Kurds
Gorani[32] | |
Religion | |
---|---|
Predominantly Sunni Islam with minorities of Shia Islam, Kurdish Alevism, Yazidism, Yarsanism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity[33][34][35] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Iranic peoples |
Kurdish people or Kurds (
Kurds speak the
Kurds do not comprise a majority in any country, making them a stateless people.
Etymology
The exact origins of the name Kurd are unclear.
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.[48]
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.[49]
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.[50][51]
Language
Kurdish (Kurdish: Kurdî or کوردی) is a collection of related dialects spoken by the Kurds.[52] It is mainly spoken in those parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey which comprise Kurdistan.[53] 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.[54]
Many Kurds are either
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.[55]
The Kurdish dialects according to Mackenzie are classified as:[56]
- 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,[57] but the Zaza–Gorani languages are not classified as Kurdish.[58]
Population
The number of Kurds living in
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.[61]
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
Religion
Islam
Most Kurds are
Beside Sunni Islam, Alevism and Shia Islam also have millions of Kurdish followers.[66]
Yazidism
Yazidism is a
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
Zoroastrianism
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.[79] 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.[80]
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'.[81] 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.[81]
Christianity
Although historically there have been various accounts of
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
History
Antiquity
"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.[90] Other Sumerian clay tablets referred to the people, who lived in the land of Karda, as the Qarduchi (Karduchi, Karduchoi) and the Qurti.[91] Karda/Qardu is etymologically related to the Assyrian term Urartu and the Hebrew term Ararat.[92] However, some modern scholars do not believe that the Qarduchi are connected to Kurds.[93][94]
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.[95]
Many Kurds consider themselves descended from the
During the
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?[109]
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.[109][110]
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.[111] 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.[111]
Qadishaye, settled by
There is also a 7th-century text by an unidentified author, written about the legendary
Medieval period
Early Syriac sources use the terms Hurdanaye, Kurdanaye, Kurdaye to refer to the Kurds. According to
In the early
In 838, a Kurdish leader based in Mosul, named
In 934, the
In the 10th–12th centuries, a number of
- The Shaddadids (951–1174)[127][128][129][130] ruled parts of Armenia and Arran.
- The Rawadid (955–1221) They were Arab origin, later Kurdicized[130] and ruled Azerbaijan.
- The Hasanwayhids (959–1015)[129] ruled western Iran and upper Mesopotamia.
- The Marwanids (990–1096)[131][129][130] ruled eastern Anatolia.
- The Annazids (990–1117)[132][129] ruled western Iran and Upper Mesopotamia (succeeded the Hasanwayhids).
- The Hazaraspids (1148–1424)[133] ruled southwestern Iran.
- The Ayyubids (1171–1341)[134] ruled Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen and parts of southeastern Anatolia.
Due to the Turkic invasion of Anatolia and Armenia, 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
Safavid period
The
The Safavid king
The Kurds of Khorasan, numbering around 700,000, still use the
Zand period
After the fall of the Safavids, Iran fell under the control of the
The country would flourish during Karim Khan's reign; a strong resurgence of the arts would take place, and international ties were strengthened.
After Karim Khan's death, the dynasty would decline in favour of the rival
The Kurdish tribes present in
Ottoman period
When Sultan
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.
