 | This article possibly contains original research .(November 2024) |
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Scholars have suggested different theories for the origin of the name Kurd. Recent scholarship suggests it comes from the Cyrtii or may be derived from Corduene (disputed).
| This article possibly contains original research .(November 2024) |
| |
Scholars have suggested different theories for the origin of the name Kurd. Recent scholarship suggests it comes from the Cyrtii or may be derived from Corduene (disputed).
There are different theories about the origin of the name Kurd. According to one theory, it originates in Middle Persian as 𐭪𐭥𐭫𐭲 kwrt-, a term for "nomad; tent-dweller". [Note 1] After the Muslim conquest of Persia, the designation "Kurd" is adopted into Arabic and was used specifically of nomadic tribes. [Note 2]
The Kurds were likely first recorded as the "Cyrtii" (Kurti) in the 2nd century BCE. This term referred to slingers living in the Zagros Mountains. By the period of the Islamic conquests, around a thousand years later, and possibly earlier, the term "Kurt" (Kurd) had a socio-economic meaning. It was used to describe nomadic groups on the western fringes of the Iranian plateau and possibly the tribes aligned with Sassanian authority in Mesopotamia. [4] [5] [6] An Italian monk and preacher, Riccoldo da Montecroce (1243–1320), who visited Kurdistan in the thirteenth century, also used the term "Curti" for the Kurds. [7]
After the fall of the Sassanids, early Arab and Persian writers were generally mystified by the identity of the Kurds due to limited direct contact with Kurdistan. Some believed the term 'Kurd' referred to nomads of the Zagros mountains, while others viewed the Kurds as an ethnic group, though they were uncertain about the origin of these people. [8] During this period, Kurds were also already present in eastern Anatolia, as evidenced by phonological features found in Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish), Armenian, and Ossetic, which are absent in Central and Southern Kurdish. These features developed through contact with languages of a Caucasian linguistic domain that existed in the region before the arrival of Islam. Historical records also mention medieval Kurdish dynasties in the Diyarbekir-Akhlat regions, Kurdish principalities in the north of Van and Bitlis, and Kurdish communities as far north as Erzincan. [9]
According to The Cambridge History of the Kurds:
Many different interpretations have been made in explaining the origin of the word ‘Kurd’ to this day, but the interpreters often have not dwelled on the word ‘Kırd’, the self-designation the Kırmanj (Zazas) use in certain regions. However, Strabo, the ancient Greek author (64 BC–21 AD), uses the term Kύρτιοι (Kurtioi) for Kurds, which is Kyrtii in Latin; the similarity of these Greek and Latin terms with the word ‘Kırd’ and its plural forms ‘Kırdi’/’Kirdi’ is remarkable (Strabon cited in Islâm Ansiklopedisi, 1977: 1090; Lecoq, 2006: 232). Likewise, in the Armenian language, the plural form ‘Krder’, ‘Krdakan’ is used for the Kurds. [10]
The Kurdish people are believed to be of heterogeneous origins [11] combining a number of earlier tribal or ethnic groups [12] including possibly absorbing the remnants of earlier non Indo-European peoples such as the Lullubi, [13] Guti, [13] Cyrtians, [14] Carduchi. [15] However the Lullubi and Gutians predate the arrival of Indo-Iranian peoples into the region and appear to have disappeared some time prior to their arrival, and there is no evidence from what little is known of their languages that they were Indo-European speakers. The name Lullubi appears to be Hurrian and the known rulers of Lullubi have names that appear Hurrian, Sumerian and Semitic. Similarly, the Gutian language shows no sign of being Indo-European and like Lullubi is regarded as an unclassified language.
Some of them have also absorbed some elements from Semitic, [12] [16] and Armenian people. [12] [17] [18]
19th-century scholars, such as George Rawlinson, identified Corduene and Carduchi with the modern Kurds, considering that Carduchi was the ancient lexical equivalent of "Kurdistan". [19] [20] [21] This view is supported by some recent academic sources which have considered Corduene as proto-Kurdish [22] or as equivalent to modern-day Kurdistan. [23] Some modern scholars, however, reject a Kurdish connection to the Carduchi. [24] [25] [15]
There were numerous forms of this name, partly due to the difficulty of representing kh in Latin. The spelling Karduchoi is itself probably borrowed from Armenian, since the termination -choi represents the Armenian language plural suffix -kh. [26] It is speculated that Carduchi spoke an Old Iranian language. [27] They also seem to have had non Iranic Armenian elements. [28]
A legend recorded by Judaic scholars claimed that the people of Corduene had supernatural origins, when King Solomon arranged the marriage of 500 Jewish women to jinns (genies). [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] The same legend was also used by early Islamic authorities, in explaining the origins of the Kurds.
