We sought answers to these questions, where are the Kurds actually from, where do the Kurds come from, where do the Kurds come from.
About the Kurds! Who are these Kurds?
The Kurdish people are a people who have a population of almost 40 million worldwide and speak their own language.
The largest majority of the Kurdish population resides in Turkey. Besides, they have large populations in Iraq, Iran and Syria.
Today, the largest Kurdish population is found in Turkey (15-22 million people), while there are significant Kurdish populations in Iran, Iraq and Syria. There is also a Kurdish diaspora settled in different geographical regions such as Western Europe, North America and Central Asia, especially with the migrations that occurred in the second half of the 20th century, both due to the political and social turmoil and problems in the region and other reasons. While Kurdish culture has various similarities with other Middle Eastern cultures as a result of centuries of interaction, Kurdish religious belief has developed in a very syncretic manner. Today, while the majority of Kurds are Sunni Muslims affiliated with the Shafi'i sect, there are also members of many different religions and beliefs. In addition to these, there are various religious sects, movements and beliefs that emerged among the Kurds such as Ezidism and Ahl-i Haqq and are characterized by the Kurdish culture and religious understanding.
Some scholars have associated the word Kurd with the word Kar'da in ancient Sumerian tablets dating from the 24th century BC, which was also used to describe a people. He associates it with the word Kardukhoi (which is considered the plural of Kardu because the kh part in the suffix comes from the Armenian plural suffix and Xenophon states that he learned the names of these tribes from the Armenians). Later, in the works of Livy, Polibios and Strabo, a community called Kyrtiae and associated with the Kurds draws attention. However, the word Kurd in the contemporary context is Iranian; As a matter of fact, this word is also found in the epic of Karnâmag î Ardashir î Babagân written in the Sassanid period.
Although early researchers associated the Kurds with the Kardukhoi mentioned by Xenophon, these views have been discussed and lost their importance since the beginning of the 20th century. The reasons why the people whom Xenophon calls Kardukhoi are identified with the Kurds are the fact that the region they live in is located in today's Kurdistan, habits and various external features. However, this conclusion was based on problematic premises, such as the fact that Kurds have always lived in Kurdistan, where the majority of Kurds live today, and that migrations that took place in the region throughout history are not taken into account. At the same time, it is an expected development that the communities living in a certain region will show similar lifestyles over time, apart from their ethnic origins.
Although there are debates on the origin of the Kardu and Kyrtiae peoples, which are generally mentioned in ancient sources and have been associated with the Kurds from time to time, the general opinion of historians and linguists is that these names are not different from the Kurdish name. The biggest reason for this opinion is the short vowel letter at the end of these words and is also a part of the root of the words. The word Kardu in particular is very controversial; it is possible that the first letter of this word describes the letter Q rather than the letter K, possibly indicating the Semitic root "QRD" (meaning "brave" or "strong"); While there are linguists who defend it, there are also those who criticize and reject it. Apart from this, it has been suggested that the word Kardu may be related to Kart'veli, a unique name used for Georgians. It is also possible that if the word Kurd is taken to derive from the Persian word Gord, the word Gord may be seen as an Iranianized form of a local name such as Kardu (or Qardu).
Origin and Kurds from Antiquity to the Late Middle Ages
Many arguments have been put forward regarding the origin of the Kurds. These arguments, some of which refer to scientific and some non-scientific bases, are quite diverse and the origin of the Kurds has been attributed to many different societies and civilizations, from Assyrians to Georgians. Although the generally accepted origin is Iranian, it is accepted by many scholars, including the well-known Kurdologist Vladimir Minorsky, that Kurdish communities are far from homogeneous and are ethnically diverse beyond their linguistic unity. However, there have also been Kurdish communities in history who claimed that their origins were Arabs. Some Muslim historians attribute the origin of the Kurds to the Persians; One of the biggest pillars of this is the Legend of Blacksmith Kawa, which is also mentioned in the Shahname. Many Kurds attributed their origin to the Medes; indeed, there is linguistic and geographical evidence for a possible relationship between the Medes and the Kurds; for example, although the number of examples of the Medes language is small, studies conducted with the available findings have revealed that the relationship of the Median language with the ancient Persian language is the same as the relationship between contemporary Kurdish and modern Persian language. However, little is known about the Medes and academically the Medes-Kurds connection is not confirmed. Apart from the Medes, the Kurds also associated themselves with the Urartians and Neo-Babylonians. But these peoples cannot be Kurds because they do not speak an Indo-European language.
