Kurds or Kurdish people are an Iranic ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria. There are exclaves of Kurds in Central Anatolia, Khorasan, and the Caucasus, as well as significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey and Western Europe. The Kurdish population is estimated to be between 30 and 45 million.
Kurdistan, or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo-cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. Geographically, Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges.
The Safavid dynasty was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder empires. The Safavid Shāh Ismā'īl I established the Twelver denomination of Shīʿa Islam as the official religion of the Persian Empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam. The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safavid order of Sufism, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Iranian Azerbaijan region. It was an Iranian dynasty of Kurdish origin, but during their rule they intermarried with Turkoman, Georgian, Circassian, and Pontic Greek dignitaries, nevertheless they were Turkic-speaking and Turkified. From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over parts of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sasanian Empire to establish a national state officially known as Iran.
The Kurds are an Iranian ethnic group in the Middle East. They have historically inhabited the mountainous areas to the south of Lake Van and Lake Urmia, a geographical area collectively referred to as Kurdistan. Most Kurds speak Northern Kurdish Kurmanji Kurdish (Kurmanji) and Central Kurdish (Sorani).
Ardalan was a hereditary Kurdish vassaldom in western Iran from around the 14th century until 1865 or 1868 with Sanandaj as capital. The territory corresponded roughly to present-day Kurdistan Province of Iran and the rulers were loyal to the Qajar Empire. Baban was its main rival. Gorani was the literary language and lingua franca. When the vassaldom fell, literary work in Gorani ceased.
Sharaf al-Din Khan b. Shams al-Din b. Sharaf Beg Bedlisi was a Kurdish Emir of Bitlis. He was also a historian, writer and poet. He wrote exclusively in Persian. Born in the Qara Rud village, in central Iran, between Arak and Qom, at a young age he was sent to the Safavids' court and obtained his education there.
Turkish Kurdistan or Northern Kurdistan is the southeastern part of Turkey where Kurds form the predominant ethnic group. The Kurdish Institute of Paris estimates that there are 20 million Kurds living in Turkey, the majority of them in the southeast.
This is an incomplete list of Kurdish uprisings. You can help by expanding it.
Bahdinan or Badinan was one of the most powerful and enduring Kurdish principalities. It was founded by Baha-al-Din originally from Şemzînan area in Hakkari in sometime between 13th or 14th century CE. The capital of this emirate was Amadiya for a long time. The rulers of the Bahdinan emirate governed over the Emirate since the Abbasid Empire, an early dynasty in Islamic history.
Baban was a Kurdish principality existing from the 16th century to 1850, centered on Sulaymaniyah. The Baban principality played an active role in the Ottoman-Safavid conflict and gave significant military support to the Ottomans. They were in constant rivalry with Ardalan, Bohtan and Soran and its territory would therefore oscillate. Before the removal of the last Baban leader in 1850, their rule had become limited to their capital Sulaymaniyah and few surrounding villages.
The Principality of Bitlis, also known as the Bitlis Khanate and the Bitlis Emirate (1182–1655) was a Kurdish principality originated from the Rojaki tribal confederation. The Rojaki defeated the Georgian King David the Curopalate and conquered Bitlis and Sasun in the 10th century. The principality occasionally came under the rule of outsiders, such as the Aq Qoyunlu and the Safavids. After the decline of the Aq Qoyunlu, the Rojaki princes asserted their independence. The principality supported the Ottoman Sultan Selim I and its rulers were named Noble Khans in return. In 1531, the Rojaki prince withdrew his support for the Ottomans and turned towards the Safavids instead, an event that lead to the capture of the principality by the Ottomans.
Ahlat is a town in Turkey's Bitlis Province in Eastern Anatolia Region. It is the seat of Ahlat District. The town had a population of 27,563 in 2021.
Mukriyan or 'Deryaz' was a Kurdish principality from the late 14th century to the 19th century centered around Mahabad. Mukriyan was a neighbor to the Emirate of Bradost.
Rawwadid, Ravvadid, or Banū Rawwād (955–1071) was a Sunni Muslim Kurdish dynasty, centered in the northwestern region of Adharbayjan (Azerbaijan) between the late 8th and early 13th centuries.
The Shekak or Shakkak is a Kurdish tribe present in various regions, mainly in West Azerbaijan province, Iran.
The Kurdish chiefdoms or principalities were several semi-independent entities which existed during the 16th to 19th centuries during the state of continuous warfare between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Iran. The Kurdish principalities were almost always divided and entered into rivalries against each other. The demarcation of borders between the Safavid Shah Safi and the Ottoman caliph Sultan Murad IV in 1639 effectively divided Kurdistan between the two empires.
West Azerbaijan province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, whose capital and largest city is Urmia. It is in the northwest of the country, bordered by Turkey, Iraq and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, as well as the provinces of East Azerbaijan, Zanjan and Kurdistan. The Iranian province is part of Region 3. It is separated from Armenia by Turkey's short border with the Azerbaijan Republic.
Iranian Kurdistan or Eastern Kurdistan is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern Iran with either a majority or sizable population of Kurds. Geographically, it includes the West Azerbaijan Province, Kurdistan Province, Kermanshah Province, Ilam Province and parts of Hamadan Province and Lorestan Province.
Emirate of Çemişgezek was a hereditary and autonomous Kurdish emirate existing from the 13th century to 1663, centered around Çemişgezek including Mazgirt, Pertek and Sağman. The emirate was populated by both Muslims and non-Muslims, and moreover had a significant Kurdish Alevi population which flourished and expanded due to the secured self-governance under Ottoman rule, despite Ottoman antagonism towards the minority. Beside Kurds, the emirate had a Bozulus population. According to Sharafnama, the 12–13th-century rulers of the emirate were of Turkic origin.
Ottoman Kurdistan refers to areas of Kurdistan which were part of the Ottoman Empire. During the Ottoman Empire's peak they controlled all of modern-day Turkish Kurdistan, Iraqi Kurdistan, and Syrian Kurdistan, as well as a small part of Iranian Kurdistan. The term "Kurdistan" was used regularly by Ottoman officials to refer to its regions where Kurds made up a majority, and was included on many maps.
