though the term was also still being used in the social sense 117 Since 10th century Arabic texts including al Masudi s works have referred to Kurds as a distinct linguistic group 118 From 11th century onward the term Kurd is explicitly defined as an ethnonym and this does not suggest synonymity with the ethnographic category nomad 119 Al Tabari wrote that in 639 Hormuzan a Sasanian general originating from a noble family battled against the Islamic invaders in Khuzestan and called upon the Kurds to aid him in battle 120 However they were defeated and brought under Islamic rule Kurdish Warriors by Frank Feller In 838 a Kurdish leader based in Mosul named Mir Jafar revolted against the Caliph Al Mu tasim who sent the commander Itakh to combat him Itakh won this war and executed many of the Kurds 121 122 Eventually Arabs conquered the Kurdish regions and gradually converted the majority of Kurds to Islam often incorporating them into the military such as the Hamdanids whose dynastic family members also frequently intermarried with Kurds 123 124 In 934 the Daylamite Buyid dynasty was founded and subsequently conquered most of present day Iran and Iraq During the time of rule of this dynasty Kurdish chief and ruler Badr ibn Hasanwaih established himself as one of the most important emirs of the time 125 In the 10th 12th centuries a number of Kurdish principalities and dynasties were founded ruling Kurdistan and neighbouring areas The Shaddadids 951 1174 ruled parts of present day Armenia and Arran 126 The Rawadid 955 1221 ruled Azerbaijan 127 The Hasanwayhids 959 1015 ruled western Iran and upper Mesopotamia 128 The Marwanids 990 1096 ruled eastern Anatolia 129 The Annazids 990 1117 ruled western Iran and upper Mesopotamia succeeded the Hasanwayhids 130 The Hazaraspids 1148 1424 ruled southwestern Iran 131 The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin founded by Saladin The Ayyubids 1171 1341 ruled Egypt Syria Upper Mesopotamia and parts of southeastern Anatolia and the Arabian Peninsula 132 Due to the Turkic invasion of Anatolia the 11th century Kurdish dynasties crumbled and became incorporated into the Seljuk Dynasty Kurds would hereafter be used in great numbers in the armies of the Zengids 133 Succeeding the Zengids the Kurdish Ayyubids established themselves in 1171 first under the leadership of Saladin Saladin led the Muslims to recapture the city of Jerusalem from the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin also frequently clashing with the Assassins The Ayyubid dynasty lasted until 1341 when the Ayyubid sultanate fell to Mongolian invasions Safavid period Further information Safavid dynasty The Safavid Dynasty established in 1501 also established its rule over Kurdish inhabited territories The paternal line of this family actually had Kurdish roots tracing back to Firuz Shah Zarrin Kolah a dignitary who moved from Kurdistan to Ardabil in the 11th century 134 135 The Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 that culminated in what is nowadays Iran s West Azerbaijan Province marked the start of the Ottoman Persian Wars between the Iranian Safavids and successive Iranian dynasties and the Ottomans For the next 300 years many of the Kurds found themselves living in territories that frequently changed hands between Ottoman Turkey and Iran during the protracted series of Ottoman Persian Wars The Safavid king Ismail I r 1501 1524 put down a Yezidi rebellion which went on from 1506 to 1510 A century later the year long Battle of Dimdim took place wherein the Safavid king Abbas I r 1588 1629 succeeded in putting down the rebellion led by the Kurdish ruler Amir Khan Lepzerin Thereafter many Kurds were deported to Khorasan not only to weaken the Kurds but also to protect the eastern border from invading Afghan and Turkmen tribes 136 Other forced movements and deportations of other groups were also implemented by Abbas I and his successors most notably of the Armenians the Georgians and the Circassians who were moved en masse to and from other districts within the Persian empire 137 138 139 140 141 The Kurds of Khorasan numbering around 700 000 still use the Kurmanji Kurdish dialect 142 143 Several Kurdish noblemen served the Safavids and rose to prominence such as Shaykh Ali Khan Zanganeh who served as the grand vizier of the Safavid shah Suleiman I r 1666 1694 from 1669 to 1689 Due to his efforts in reforming the declining Iranian economy he has been called the Safavid Amir Kabir in modern historiography 144 His son Shahqoli Khan Zanganeh also served as a grand vizier from 1707 to 1716 Another Kurdish statesman Ganj Ali Khan was close friends with Abbas I and served as governor in various provinces and was known for his loyal service Zand period Further information Zand dynasty Karim Khan the Laki ruler of the Zand Dynasty Impression of a Kurdish man by American artist Antonio Zeno Shindle circa 1893 After the fall of the Safavids Iran fell under the control of the Afsharid Empire ruled by Nader Shah at its peak After Nader s death Iran fell into civil war with multiple leaders trying to gain control over the country Ultimately it was Karim Khan a Laki general of the Zand tribe who would come to power 145 The country would flourish during Karim Khan s reign a strong resurgence of the arts would take place and international ties were strengthened 146 Karim Khan was portrayed as being a ruler who truly cared about his subjects thereby gaining the title Vakil e Ra aayaa meaning Representative of the People in Persian 146 Though not as powerful in its geo political and military reach as the preceding Safavids and Afsharids or even the early Qajars he managed to reassert Iranian hegemony over its integral territories in the Caucasus and presided over an era of relative peace prosperity and tranquility In Ottoman Iraq following the Ottoman Persian War 1775 76 Karim Khan managed to seize Basra for several years 147 148 After Karim Khan s death the dynasty would decline in favour of the rival Qajars due to infighting between the Khan s incompetent offspring It was not until Lotf Ali Khan 10 years later that the dynasty would once again be led by an adept ruler By this time however the Qajars had already progressed greatly having taken a number of Zand territories Lotf Ali Khan made multiple successes before ultimately succumbing to the rivaling faction Iran and all its Kurdish territories would hereby be incorporated in the Qajar dynasty The Kurdish tribes present in Baluchistan and some of those in Fars are believed to be remnants of those that assisted and accompanied Lotf Ali Khan and Karim Khan respectively 149 Ottoman period Further information Ottoman Empire and Sheik Ubeydullah When Sultan Selim I after defeating Shah Ismail I in 1514 annexed Western Armenia and Kurdistan he entrusted the organisation of the conquered territories to Idris the historian who was a Kurd of Bitlis He divided the territory into sanjaks or districts and making no attempt to interfere with the principle of heredity installed the local chiefs as governors He also resettled the rich pastoral country between Erzerum and Erivan which had lain in waste since the passage of Timur with Kurds from the Hakkari and Bohtan districts For the next centuries from the Peace of Amasya until the first half of the 19th century several regions of the wide Kurdish homelands would be contested as well between the Ottomans and the neighbouring rival successive Iranian dynasties Safavids Afsharids Qajars in the frequent Ottoman Persian Wars The Ottoman centralist policies in the beginning of the 19th century aimed to remove power from the principalities and localities which directly affected the Kurdish emirs Bedirhan Bey was the last emir of the Cizre Bohtan Emirate after initiating an uprising in 1847 against the Ottomans to protect the current structures of the Kurdish principalities Although his uprising is not classified as a nationalist one his children played significant roles in the emergence and the development of Kurdish nationalism through the next century 150 The first modern Kurdish nationalist movement emerged in 1880 with an uprising led by a Kurdish landowner and head of the powerful Shemdinan family Sheik Ubeydullah who demanded political autonomy or outright independence for Kurds as well as the recognition of a Kurdistan state without interference from Turkish or Persian authorities 151 The uprising against Qajar Persia and the Ottoman Empire was ultimately suppressed by the Ottomans and Ubeydullah along with other notables were exiled to Istanbul Kurdish nationalism of the 20th century Further information Kurdish nationalism Rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire Deportations of Kurds 1916 1934 and Iraqi Kurdistan Provisions of the Treaty of Sevres for an independent Kurdistan in 1920 Kurdish nationalism emerged after World War I with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire which had historically successfully integrated but not assimilated the Kurds through use of forced repression of Kurdish movements to gain independence Revolts did occur sporadically but only in 1880 with the uprising led by Sheik Ubeydullah did the Kurds as an ethnic group or nation make demands Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II r 1876 1909 responded with a campaign of integration by co opting prominent Kurdish opponents to strengthen Ottoman power with offers of prestigious positions in his government This strategy appears to have been successful given the loyalty displayed by the Kurdish Hamidiye regiments during World War I 152 The Kurdish ethno nationalist movement that emerged following World War I and the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 largely represented a reaction to the changes taking place in mainstream Turkey primarily to the radical secularization the centralization of authority and to the rampant Turkish nationalism in the new Turkish Republic 153 Jakob Kunzler head of a missionary hospital in Urfa documented the large scale ethnic cleansing of both Armenians and Kurds by the Young Turks 154 He has given a detailed account of the deportation of Kurds from Erzurum and Bitlis in the winter of 1916 The Kurds were perceived by whom to be subversive elements who would take the Russian side in