The word "Kurd" has been used by Persians and Arabs throughout history to mean nomadic, often without any ethnic emphasis or meaning, and as a result, it has been debated whether some communities that were called Kurds in history are ethnically Kurdish; For example, it has been put forward in the presence of various linguistic evidences that some of the communities mentioned in the works of Islamic historians and known as Persian Kurds, who lived in south and southwest Iran, were not Kurds, but were nomadic communities living in these regions.
Because of all these, it is not possible to talk about the origins and early periods of the Kurds and a clear history; The general opinion is that the Kurds were formed by the merging of the northwestern Iranian communities who migrated from the East to the West towards the Zagros Mountains with the non-Iranian indigenous peoples of the region. Thus, at the time when the Arabs and Islamic armies began the conquest of the region, the community referred to as the Kurds was quite heterogeneous; It consisted of many different Iranianized peoples, from indigenous peoples to Semitic peoples and some Armenian communities.
There is detailed information about the role and place of the Kurds in the period after the Islamic incursions into the region and the region's incorporation into the Islamic state. After the Islamic incursions, the Kurds rose especially in the political and social arena and played an important role in the political events of the period. Two important writers who made research on Kurds and gave detailed information for the first time in this period are Mesûdî and İstahri. Both authors made a tally of different Kurdish tribes according to their cities, which is an important piece of information for Kurdish history. İstahri talked in detail about the Kurdish regions and tribes in Fars; In Farsname, which is dated approximately 1107, it is stated that the largest Kurdish community in Fars fought against the Islamic invasions with the Persian army, largely disappeared, and the rest were Muslims. Although it is not possible according to contemporary sources that this large community, which is believed to have numbered 500,000, completely disappeared, it is possible that this large community (and the rest) merged with other groups, etc. social changes are thought to be possible. As a matter of fact, it is debatable whether these communities in Fars are Kurds or not.
After the invasion and capture of the Kurdish-dominated areas at that time, the Kurdish administration in al-Zavzan guaranteed an autonomous administration in exchange for tribute in 640, in many other regions, such as Fars, the Kurds fought with the Persians against the Arab armies. They also rebelled in many different centers under the control of the Islamic State, such as Basra.
The anti-government attitudes of the Kurds continued during the Umayyads and Abbasids, for example, in 685, a governor was appointed to fight against the Kurds during the Umayyad period, but the death of the Umayyad leader of the appointed period in a short period of time prevented this goal from being realized, It is recorded that they were punished by Hajjaj for plundering Fars in BC; In the Abbasid period, however, the Khazar invasion of Armenia in 764 led to various uprisings, the Kurdish uprisings continued with increasing violence, many Kurds migrated to Azerbaijan, therefore, this period witnessed the rise of some large Kurdish tribes. For example, Muhammad Shaddad bin Kartu, one of the Rawwadis family descendants from which the Ayyubids would later emerge, became an independent governor in Tabriz and its surroundings, and various independent governorships emerged in these regions (northwest Iran) at that time.
Over time, there have been various convergences between the large Kurdish tribes and the administration; For example, Badr bin Hasanveyh, one of the Kurdish leaders, who was the head of the Hasnawis, was awarded the title of Nasruddin by the Abbasid caliph of the period; As a matter of fact, Badr bin Hasanveyh was one of the leaders who were generally loved and praised due to the importance he gave to the education of the people.
The relations that developed with the Kurds under the rule of Ruknüddevle, one of the powerful Büveyhoğulları in the region, changed during the reign of his successor Adudüddevle, the uprisings under the rule of Adudüddevle were violently suppressed, and various campaigns were organized against the Kurds.
The Kurds maintained their importance in the region for a long time from the 6th to the 10th centuries. So much so that at the beginning of the 11th century there were still campaigns against the Kurds, etc. is found. However, the role and importance of Kurdish groups in the region was weakened by the Turkish invasions; As a matter of fact, when these invasions began, the Kurdish forces had been greatly damaged by the internal and external conflicts that had been going on for years.
