The kurds are the largest ethnic minority in turkey. The kurds have a long tradition of multicultural, multireligious tolerance. In this narrative, the first comprehensive account of recent kurdish history, david mcdowall traces the roots of kurdish nationalism from the collapse of the kurdish emirates in the nineteenth century and the consequent crisis in tribal politics, through the post1918 peace settlement for which the kurds were wholly unprepared, to the slow emergence of an educated nontribal class during the. Brushing over a depiction of 25 centuries of history in half an hour is obviously a tough task. The book traces the history of the kurds by presenting photographs and accounts by colonial administrators, anthropologists, missionaries, journalists, and others who have traveled to kurdistan over the last century. Im sure youve head of the people called the kurds in the news but know nothing about them.
Overall, arabs represent 78 percent of iraqs population, while kurds are 16 percent and other, smaller ethnic groups constitute the remainder, according to a 2011 pew research survey. Its practitioners have been referred to as devil worshipers and are subject to severe persecution. The sharafnam a or the history of the kurdish nation 1597 book summary. Kurdish history is deeply intertwined with the geography and the politics of the modern kurdish regions. Under the rule of others, the kurds were discriminated against and sometimes persecutedmost infamously by iraqi dictator saddam hussein. The most widely practiced kurdish religion is islam. The best books on the kurds and the kurdish people, an ethnic group spread across parts of turkey, iran, iraq. Intriguingly, renown kurdologists nicolas minorsky and wadieh jwaidieh went so far as to say that due to their history and exposure to other cultures kurds were disposed to.
Iraqi kurdistan a semiautonomous region in the north of iraq, and the closest thing to a kurdish state. Original pure kurd has a white skin, blueorblack eyes and fair hair. It is believed to be derived from zorastrianism but influenced by ismaili shiism. It covers the two main views of kurdish nationalism, then goes from the ottomans up to the modern times of turkey, iraq, syria and iran. In the current upheaval in the middle east with kurds being an ethnic minority in several states in the region a profound understanding of this group is essential for authorities dealing. Before reading this book, i was not aware that the kurds are not a people united by religion, language or even ethnicity.
As a result the dream of autonomy or a national home holds a powerful grip on the kurdish imagination. History religion language politics, november 2015, available at. The contiguous kurdish regions of iran, iraq, turkey, and syria sit in the north central area of the middle east. Turkey, iran and iraq each agreed not to recognize an independent kurdish state, and all tried to limit the spread of kurdish nationalism. The kurdish people have historically inhabited parts of the fertile crescent, an area where the three major abrahamic or semitic religions of judaism, christianity and islam are widely recognized to have been founded. Instead, the kurds are split up, with their population living mainly in iran, iraq and turkey. In addition to muslims, groups of jews and christians armenians, assyrians, and. The actual name of the religion is all but lost to its modern followers, who retain only the names of its surviving denominations. There is a remarkable dearth of reliable and uptodate information about the kurds, which this book remedies. We are uploading professor jamal nabazs book of the kurds.
Layout 1 professor gunters easily accessible book offers readers an excellent stateoftheart. The kurds have lived in a mountainous, roughly 74,000squaremile region known as kurdistan for the past two millennia. In this quick skimming through 1 can limit myself to merely pointing out a few major landmards and mentioning facts likely to help in the understanding of the present situation of the kurds. Kurdish scholars are active in many areas, especially the study of kurdish language, literature, and history within the armenian academy of sciences. It explores not only the history and culture, but the recent horrors and resilience of a group. The kurds will be an invaluable source of reference for students and specialists in. This is one of the textbooktype histories of the kurds written by a historian. There are also exclaves of kurds in central anatolia and khorasan. Overall, this is an excellent introductory reference for collegelevel audiences who have little to no background on the kurds.
Kurds make up about 10% of the population in syria, 19% of the population of turkey, 1520% of the population of iraq and are the second largest. List of books and articles about kurds online research. The best books on the kurds five books expert recommendations. The kurdish language is a west iranian language related to persian and pashto. This book examines the economic and political issues facing the kurdish people today. They also adhere to a number of different religions and creeds, although the. A syncretistic form of religion found only among the kurds is the yezidi sect.
In this detailed history of the kurds from the 19th century to the present day, mcdowall examines the interplay of old and new aspects of the struggle, the importance of local rivalries within kurdish society, the enduring authority of certain forms of leadership and the failure of modern states to respond to the challenge of kurdish nationalism. According to various estimates, they compose between 15% and 20% of the population of turkey. Mansfields latest book, the miracle of the kurds, is a timely introduction to the kurdish people that reached bookstores just as kurdish troops began standing heroically against the evils of. The kurds are an ethnic group living in turkey iraq, iran, syria, armenia and lebanon. Who are the kurds, and why is turkey attacking them in.
