Nasvhille kurds history

Who are the Kurds?

Kurds: It means “the people”
Kurdish: it means “the people” also it means “the language”
Kurdistan: it means “the land of the Kurds”

The Kurdish people belong to the Indo-European family of nations; the Kurds have been living in Kurdistan for more

than 5000 years. With 45 million Kurds world wide, the Kurds are the third largest ethnic group in the Middle East

after the Arabs and Turks. They are the largest minority in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

The Kurds are considered as on of the largest ethnic minorities in the World with out a country of their own.

The Kurds were promised a state of their own by the 1920 Sevres Peace Treaty in Paris after World War I, but

instead they were divided between Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Since World War I, the Kurds have revolted several

times against the above four countries, because the ruling regimes of these countries have attempted to destroy the

Kurds’ politics, culture, economics, and linguistic identity. Today most of the Kurds seek Autonomy of Federalism for

their homeland Kurdistan instead of Independence.

Kurdistan is considered as the cradle of the second human race. After the great flood, the Prophet Noah’s Ark or

ship was settled on Mount Judi which is located in present day Kurdistan of Turkey. From the new discoveries in the

black sea area, the scientists believe that the flood happened around 5500 B.C. or 7500 years ago. Noah and his

three sons started their new life from the above locations and later the people spread around the world from there.

The Kurdish Origin (Ancient Kurds, 3100 – 1000 B.C.)

The Migration of the Caucasian and Indo-European Groups of Nations to Zagros Highland:

The Ancient Kurds are of Caucasian and Indo-European Origin; they migrated to the Zagros Highlands before

3100 B.C. - 1000B.C. There were many groups of nations of the Ancient Kurds that lived in Zagros Highland, but

today weonly have existence of at least nine nations that have been documented. Guti, Subari, Lullu, Kassite,

Mitanni, Mani,Urartu, and Nairi are eight nations that are believed by most historians to be of Caucasian origin that

migrated to the Zagros Highlands. These eight nations all spoke different dialects of the Caucasian language. The

Mede’s are thelast of the nine groups that migrated to the Zagros region, they are of Indo-European origin.

Kurdish Roots (Historical Overview of the Nine Kurdish Nations)

Some of the following nations lived in different regions of Kurdistan or controlled other regions of Kurdistan.

Guti Nation:

· The Guti also called Gutu founded the Gutium Kingdom within the Zagros around 3100 B.C.

· This nation occupied most of the present day Kurdistan of Iraq from the river Diyala to Great Zab River. Later some of the Guties lived in other parts of Kurdistan; today it would consist of Kurdistan of Iran and Turkey.

· The Guties controlled Sumer and Akad in the year 2649-2524 B.C.

· There Capital was the city of Arapkho today known as Kirkuk, and the second large city for the Guties was Arbilum today known as Arbil.

· The Guti Nation lasted until the first Millennium B.C. the Guties are considered as the Kurds most ancient ancestors.

Subari Nation:

· The Subari Nation was founded within the Zagros Highlands as of 3000 B.C.

· They lived in present day Kurdistan of Iraq, Syria and parts of Turkey.

· The Subaris lasted until the 7^th century B.C.

Lullu Nation:

· The nation was also called the Lullubum

· They lived primarily in the Shehrazor region in Sulaimaniyah

· The Lullu nation had Kingdoms in the Zagros region around 2800 B.C.

· The Capital of Lullu was called Arak-di today known as Arbat

· The Lullus Kingdom ended in 700 B.C.

Kassite Nation:

· Known also as Cassite and in the Bible it is called Kushu

· The Kassite nation is a mix of the Guti, Sabari, and Lullu nations

· They lived south of Kurdistan; their original homeland was located in the present day Kurmanshah and Luristan region south Kurdistan of Iran.

· The Kassities first controlled the Lullu, Guti, and Subari nations of the Zagros Highlands then conquered Sumer and Akad and all Mesopotamia and created Empire for 600 years, around 1746-1171 B.C.

· Their Empire extended to the Caucasian regions and the Caspian Sea

· Their capital city was known as Dur Kurigalzu today know as Agar Quf about 30 Kilometers west of Baghdad

· After the Kassites lost their Empire, their Kingdom in the Kurmanshah and Luristan region lasted until the end of the 7^th Century B.C. and the Kassite nation was existed until the first century A.D, then the name Luristan appeared in the region.