With the entry of the Oghuzs to the region, conflicts took place between the Oghuz and other peoples in the region, including the Kurds. While the Oghuzs were advancing in the region, the Hasnawis also collapsed and the Annazis began to rise. After the Seljuk Bey Tugrul attacked the region, the Annazis eventually came under the rule of the Seljuks. The rise of the Seljuks, the opening of Armenia to their dominance after their success in Manzikert, led to the collapse of the Kurdish communities and dynasties in the region, and the Kurdish communities began to be replaced by Turkish communities. Although the Seljuks had various attacks against Kurdish communities in the following periods, it is also known that Kurds and Arabs took part in military operations with the Seljuk army from time to time. In historical sources, the name of the Kurds is frequently mentioned in Syria and the surrounding region during these periods; As a matter of fact, one of the most important events of the Seljuk period was the first use of the name Kurdistan by the Seljuks, and the emergence of the official Kurdistan province under the rule of the Seljuk sultan Sencer.
The conquests of some Atabeys, especially Atabey İmameddin Zengi, and the conflicts against and with the Kurds had an important place in the shaping of Kurdish history and geography. As a matter of fact, when the Ayyubid dynasty, based on solid evidence of Kurdish origin, emerged and over time, long-established Turkish communities continued to rule in their own lands, even though they were included in the Ayyubid subjects; The dominance of the Zengids in Mosul can be given as an example. The majority of the Ayyubids' army, especially active in Egypt and Syria, consisted of Turks. Although this situation does not reduce the Kurdish identity of the dynasty, it cannot be said that the dynasty and Kurdish groups always walked on a common path. It is also known that some Kurdish groups opposed the dynasty at various important points throughout the history of the dynasty; For example, various Kurdish groups opposed the accession of Saladin, who was also of Kurdish origin, to the throne. Ayyubids, who expanded their dominance after important and many successful conquests in North Africa, Arabia, Syria and Mesopotamia, after the death of Saladin, as a result of the system of the dynasty that united different autonomous regions, which were far from a central government, under a single sultanate, problems arose, battles for the sultanate arose, and different The dynasty's power and influence gradually decreased as a result of the emergence of these powers, for example the rise of the Khwarazmshahs in the east, the later loss of Yemen, the Egyptian-Syrian administrative conflict and disintegration, and the dynasty collapsed with the rise of the Mamluks and the fall of Egypt. The most important development for Kurdish communities during the 13th century, as for other communities in the Middle East, was the Mongol invasions. As a matter of fact, in Diyarbakir, where the leader of the Khwarezmshahs, Celaleddin Khwarezmshah, fled from the Mongols, the Mongols plundered and destroyed Diyarbakir and Ahlat, most likely after he was killed by a Kurd in 1231. Diyarbakir was later plundered again in 1252, while Shahrizor was invaded and destroyed in 1245, and Erbil was invaded three times during this period. The Kurds generally stood against the Mongols, often sided with the Mamluks, and took part in the resistance movement against the Mongols. As a matter of fact, it is known that there were Kurds as well as Turks and Arabs in the army of the Mamluk sultan Baybars. Although Kurds are not mentioned much under the Mongol Ilkhanate rule, the Mongols conquered and brought the Kurdistan region under their rule in the first half of the 13th century, especially in Erbil, where the conflict continued for years and often included the ethnic groups in the city, including the Kurds. It is known that there are problems in general and that the general situation of the region regressed compared to the situation in the Seljuk rule. Again in this period, the capital of the region was moved from Bahar to Çemçemal.
After the Mongols, the regions where Kurds lived became a matter of conflict between different Turkish communities and principalities. While these communities sometimes worked with the Kurds, they sometimes followed policies against the Kurds. Among these communities, the Kurds had negative relations, especially with the Diyarbakir-based Akkoyunlu, and according to many sources, "Akkoyunlus systematically eliminated important Kurdish tribes."
