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|group=Kurds |image= |poptime= 27 - 28 million |popplace= Kurdistan (Parts of: Turkey 15 million (est) [http://www.gazetteer.de/wg.php?x=1143223143&men=gpro&lng=fr&des=gamelan&dat=200&geo=-106&srt=pnan&col=aohdqcfbeimg&geo=0 Iran 4.8 - 6.6 million {Link without Title} , {Link without Title} Iraq 4 - 6 million {Link without Title} , {Link without Title} Syria 1.6 - 2 million {Link without Title} ) Germany 0.5 - 0.6 million Armenia 42,139 {Link without Title} Azerbaijan 13,100 (1999) {Link without Title} Others 1.1 million {Link without Title} |rels= Islam , Yazidism , Judaism , Yarsan , Christianity |langs= Kurdish and Aramaic (Native) Persian , Turkish , Arabic (Spoken widely as second language(s) Swedish , German , French and English (Spoken widely as second language(s) among expatriate communities) |related= Other Iranian Peoples }} The Kurds are an ethnolinguistic group inhabiting parts of Iran , Iraq , Syria , and Turkey (a contiguous region commonly referred to as Kurdistan ). Smaller communities can also be found in Lebanon , Armenia , Azerbaijan ( Kalbajar and Lachin , to the west of Nagorno Karabakh ) and, in recent decades, some European countries and the US . The first mention of the Kurds in historical records was in cuneiform writings from the Sumerians (3,000 BCE), who talked of the "land of the Karda." {Link without Title} They are commonly identified with the ancient kingdom of language, an Indo-European language of the Iranian branch. Estimated at 25 to 30 million people, the Kurds comprise one of the largest ethnic groups in the world without a separate country. For over a century, many Kurds have campaigned and fought for the right to Self-determination . However, the governments of countries with sizable Kurdish populations, believing such a development would require them to give up parts of their own national territories, are actively opposed to the formation of an independent Kurdish state. Historic roots of the Kurdish people found at Tell Halaf , dated 850-830 BCE]] See Also: History of the Kurds The earliest known evidence of a unified and distinct culture in the Kurdish mountains dates back to the in present-day Iran. The region of Mahabad was the centre of the Mannaeans , who flourished in the early 1st Millennium BC . {Link without Title} ]] There are numerous historical records that refer to the antecedents of the modern Kurds. The Ancient Greek Historian Xenophon referred to the Kurds in '' Anabasis '' as "Khardukhi...a fierce and protective mountain-dwelling people" who attacked Greek armies in 400 BCE. The present-day home of the Kurds, the high mountain region south and south-east of Lake Van between Persia and Mesopotamia, was in the possession of Kurds before the time of Xenophon , and was known as the country of the "Carduchi", "Cardyene" or " Cordyene ". {Link without Title} The appears in the Book of Genesis as a Japhethic grandson of Noah in the Biblical tradition. Scholars have identified Madai with various nations, including the early Mitanni and the Medes who were contemporaries of the ancient Persians. ; 7th century BC.]] By the end of the Hurrian period, the Kurdish areas seem to have been culturally and ethnically homogenized to form a single civilization which was identified as such by the neighboring cultures and peoples. In early Sumerian writings about the northern parts of Mesopotamia , The area was referred to as the land of the "Karda" or "Qarduchi" and the land of the "Guti" or "Gutium". These are described as being the same people only differing in tribal name. The Babylonians called these people "Gardu" and "Qarda". In neighbouring area of Assyria , they were "Qurti" or "Guti". When the Greeks entered the territory, they referred to these people as either "Kardukh", "Carduchi" or "Gordukh". The Armenians called the Kurds "Gortukh" or "Gortai-kh" and the Persians knew them as "Gord" or "Kord". In the Syriac , Hebrew and Chaldean languages they were, respectively, "Qardu", "Kurdaye" and "Qurdaye". In Aramaic and Nestorian they were "Qadu". In addition, the lands populated by the Kurds were also invaded by the show links to the Caucasus , various Iranian Peoples , Europe ans, northern Semites , and Anatolia . Kurdish Dynasties The Kurdish kingdom of , Turkey )became a province of the Roman Empire