the war In order to eliminate this threat Young Turks embarked on a large scale deportation of Kurds from the regions of Djabachdjur Palu Musch Erzurum and Bitlis Around 300 000 Kurds were forced to move southwards to Urfa and then westwards to Aintab and Marasch In the summer of 1917 Kurds were moved to Konya in central Anatolia Through these measures the Young Turk leaders aimed at weakening the political influence of the Kurds by deporting them from their ancestral lands and by dispersing them in small pockets of exiled communities By the end of World War I up to 700 000 Kurds had been forcibly deported and almost half of the displaced perished 155 Some of the Kurdish groups sought self determination and the confirmation of Kurdish autonomy in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres but in the aftermath of World War I Kemal Ataturk prevented such a result Kurds backed by the United Kingdom declared independence in 1927 and established the Republic of Ararat Turkey suppressed Kurdist revolts in 1925 1930 and 1937 1938 while Iran in the 1920s suppressed Simko Shikak at Lake Urmia and Jaafar Sultan of the Hewraman region who controlled the region between Marivan and north of Halabja A short lived Soviet sponsored Kurdish Republic of Mahabad January to December 1946 existed in an area of present day Iran Kurdish inhabited areas of the Middle East and the Soviet Union in 1986 according to the U S Central Intelligence Agency CIA From 1922 to 1924 in Iraq a Kingdom of Kurdistan existed When Ba athist administrators thwarted Kurdish nationalist ambitions in Iraq war broke out in the 1960s In 1970 the Kurds rejected limited territorial self rule within Iraq demanding larger areas including the oil rich Kirkuk region During the 1920s and 1930s several large scale Kurdish revolts took place in Kurdistan Following these rebellions the area of Turkish Kurdistan was put under martial law and many of the Kurds were displaced The Turkish government also encouraged resettlement of Albanians from Kosovo and Assyrians in the region to change the make up of the population These events and measures led to long lasting mutual distrust between Ankara and the Kurds 156 Kurdish officers from the Iraqi army were said to have approached Soviet army authorities soon after their arrival in Iran in 1941 and offered to form a Kurdish volunteer force to fight alongside the Red Army This offer was declined 157 During the relatively open government of the 1950s in Turkey Kurds gained political office and started working within the framework of the Turkish Republic to further their interests but this move towards integration was halted with the 1960 Turkish coup d etat 152 The 1970s saw an evolution in Kurdish nationalism as Marxist political thought influenced some in the new generation of Kurdish nationalists opposed to the local feudal authorities who had been a traditional source of opposition to authority in 1978 Kurdish students would form the militant separatist organization PKK also known as the Kurdistan Workers Party in English The Kurdistan Workers Party later abandoned Marxism Leninism 158 Kurds are often regarded as the largest ethnic group without a state 159 160 161 162 163 164 Some researchers such as Martin van Bruinessen 165 who seem to agree with the official Turkish position argue that while some level of Kurdish cultural social political and ideological heterogeneity may exist the Kurdish community has long thrived over the centuries as a generally peaceful and well integrated part of Turkish society with hostilities erupting only in recent years 166 167 168 Michael Radu who worked for the United States Pennsylvania Foreign Policy Research Institute notes that demands for a Kurdish state comes primarily from Kurdish nationalists Western human rights activists and European leftists 166 Kurdish communitiesFurther information Kurdistan and Kurdish refugees Turkey Main articles Kurds in Turkey Kurds of Central Anatolia Turkish Kurdistan Human rights in Turkey Kurdistan Workers Party and Human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey Two Kurds From Constantinople 1899 According to CIA Factbook Kurds formed approximately 18 of the population in Turkey approximately 14 million in 2008 One Western source estimates that up to 25 of the Turkish population is Kurdish approximately 18 19 million people 55 Kurdish sources claim there are as many as 20 or 25 million Kurds in Turkey 169 In 1980 Ethnologue estimated the number of Kurdish speakers in Turkey at around five million 170 when the country s population stood at 44 million 171 Kurds form the largest minority group in Turkey and they have posed the most serious and persistent challenge to the official image of a homogeneous society To deny an existence of Kurds the Turkish Government used several terms Mountain Turks was a term was initially used by Abdullah Alpdogan tr In 1961 in a foreword to the book Dogu Illeri ve Varto Tarihi of Mehmet Serif Firat the Turkish president Cemal Gursel declared it of utmost importance to prove the Turkishness of the Kurds 172 Eastern Turk was another euphemism for Kurds from 1980 onwards 173 Nowadays the Kurds in Turkey are still known under the name Easterner Dogulu Several large scale Kurdish revolts in 1925 1930 and 1938 were suppressed by the Turkish government and more than one million Kurds were forcibly relocated between 1925 and 1938 The use of Kurdish language dress folklore and names were banned and the Kurdish inhabited areas remained under martial law until 1946 174 The Ararat revolt which reached its apex in 1930 was only suppressed after a massive military campaign including destruction of many villages and their populations 175 By the 1970s Kurdish leftist organizations such as Kurdistan Socialist Party Turkey KSP T emerged in Turkey which were against violence and supported civil activities and participation in elections In 1977 Mehdi Zana a supporter of KSP T won the mayoralty of Diyarbakir in the local elections At about the same time generational fissures gave birth to two new organizations the National Liberation of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Workers Party 176 Kurdish boys in Diyarbakir The words Kurds Kurdistan or Kurdish were officially banned by the Turkish government 177 Following the military coup of 1980 the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life 178 Many people who spoke published or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned 179 The Kurds are still not allowed to get a primary education in their mother tongue and they do not have a right to self determination even though Turkey has signed the ICCPR There is ongoing discrimination against and otherization of Kurds in society 180 The Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK Kurdish Partiya Karkeren Kurdistane is Kurdish militant organization which has waged an armed struggle against the Turkish state for cultural and political rights and self determination for the Kurds Turkey s military allies the US the EU and NATO label the PKK as a terrorist organization while the UN 181 Switzerland 182 Russia 183 China and India have refused to add the PKK to their terrorist list 184 Some of them have even supported the PKK 185 Between 1984 and 1999 the PKK and the Turkish military engaged in open war and much of the countryside in the southeast was depopulated as Kurdish civilians moved from villages to bigger cities such as Diyarbakir Van and Sirnak as well as to the cities of western Turkey and even to western Europe The causes of the depopulation included mainly the Turkish state s military operations state s political actions Turkish deep state actions the poverty of the southeast and PKK atrocities against Kurdish clans which were against them 186 Turkish State actions have included forced inscription forced evacuation destruction of villages severe harassment illegal arrests and executions of Kurdish civilians 187 188 189 Since the 1970s the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Turkey for the thousands of human rights abuses 187 190 The judgments are related to executions of Kurdish civilians 188 torturing 191 forced displacements 192 systematic destruction of villages 193 arbitrary arrests 194 murdered and disappeared Kurdish journalists 195 Leyla Zana Leyla Zana the first Kurdish female MP from Diyarbakir caused an uproar in Turkish Parliament after adding the following sentence in Kurdish to her parliamentary oath during the swearing in ceremony in 1994 I take this oath for the brotherhood of the Turkish and Kurdish peoples 196 In March 1994 the Turkish Parliament voted to lift the immunity of Zana and five other Kurdish DEP members Hatip Dicle Ahmet Turk Sirri Sakik Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak Zana Dicle Sadak and Dogan were sentenced to 15 years in jail by the Supreme Court in October 1995 Zana was awarded the Sakharov Prize for human rights by the European Parliament in 1995 She was released in 2004 amid warnings from European institutions that the continued imprisonment of the four Kurdish MPs would affect Turkey s bid to join the EU 197 198 The 2009 local elections resulted in 5 7 for Kurdish political party DTP 199 Officially protected death squads are accused of the disappearance of 3 200 Kurds and Assyrians in 1993 and 1994 in the so called mystery killings Kurdish politicians human rights activists journalists teachers and other members of intelligentsia were among the victims Virtually none of the perpetrators were investigated nor punished Turkish government also encouraged Islamic extremist group Hezbollah to assassinate suspected PKK members and often ordinary Kurds 200 Azimet Koyluoglu the state minister of human rights revealed the extent of security forces excesses in autumn 1994 While acts of terrorism in other regions are done by the PKK in Tunceli it is state terrorism In Tunceli it is the state that is evacuating and burning villages In the southeast there are two million people left homeless 201 Iran Main articles Kurds in Iran Kurds of Khorasan Iranian Kurdistan and History of the Kurds The Kurdish region of Iran has been a part of the country since ancient times Nearly all Kurdistan was part of Persian Empire until its Western part was lost during wars