Kurdish Language
Kurdish is a language belonging to the north-western Iranian group of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. Although various scholars and Kurdish nationalists have hoped or claimed that contemporary Kurdish would have pre-Iranian remnants, there is no scientific evidence to suggest this. David MacKenzie, an expert on Iranian languages, especially Kurdish, puts Kurdish between proto-Baluci and Persian in terms of origin, after various phonological analyzes, and argues that proto-Kurdish is in close contact with Southern Persian, with comparisons between Kurdish and Baloch.
Kurdish is spoken by an estimated 16-26 million people in the world. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Kurdish has two main dialects: Kurmanji as a northern dialect and Sorani as a central dialect. The International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, published by Oxford, has made such a distinction. While Kurmanji is spoken especially by the Kurdish peoples settled in the region from Mosul to the Caucasus, Sorani is concentrated in a geography extending from Urmia to the more southerly parts of the Kurdistan geographical region. According to the same source, Zazaki and Gorani are also considered sub-dialects of Kurdish. However, it has been a matter of debate whether which languages can be considered as dialects of Kurdish. For example, according to some sources, Zazaki is not a dialect. Oskar Mann has proven that Zazaki is a language on its own with his compilation, research and analysis. Karl Hadank, who furthered Oskar Mann's research from 1903 to 1907 and turned it into a book, published the scientific work "Die Mundarten der Zâzâ" in 1932. Thus, in Iranology linguistics, the Zaza language maintains its status as a stand-alone language with the consensus of linguists. Those who treat Zazaki as a Kurdish dialect generally see it as a third dialect branch, a southern dialect branch, together with Gorani. One of the groupings of Southern Kurdish dialects that has been put forward is as follows: Kelhuri, Feyli and Goranice. A similar situation in Zaza is also valid for Gorani; There are linguists who see Gorani not as a dialect of Kurdish, but as a separate language.
It is estimated that Kurmanji, the most widely spoken dialect of Kurdish, is spoken by approximately 15-17 million people. The majority of Kurds living in countries such as Syria, Armenia and Azerbaijan, especially in Turkey, and the Kurdish diaspora who immigrated from these countries, speak Kurmanji. Kurmanji is also rarely spoken in Kurdish communities in Iran and Iraq; The majority of Kurds in Iraq and Iran speak the Sorani dialect. It is thought that the Sorani dialect is spoken by approximately 4-6 million people in Iraq and 5-6 million people in Iran.
Kurdish has gained the status of official language in Iraq. In Syria, Kurdish is banned and, for example, broadcasting in Kurdish is prohibited. In Iran, although it does not have the status of an official language, it is not banned; It is free to produce publications in Kurdish. Although Kurdish is used in local newspapers and similar publications, it is not used in schools. As a result of this, some Kurds in Iran went to Iraq to receive education in their mother tongue. After the Kurdish language was banned for many years in Turkey, the prohibitions were relaxed a little in the 90s. Although Kurdish does not have the status of an official language in Turkey and the use of any language other than Turkish in education is prohibited according to the country's constitution, private TV channels have been allowed to broadcast in Kurdish within various restrictions since 2006. opened a channel (TRT 6)
Religion in Kurds
The Kurds are a religiously heterogeneous people, and there are groups belonging to many different religions among them. The majority of Kurds are Sunni Muslims. In particular, the majority of Kurds living within the borders of Turkey and Iran belong to the Sunni sect (predominantly Shafi'i) and a small number of them are Alevis. Mostly Zazas adhere to Alevism. There are also Shiite, Ahl-i Haqq, Yazidi and Jewish Kurds. There are no Zoroastrian or Christian Kurdish groups in large numbers; However, many different religious movements from Zoroastrianism to Manichaeism or Christianity have influenced the religious understanding of Kurdish communities, and it is possible to come across various images of these different religions in the religious beliefs and practices of contemporary Kurds.