in 66 BC E and was under Roman control for four centuries until 384 CE. In the second half of the 10th century, the Kurdish area was shared amongst four big Kurdish principalities. In the North was the Shaddadid ( 951 - 1174 ) in parts of present-day Armenia and Arran . In the East were the Hasanwayhid s ( 959 - 1015 ) and the Annazid ( 990 - 1117 ) in Kermanshah , Dinawar and Khanaqin . In the West were the Marwanid (990- 1096 ) of Diyarbakir . After these, the Ayyubid ( 1171 - 1250 ) of Syria and the Ardalan dynasty (14th century- 1867 ) were established in present-day Khanaqin , Kirkuk and Sinne . Population See Also: Demographics of Kurdish people ).]] The exact number of Kurdish people living in the Middle East is unknown, due to both an absence of recent census analysis and the reluctance of the various governments in Kurdish-inhabited regions to give accurate figures. According to the CIA Factbook, Kurds comprise 20% of the population in Turkey , 15-20% in Iraq , 9% in Syria , 7% in Iran and 1.3% in Armenia . In all of these countries except Iran, Kurds form the second largest ethnic group. In other words about 55% of the world's Kurds live in Turkey, 22% in Iran, 16.5% in Iraq and 6.5% in Syria. Kurds, numbering 27 to 28 million people, are regarded as the fourth largest ethnicity in the Middle East after Arabs , Persians and Turks . Kurdish diaspora See Also: Kurdish diaspora Kurdish people are found in regions far from their ancestral homeland. The largest Kurdish enclave outside Kurdistan is the Kurdish region in north as a result of immigration from Turkey and other Middle Eastern nations. Language See Also: Kurdish language The Kurdish Language is a Dialect Continuum of mostly Mutually Intelligible Dialects belonging to the Iranian subgroup of the Indo-European family. Contemporary linguistic evidence has challenged the previously held view that the Kurds are descendants of the Medes.[http://countrystudies.us/turkey/3.htm] Kurdish originally might have been the predecessor of other Caucasian languages[http://www.rdos.net/eng/asperger.htm]. Most Kurds are Bilingual or Polylingual , speaking the languages of the surrounding peoples such as Arabic , Turkish and Persian as a Second Language . Kurdish Jews and Kurdish Christians usually speak Aramaic as a first language. Aramaic is a Semitic Language related to Hebrew and Arabic rather than Kurdish. The principal Kurdish dialects are:
Genetic relations of the Kurds to other ethnic groups Kurds and Jews In 2001 , a team of Israeli , German , and India n scientists discovered that the majority of Jews around the world, belonging to various different Jewish Ethnic Divisions , are closely related to the Kurdish people, more closely than they are to the Semitic -speaking Arabs or any other population that was tested. Most of the 95 Kurdish Muslim test subjects came from northern Iraq. Moreover, according to another study, the CMH (''Cohen modal Haplotype '') is a Genetic marker from the northern Middle East which is not unique to Jews. However, its existence among many Kurds and Armenians , as well as some Italians and Hungarians , would seem to support the overall contention that Kurds and Armenians are the close relatives of modern Jews and that the majority of today's Jews have paternal ancestry from the northeastern Mediterranean region. {Link without Title} In another study, Kurdish Jews were found to be close to Muslim Kurds, but so were Ashkenazim and Sephardim , suggesting that much if not most of the genetic similarity between Jewish and Muslim Kurds is from ancient times. {Link without Title} Kurds and Iranians Genetic distance comparisons have revealed that the Turkic and Turkmen speaking peoples in the Caspian area cluster with the Kurds , Greeks and Iran is. The Persian speakers are genetically remote from these populations, they are, however, close to the Parsis who migrated from Iran to India at the end of the 7th Century A.D. {Link without Title} According to the Encyclopedia Britannica , ''"The Persians, Kurds, and speakers of other Indo-European languages in Iran are descendants of the Aryan tribes that began migrating from Central Asia into what is now Iran in the 2nd millennium BC."'' {Link without Title} Some sources state they are ethnically close to other Iranian groups such as the Persians and Lurs {Link without