against the Ottoman Empire 202 Following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 Tehran had demanded all lost territories including Turkish Kurdistan Mosul and even Diyarbakir but demands were quickly rejected by Western powers 203 This area has been divided by modern Turkey Syria and Iraq 204 Today the Kurds inhabit mostly northwestern territories known as Iranian Kurdistan but also the northeastern region of Khorasan and constitute approximately 7 10 205 of Iran s overall population 6 5 7 9 million compared to 10 6 2 million in 1956 and 8 800 000 in 1850 206 Unlike in other Kurdish populated countries there are strong ethnolinguistical and cultural ties between Kurds Persians and others as Iranian peoples 205 Some modern Iranian dynasties like the Safavids and Zands are considered to be partly of Kurdish origin Kurdish literature in all of its forms Kurmanji Sorani and Gorani has been developed within historical Iranian boundaries under strong influence of the Persian language 204 The Kurds sharing much of their history with the rest of Iran is seen as reason for why Kurdish leaders in Iran do not want a separate Kurdish state 205 207 208 The government of Iran has never employed the same level of brutality against its own Kurds like Turkey or Iraq but it has always been implacably opposed to any suggestion of Kurdish separatism 205 During and shortly after the First World War the government of Iran was ineffective and had very little control over events in the country and several Kurdish tribal chiefs gained local political power even established large confederations 207 At the same time waves of nationalism from the disintegrating Ottoman Empire partly influenced some Kurdish chiefs in border regions to pose as Kurdish nationalist leaders 207 Prior to this identity in both countries largely relied upon religion i e Shia Islam in the particular case of Iran 208 209 In 19th century Iran Shia Sunni animosity and the describing of Sunni Kurds as an Ottoman fifth column was quite frequent 210 During the late 1910s and early 1920s tribal revolt led by Kurdish chieftain Simko Shikak struck north western Iran Although elements of Kurdish nationalism were present in this movement historians agree these were hardly articulate enough to justify a claim that recognition of Kurdish identity was a major issue in Simko s movement and he had to rely heavily on conventional tribal motives 207 Government forces and non Kurds were not the only ones to suffer in the attacks the Kurdish population was also robbed and assaulted 207 211 Rebels do not appear to have felt any sense of unity or solidarity with fellow Kurds 207 Kurdish insurgency and seasonal migrations in the late 1920s along with long running tensions between Tehran and Ankara resulted in border clashes and even military penetrations in both Iranian and Turkish territory 203 Two regional powers have used Kurdish tribes as tool for own political benefits Turkey has provided military help and refuge for anti Iranian Turcophone Shikak rebels in 1918 1922 212 while Iran did the same during Ararat rebellion against Turkey in 1930 Reza Shah s military victory over Kurdish and Turkic tribal leaders initiated a repressive era toward non Iranian minorities 211 Government s forced detribalization and sedentarization in 1920s and 1930s resulted with many other tribal revolts in Iranian regions of Azerbaijan Luristan and Kurdistan 213 In particular case of the Kurds this repressive policies partly contributed to developing nationalism among some tribes 207 Iranian Kurds celebrating Newroz 20 March 2018 As a response to growing Pan Turkism and Pan Arabism in region which were seen as potential threats to the territorial integrity of Iran Pan Iranist ideology has been developed in the early 1920s 209 Some of such groups and journals openly advocated Iranian support to the Kurdish rebellion against Turkey 214 Secular Pahlavi dynasty has endorsed Iranian ethnic nationalism 209 which saw the Kurds as integral part of the Iranian nation 208 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi has personally praised the Kurds as pure Iranians or one of the most noble Iranian peoples Another significant ideology during this period was Marxism which arose among Kurds under influence of USSR It culminated in the Iran crisis of 1946 which included a separatist attempt of KDP I and communist groups 215 to establish the Soviet puppet government 216 217 218 called Republic of Mahabad It arose along with Azerbaijan People s Government another Soviet puppet state 205 219 The state itself encompassed a very small territory including Mahabad and the adjacent cities unable to incorporate the southern Iranian Kurdistan which fell inside the Anglo American zone and unable to attract the tribes outside Mahabad itself to the nationalist cause 205 As a result when the Soviets withdrew from Iran in December 1946 government forces were able to enter Mahabad unopposed 205 Qazi Muhammad the President of the Republic of Kurdistan Several nationalist and Marxist insurgencies continued for decades 1967 1979 1989 96 led by KDP I and Komalah but those two organization have never advocated a separate Kurdish state or greater Kurdistan as did the PKK in Turkey 207 220 221 222 Still many of dissident leaders among others Qazi Muhammad and Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou were executed or assassinated 205 During Iran Iraq War Tehran has provided support for Iraqi based Kurdish groups like KDP or PUK along with asylum for 1 4 million Iraqi refugees mostly Kurds Kurdish Marxist groups have been marginalized in Iran since the dissolution of the Soviet Union In 2004 new insurrection started by PJAK separatist organization affiliated with the Turkey based PKK 223 and designated as terrorist by Iran Turkey and the United States 223 Some analysts claim PJAK do not pose any serious threat to the government of Iran 224 Cease fire has been established in September 2011 following the Iranian offensive on PJAK bases but several clashes between PJAK and IRGC took place after it 167 Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 accusations of discrimination by Western organizations and of foreign involvement by Iranian side have become very frequent 167 Kurds have been well integrated in Iranian political life during reign of various governments 207 Kurdish liberal political Karim Sanjabi has served as minister of education under Mohammad Mossadegh in 1952 During the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi some members of parliament and high army officers were Kurds and there was even a Kurdish Cabinet Minister 207 During the reign of the Pahlavis Kurds received many favours from the authorities for instance to keep their land after the land reforms of 1962 207 In the early 2000s presence of thirty Kurdish deputies in the 290 strong parliament has also helped to undermine claims of discrimination 225 Some of the more influential Kurdish politicians during recent years include former first vice president Mohammad Reza Rahimi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf Mayor of Tehran and second placed presidential candidate in 2013 Kurdish language is today used more than at any other time since the Revolution including in several newspapers and among schoolchildren 225 Many Iranian Kurds show no interest in Kurdish nationalism 205 particularly Kurds of the Shia faith who sometimes even vigorously reject idea of autonomy preferring direct rule from Tehran 205 220 The issue of Kurdish nationalism and Iranian national identity is generally only questioned in the peripheral Kurdish dominated regions where the Sunni faith is prevalent 226 Iraq Further information Kurds in Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan Al Anfal genocide Halabja poison gas attack and Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum 2017 The President of Iraq Jalal Talabani meeting with U S officials in Baghdad Iraq on 26 April 2006 Kurds constitute approximately 17 of Iraq s population They are the majority in at least three provinces in northern Iraq which are together known as Iraqi Kurdistan Kurds also have a presence in Kirkuk Mosul Khanaqin and Baghdad Around 300 000 Kurds live in the Iraqi capital Baghdad 50 000 in the city of Mosul and around 100 000 elsewhere in southern Iraq 227 Kurds led by Mustafa Barzani were engaged in heavy fighting against successive Iraqi regimes from 1960 to 1975 In March 1970 Iraq announced a peace plan providing for Kurdish autonomy The plan was to be implemented in four years 228 However at the same time the Iraqi regime started an Arabization program in the oil rich regions of Kirkuk and Khanaqin 229 The peace agreement did not last long and in 1974 the Iraqi government began a new offensive against the Kurds Moreover in March 1975 Iraq and Iran signed the Algiers Accord according to which Iran cut supplies to Iraqi Kurds Iraq started another wave of Arabization by moving Arabs to the oil fields in Kurdistan particularly those around Kirkuk 230 Between 1975 and 1978 200 000 Kurds were deported to other parts of Iraq 231 Kurdish girls in traditional Kurdish costume Newroz picnic in Kirkuk During the Iran Iraq War in the 1980s the regime implemented anti Kurdish policies and a de facto civil war broke out Iraq was widely condemned by the international community but was never seriously punished for oppressive measures such as the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians the wholesale destruction of thousands of villages and the deportation of thousands of Kurds to southern and central Iraq The genocidal campaign conducted between 1986 and 1989 and culminating in 1988 carried out by the Iraqi government against the Kurdish population was called Anfal Spoils of War The Anfal campaign led to destruction of over two thousand villages and killing of 182 000 Kurdish civilians 232 The campaign included the use of ground offensives aerial bombing systematic destruction of settlements mass deportation firing squads and chemical attacks including the most infamous attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988 that killed 5000 civilians instantly Pro independence rally in Erbil in September 2017 After the collapse of the Kurdish uprising in March 1991 Iraqi