There is not much information on the religious beliefs of the first Kurds; Along with other Iranian peoples, he is thought to have believed in ancient Indo-Iranian beliefs. A distinctive element of this first belief is its cosmogony, that is, its understanding, belief and narrative regarding the creation of the universe. According to this cosmogony, god created the universe in an embryonic form. The one who gave birth to the embryonic universe is the fire god Mithra (Mitra in Indian culture), and he sacrificed a bull to realize this. Later, with the evolution of Iranian belief systems, it is thought that the first Kurds who lived side by side with these peoples also tended to these belief systems. Zoroastrianism in particular greatly influenced the religious belief of the Kurds; So much so that in most of today's Kurdish religious movements, such as Ahl al-Haqq and Yazidis, various elements in Zoroastrianism, liturgical (worshipping, ritualistic) elements are encountered. Due to the fact that the religious understanding is based on an oral culture rather than a written one, and due to various other factors, the general opinion today is that the religious understanding of the Kurds is quite syncretic; For this reason, scientists think that Zoroastrianism entered Kurdish culture in a syncretic way by mixing with the beliefs of the first Kurds at that time. This is thought to constitute a bilateral rather than unilateral interaction; It is known that Zoroastrianism was influenced by Western Iranian religious movements. Unlike classical Zoroastrianism, Zurvanism, which originated among Western Iranians, may have had various effects on the Kurdish faith; For example, the number four, which has a very important and fundamental meaning and value in this religion, is handled in a similar way in Ahl al-Haqq and Yazidis.
Another religion that particularly influenced the Kurds in the early period is Judaism. In the narratives of Jewish Kurds, Jews were exiled from Palestine during the reign of the Assyrian kings of Israel and Judah. This period coincides with approximately the 8th century BC, which scientists generally confirm. As a matter of fact, Jewish communities have lived in Kurdistan for centuries, and large numbers of Kurdish Jewish communities have been found. However, after the establishment of the state of Israel, most of the Kurdish Jews immigrated to this new state.
With the conquest of the geography of the Kurds by Islam, Islam began to spread among the Kurdish communities. However, information on how and to what extent this spread occurs is limited. The spread of Islam to the various Kurdish communities was thought to have taken place in a syncretic fashion; It is clear that the Kurds did not abandon their ancient beliefs immediately. For example, in various sources, it is mentioned that there were Kurdish tribes that continued the ancient Iranian religions even in the 13th century, centuries after the spread of Islam.
The majority of Muslim Kurds are Sunni and Shafi'i in practice. Shafiism, which is a practical sect, has gained an important place in terms of Sunni Kurdish identity over time; With the adoption of the Hanafi sect by the Ottoman Empire, which later emerged in the region, Hanafism spread in the region, and the majority of non-Kurdish Sunni Muslims became Hanafi. In addition, Sufism is quite common among Muslim Kurds, and Sufi culture and beliefs have greatly influenced their religious understanding. The most common sects among Kurds today are the Kadirilik and the Naqshbandi. Although many sects were active among the Kurds and in the Kurdistan region where the Kurds live intensely, these two sects stand out today, and the most widespread and powerful among these two sects is the Naqshbandi. It is known that the Qadiriyyah came to the lands inhabited by the Kurds at a very old time, before the Naqshbandi rule, and remained very strong for a long time. As the Qadiri Kurds attach great importance to asceticism, this Qadiri branch has drawn attention especially with its acts of retribution, such as walking on fire and eating glass, which go beyond the general public. Both Qadiriism and Naqshbandiism interacted with other religious movements in the region, for example, especially with Ahl al-Haqq and Ezidism. As a matter of fact, both Ahl-i Haqq and Ezidism have strong mystical roots; For example, the origin of Ezidism is based on Adi bin Konuk, a Sufi sheikh. One of the most important features of Sufism in Kurdish society is that many important Kurdish Sufis are also important political leaders, and Sufi leaders and Sufism play a major role in some political thoughts and movements. Although Although the majority of them are Sunni, there are also Shiites among the Muslim Kurds. There are Shiite Kurdish groups from the Isnaashariyya branch in the Iraqi border, Kirkuk and Erbil regions, especially in Iran, and Ishnaashariyya has been the official religious orientation in Iran since the 16th century. According to many scholars, the other two groups that can be considered within the Shiite Kurds are the Kurdish Alevis in Turkey and the Ehl-i Hak group; However, it is debatable whether these religious orientations constitute a separate religion and whether they can be considered as Shiite branches within Islam. While there are various basic Shiite elements in these communities, there are also various images and elements from ancient, pre-Islamic beliefs.
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