Author: Zert » Thu Oct 11, 2012 1:20 am
I'm rewriting/altering the wiki page 'Kurdish people' to make it more qualitative. If anyone would like to chime in to help me, be my guest. But do it here first please, instead of making all sorts of drastic changes to the article itself.
It's still very much a WIP, but here's the parts I've done so far:
The Kurdish people, or Kurds (Kurdish: کورد, Kurd), are an ethnic group indigenous to West Asia, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. They are classified as an Iranic people[16][17][18][19][20][21][22] as they speak the Kurdish language, which is a member of the Iranian branch of Indo-European languages.[23] The Kurds number about 30 million, the majority living in West Asia, with significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey, in Armenia, Georgia, Israel, Azerbaijan, Russia, Lebanon and, in recent decades, some European countries and the United States. They have enjoyed partial autonomy in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991. An irredentist movement pushes for the creation of a Kurdish nation state.
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The exact origins of the name "Kurd" are unclear.[25] Though it is believed that the term precedes the formation of the ethnic group by centuries or even millenia.
Reynolds/G.R. Driver believes that the term Kurd is most likely related to the ancient term Qardu. The common root of Kurd and Qardu is first mentioned in a Sumerian tablet from the third millennium BC as the "land of Kar-da." Similarly, Hennerbichler believes the term Kurd and similar ethnic labels to have been derived from the Sumerian word stem “kur”, meaning mountain.
The term Qardu however, appears in Assyrian sources, where it refers to the contemporary Mount Judi, and which derived its name from the people inhabiting the region, the Carduchi, 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. However, according to G. Asatrian, the most reasonable explanation of this ethnonym is its possible connections with the Cyrtii (Cyrtaei)[27]
The word Kurd was first written in sources in the form of Kurt(kwrt-) in the Middle Persian treatise (Karnamak Ardashir Papakan and the Matadakan i Hazar Dastan), used to describe a social group or tribes that existed before the development of the modern ethnic nation.[29] The term was adopted by Arabic writers of the early Islamic era and gradually became associated with an amalgamation of Iranian and Iranicized nomadic tribes and groups in the region[30][31][32] Sherefxan Bidlisi states that there are four division of Kurds: Kurmanj, Lur, Kalhor andGuran, each of which speak a different dialect or language variation. Of these, according to Ludwig Paul, only Kurmanji and possibly the Kalhuri correspond to the Kurdish language, while Luri and Gurani are linguistically distinct. Nonetheless, Ludwig writes that linguistics does not provide a definition for when a language becomes a dialect, and thus, non-linguistic factors contribute to the ethnic unity of some of the said groups, namely the Kurmanj, Kalhur, and Guran.[33]
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Although specialized sources consider the Zaza–Gorani group[40][37][41][42] to be separate languages which share a large number of words with Kurdish, the general term Kurd has, nevertheless, historically also been used to designate these groups. These groups generally also consider themselves as such.
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Legends
Multiple legends exist about the origins of the Kurds. One details the Kurds as being the descendants of King Solomon’s angelic servants (Djinn) who were sent to Europe to bring him five-hundred women, but, as the king passed away, they retained the women for themselves, and their offspring came to be known as the Kurds.
Additionally, there’s a Kurdish version of the legend of Kaveh the Blacksmith. In it, an evil Assyrian king named Zahak, who has two snakes growing out of his shoulders, terrorizes its subjects, and demands daily sacrifices in the form of brains. Unknowingly to Zahak, sheep brains are fed to the snakes, and the children saved from being sacrificed hide out in the mountains. Hereafter, Kaveh the Blacksmith, who had already lost six children to Zahak, trained the mountain children, and stormed Zahak’s palace, severing the heads of the snakes and killing the tyrannical king. Kaveh was instilled as the new king, and the children formed the beginning of the Kurdish people.
Ancient Period
The Kurds’ first attestation as a group was in the early centuries AD, during the time of rule of the Sassanids. Here, the Sassanid king Ardashir I took its army to fight the rebellious Kurds, lead by Madig, but initially failed. It wasn’t until he retreated and surprised them with a nightly attack that he was able to put the rebellion down and incorperate them into the empire. Interestingly, in a letter Ardashir I received from his foe, Ardavan V, he’s referred to as being a Kurd himself; though this was most likely used as a social term. However, Yasemi and Farrokh believe him to have actually descended from a Kurdish tribe.