The kurds history and culture history of kurdistan. Throughout their history they have remained under the thumb of various conquerors and nations. Its a very good book for somebody who wants a fairly comprehensive survey of kurdish history. In 19, abdullah cevdet, a kurdish ottoman intellectual, wrote in a kurdish gazette, we are in a period in which the nationalities are being decided and recognized. Islam has gained strong popular support and historically acted as a backbone of the kurdish movement. In addition to literature in their language, the kurds have a newspaper, pia taxe the new road, that first appeared in erevan in 1928. Its contributors cover social and political issues, legal questions, religion, language, and the modern history of the kurds in turkey, iraq, iran, syria and the soviet union. Kurds who got mixed persians, turks, arabs with intercourse got different type of a skin and eyes color. The kurds, a modern history is a very good overview of the kurdish community in the middle east.
Pdf history of the kurds download read online free. Drawing extensively on primary sources mcdowalls book is useful for all who want a better understanding of the underlying dynamics of the kurdish question. The kurds are thought to number from 25 million to 30 million, including communities in armenia, georgia, kazakhstan, lebanon, syria, and europe, but sources for this information differ widely because of differing criteria of ethnicity, religion, and language. Kurdistan, in the shadow of history, was the inspiration for this site. Additionally, there are significant kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western turkey, in. The kurdish region is the birthplace of many monotheistic religions, many of which still exist despite forced conversions and genocides, before they were converted to islam. The majority of kurdish people are muslim by religion.
They have historically inhabited the mountainous areas to the south of lake van and lake urmia, a geographical area collectively referred to as kurdistan. Kurds make up the middle easts fourthlargest ethnic group, but they have never. The religion of the kurds 201 the crassest superstitions, of many of which it is now quite impossible to trace the source. The religion has deep kurdish roots it was founded by zoroaster, also known as zarathustra, who was born in the kurdish part of iran and the religions sacred book, the avesta, was written in an ancient language from which the kurdish language derives. They speak kurdish kurds have similarly distinct features like those of southern europe, however their looks vary from blondes to brunettes and although most have brown eyes. Booklist online this book is a wellspring of facts and tidbits of a diverse people who practice different varieties of islamic beliefs and nonbeliefs, bounded by common history, defined by land and group survival.
Drawing extensively on primary sources mcdowalls book is useful for all. Since the early 20th century, the region has been divided between turkey, iran, syria, and iraq, all of which have repressed, often. In 1597 he completes the sharafnama the book of honor, a multivolume history composed in persian, which he dedicates to the ottoman sultan mehmet iii r. In each, a similar history played out where the new countries wanted a unitary state and rejected the idea of. Flashing forward a few millennia, please tell me about david mcdowall a modern history of the kurds. In this detailed history of the kurds from the 19th century to the present.
The kurds are one of the worlds largest peoples without a state, making up sizable minorities in iran, iraq, syria, and turkey. However, when it comes to religion, kurds share a good deal in common with the arab majority, especially sunni muslims. Kurds are indeed very spiritual and have been devout practitioners of their respective faiths throughout history. Their history is marked by marginalization and persecution.
The sharafnama is the first systematic attempt to write a history of the kurds and kurdistans various noble houses. The exact proportion is uncertain but mcdowall gives the percentage as approximately 75%, while martin van bruinessen estimates around two thirds or three quarters at least. The turkish government has denied kurds living in turkey any separate status. Kurds live throughout turkey, but are primarily concentrated in turkish kurdistan, in the southeast of turkey. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Kurdish muslims abandoning islam for zoroastrianism in. The drive for independent nationhood is a key part of kurdish history and identity. Kurds in turkey refers to people born in or residing in turkey who are of kurdish origin. Its contributors cover social and political issues, legal questions, religion, language, and the modern history of kurds in turkey, iraq, iran, syria and the soviet union. Revolution, nationalism and war, 19081918 book ii incorporating the kurds 7. The kurds as an ethnicity within the northwestern iranian group enter the historical record at the end of the seventh century scholars have suggested different theories for the origin of the name kurd. In the text of this unique history the empires of the kurds parallel those of the arabs, persians and turks, some.
Between 25 and 35 million kurds inhabit a mountainous region straddling the borders of turkey, iraq, syria, iran and armenia. The militia is an offshoot of a kurdish guerrilla group known as the kurdistan workers party that has waged a decadeslong insurgency inside turkey. I recommend stephen mansfields book the miracle of the kurds. Thus they derive the origin of the human race from the same beginnings as the jews, claiming that, while christians, jews, and muslims were sprung from adam and eve, their own. Kurds culture, kurds ebook, iran kurds, iraq kurds, introduction. According to the english orientalist godfrey rolles driver, the term kurd is related to the sumerian karda which was found from sumerian clay tablets of the third millennium b. Its contributors cover social and political issues, legal questions, religion, language, and the modern history of kurds in turkey, iraq, iran, syria. Over the millennia, numerous ethnicities have migrated, settled or natively inhabited the area including turks, persians, arabs, kurds. Most kurds speak northern kurdish or sorani, which both belong to the kurdish languages.
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