troops recaptured most of the Kurdish areas and 1 5 million Kurds abandoned their homes and fled to the Turkish and Iranian borders It is estimated that close to 20 000 Kurds succumbed to death due to exhaustion lack of food exposure to cold and disease On 5 April 1991 UN Security Council passed resolution 688 which condemned the repression of Iraqi Kurdish civilians and demanded that Iraq end its repressive measures and allow immediate access to international humanitarian organizations 233 This was the first international document since the League of Nations arbitration of Mosul in 1926 to mention Kurds by name In mid April the Coalition established safe havens inside Iraqi borders and prohibited Iraqi planes from flying north of 36th parallel 106 373 375 In October 1991 Kurdish guerrillas captured Erbil and Sulaimaniyah after a series of clashes with Iraqi troops In late October Iraqi government retaliated by imposing a food and fuel embargo on the Kurds and stopping to pay civil servants in the Kurdish region The embargo however backfired and Kurds held parliamentary elections in May 1992 and established Kurdistan Regional Government KRG 234 The Kurdish population welcomed the American troops in 2003 by holding celebrations and dancing in the streets 235 236 237 238 The area controlled by Peshmerga was expanded and Kurds now have effective control in Kirkuk and parts of Mosul The authority of the KRG and legality of its laws and regulations were recognized in the articles 113 and 137 of the new Iraqi Constitution ratified in 2005 239 By the beginning of 2006 the two Kurdish administrations of Erbil and Sulaimaniya were unified On 14 August 2007 Yazidis were targeted in a series of bombings that became the deadliest suicide attack since the Iraq War began killing 796 civilians wounding 1 562 240 Syria Main articles Kurds in Syria and Rojava Kurdish YPG and YPJ fighters in Syria Kurds account for 9 of Syria s population a total of around 1 6 million people 241 This makes them the largest ethnic minority in the country They are mostly concentrated in the northeast and the north but there are also significant Kurdish populations in Aleppo and Damascus Kurds often speak Kurdish in public unless all those present do not According to Amnesty International Kurdish human rights activists are mistreated and persecuted 242 No political parties are allowed for any group Kurdish or otherwise Techniques used to suppress the ethnic identity of Kurds in Syria include various bans on the use of the Kurdish language refusal to register children with Kurdish names the replacement of Kurdish place names with new names in Arabic the prohibition of businesses that do not have Arabic names the prohibition of Kurdish private schools and the prohibition of books and other materials written in Kurdish 243 244 Having been denied the right to Syrian nationality around 300 000 Kurds have been deprived of any social rights in violation of international law 245 246 As a consequence these Kurds are in effect trapped within Syria In March 2011 in part to avoid further demonstrations and unrest from spreading across Syria the Syrian government promised to tackle the issue and grant Syrian citizenship to approximately 300 000 Kurds who had been previously denied the right 247 On 12 March 2004 beginning at a stadium in Qamishli a largely Kurdish city in northeastern Syria clashes between Kurds and Syrians broke out and continued over a number of days At least thirty people were killed and more than 160 injured The unrest spread to other Kurdish towns along the northern border with Turkey and then to Damascus and Aleppo 248 249 As a result of Syrian civil war since July 2012 Kurds were able to take control of large parts of Syrian Kurdistan from Andiwar in extreme northeast to Jindires in extreme northwest Syria The Syrian Kurds started the Rojava Revolution in 2013 Kurdish inhabited Afrin Canton has been occupied by Turkish Armed Forces and Turkish backed Free Syrian Army since the Turkish military operation in Afrin in early 2018 Between 150 000 and 200 000 people were displaced due to the Turkish intervention 250 In October 2019 Turkey and the Syrian Interim Government began an offensive into Kurdish populated areas in Syria prompting about 100 000 civilians to flee from the area fearing that Turkey would commit an ethnic cleansing 251 252 Transcaucasus See also Kurdish Armenian relations and Kurds in Azerbaijan Tunar Rahmanoghly singing Kurdish song Rinda Min Khari Bulbul Music Festival Between the 1930s and 1980s Armenia was a part of the Soviet Union within which Kurds like other ethnic groups had the status of a protected minority Armenian Kurds were permitted their own state sponsored newspaper radio broadcasts and cultural events During the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh many non Yazidi Kurds were forced to leave their homes since both the Azeri and non Yazidi Kurds were Muslim In 1920 two Kurdish inhabited areas of Jewanshir capital Kalbajar and eastern Zangazur capital Lachin were combined to form the Kurdistan Okrug or Red Kurdistan The period of existence of the Kurdish administrative unit was brief and did not last beyond 1929 Kurds subsequently faced many repressive measures including deportations imposed by the Soviet government As a result of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict many Kurdish areas have been destroyed and more than 150 000 Kurds have been deported since 1988 by separatist Armenian forces 253 Diaspora Main articles Kurds in Germany Kurds in France Kurds in the Netherlands Kurds in Sweden Kurds in Russia Kurds in the United Kingdom Kurds in Canada Kurds in the United States Kurds in Australia Kurdish Jews in Israel and Kurds in Japan Protest in Berlin Germany against Turkey s military offensive into north eastern Syria on 10 October 2019 Hamdi Ulukaya Kurdish American billionaire founder and CEO of Chobani According to a report by the Council of Europe approximately 1 3 million Kurds live in Western Europe The earliest immigrants were Kurds from Turkey who settled in Germany Austria the Benelux countries the United Kingdom Switzerland and France during the 1960s Successive periods of political and social turmoil in the region during the 1980s and 1990s brought new waves of Kurdish refugees mostly from Iran and Iraq under Saddam Hussein came to Europe 142 In recent years many Kurdish asylum seekers from both Iran and Iraq have settled in the United Kingdom especially in the town of Dewsbury and in some northern areas of London which has sometimes caused media controversy over their right to remain 254 There have been tensions between Kurds and the established Muslim community in Dewsbury 255 256 which is home to very traditional mosques such as the Markazi Since the beginning of the turmoil in Syria many of the refugees of the Syrian Civil War are Syrian Kurds and as a result many of the current Syrian asylum seekers in Germany are of Kurdish descent 257 258 There was substantial immigration of ethnic Kurds in Canada and the United States who are mainly political refugees and immigrants seeking economic opportunity According to a 2011 Statistics Canada household survey there were 11 685 people of Kurdish ethnic background living in Canada 259 and according to the 2011 Census 10 325 Canadians spoke Kurdish languages 260 In the United States Kurdish immigrants started to settle in large numbers in Nashville in 1976 261 which is now home to the largest Kurdish community in the United States and is nicknamed Little Kurdistan 262 Kurdish population in Nashville is estimated to be around 11 000 263 The total number of ethnic Kurds residing in the United States is estimated by the US Census Bureau to be 20 591 22 Other sources claim that there are 20 000 ethnic Kurds in the United States 264 CultureMain articles Kurdish culture and Kurdish literature Kurdish culture is a legacy from the various ancient peoples who shaped modern Kurds and their society As most other Middle Eastern populations a high degree of mutual influences between the Kurds and their neighbouring peoples are apparent Therefore in Kurdish culture elements of various other cultures are to be seen However on the whole Kurdish culture is closest to that of other Iranian peoples in particular those who historically had the closest geographical proximity to the Kurds such as the Persians and Lurs Kurds for instance also celebrate Newroz 21 March as New Year s Day 265 Education A madrasa system was used before the modern era 266 267 Mele are Islamic clerics and instructors 268 Women Main article Kurdish women YPG s female fighters in Syria In general Kurdish women s rights and equality have improved in the 20th and 21st centuries due to progressive movements within Kurdish society However despite the progress Kurdish and international women s rights organizations still report problems related to gender equality forced marriages honor killings and in Iraqi Kurdistan also female genital mutilation FGM 269 Folklore The fox a widely recurring character in Kurdish tales The Kurds possess a rich tradition of folklore which until recent times was largely transmitted by speech or song from one generation to the next Although some of the Kurdish writers stories were well known throughout Kurdistan most of the stories told and sung were only written down in the 20th and 21st centuries Many of these are allegedly centuries old Widely varying in purpose and style among the Kurdish folklore one will find stories about nature anthropomorphic animals love heroes and villains mythological creatures and everyday life A number of these mythological figures can be found in other cultures like the Simurgh and Kaveh the Blacksmith in the broader Iranian Mythology and stories of Shahmaran throughout Anatolia Additionally stories can be purely entertaining or have an educational or religious aspect 270 Perhaps the most widely reoccurring element is the fox which through cunning and shrewdness triumphs over less intelligent species yet often also meets his demise 270 Another common theme in Kurdish folklore is the origin of a tribe Storytellers would perform in front of an audience sometimes consisting of an entire village People from outside the region would travel to attend their