The Median hypothesis was advanced by Vladimir Minorsky. [34] Minorsky's view was subsequently accepted by many Kurdish nationalists in the 20th century. [34] I. Gershevitch provided "a piece of linguistic confirmation" of Minorsky's identification and then another "sociolinguistic" argument. Gernot Windfuhr (1975) identified Kurdish dialects as closer to Parthian, albeit with a Median substratum. [35] The hypothesis of having Median ancestors is rejected by Martin van Bruinessen. [34] Bruinessen states: "Though some Kurdish intellectuals claim that their people are descended from the Medes, there is not enough evidence to permit such connection across the considerable gap in time between the political dominance of the Medes, and the first attestation of the Kurds. [34] Garnik Asatrian (2009) stated that "The Central Iranian dialects, and primarily those of the Kashan area in the first place, as well as the Azari dialects (otherwise called Southern Tati) are probably the only Iranian dialects, which can pretend to be the direct offshoots of Median ... In general, the relationship between Kurdish and Median are not closer than the affinities between the latter and other North Western dialects — Baluchi, Talishi, South Caspian, Zaza, Gurani, etc." [36]
There are multiple legends that detail the origins of the Kurds. In the legend of Newroz, an evil king named Zahak, who had two snakes growing out of his shoulders, had conquered Iran, and terrorized its subjects; demanding daily sacrifices in the form of young men's brains. Unknowingly to Zahak, the cooks of the palace saved one of the men, and mixed the brains of the other with those of a sheep. The men that were saved were told to flee to the mountains. Hereafter, Kaveh the Blacksmith, who had already lost several of his children to Zahak, trained the men in the mountains, and stormed Zahak's palace, severing the heads of the snakes and killing the tyrannical king. Kaveh was instilled as the new king, and his followers formed the beginning of the Kurdish people. [37] [38]
In the writings of the 10th-century Arab historian Al-Masudi, the Kurds are described as the offspring of King Solomon’s concubines engendered by the demon Jasad. [39] On learning who they were, Solomon shall have exclaimed "Drive them (ukrudūhunna) in the mountains and valleys" which then suggests a negative connotation such as the "thrown away". [39] Another that they are the descendants of King Solomons's concubines and his angelical servants. These were sent to Europe to bring him five-hundred beautiful maidens, for the king's harem. However, when these had done so and returned to Israel the king had already died. As such, the Djinn settled in the mountains, married the women themselves, and their offspring came to be known as the Kurds. [40] [41]
The Mount Judi (Guti) which is located in North Kurdistan is mentioned in the Quran:
And it was said, “O earth! Swallow up your water. And O sky! Withhold ˹your rain˺.” The floodwater receded and the decree was carried out. The Ark rested on Mount Judi, and it was said, “Away with the wrongdoing people!”
The writings of the Ottoman Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi detail a further legend learned from an Armenian historian labelled only as Mighdisî that ties the story of the Kurds in with their historic proximity to Mount Ararat, which is identified by some religious groups as the resting place of Noah's Ark in the Genesis flood narrative:
According to the chronicler Mighdisî, the first town to be built after Noah's Flood was the town of Judi, followed by the fortresses of Sinjar and Mifariqin. The town of Judi was ruled by Melik Kürdim of the Prophet Noah's community, a man who lived no less than 600 years and who travelled the length and width of Kurdistan. Coming to Mifariqin he liked its climate and settled there, begetting many children and descendants. He invented a language of his own, independent of Hebrew. It is neither Hebrew nor Arabic, Persian, Dari or Pahlavi; they still call it the language of Kürdim. So the Kurdish language, which was invented in Mifariqin and is now used throughout Kurdistan, owes its name to Melik Kürdim of the community of the Prophet Noah. Because Kurdistan is an endless stony stretch of mountains, there are no less than twelve varieties of Kurdish, differing from one another in pronunciation and vocabulary, so that they often have to use interpreters to understand one another's words. [42]
Kurds or Kurdish people are an Iranic ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in West 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.
Kurdish is a Northwestern Iranian language or group of languages spoken by Kurds in the region of Kurdistan, namely in southeast Turkey, northern Iraq, northwest Iran, and northern Syria. It is also spoken in northeast Iran, as well as in certain areas of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
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 Medes were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the mountainous region of northwestern Iran and the northeastern and eastern region of Mesopotamia in the vicinity of Ecbatana. Their consolidation in Iran is believed to have occurred during the 8th century BC. In the 7th century BC, all of western Iran and some other territories were under Median rule, but their precise geographic extent remains unknown.
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).
Newroz or Nawruz is the Kurdish celebration of Nowruz; the arrival of spring and new year in Kurdish culture. The lighting of the fires at the beginning of the evening of March 20 is the main symbol of Newroz among the Kurds.
Kurds in Iran constitute a large minority in the country with a population of around 9 and 10 million people.