[edit]Medieval period
Further information: Saladin and Ayyubid dynasty
In the centuries thereafter, the Kurdish ethnic identity gradually materialized. Though, the term was also still being used in the social sense.
In the 7th century, the Arabs possessed the castles and fortifications of the Kurds. The conquest of the cities of Sharazor and Darabaz took place in 643 CE. In 838 CE, Mir Jafar one of the leaders of the Kurds in Mosul revolted against the Caliph Al-Mu'tasim who sent the commander Itakh to combat against him. Itakh won this war and killed many of the Kurds. The Kurds revolted again in 903 CE, during the period of Almoqtadar. Eventually Arabs conquered the Kurdish regions and gradually converted the majority of Kurds to Islam.
In the second half of the 10th century, the Kurdish area was shared among numberous Kurdish principalities. In the north were the Shaddadid (951–1174) in parts of present-day Armenia and Arran, and the Rawadid (955–1221) in Tabriz and Maragheh. In the east were the Hasanwayhids (959–1015) and the Annazid (990–1117) in Kermanshah, Dinawar and Khanaqin. In the west were the Marwanid (990–1096) of Diyarbakır. In Syria there was also a small presence of Kurds at the Hisn al-Akrad. However, after the Turkic invasion of Anatolia in the 11th century, many of these dynasties would crumble and become incorperated into the Seljuk Dynasty. Kurds would hereafter be used in great numbers in the armies of the Zengids.
Succeeding the Zengids, the Kurdish Ayyubids established themselves in 1171, first under the leadership of sultan Saladin. Born in the city of Tikrit in present-day Iraq, Saladin's ancestry was of a Kurdish tribe which originated in the city of Dvin in northern Armenia.[71] The Ayyubids went on to rule the Diyarbakir plains, Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt and various other parts of the Arabian peninsula and North Africa. Saladin led the Muslims to recapture the city of Jerusalem from the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin; also frequently clashing with the Hashashins, who themselves had among their ranks a Kurdish leader, Ali ibn Wafa. The Ayyubid dynasty lasted until 1341 when the last Ayyubid sultanate fell to Mongolian invasions.
(unclear to me)Afterwards, the Ardalan dynasty (14th century to 1867), in fact a vassaldom of the Safavids, was established in present-day Khanaqin, Kirkuk and Sinne. ???????
Safavid period
The Safavid Dynasty, established in 1501, also established its rule over Kurdish 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.
Nevertheless, the Kurds would revolt several times against the Safavids. Shah Ismail I put down a Yezidi rebellion which went on from 1506-1510. A century later, the year-long Battle of Dimdim took place, wherein Shah Abbas I succeeded in putting down the rebellion led by Amir Khan Lepzerin. Hereafter, a large number of Kurds was deported to Khorasan, not only to weaken the Kurds, but also to protect the border from invading Afghan tribes.
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[edit]Religion
Main articles: Islam, Yazidism, Yarsan, Alevi, Kurdish Jews, Kurdish Christians, and Zoroastrianism
As a whole, the Kurdish people are adherents to a large amount of different religions and creeds, perhaps constituting the most religiously diverse people in the Middle East. Traditionally, Kurds have been known to take liberties with their practices. At times even being heavily criticized by neighbouring peoples, reflected in the saying "Compared to the unbeliever, the Kurd is a Muslim".
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[edit]Culture
Main articles: Kurdish culture, Kurdish literature, and Kurdish women
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. Kurds, for instance, also celebrate Newroz (March 21) as New Year's Day.[148]
In contrast to many neighboring Muslim populations, Kurdish women are not secluded and do not wear the face veil. Kurdish men and women participate in mixed-gender dancing during feasts, weddings and other social celebrations. Major Soane, a British colonial officer during World War I, noted that this is unusual among Islamic people and pointed out that in this respect Kurdish culture is more akin to that of eastern Europe than to their West Asian counterparts.[150]
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Rugs
Food
Cinema
Architecture
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