narratives and the storytellers themselves would visit other villages to spread their tales These would thrive especially during winter where entertainment was hard to find as evenings had to be spent inside 270 Coinciding with the heterogeneous Kurdish groupings although certain stories and elements were commonly found throughout Kurdistan others were unique to a specific area depending on the region religion or dialect The Kurdish Jews of Zakho are perhaps the best example of this their gifted storytellers are known to have been greatly respected throughout the region thanks to a unique oral tradition 271 Other examples are the mythology of the Yezidis 272 and the stories of the Dersim Kurds which had a substantial Armenian influence 273 During the criminalization of the Kurdish language after the coup d etat of 1980 dengbej singers and cirokbej tellers were silenced and many of the stories had become endangered In 1991 the language was decriminalized yet the now highly available radios and TV s had as an effect a diminished interest in traditional storytelling 274 However a number of writers have made great strides in the preservation of these tales Weaving Modern rug from Bijar Kurdish weaving is renowned throughout the world with fine specimens of both rugs and bags The most famous Kurdish rugs are those from the Bijar region in the Kurdistan Province Because of the unique way in which the Bijar rugs are woven they are very stout and durable hence their appellation as the Iron Rugs of Persia Exhibiting a wide variety the Bijar rugs have patterns ranging from floral designs medallions and animals to other ornaments They generally have two wefts and are very colorful in design 275 With an increased interest in these rugs in the last century and a lesser need for them to be as sturdy as they were new Bijar rugs are more refined and delicate in design Another well known Kurdish rug is the Senneh rug which is regarded as the most sophisticated of the Kurdish rugs They are especially known for their great knot density and high quality mountain wool 275 They lend their name from the region of Sanandaj Throughout other Kurdish regions like Kermanshah Siirt Malatya and Bitlis rugs were also woven to great extent 276 Kurdish bags are mainly known from the works of one large tribe the Jaffs living in the border area between Iran and Iraq These Jaff bags share the same characteristics of Kurdish rugs very colorful stout in design often with medallion patterns They were especially popular in the West during the 1920s and 1930s 277 Handicrafts A Kurdish nobleman bearing a jambiya dagger Outside of weaving and clothing there are many other Kurdish handicrafts which were traditionally often crafted by nomadic Kurdish tribes These are especially well known in Iran most notably the crafts from the Kermanshah and Sanandaj regions Among these crafts are chess boards talismans jewelry ornaments weaponry instruments etc citation needed Kurdish blades include a distinct jambiya with its characteristic I shaped hilt and oblong blade Generally these possess double edged blades reinforced with a central ridge a wooden leather or silver decorated scabbard and a horn hilt furthermore they are often still worn decoratively by older men Swords were made as well Most of these blades in circulation stem from the 19th century Another distinct form of art from Sanandaj is Oroosi a type of window where stylized wooden pieces are locked into each other rather than being glued together These are further decorated with coloured glass this stems from an old belief that if light passes through a combination of seven colours it helps keep the atmosphere clean Among Kurdish Jews a common practice was the making of talismans which were believed to combat illnesses and protect the wearer from malevolent spirits Tattoos Main article Deq tattoo Kurdish woman with deq tattoo Adorning the body with tattoos deq in Kurdish is widespread among the Kurds even though permanent tattoos are not permissible in Sunni Islam Therefore these traditional tattoos are thought to derive from pre Islamic times 278 Tattoo ink is made by mixing soot with breast milk and the poisonous liquid from the gall bladder of an animal The design is drawn on the skin using a thin twig and is injected under the skin using a needle These have a wide variety of meanings and purposes among which are protection against evil or illnesses beauty enhancement and the showing of tribal affiliations Religious symbolism is also common among both traditional and modern Kurdish tattoos Tattoos are more prevalent among women than among men and were generally worn on feet the chin foreheads and other places of the body 278 279 The popularity of permanent traditional tattoos has greatly diminished among newer generation of Kurds However modern tattoos are becoming more prevalent and temporary tattoos are still being worn on special occasions such as henna the night before a wedding and as tribute to the cultural heritage 278 Music and dance Main article Kurdish music Kurdish musicians 1890 Traditionally there are three types of Kurdish classical performers storytellers cirokbej minstrels stranbej and bards dengbej No specific music was associated with the Kurdish princely courts Instead music performed in night gatherings sevbiherk is considered classical Several musical forms are found in this genre Many songs are epic in nature such as the popular Lawiks heroic ballads recounting the tales of Kurdish heroes such as Saladin Heyrans are love ballads usually expressing the melancholy of separation and unfulfilled love One of the first Kurdish female singers to sing heyrans is Chopy Fatah while Lawje is a form of religious music and Payizoks are songs performed during the autumn Love songs dance music wedding and other celebratory songs dilok narink erotic poetry and work songs are also popular citation needed Throughout the Middle East there are many prominent Kurdish artists Most famous are Ibrahim Tatlises Nizamettin Aric Ahmet Kaya and the Kamkars In Europe well known artists are Darin Zanyar Sivan Perwer and Azad Cinema Main article Kurdish cinema Bahman Ghobadi at the presentation of his film Nobody Knows About Persian Cats in San Sebastian 2009 The main themes of Kurdish cinema are the poverty and hardship which ordinary Kurds have to endure The first films featuring Kurdish culture were actually shot in Armenia Zare released in 1927 produced by Hamo Beknazarian details the story of Zare and her love for the shepherd Seydo and the difficulties the two experience by the hand of the village elder 280 In 1948 and 1959 two documentaries were made concerning the Yezidi Kurds in Armenia These were joint Armenian Kurdish productions with H Kocaryan and Heciye Cindi teaming up for The Kurds of Soviet Armenia 281 and Ereb Samilov and C Jamharyan for Kurds of Armenia 281 The first critically acclaimed and famous Kurdish films were produced by Yilmaz Guney Initially a popular award winning actor in Turkey with the nickname Cirkin Kral the Ugly King after his rough looks he spent the later part of his career producing socio critical and politically loaded films Suru 1979 Yol 1982 and Duvar 1983 are his best known works of which the second won Palme d Or at the Cannes Film Festival of 1982 282 the most prestigious award in the world of cinema Another prominent Kurdish film director is Bahman Qubadi His first feature film was A Time for Drunken Horses released in 2000 It was critically acclaimed and went on to win multiple awards Other movies of his would follow this example 283 making him one of the best known film producers of Iran of today Recently he released Rhinos Season starring Behrouz Vossoughi Monica Bellucci and Yilmaz Erdogan detailing the tumultuous life of a Kurdish poet Other prominent Kurdish film directors that are critically acclaimed include Mahsun Kirmizigul Hiner Saleem and the aforementioned Yilmaz Erdogan There s also been a number of films set and or filmed in Kurdistan made by non Kurdish film directors such as The Wind Will Carry Us Triage The Exorcist and The Market A Tale of Trade Sports Eren Derdiyok a Kurdish footballer striker for the Swiss national football team The most popular sport among the Kurds is football Because the Kurds have no independent state they have no representative team in FIFA or the AFC however a team representing Iraqi Kurdistan has been active in the Viva World Cup since 2008 They became runners up in 2009 and 2010 before ultimately becoming champion in 2012 On a national level the Kurdish clubs of Iraq have achieved success in recent years as well winning the Iraqi Premier League four times in the last five years Prominent clubs are Erbil SC Duhok SC Sulaymaniyah FC and Zakho FC In Turkey a Kurd named Celal Ibrahim was one of the founders of Galatasaray S K in 1905 as well as one of the original players The most prominent Kurdish Turkish club is Diyarbakirspor In the diaspora the most successful Kurdish club is Dalkurd FF and the most famous player is Eren Derdiyok 284 Another prominent sport is wrestling In Iranian Wrestling there are three styles originating from Kurdish regions Zhir o Bal a style similar to Greco Roman wrestling practised in Kurdistan Kermanshah and Ilam 285 Zouran Patouleh practised in Kurdistan 285 Zouran Machkeh practised in Kurdistan as well 285 Furthermore the most accredited of the traditional Iranian wrestling styles the Bachoukheh derives its name from a local Khorasani Kurdish costume in which it is practised 285 Kurdish medalists in the 2012 Summer Olympics were Nur Tatar 286 Kianoush Rostami and Yezidi Misha Aloyan 287 who won medals in taekwondo weightlifting and boxing respectively Architecture The Marwanid Dicle Bridge Diyarbakir The Citadel of Erbil The traditional Kurdish village has simple houses made of mud In most cases with flat wooden roofs and if the village is built on the slope of a mountain the roof on one house makes for the garden of the house one level higher However houses with a beehive like roof not unlike those in Harran are also present Over the centuries many Kurdish architectural marvels have been erected with varying styles Kurdistan boasts many examples from ancient Iranian Roman Greek and Semitic origin most famous of these include Bisotun