Mitanni Nation:

· The Mitanni nation is also called Hurrian Nation

· Most historians believe that the Mitanni nation is a branch of the Subari nation

· The Mitanni or Hurrian nation founded an Empire called Hurri-Mitanni Empire which lasted for more than 600 years, during the period of 1500-880 B.C.

· They lived in present day west Kurdistan of Iraq, Syria, and south Kurdistan of Turkey

· Their capital was Washshukanni which was located around the Khabur River in Kurdistan of Turkey south of Diyar Bakir. They later moved their capital to the city of Arapkho which today is Kirkuk

Mani Nation:

· The Mani nation controlled the area in Kurdistan of Iran south of lake Orumiyah

· Their capital was called Izirtu, which was located 50 kilometers form the present day city of Saqqez

· Their Kingdom existed during the period of 900-625 B.C.

Urartu Nation:

· The Urartu nation was also called Khaldi nation

· The Urartu nation had Kingdom in the northern portion of Kurdistan during the period of 880-585 B.C.

· Their capital was the city of Van which was built if 840 B.C.

· Middle of the 8^th century B.C the Armenian nation who where living west of Urartu nation advanced into them Kingdom and controlled the northern part of Urartu Kingdom which later became known as Armenia.

· The Armenians are Indo-European nation who migrated to west of Urartu nation in 1000 B.C.

· In 606 B.C. the Median Empire controlled the southern part of the Urartu Kingdom, and the Urartu Kingdom was disappeared in 585 B.C.

Nairi Nation:

· The Nairi nation lived in central Kurdistan in the Hakkari Mountains south of Lake Van and the upper Great Zab River. Their Kingdom was extended to the areas of Darsim, Badlis, Diyar Bakiir and upper parts of the Tigris and Euphrates River.

· Their main area was the Valley of Butan to the city of Mardin near the Iraq and Syrian border.

· The Nairi nation were mostly independent during the period of foreign powers control of Kurdistan even during the Median Empire control of the Zagros Highlands, they had some kind of independence.

· The Medes became the Nairi Nation neighbor and slowly moved into their land when the Nairis Kingdom was weak and they controlled the Kingdom from then on.

· The Nairi nation was mentioned first by the Assyrians in the 13^th century B.C.

· This nation was powerful and had many wars with it neighbors.

· The Nairi land is the same land that the Greek Historian Xenophone and his army passed through in 401 B.C. and called the people there as Kurdock.

· After Xenophone in the 4^th century B.C. the Historians began calling the Nairi land as Kurdoin

· Today some of their ancient ruins are located in the Shamdinan area in Kurdistan of Turkey in the Hakkari region.

· The Nairi Nation was considered as the representative of the ancient Kurds who later assimilated with the Medes.

The Medes Nation:

· The origin of the Medes nation in Indo-European decent

· The modern Kurdish people are the descendents of the Medes.

· They migrated to the Zagros Highlands from central Asia around 1000 B.C.

· They settled first between Lake Orumiyah and the Caspian Sea.

· They founded the city of Akbatab which became their capital.

· The Medes ruled between 708-550 B.C.

· They established their monarchy the year 708 B.C, which they ruled from 708-612 B.C.

· They also established an empire called Median Empire after they defeated the Assyrians and ruled that area from 612-550 B.C.

· The Medes also controlled the Persian Nation who is also part of the Indo-European origin.

· During the 158 years of the Medes rule only four Mede Kings ruled

· The first King who founded the Median Kingdom in 708 B.C. was called Diyako. He ruled for 49 years 633-584 B.C.

· The Medes conquered the Assyrians Empire through many years of wars and battles with the help of the Babylonian Kingdom

· Because the present day Kurds consider themselves as the descendents of the Medes, they consider their calendar on the beginning of the Media Monarchy. The year 700 B.C. has been chosen as the beginning of the Kurdish Calendar rather then 708 B.C.

· The Kurdish year starts on March 21 and ends on March 20 the following year.

· Korush Cyrus King of Persia revolted against the Medes and controlled their empire and Zagros highlands in 550 B.C. He founded the Achaemenid Empire which lasted from 550-331 B.C.

· Cyrus united the Medes and the Persians and they shared the government together and formed a great empire in Asia.

· He also introduced the Zaradasht religion to his Empire

· The Greek Army under the command of Alexander of Macedone invaded the Achaemenid Empire and conquered it in 331 B.C.