Title} , {Link without Title} . Kurds are often classified as an , ''"The classification of the Kurds among the Iranian Nations is based mainly on linguistic and historical data and does not prejudice the fact there is a complexity of ethnical elements incorporated in them."'' Modern history and Human Rights Situation Kurds in Iraq See Also: Iraqi Kurdistan Under the former ) After the Kurdish uprising in 1991 (Raparin, led by the PUK ), Iraqi troops recaptured the Kurdish areas, hundreds of thousand of Kurds fled to the borders. Many were accepted as refugees in Iran, but soldiers beat the refugees back at the Turkish border. To alleviate the situation a "safe haven" was established by the Security Council. The autonomous Kurdish area was controlled by the rival parties KDP and PUK, small enclaves also by islamist groups like Ansar Al-Islam . A Kurdish parliament was elected, but mutual animosity between the two major parties led to serious infighting. KDP called on the government in Baghdad for help, and the PUK called on Iran. In the end the US had to supervise a peace treaty, and the Kurdish are was effectively split into two rival administrations. The Kurdish population welcomed the American-led invasion in 2003. The area controlled by peshmerga was expanded, and Kurds now have effective control in Kirkuk and parts of Mosul . In 2003, a Terrorist rocket attack against PUK and KDP political offices in Baghdad was narrowly thwarted by U.S Army soldiers from the Florida National Guard , though the perpetrators were not found. Kurds in Turkey About half of all Kurds live in Turkey, numbering some 15 million. They comprise an estimated 20% of the total population of Turkey (according to some sources: 30% [http://www.worldcivilsociety.org/report/EN/06/16-jul-02/summ_16.23.html ) and are predominantly distributed in the southeastern corner of the country. Modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal (better known as Atatürk in Turkish —"father of the Turks"), enacted a constitution 70 years ago which denied the existence of distinct cultural sub-groups in Turkey. As a result, any expression by the Kurds (as well as other minorities in Turkey) of unique ethnic identity has been harshly repressed. For example, until 1991, the use of the Kurdish language—although widespread—was illegal. To this day, music, radio and TV broadcasts, and education in Kurdish are not allowed except under extremely limited circumstances. Teaching Kurdish in public schools is still banned. The Turkish government has consistently thwarted attempts by the Kurds to organize politically. Kurdish political parties are shut down one after another, and party members are harassed and imprisoned for "crimes of opinion." Kurdish internally displaced people (IDP) in Turkey Security forces in Turkey forcibly displaced Kurdish rural communities during the 1980s and 1990s in order to combat the Kurdish Workers’ Party ( PKK ) insurgency, which drew its membership and logistical support from the local peasant population. Turkish security forces did not distinguish the armed militants they were pursuing from the civilian population they were supposed to be protecting. By the mid-1990s, more than 3,000 villages had been virtually wiped from the map, and, according to official figures, 378,335 Kurdish villagers had been displaced and left homeless.(see and [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/turkey0305/ . Also see Report D612, October, 1994, "Forced Displacement of Ethnic Kurds"(A Human Rights Watch Publication)[http://store.yahoo.com/hrwpubs/tur.html]) Leyla Zana See Also: Leyla Zana Most famously, in 1994 Leyla Zana —who, three years prior, had been the first Kurdish Woman elected to the Turkish parliament—was sentenced to 15 years for "separatist speech". At her inauguration as an MP, she reportedly identified herself as a Kurd. Amnesty International reported "She took the oath of loyalty in Turkish , as required by law, then added in Kurdish , 'I shall struggle so that the Kurdish and Turkish peoples may live together in a democratic framework.' Parliament erupted with shouts of 'Separatist', 'Terrorist', and 'Arrest her'". PKK insurgency See Also: Kurdistan Workers Party The Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (PKK), also known as KADEK and '''Kongra-Gel''', is a militant organization, dedicated