The first modern Kurdish nationalist movement emerged in 1880 with an uprising led by a Kurdish landowner and head of the powerful Shemdinan family,
Kurdish nationalism of the 20th century
Kurdish nationalism emerged after
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.[162]
Some of the Kurdish groups sought self-determination and the confirmation of Kurdish autonomy in the 1920
From 1922 to 1924 in Iraq a
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
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.[166]
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
Kurds are often regarded as "the largest ethnic group without a state",[168][169][170][171][172][173] Some researchers, such as Martin van Bruinessen,[174] 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.[175][176][177] 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.[175]
Kurdish communities
Turkey
According to
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,
The words "Kurds", "Kurdistan", or "Kurdish" were officially banned by the Turkish government.[186] Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life.[187] Many people who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.[188] 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.[189]
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,[190] Switzerland,[191] Russia,[192] and India have refused to add the PKK to their terrorist list.[193] Some of them have even supported the PKK.[194]
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.[195] Turkish state actions have included torture, rape,[196][197] forced inscription, forced evacuation, destruction of villages, illegal arrests and executions of Kurdish civilians.[198][199]
Since the 1970s, the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Turkey for the thousands of human rights abuses.[199][200] The judgments are related to executions of Kurdish civilians,[201] torturing,[202] forced displacements[203] systematic destruction of villages,[204] arbitrary arrests[205] murdered and disappeared Kurdish journalists.[206]
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."[207]
In March 1994, the
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 Kurdish Hezbollah to assassinate suspected PKK members and often ordinary Kurds.[211] 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.[212]
Iran
The
Unlike in other Kurdish-populated countries, there are strong ethnolinguistical and cultural ties between Kurds,
The
During the late 1910s and early 1920s,
As a response to growing
Several
Kurds have been well integrated in
Iraq
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.[238]
Kurds led by
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.
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,
The Kurdish population welcomed the American troops in 2003 by holding celebrations and dancing in the streets.
Syria
Kurds account for 9% of Syria's population, a total of around 1.6 million people.[252] 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.[253] 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.[254][255] Having been denied the right to Syrian nationality, around 300,000 Kurds have been deprived of any social rights, in violation of international law.[256][257] 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.[258]
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.[259][260]
As a result of
Kurdish-inhabited
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.[262][263]
Transcaucasus
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
Diaspora
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.[151] 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.[265] There have been tensions between Kurds and the established Muslim community in Dewsbury,
There was substantial immigration of ethnic Kurds in
Culture
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
Education
A madrasa system was used before the modern era.[277][278] Mele are Islamic clerics and instructors.[279]
Women
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
Folklore
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,
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.[281] 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.[281]
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
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.[285] However, a number of writers have made great strides in the preservation of these tales.
Weaving
Kurdish weaving is renowned throughout the world, with fine specimens of both rugs and bags. The most famous Kurdish rugs are
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.[286] 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.[287]
Kurdish bags are mainly known from the works of one large tribe: the
Handicrafts
Outside of weaving and clothing, there are many other Kurdish
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
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.[289]
Tattoo ink is made by mixing
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.[289]
Music and dance
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
Cinema
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.[291] 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,[292] and Ereb Samilov and C. Jamharyan for Kurds of Armenia.[292]
The first critically acclaimed and famous Kurdish films were produced by
Another prominent Kurdish film director is
Other prominent Kurdish film directors that are critically acclaimed include
Sports
The most popular sport among the Kurds is football. Because the Kurds have no independent state, they have no representative team in
On a national level, the Kurdish clubs of Iraq have achieved success in recent years as well, winning the
In Turkey, a Kurd named
Another prominent sport is wrestling. In
- Zhir-o-Bal (a style similar to Ilam;[296]
- Zouran-Patouleh, practised in Kurdistan;[296]
- Zouran-Machkeh, practised in Kurdistan as well.[296]
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.[296]
Kurdish medalists in the
, 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
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,[299] and the Hisn al Akrad near Homs.[300]
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.
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
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.[306][307] 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.[308]
Genetics
A 2005 study genetically examined three different groups of
11 different Y-DNA haplogroups have been identified in Kurmanji-speaking Kurds in Turkey.
Modern Kurdish-majority entities and governments
- Kurdistan Region (1992 to date) – Autonomous region in Iraq
- Democratic Federation of Northern Syria(2013 to date) – Autonomy of Syria
Gallery
-
Mercier. Kurde (Asie) by Auguste Wahlen, 1843
-
Kurdish warriors byAmadeo 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 chief
-
A Kurdish woman and a child fromEastern Kurdistan, 2017
-
A group of Kurdish men with traditional clothing,Hawraman
-
A Kurdish man wearing traditional clothes, Erbil
-
A Kurdish woman fighter fromRojava
See also
- A Modern History of the Kurds by David McDowall
- Chechen Kurds
- History of the Kurdish people
- Kurdology
- Kurds in Georgia
- Kurds in Lebanon
- Kurds in Turkey
- Khorasani Kurds
- List of Kurdish dynasties and countries
- List of Kurdish organisations
- List of Kurdish people
- National symbols of the Kurds
- Origins of the Kurds
- Zaza Kurds
References
Explanatory notes
Citations
- ^ 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 ärgern uns über die Bundesregierung" – Politik". Süddeutsche.de. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ "Geschenk an Erdogan? Kurdisches Kulturfestival verboten". heise.de. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ The cultural situation of the Kurds, A report by Lord Russell-Johnston, Council of Europe, July 2006.