The Ancient Kurdish Language Assimilation into the Mede Language:

In the first Millennium B.C. the ancient Zagros language were assimilated into the Mede language, which is an Indo-European language between the 7^th -4^th century B.C.
This is the Mede language that became the origin of the current Kurdish language

Indo-European

The Indo-European language and people:

The Indo-European language originated in Anatolia around 5000 B.C, and spread throughout Europe, the Caucasus region, and to Central Asia.
Some of the Indo-European languages are Kurdish, Baluchi, Pashtu, Persian, Hindi, Urdu, English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Scandinavians, Russian, Slav, Greek, and some other languages.

The reason why it has been called Indo-European Language:

Some of the languages from India to Europe are basically common in some of their vocabulary words and the grammar.

So it means that some of these languages from India to Europe are originally from one common language and one common group of people 7000 years ago.

The Origin of the terms Kurd and Kurdistan:

In the third millennium B.C. the ancient Sumerian people living south of present day Iraq called the land of the Ancient Kurds as the Land of Kurds and they called the people Guti.
In the second millennium B.C. the Babylonians called the ancient Kurds as Garda which means brave.
Also the Assyrians called the Ancient Kurds as Kardak which means brave. The word Kardak evolved later into several different forms in several different languages to become the present term Kurd.

Kurdock:

In 401 B.C. the Greek historian Xenophon referred to the Ancient Kurds as Kurdock in his writings. He wrote of the Kurdock following his return to Greek with the ten thousand soldiers, who had passed through north of the Zagros Highlands.

Kurdoin:

Starting in the 4^th century B.C. the Historians began writing the name Kurdoin when referring to the land of the north, Zagros Highland. Before the 4^th century B.C. the Armenians called their neighbor, the Ancient Kurds and Kurdoin.

Gurd:

The Persians called the Ancient Kurds as Gurd which means brave.

Kurd:

In the seventh century A.D. during the first century of Islam, the Arab writers called the Zagros Highland people as Kurd, for the first time in their writings. In the Arabic language the letter K is used instead of the letter G.

Kurdistan:

The word Kurdistan was first used by the Saljuk rulers, who ruled the Abbasid Empire and most of the Zagros Highlands in the 12 Century A.D. Because they used the suffix “istan” to mean as “the land of” they came to refer to other nations in the same way. They took Kurd and added istan, Kurdistan (the land of the Kurds).

Kurdistan Between 550 B.C. and 20^th Century A.D.

Between 550 B.C. until the 20^th century A.D. the Kurds had many Independent Emirates or State, large and small

throughout Kurdistan sometimes there have been many Emirates at the same time. Also there have been many

Revolts in Different parts of Kurdistan in different times between 550 B.C. and the 20^th Century A.D.

Some regions of Kurdistan between 550 B.C. and 20^th century A.D. became under the control of the following foreign

powers in the following orders:

1. The Achaemenide Empire in 550 B.C. controlled most of Kurdistan.

2. The Greeks in 331 B.C. controlled most of Kurdistan

3. The Armenians in 175 B.C. controlled most of Kurdistan.

4. The Romans in 69 B.C. controlled most of Kurdistan.

5. The Parthian Dynasty in Persia, which controlled south and sometimes north of

Kurdistan and Armenia.

6. Then back and forth between the Parthian and Romans and the Armenians.

7. The Sasanian Dynasty in Persia started in 228 A.D. they controlled most of

Kurdistan during most of the time, while the Romans fought the Sasanians during

four centuries of wars for control of north Kurdistan and Armenia until 640 A.D.

8. Then Islam arrived in 640 A.D. during Khalifah Omar.

9. During the Abbasid Islamic Empire, which ruled 508 years between 750 A.D. and

1258 A.D. the rulers lost control to many land including parts of Kurdistan which

Led to the creation of Kurdish Emirates in different parts of Kurdistan during the

Centuries.

In 1258 A.D. the Mongol controlled most of Kurdistan, after defeating the Abbasid Empire.
In 1514 A.D. the Ottoman Empire and the newly established Safavid Dynasty in Iran fought each other for the regions of Kurdistan and Iraq.

The 1639 A.D. Agreement to divide Kurdistan:

In 1639 as a result of the wars between the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid, both sides made border agreement, which divided Kurdistan between them.

Kurdistan was divided according to the 1639 agreement in the following way:

1.) Most North and West of Kurdistan (present day Kurdistan of Turkey, Iraq and Syria) fell in the hands of the Ottoman Empire for nearly three Centuries until the end of World War I in 1918 A.D.