to creating an independent Kurdish state in a territory (sometimes referenced as Kurdistan ) that consists of parts of southeastern Turkey , northeastern Iraq , northeastern Syria and northwestern Iran . Its original ideology was based on revolutionary Marxism-Leninism and Kurdish Nationalism ( it has since then dropped the Marxist-Leninist ideology ). It is an Ethnic Secessionist organization using force and threat of force against both civilian and military targets for the purpose of achieving its political goal. The organization was founded in 1973 by Abdullah Ocalan . Kurds in Iran 1946]] The Kurds, who constitute approximately 7% of Iran's overall population, have resisted the Iran ian government's efforts, both before and after the revolution of 1979 , to Assimilate them into the mainstream of national life and, along with their fellow Kurds in adjacent regions of Iraq and Turkey , have sought either regional autonomy or the outright establishment of an Independent Kurdish state in the region {Link without Title} . In in Iran which was the second independent Kurdish state of the 20th Century , after the Republic Of Ararat in modern Turkey ; and second time after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. In recent years, intense fighting occurred between Kurds and the Iranian state between 1979 and 1982. Since 1983 the Iranian government has had control over the area which the Kurds inhabit {Link without Title} . This area encompasses Kurdistan Province and greater parts of West Azarbaijan , Kermanshah , Ilam Province and smaller parts of Lorestan Province that totally is called Iranian Kurdistan . In Iran Kurds, like other minorities, express their cultural identity with difficulties and they are denied the right of self-government or administration. Similar to other parts of Iran, membership of any non-governmental political party in Kurdistan could be punishable by persecution, imprisonment and even death. The Kurdish language is also banned from being taught in public schools. Although according to Iranian constitution, literature of non-Persian ethnicities can be taught in school but never allowed to be practised; except some limited higher education of Kurdish Literature in some universities. There are even restrictions on publishing Kurdish literature in press. Kurdish Human Rights activists in Iran have been threatened by Iranian authorities in connection with their work. [http://www.pdk-iran.org/english/doc/unhrc_iran_2002_minorities.htm On , for six weeks, riots and protests erupted in Kurdish towns and villages throughout Eastern Kurdistan, with scores killed and injured, and an untold number arrested without charge. The Iranian authorities also shut down several major Kurdish newspapers arresting reporters and editors. {Link without Title} Kurds in Syria See Also: Syria's Kurds Kurds account for 10% of the population in Syria or about 1.9 million people making them the largest ethnic minority in the country. Kurds often speak Kurdish in public, unless all those present do not. Kurdish human rights activists are mistreated and persecuted.[http://www.amnestyusa.org/regions/middleeast/document.do?id=80256DD400782B8480256F63006435DB No political parties are allowed for any group, Kurdish or otherwise. Techniques used to suppress the ethnic identity of Kurds in Syria include various bans on the use of the Kurdish language, refusal to register children with Kurdish names, replacement of Kurdish place names with new names in Arabic , prohibition of businesses that do not have Arabic names, not permitting Kurdish private schools, and the prohibition of books and other materials written in Kurdish. [http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/13/syria9812.htm About 300,000 Kurds have been deprived of any social rights due to having been arbitrarily denied the right to Syrian nationality in violation of international law. [http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=12568 These Kurds, who have no claim to a nationality other than Syrian, are literally trapped in Syria.