and Taq e Bostan in Kermanshah Takht e Soleyman near Takab Mount Nemrud near Adiyaman and the citadels of Erbil and Diyarbakir The first genuinely Kurdish examples extant were built in the 11th century Those earliest examples consist of the Marwanid Dicle Bridge in Diyarbakir the Shadaddid Minuchir Mosque in Ani 288 and the Hisn al Akrad near Homs 289 In the 12th and 13th centuries the Ayyubid dynasty constructed many buildings throughout the Middle East being influenced by their predecessors the Fatimids and their rivals the Crusaders whilst also developing their own techniques 290 Furthermore women of the Ayyubid family took a prominent role in the patronage of new constructions 291 The Ayyubids most famous works are the Halil ur Rahman Mosque that surrounds the Pool of Sacred Fish in Urfa the Citadel of Cairo 292 and most parts of the Citadel of Aleppo 293 Another important piece of Kurdish architectural heritage from the late 12th early 13th centuries is the Yezidi pilgrimage site Lalish with its trademark conical roofs In later periods too Kurdish rulers and their corresponding dynasties and emirates would leave their mark upon the land in the form mosques castles and bridges some of which have decayed or have been partly destroyed in an attempt to erase the Kurdish cultural heritage such as the White Castle of the Bohtan Emirate Well known examples are Hosap Castle of the 17th century 294 Sherwana Castle of the early 18th century and the Ellwen Bridge of Khanaqin of the 19th century Most famous is the Ishak Pasha Palace of Dogubeyazit a structure with heavy influences from both Anatolian and Iranian architectural traditions Construction of the Palace began in 1685 led by Colak Abdi Pasha a Kurdish bey of the Ottoman Empire but the building would not be completed until 1784 by his grandson Ishak Pasha 295 296 Containing almost 100 rooms including a mosque dining rooms dungeons and being heavily decorated by hewn out ornaments this Palace has the reputation as being one of the finest pieces of architecture of the Ottoman Period and of Anatolia In recent years the KRG has been responsible for the renovation of several historical structures such as Erbil Citadel and the Mudhafaria Minaret 297 GeneticsSee also Genetic history of the Middle East A 2005 study genetically examined three different groups of Zaza and Kurmanji speakers in Turkey and Kurmanji speakers in Georgia In the study mtDNA HV1 sequences eleven Y chromosome bi allelic markers and 9 Y STR loci were analyzed to investigate lineage relationship among Kurdish groups When both mtDNA and Y chromosome data are compared with those of the European Caucasian West Asian and Central Asian groups it has been determined that the Kurdish groups are most closely related to West Asians and the furthest to Central Asians Among the European and Caucasian groups Kurds were found to be closer to Europeans than Caucasians when considering mtDNA and the opposite was true for Y chromosome This indicates a difference in maternal and paternal origins of Kurdish groups According to the study Kurdish groups in Georgia went through a genetic bottleneck while migrating to the Caucasus It has also been revealed that these groups were not influenced by other Caucasian groups in terms of ancestry Another phenomenon found in the research was that Zazas are closer to Kurdish groups rather than peoples of Northern Iran where ancestral Zaza language hypothesized to be spoken before its spread to Anatolia 298 11 different Y DNA haplogroups have been identified in Kurmanji speaking Kurds in Turkey Haplogroup I M170 was the most prevalent with 16 1 of the samples belonging to it followed by haplogroups J M172 13 8 R1a1 12 7 K 12 7 E 11 5 and F 11 5 P1 8 P 5 7 R1 4 6 G 2 3 and C 1 1 haplogroups were also present in lower proportions Y DNA haplogroup diversity were determined to be much lower among Georgian Kurds as 5 haplogroups were discovered in total where the dominant haplogroups were P1 44 and J M172 32 The lowest Y DNA haplogroup diversity was observed in Turkmenistan Kurds with only 4 haplogroups in total F 41 and R1 29 were dominant in this population 299 298 A Modern Kurdish majority entities and governmentsKurdistan Region 1992 to date Autonomous region in Iraq Democratic Federation of Northern Syria 2013 to date Autonomy of SyriaGallery Mercier Kurde Asie by Auguste Wahlen 1843 Kurdish warriors by Amadeo Preziosi Armenian Turkish and Kurdish females in their traditional clothes 1873 Zakho Kurds by Albert Kahn 1910s Kurdish Cavalry in the passes of the Caucasus mountains The New York Times January 24 1915 A Kurdish woman from Kirkuk 1922 A Kurdish chief A Kurdish woman from Piranshahr Iran Antoin Sevruguin A Kurdish woman and a child from Bisaran Eastern Kurdistan 2017 A group of Kurdish men with traditional clothing Hawraman A Kurdish man wearing traditional clothes Erbil A Kurdish woman fighter from RojavaSee alsoAnatolian Kurds Chechen Kurds History of the Kurdish people Khorasani Kurds Kurdology Kurds in Georgia Kurds in Lebanon Kurds in Turkey List of Kurdish dynasties and countries List of Kurdish people List of Kurdish organisations National symbols of the Kurds Origins of the Kurds Zaza KurdsReferencesExplanatory notes A study examining the HLA alleles and haplotypes of Turkish people and other neighbouring populations concluded that Turks are genetically closely related to non Ashkenazi Jews Armenians Lebanese Iranians Ashkenazis Italians Cretans and Kurds According to the study Indo European migrations dating to c 1200 BC and following Turkish migrations had a low genetic impact on the region and the aforementioned modern peoples including the Kurds are genetically largely descended from the ancient Mediterranean peoples who settled in the region before lt 2000 BC the migration events 300 Citations a b c d e f g h i The World Factbook Online ed Langley Virginia US Central Intelligence Agency 2015 ISSN 1553 8133 Archived from the original on 6 January 2019 Retrieved 2 August 2015 A rough estimate in this edition gives populations of 14 3 million in Turkey 8 2 million in Iran about 5 6 to 7 4 million in Iraq and less than 2 million in Syria which adds up to approximately 28 30 million Kurds in Kurdistan or in adjacent regions The CIA estimates are as of August 2015 update Turkey Kurdish 18 of 81 6 million Iran Kurd 10 of 81 82 million Iraq Kurdish 15 20 of 37 01 million Syria Kurds Armenians and other 9 7 of 17 01 million a b c d e f The Kurdish Population by the Kurdish Institute of Paris 2017 estimate The Kurdish population is estimated at 15 20 million in Turkey 10 12 million in Iran 8 8 5 million in Iraq 3 3 6 million in Syria 1 2 1 5 million in the European diaspora and 400k 500k in the former USSR for a total of 36 4 million to 45 6 million globally Wir Kurden argern uns uber die Bundesregierung Politik Suddeutsche de Retrieved 18 May 2019 Geschenk an Erdogan Kurdisches Kulturfestival verboten heise de Retrieved 18 May 2019 The cultural situation of the Kurds A report by Lord Russell Johnston Council of Europe July 2006 Ismet Cheriff Vanly The Kurds in the Soviet Union in Philip G Kreyenbroek amp S Sperl eds The Kurds A Contemporary Overview London Routledge 1992 pg 164 Table based on 1990 estimates Azerbaijan 180 000 Armenia 50 000 Georgia 40 000 Kazakhstan 30 000 Kyrghizistan 20 000 Uzbekistan 10 000 Tajikistan 3 000 Turkmenistan 50 000 Siberia 35 000 Krasnodar 20 000 Other 12 000 Total 450 000 3 Kurdish women political activists shot dead in Paris CNN 11 January 2013 Retrieved 9 June 2014 Diaspora Kurde Institutkurde org in French Retrieved 2 November 2019 Sweden Ethnologue 2015 Retrieved 14 January 2015 Vserossijskaya perepis naseleniya 2010 g Nacionalnyj sostav naseleniya Rossijskoj Federacii Demoscope ru Archived from the original on 21 May 2012 Retrieved 4 July 2012 The Kurdish Diaspora Institut Kurde de Paris Retrieved 9 June 2014 QS211EW Ethnic group detailed nomis Office for National Statistics Retrieved 3 August 2013 Ethnic Group Full Detail QS201NI PDF Retrieved 4 September 2013 Scotland s Census 2011 National Records of Scotland Ethnic group detailed PDF Scotland Census Archived from the original PDF on 21 May 2014 Retrieved 29 September 2013 Ethnic composition of Kazakhstan 2021 Retrieved 4 July 2022 Information from the 2011 Armenian National Census PDF Statistics of Armenia in Armenian Retrieved 27 May 2014 Switzerland Ethnologue Retrieved 14 January 2015 Fakta Kurdere i Danmark Jyllandsposten in Danish 8 May 2006 Retrieved 24 December 2013 Al Khatib Mahmoud A Al Ali Mohammed N Language and Cultural Shift Among the Kurds of Jordan PDF p 12 Retrieved 10 November 2012 Austria Ethnologue Retrieved 14 January 2015 Greece Ethnologue Retrieved 14 January 2015 a b 2011 2015 American Community Survey Selected Population Tables Census Bureau Archived from the original on 12 February 2020 Retrieved 29 March 2019 Ethnic Origin 279 Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses 3 Generation Status 4 Age 12 and Sex 3 for the Population in Private Households of Canada Provinces and Territories Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations 2016 Census 25 October 2017 Retrieved 3 February 2018 Language according to age and sex by region 1990 2021 Statistics Finland Retrieved 27 November 2022 Population Census PDF geostat ge Number of resident population by selected nationality PDF United Nations Archived from the original PDF on 10 July 2012 Retrieved 9 July 2012 Australia Ancestry 2022 Retrieved 27 November 2022 Atlas of the Languages of Iran A working classification Languages of Iran Retrieved 25 May 2019 Michiel Leezenberg 1993 Gorani Influence on Central Kurdish Substratum or Prestige Borrowing PDF ILLC Department of Philosophy University of Amsterdam 1 Retrieved 29 May 2019 Kurds in Turkey Learn About Kurdish Religion Kurds of Iran The missing piece in the Middle East Puzzle Bois Th Minorsky V MacKenzie D N 24 April 2012 Kurds Kurdistan Encyclopedia of Islam Second Edition Vol 5 Brill Online p 439 The Kurds an Iranian people of the Near East live at the junction of Shoup John A 2011 Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East An Encyclopedia ABC CLIO ISBN 9781598843637 Nezan Kendal A Brief Survey of the History of the Kurds Kurdish Institute of Paris Bengio Ofra 