- ^ Ismet Chériff Vanly, "The Kurds in the Soviet Union", in: Philip G. Kreyenbroek & 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
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- ^ 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.
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- ^ Nezan, Kendal. A Brief Survey of the History of the Kurds. Kurdish Institute of Paris.
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- ^ 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.
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Generally, the etymons and primary meanings of tribal names or ethnonyms, as well as place names, are often irrecoverable; Kurd is also an obscurity
- JSTOR 4132112.
- 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". Encyclopædia 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
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- ^ 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."
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As much as 25% of Turkey is Kurdish
This would raise the population estimate by about 5 million.[dubious - ^ 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 Chériff Vanly, "The Kurds in the Soviet Union", in: Philip G. Kreyenbroek & 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).
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- 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
- 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.
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Matthee 2005, p. 18: "The Safavids, as Iranians of Kurdish ancestry and of nontribal background, did not fit this pattern, although the stat they set up with the aid of Turkmen tribal forces of Eastern Anatolia closely resembled this division in its makeup. Yet, the Turk versus Tajik division was not impregnable."
Matthee 2008: "As Persians of Kurdish ancestry and of a non-tribal background, the Safavids did not fit this pattern, though the state they set up with the assistance of Turkmen tribal forces of eastern Anatolia closely resembled this division in its makeup."
Savory 2008, p. 8: "This official version contains textual changes designed to obscure the Kurdish origins of the Safavid family and to vindicate their claim to descent from the Imams."
Hamid 2006, p. 456–474: "The Safavids originated as a hereditary lineage of Sufi shaikhs centered on Ardabil, Shafeʿite in school and probably Kurdish in origin."
Amanat 2017, p. 40 "The Safavi house originally was among the landowning nobility of Kurdish origin, with affinity to the Ahl-e Haqq in Kurdistan (chart 1). In the twelfth century, the family settled in northeastern Azarbaijan, where Safi al-Din Ardabili (d. 1334), the patriarch of the Safavid house and Ismail's ancestor dating back six generations, was a revered Sufi leader."
Tapper 1997, p. 39: "The Safavid Shahs who ruled Iran between 1501 and 1722 descended from Sheikh Safi ad-Din of Ardabil (1252–1334). Sheikh Safi and his immediate successors were renowned as holy ascetics Sufis. Their own origins were obscure; probably of Kurdish or Iranian extraction, they later claimed descent from the Prophet."
Manz 2021, p. 169: "The Safavid dynasty was of Iranian – probably Kurdish – extraction and had its beginnings as a Sufi order located at Ardabil near the eastern border of Azerbaijan, in a region favorable for both agriculture and pastoralism." - Kurdistan, from where, seven generations before him, Firuz Shah Zarin-kulah had migrated to Adharbayjan"
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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.
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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.
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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).
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The Kurds appear to be the largest ethnic group in the world without a state of their own.
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The 1999 capture and conviction of Kurdish guerilla leader Abdullah Ocalan brought increasing international attention to the Kurds, the largest ethnic group in the world without its own nation.
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They are a recognizable ethnic community, the 'world's largest ethnic group without a state of their own.'
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The local gendarmerie (soldiers who police rural areas) required villages to show their loyalty by forming platoons of "provisional village guards," armed, paid, and supervised by the local gendarmerie post. Villagers were faced with a frightening dilemma. They could become village guards and risk being attacked by the PKK or refuse and be forcibly evacuated from their communities. Evacuations were unlawful and violent. Security 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.
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General and cited references
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- 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.
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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. 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
- 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 Website
The 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.