2.) And the Eastern part of Kurdistan (present day Kurdistan of Iran) became under the control of Safavid Rulers of Iran and other Iranian Rulers that followed them until today.

Kurdistan after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1918:

1.) The northern part of Kurdistan became under the control of Turkey.

2.) The southern part of Kurdistan became under the control of Iraq.

3.) The southwest part of north Kurdistan became under the control of Syria.

Notice: Also there have been many Kurdish Emirates (Independent states or districts) between 1514 A.D. and the 20^th Century A.D. in the different parts of Kurdistan.

Kurdish Emirates (States)

The word Emarat is called Emirate in the English language.

The Following is only ten independent Emirates of historical Kurdistan out of many others in Kurdistan:

1.) Emirate (Emerat) of Orumiyah: 727-828 A.D.

The capital of this Emirate was the city of Orumiyah, north Kurdistan of Iran.

2.) Emirate of Heth’bani: 906-1113 A.D.

This Emirate controlled the cities of Arbil, Orumiyah and some parts around Mosul.

3.) Emirate of Badlis: 1182-1596 A.D.

Lasted for 414 years. Its capital was the city of Badlis (Bitlis) in Kurdistan of Turkey.

4.) Emirate of Hakkari: 1387- 1596 A.D.

Lasted for 209 years.

Its capital was the city of Van, east Kurdistan of Turkey.

5.) Emirate of Hawraman: 1002-1943 A.D.

Lasted for 941 years.

It was founded in the Mountainous area east of the city of Sulaimaniyah in Kurdistan of Iraq and Iran.

6.) Emirate of Ardaaln: 1169-1900 A.D.

Lasted for 731 years.

Its capital was the city of Senna ( Sanandaj) in Kurdistan of Iran.

7.) Emirate of Bahdinan: 1376-1843 A.D.

Lasted for 467 years.

Its capital was the city of Amadiya, west Kurdistan of Iraq.
This Emirate was named Bahdinan after the name of Baha-ul-ddin, who was the father of the founder of this Emirate.
And the present-day Region of Bahdinan west Kurdistan of Iraq was named after this Emirate.
Also the Kurdish dialect ( northern Kurmanji), which is commonly known in Iraqi Kurdistan as Bahdini, was named after this Emirate.

8.) Emirate of Soran: 1399-1883 A.D.

Lasted for 484 years.

Its capital was the city of Rawanduz, north Kurdistan of Iraq.
The present-day region of Soran ( at the Rawanduz district) in Kurdistan of Iraq was named after this Emirate. The word Soran means Red.
Also the Kurdish dialect ( southern Kermanji), which is commonly known in Iraqi Kurdistan as Sorani, was named after this Emirate.

9.) Emirate Baban: 1649-1850 A.D.

Lasted 201 years.

In 1784 A.D. this Emirate founded the city of Sulaimaniyah in Kurdistan of Iraq and it became its Capital.

10.) Emirate of Butan: 1812-1908 A.D.

The capital was the city of Jezira, south Kurdistan of Turkey.

The Bader Kahn Family ruled this Emirate.

(The Kurdish Language Dialect)

1.) Northern Kurmanji:

It is spoken in Kurdistan of Turkey, Syria, and North Kurdistan of Iran and West Kurdistan of Iraq. The Northern Kermanji is also commonly known as Bahdini in Iraqi Kurdistan.

2.) Southern Kurmanji:

It is spoken in East and South Kurdistan of Iraq, and in the mid region of Kurdistan of Iran. The Southern Kurmaji is commonly known as Surani in Iraqi Kurdistan.

3.) Kurmanshahi:( Including Faili):

It is spoken in South Kurdistan of Iraq, and south Kurdistan of Iran.

4.) Hawramani and Gorani:

It is spoken in the middle part of eastern Kurdistan of Iraq and middle part of western Kurdistan of Iran. Also the Gorani is spoken in one part of west Kurdistan of Iraq.

5.) Zaza:

It is spoken in Northwest Kurdistan of Turkey.

(Religion)

The current major religions in Kurdistan:

1.) Islam: The Kurds are predominantly Muslims, the majority are Sunni, and the minority is Shi’a.

2.) Christians: They live in different parts of Kurdistan.

3.) The Yazidis: They live mostly in west Kurdistan of Iraq in the districts of Sinjar and Shaikhan. Also they live in some other parts of Kurdistan and outside of Kurdistan. They are ethnic Kurds.

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