2014 Kurdish Awakening Nation Building in a Fragmented Homeland University of Texas Press ISBN 978 0 292 75813 1 Based on arithmetic from World Factbook and other sources cited herein A Near Eastern population of 28 30 million plus approximately a 2 million diaspora gives 30 32 million If the highest 25 estimate for the Kurdish population of Turkey in Mackey 2002 proves correct this would raise the total to around 37 million Kurds The Columbia Encyclopedia 6th ed Encyclopedia com 2014 Retrieved 29 December 2014 Windfuhr 2013 Iranian Languages Routledge p 587 ISBN 978 1135797041 Who are the Kurds by BBC News 31 October 2017 Asatrian G 2009 Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds Iran and the Caucasus Vol 13 pp 1 58 Generally the etymons and primary meanings of tribal names or ethnonyms as well as place names are often irrecoverable Kurd is also an obscurity Reynolds G S October December 2004 A Reflection on Two Qurʾanic Words Iblis and Judi with Attention to the Theories of A Mingana Journal of the American Oriental Society 124 4 683 684 687 doi 10 2307 4132112 JSTOR 4132112 Ilya Gershevitch William Bayne Fisher The Cambridge History of Iran The Median and Achamenian Periods 964 pp Cambridge University Press 1985 ISBN 0 521 20091 1 ISBN 978 0 521 20091 2 see footnote of p 257 G Asatrian Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds Iran and the Caucasus Vol 13 pp 1 58 2009 Evidently the most reasonable explanation of this ethnonym must be sought for in its possible connections with the Cyrtii Cyrtaei of the Classical authors Karnamak Ardashir Papakan and the Matadakan i Hazar Dastan G Asatrian Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds Iran and the Caucasus Vol 13 pp 1 58 2009 Excerpt 1 Generally the etymons and primary meanings of tribal names or ethnonyms as well as place names are often irrecoverable Kurd is also an obscurity It is clear that kurt in all the contexts has a distinct social sense nomad tent dweller It could equally be an attribute for any Iranian ethnic group having similar characteristics To look for a particular ethnic sense here would be a futile exercise P 24 The Pahlavi materials clearly show that kurd in pre Islamic Iran was a social label still a long way from becoming an ethnonym or a term denoting a distinct group of people McDowall David 2000 A Modern History of the Kurds Second Edition London I B Tauris p 9 G Asatrian Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds Iran and the Caucasus Vol 13 pp 1 58 2009 a b c Paul Ludwig 2008 Kurdish Language Encyclopaedia Iranica Retrieved 2 December 2011 Writes about the problem of attaining a coherent definition of Kurdish language within the Northwestern Iranian dialect continuum There is no unambiguous evolution of Kurdish from Middle Iranian as from Old and Middle Iranian times no predecessors of the Kurdish language are yet known the extant Kurdish texts may be traced back to no earlier than the 16th century CE Ludwig Paul further states Linguistics itself or dialectology does not provide any general or straightforward definition of at which point a language becomes a dialect or vice versa To attain a fuller understanding of the difficulties and questions that are raised by the issue of the Kurdish language it is therefore necessary to consider also non linguistic factors Geographic distribution of Kurdish and other Iranic languages Archived 18 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine James Boris 3 July 2019 Constructing the Realm of the Kurds al Mamlaka al Akradiyya Kurdish In betweenness and Mamluk Ethnic Engineering 1130 1340 CE Brill p 20 ISBN 978 90 04 38533 7 Kurdish Nationalism and Competing Ethnic Loyalties Original English version of Nationalisme kurde et ethnicites intra kurdes Peuples Mediterraneens no 68 69 1994 11 37 Excerpt This view was criticised by the linguist D N MacKenzie according to whom there are but few linguistic features that all Kurdish dialects have in common and that are not at the same time found in other Iranian languages G Asatrian Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds Iran and the Caucasus Vol 13 pp 1 58 2009 The classification of the Kurdish dialects is not an easy task despite the fact that there have been numerous attempts mostly by Kurdish authors to put them into a system However for the time being the commonly accepted classification of the Kurdish dialects is that of the late Prof D N Mackenzie the author of fundamental works in Kurdish dialectology see Mackenzie 1961 idem 1961 1962 idem 1963a idem 1981 who distinguished three groups of dialects Northern Central and Southern Nodar Mosaki 14 March 2012 The zazas a kurdish sub ethnic group or separate people Zazaki net Retrieved 11 August 2015 Iranian languages Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 12 June 2017 a b Mackey Sandra 2002 The Reckoning Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam W W Norton and Co p 350 ISBN 9780393051414 As much as 25 of Turkey is Kurdish This would raise the population estimate by about 5 million dubious discuss Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs 9 March 2012 Background Note Syria State gov Washington DC US State Department Retrieved 2 August 2015 The CIA World Factbook reports all non Arabs make up 9 7 of the Syrian population but does not break out the Kurdish figure separately However this State Dept source provides a figure of 9 As of August 2015 update the current document at this state gov URL no longer provides such ethnic group data Hassanpour Amir 7 November 1995 A Stateless Nation s Quest for Sovereignty in the Sky Concordia University Archived from the original on 20 August 2007 Retrieved 3 August 2015 Paper presented at the Freie Universitat Berlin For the figure cites McDowall David 1992 The Kurds A Nation Denied London Minority Rights Group The Kurds of Caucasia and Central Asia have been cut off for a considerable period of time and their development in Russia and then in the Soviet Union has been somewhat different In this light the Soviet Kurds may be considered to be an ethnic group in their own right The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire Kurds Institute of Estonia EKI Retrieved 22 June 2012 Ismet Cheriff Vanly The Kurds in the Soviet Union in Philip G Kreyenbroek amp S Sperl eds The Kurds A Contemporary Overview London Routledge 1992 p 164 Table based on 1990 estimates Azerbaijan 180 000 Armenia 50 000 Georgia 40 000 Kazakhstan 30 000 Kyrgyzstan 20 000 Uzbekistan 10 000 Tajikistan 3 000 Turkmenistan 50 000 Siberia 35 000 Krasnodar 20 000 Other 12 000 total 410 000 Sarigil Zeki Fazlioglu Omer 2014 Exploring the roots and dynamics of Kurdish ethno nationalism in Turkey PDF Nations and Nationalism Bilkent University 20 3 447 doi 10 1111 nana 12058 hdl 11693 26432 van Bruinessen Martin 2000 The Qadiriyya and the lineages of Qadiri shaykhs in Kurdistan Journal of the History of Sufism 1 2 CiteSeerX 10 1 1 545 8465 McDowall David 1992 The Kurds A Nation Denied Minority Rights Group p 57 ISBN 9781873194300 Hamzehʼee M Reza 1990 The Yaresan A Sociological Historical and Religio historical Study of a Kurdish Community p 64 ISBN 9783922968832 Allison Christine 2004 Yazidis i General Iranica Online Iraqi Kurds turn to Zoroastrianism as faith identity entwine France 24 23 October 2019 Retrieved 20 February 2021 Turgut Lokman Ancient rites and old religions in Kurdistan OCLC 879288867 Foltz Richard 1 June 2017 The Original Kurdish Religion Kurdish Nationalism and the False Conflation of the Yezidi and Zoroastrian Traditions Journal of Persianate Studies 10 1 87 106 doi 10 1163 18747167 12341309 ISSN 1874 7094 Khanna Omarkhali 2011 The status and role of the Yezidi legends and myths to the question of comparative analysis of Yezidism Yarisan Ahl e Haqq and Zoroastrianism a common substratum OCLC 999248462 Kreyenbroek Philip G 1995 Yezidism its Background Observances and Textual Tradition E Mellen Press ISBN 978 0 7734 9004 8 a b Allison Christine 25 January 2017 The Yazidis Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion Oxford Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 acrefore 9780199340378 013 254 ISBN 9780199340378 Archived from the original on 11 March 2019 Retrieved 15 May 2021 a b Birgul Acikyildiz 2010 The Yezidis the History of a Community Culture and Religion London I B Tauris ISBN 978 0 85772 061 0 OCLC 772844849 Maisel Sebastian 24 December 2016 Yezidis in Syria Identity Building among a Double Minority Lexington Books ISBN 9780739177754 Rowe Paul S 20 September 2018 Routledge Handbook of Minorities in the Middle East Routledge ISBN 978 1 317 23378 7 Bozarslan Hamit Gunes Cengiz Yadirgi Veli 22 April 2021 The Cambridge History of the Kurds Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1 108 58301 5 Omarkhali Khanna January 2009 The status and role of the Yezidi legends and myths To the question of comparative analysis of Yezidism Yarisan Ahl e Haqq and Zoroastrianism a common substratum Folia Orientalia ISSN 0015 5675 OCLC 999248462 Turgut Lokman 2013 Ancient rites and old religions in Kurdistan OCLC 879288867 About Yarsan a religious minority in Iran and Yarsani asylum seekers Yarsanmedia in Persian Retrieved 22 June 2021 Henry Corbin The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism Omega Publications New York 1994 ISBN 0 930872 48 7 Hinnel J 1997 The Penguin Dictionary of Religion Penguin Books UK a b Hopes for Zoroastrianism revival in Kurdistan as first temple opens its doors Rudaw 21 September 2016 Retrieved 8 October 2016 Sykes M 1908 The Kurdish Tribes of the Ottoman Empire The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 38 451 486 doi 10 2307 2843309 JSTOR 2843309 Hervas L Saggio 1787 Pratico delle lingue con prolegomeni e una raccolta di orazioni dominicali in piu di trecento lingue e dialetti Cesena Per Gregorio Biasini pp 156 157 A Muslim Leader Converted to Christianity in Iraqi Kurdistan The Kurds Urbana Retrieved 9 March 2016 Christianity grows in Syrian town once besieged by Islamic State Reuters 16 April 2019 via www reuters com Alexei Lidov 1991 The mural paintings of Akhtala p 14 Nauka Publishers Central Dept of Oriental Literature University of Michigan ISBN 5 02 017569 2 ISBN 978 5 02 017569 3 It is clear from the account of these Armenian