Gordyene or Corduene was an ancient historical region, located south of Lake Van, present-day eastern Turkey.
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.
Kurdish Mythology is the collective term for the beliefs and practices of the culturally, ethnically or linguistically related group of ancient peoples who inhabited the Kurdistan mountains of northwestern Zagros, northern Mesopotamia and southeastern Anatolia. This includes their Indo-European pagan religion prior to them converting to Islam, as well the local myths, legends and folklore that they produced after becoming Muslims.
Rawwadid, Ravvadid, or Banū Rawwād (900–1071) was a Sunni Muslim Kurdish dynasty, centered in the northwestern region of Adharbayjan (Azerbaijan) between the late 8th and early 13th centuries.
Armenian–Kurdish relations covers the historical relations between the Kurds and the Armenians.
Simko Shikak born 1887, was a Kurdish chieftain of the Shekak tribe. He was born into a prominent Kurdish feudal family based in Chihriq castle located near the Baranduz river in the Urmia region of northwestern Iran. By 1920, parts of Iranian Azerbaijan located west of Lake Urmia were under his control. He led Kurdish farmers into battle and defeated the Iranian army on several occasions. The Iranian government had him assassinated in 1930. Simko took part in the massacre of the Assyrians of Khoy and instigated the massacre of 1,000 Assyrians in Salmas.
Kurdish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which asserts that Kurds are a nation and espouses the creation of an independent Kurdistan from Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
The majority of the population of Iran consists of Iranic peoples. The largest groups in this category include Persians, mostly referred to as Fars and Kurds, with smaller communities including Semnanis, Khorasani Kurds, Larestanis, Khorasani Balochs, Gilakis, Laks, Mazandaranis, Lurs, Tats, Talysh and Baloch.
Syrian Kurdistan or Rojava is a region in northern Syria where Kurds form the majority. It is surrounding three noncontiguous enclaves along the Turkish and Iraqi borders: Afrin in the northwest, Kobani in the north, and Jazira in the northeast. The term started to become more widely known as Kurdish nationalist groups and parties started to use it to describe the political entity later known as "Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria".
Garnik Serobi Asatrian is an Iranian-born Armenian professor who studies and teaches Kurdish culture at Yerevan State University in Yerevan, Armenia.
The Republic of Turkey has an official policy in place that denies the existence of the Kurds as a distinct ethnicity. The Kurds, who are a people that speak various dialects of Northwestern Iranic languages, have historically constituted the demographic majority in southeastern Turkey and their independent national aspirations have stood at the forefront of the long-running Kurdish–Turkish conflict. Insisting that the Kurds, like the Turks, are a Turkic people, Turkish state institutions do not recognize the Kurdish language as a language and also omit the Kurdish ethnonym and the term "Kurdistan" in their discourse. In the 20th century, as the words "Kurd" and "Kurdish" were prohibited by Turkish law, all Kurds were referred to as Mountain Turks in a wider attempt to portray them as a people who lost their Turkic identity over time by intermingling with Arabs, Armenians, and Persians, among others. More recently, Turkey's opposition to Kurdish independence has defined how it has conducted itself throughout the Middle East, particularly with regard to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Spread of Islam among Kurds started in the 7th century with the Early Muslim conquests. Before Islam, the majority of Kurds followed a western Iranic pre-Zoroastrian faith which derived directly from Indo-Iranian tradition, some elements of this faith survived in Yezidism, Yarsanism and Kurdish Alevism. When Islam first appeared, the Kurds were divided between the Byzantine and Sassanian Empires. The term "Kurd" back then referred to any Iranian nomad from any Iranian ethnic group whether in central Asia or western Iran regardless of geographic location or Iranian ethnicity. Jaban al-Kurdi and his son Meymun al-Kurdi were the first Kurds who converted to Islam and Khalil al-Kurdi as-Semmani was one of the first Kurdish tabi'uns. Mass conversion of Kurds to Islam didn't happen until the reign of Umar ibn Al-Khattab, second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate between 634-644. The Kurds first came into contact with the Arab armies during the Arab conquest of Mesopotamia in 637. The Kurdish tribes had been an important element in the Sasanian Empire, and initially gave it strong support as it tried to withstand the Muslim armies, between 639 - 644. Once it was clear that the Sassanians would eventually fall, the Kurdish tribal leaders one by one submitted to Islam and their tribe members followed in accepting Islam. Today the majority of Kurds are Sunni Muslims, and there are Alevi and Shia minorities. Sunni Muslim Kurds are mostly Shafiʽis and Hanafis.
Though some Kurdish intellectuals claim that their people is descended from the Medes, there is not enough evidence to permit such a connection across the considerable gap in time between the political dominance of the Medes, and the first attestation of the Kurds (as Cyrtii).
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| Population genetics by group |
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