historians that Ivane s great grandfather broke away from the Kurdish tribe of Babir Vladimir Minorsky 1953 Studies in Caucasian History p 102 CUP Archive ISBN 0 521 05735 3 ISBN 978 0 521 05735 6 According to a tradition which has every reason to be true their ancestors were Mesopotamian Kurds of the tribe xel Babirakan Richard Barrie Dobson 2000 Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages A J p 107 Editions du Cerf University of Michigan ISBN 0 227 67931 8 ISBN 978 0 227 67931 9 under the Christianized Kurdish dynasty of Zak arids they tried to re establish nazarar system Driver G R 1923 The Name Kurd and its Philological Connexions Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 55 3 393 403 doi 10 1017 S0035869X00067605 S2CID 162528712 Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East Infobase Publishing 2009 ISBN 9781438126760 Retrieved 30 January 2017 Reynolds G S 2004 A Reflection on Two Qurʾanic Words Iblis and Judi with Attention to the Theories of A Mingan Journal of the American Oriental Society 124 4 675 689 doi 10 2307 4132112 JSTOR 4132112 Mark Marciak Sophene Gordyene and Adiabene Three Regna Minora of Northern Mesopotamia Between East and West 2017 1 pp 220 221 Victoria Arekelova Garnik S Asatryan Prolegomena To The Study Of The Kurds Iran and The Caucasus 2009 2 pp 82 Fabbri Giampietro 2017 SUPARSTHAS and SWAGWAUTAS Colonisers of the Ancient World Part I Origins and early migrations Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology 4 6 16 ISSN 2360 266X Barbara A West 1 January 2009 Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania Infobase Publishing p 518 ISBN 978 1 4381 1913 7 Frye Richard Nelson Iran v Peoples of Iran 1 A General Survey Encyclopaedia Iranica Retrieved 4 March 2016 Ofra Bengio 15 November 2014 Kurdish Awakening Nation Building in a Fragmented Homeland University of Texas Press p 87 ISBN 978 0 292 75813 1 Kreyenbroek P G 2000 The Kurds A contemporary overview Routledge pp 54 ISBN 978 0415072656 G Asatrian Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds Iran and the Caucasus Vol 13 pp 1 58 2009 p 21 D N MacKenzie 1961 The Origins of Kurdish Transactions of the Philological Society 60 68 86 doi 10 1111 j 1467 968X 1961 tb00987 x Gershevitch I 1985 The Cambridge History of Iran Volume 2 Cambridge University Press p 257 ISBN 9780521200912 Schmitt Rudiger 15 December 1993 Cyrtians Iranica Online Martin van Bruinessen The ethnic identity of the Kurds in Ethnic groups in the Republic of Turkey compiled and edited by Peter Alford Andrews with Rudiger Benninghaus Beihefte zum Tubinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients Reihe B Nr 60 Wiesbaden Dr Ludwich Reichert 1989 pp 613 21 excerpt The ethnic label Kurd is first encountered in Arabic sources from the first centuries of the Islamic era it seemed to refer to a specific variety of pastoral nomadism and possibly to a set of political units rather than to a linguistic group once or twice Arabic Kurds are mentioned By the 10th century the term appears to denote nomadic and or transhumant groups speaking an Iranian language and mainly inhabiting the mountainous areas to the South of Lake Van and Lake Urmia with some offshoots in the Caucasus If there was a Kurdish speaking subjected peasantry at that time the term was not yet 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from the original on 3 January 2022 Retrieved 24 July 2013 Minahan James 2002 Encyclopedia of the stateless nations 2 D K 1 publ ed Westport Conn Greenwood Press p 1056 ISBN 978 0 313 32110 8 The fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East the Kurds make up the world s most numerous ethnic group that has with the exception of northern Iraq no legal form of self government Dan Landis Rosita D Albert 2012 Handbook of Ethnic Conflict International Perspectives New York Springer p 243 ISBN 978 1 4614 0447 7 Many scholars and organizations refer to the Kurds as being one of the largest ethnic groups without a nation state Council of Europe 2006 MacDonald 1993 McKeirnan 1999 Aziz Mahir 2010 The Kurds of Iraq Ethnonationalism and National Identity in Iraqi Kurdistan London Tauris Academic Studies p 4 ISBN 978 1 84885 546 5 The Kurds appear to be the largest ethnic group in the world without a state of their own Davis Ben 2002 Let s Go 2003 Turkey Macmillan p 24 ISBN 978 0 312 30597 0 The 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Economic Vulnerabilities Santa Monica RAND Corporation p 53 ISBN 978 0 8330 4527 0 OCLC 259715774 Thousands of Kurds celebrate New Kurdish Year Newroz in southeastern Turkey Ekurd net 21 March 2008 Retrieved 2 December 2011 Ethnologue census of languages in Asian portion of Turkey Ethnologue com Archived from the original on 18 October 2011 Retrieved 2 December 2011 Turkey Population Countrystudies us 31 December 1994 Retrieved 2 December 2011 Scalbert Yucel Clemence Ray Marie Le 31 December 2006 Knowledge ideology and power Deconstructing Kurdish Studies European Journal of Turkish Studies Social Sciences on Contemporary Turkey 5 doi 10 4000 ejts 777 ISSN 1773 0546 Linguistic and Ethnic Groups in Turkey Countrystudies us Retrieved 2 December 2011 H Hannum Autonomy Sovereignty and Self determination 534 pp University of Pennsylvania Press 1996 ISBN 0 8122 1572 9 ISBN 978 0 8122 1572 4 see page 186 Resat Kasaba The Cambridge History of Turkey 600 pp Cambridge University Press 2008 ISBN 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forces would surround a village using helicopters armored vehicles troops and village guards and burn stored produce agricultural equipment crops orchards forests and livestock They set fire to houses often giving the inhabitants no opportunity to retrieve their possessions During the course of such operations security forces frequently abused and humiliated villagers stole their property and cash and ill treated or tortured them before herding them onto the roads and away from their former homes The operations were marked by scores of disappearances and extrajudicial executions By the mid 1990s more than 3 000 villages had been virtually wiped from the map and according to official figures 378 335 Kurdish villagers had been displaced and left homeless Annual report PDF Report 2014 Retrieved 29 December 2015 The prohibition of torture PDF Report 2003 pp 11 13 Retrieved 29 December 2015 Human Rights Watch HRW 2002 p 7 Abdulla Jamal Jalal 7 February 2012 The Kurds A Nation on the Way to 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ISSN 1874 2203 Arnaiz Villena A Karin M Bendikuze N Gomez Casado E Moscoso J Silvera C Oguz F S Sarper Diler A De Pacho A Allende L Guillen J April 2001 HLA alleles and haplotypes in the Turkish population relatedness to Kurds Armenians and other Mediterraneans HLA in Turks Tissue Antigens 57 4 308 317 doi 10 1034 j 1399 0039 2001 057004308 x PMID 11380939 General and cited references Aslanian Sebouh 2011 From the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean The Global Trade Networks of Armenian Merchants from New Julfa California University of California Press ISBN 978 0520947573 Blow David 2009 Shah Abbas The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend I B Tauris ISBN 978 0857716767 Bournoutian George 2002 A Concise History of the Armenian People from Ancient Times to the Present 2 ed Mazda Publishers p 208 ISBN 978 1568591414 Floor Willem Herzig Edmund 2012 Iran and the World in the Safavid Age I B Tauris ISBN 978 1850439301 Barth F 1953 Principles of Social Organization in Southern Kurdistan Bulletin of the University Ethnographic Museum 7 Oslo Hansen H H 1961 The Kurdish Woman s Life Copenhagen Ethnographic Museum Record 7 1 213 Kennedy Hugh 1994 Crusader Castles Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 79913 3 Leach E R 1938 Social and Economic Organization of the Rowanduz Kurds London School of Economics Monographs on Social Anthropology 3 1 74 Longrigg S H 1953 Iraq 1900 1950 London Masters W M 1953 Rowanduz Ph D dissertation University of Michigan McKiernan Kevin 2006 The Kurds a People in Search of Their Homeland New York St Martin s Press ISBN 978 0 312 32546 6 Mikaberidze Alexander 2015 Historical Dictionary of Georgia 2 ed Rowman amp Littlefield ISBN 978 1442241466 Matthee Rudi SAYḴ ʿALI KHAN ZANGANA Encyclopaedia Iranica Further readingSamir Amin October 2016 The Kurdish Question Then and Now in Monthly Review Volume 68 Issue 05 Dundas Chad Kurdish Americans Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America edited by Thomas Riggs 3rd ed vol 3 Gale 2014 3 41 52 online Eppel Michael A People Without a State The Kurds from the Rise of Islam to the Dawn of Nationalism 2016 University of Texas Press Maisel Sebastian ed The Kurds An Encyclopedia of Life Culture and Society ABC Clio 2018 Shareef Mohammed The United States Iraq and the Kurds shock awe and aftermath Routledge 2014 Historiography Maxwell Alexander Smith Tim 2015 Positing not yet nationalism limits to the impact of nationalism theory on Kurdish historiography Nationalities Papers 43 5 771 787 doi 10 1080 00905992 2015 1049135 S2CID 143220624 Meho Lokman I ed The Kurdish Question in U S Foreign Policy A Documentary Sourcebook Praeger 2004 Sharif Nemat A Brief History of Kurds and Kurdistan Part I From the Advent of Islam to AD 1750 The International Journal of Kurdish Studies 10 1 2 1996 105 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kurdish people The Kurdish Institute of Paris Kurdish language history books and latest news articles The Encyclopaedia of Kurdistan Istanbul Kurdish Institute The Kurdish Center of International Pen Kurdish Library supported by the Swedish Government Ethnic Cleansing and the Kurds The Kurds in the Ottoman Hungary by Zurab Aloian The Other Iraq Kurdish Information WebsiteThe Kurdish issue in Turkey A report on the Kurdish IDP s 2005 A German newspaper s take on the Kurdish issue 2005 The Guardian What s in a name Too much in Turkey 2001 Sonia Roy 22 April 2011 The impact on the politics of Iraq and Turkey and their bilateral relations regarding the Kurds in the post Saddam regime Foreign Policy Journal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kurds amp oldid 1132466481, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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