[http://hrw.org/reports/1996/Syria.htm] But according to some sources Syria is recently (February 2006) planning to grant citizenship to those 300,000 Kurds deprived citizenship living in the country. {Link without Title} On March 12, 2005, in days of clashes began at a stadium in Qamishli , a largely Kurdish city in northeastern Syria, at least 30 people were killed and more than 160 were injured. The unrest spread to other Kurdish towns along the northern border with Turkey, and then to Damascus and Aleppo . [http://www.amude.net/serhildan/index.html Kurds in Armenia As part of the Soviet Union from the 1930 's to the 1980 's, Kurds in Armenia had the status of a protected minority under Soviet Law. They had their own state-sponsored newspaper, a radio broadcast and were allowed to hold cultural events. During the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh , many Kurds were forced to leave their homes. Religion Islam The majority of the Kurds are Sunni Muslim s, belonging to the Shafi and Hanafi Schools of Islam . There is also a significant minority of Kurds that are Shia Muslims, and they primarily live in the Kermanshah and Ilam provinces of Iran and Central Iraq ("Al-Fayliah" Kurds). Another religious minority among the Kurds are the Alevi s, who are mainly found in Turkey. The remaining Kurds are mostly either Christian s, Kurdish Jews , Yazidi s or Agnosticist s. Êzidîtî ( Yazidism ) See Also: Yazidism Before the spread of religion in eastern parts of Kurdistan , called Yarsan or Ahl-e Haqq . Judaism See Also: Kurdish Jews The , who lived in Mosul , Kurdistan, from 1590 to 1670 was among the very first Jewish women to become a Rabbi. Culture in Kurdish Traditional Clothing ]] See Also: Kurdish culture Kurdish cultural heritage is rooted in one of the world's oldest cultures, the Mesopotamian . Through the ages, this heritage has been subject to injustices, neglect and repression, or has been eclipsed by other cultures. Important components of the original cultural heritage have disappeared or have been destroyed. There are numerous examples of how valuable or irreplaceable Kurdish physical heritage are endangered or destroyed. The quest for Social Justice and equity is regarded as an important Kurdish cultural trait. Respect for the elderly and hospitality for the foreigners are also integral part of the Kurdish Etiquette . The Kurds celebrate the Newroz / Norouz as the new year day, which is celebrated on March 21. It is the first day of the month of ''Xakelêwe'' in Kurdish calendar (''Farvardin'' in the Iranian Calendar ) and the first day of spring. Newroz has been nominated as one of the "Masterpieces of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO in 2004. Literature See Also: Kurdish literature Kurdish literature faces difficulties since the Kurdish Language is not an official language except in Iraq and has restrictions in teaching in Iran and Turkey, and is banned in Syria . . Film Kurdish films mainly evoke poverty and the lack of rights of Kurdish people in the region. Perhaps Yilmaz Guney and Bahman Qubadi are among the best known Kurdish directors. Music See Also: Kurdish music Traditionally, there are three types of Kurdish Classical performers - Storytellers (''çîrokbêj''), Minstrel s (''stranbêj'') and Bard s (''dengbêj''). There was no specific music related to the Kurdish princely courts, and instead, music performed in night gatherings (''şevbihêrk'') is considered classical. Several musical forms are found in this genre. Many songs and are Epic in nature, such as the popular Lawik's which are heroic ballads recounting the tales of Kurdish heroes of the past like Saladin . ''Heyran''s are love ballads usually expressing the melancholy of separation and unfulfilled love. ''Lawje'' is a form of religious music and ''Payizok''s are songs performed specifically in autmun. Love songs, dance music, wedding and other celebratory songs (''dîlok/narînk''), erotic poetry and Work Song s are also popular. Women See Also: Kurdish Woman Kurdish women played an important role throughout Kurdish history. Asenath Barzani was the first female Rabbi in history. '' Mestureh Ardalan '' ( Mestûrey Erdelan ) ( 1805 - 1848 ) was a Kurdish poet and writer. She is known for her books two centuries ago. '' Leyla Zana '', '' Leyla Qasim '' and thousands of other Kurdish women are well known for their role in Kurdish politics, literature, history and Peshmarga . Renowned Kurdish individuals See Also: List of Kurdish people
See also
Kurdish Kingdoms Modern Kurdish governments
Militant organizations
''See also'': Kurdish Organisations Notes External links
The Kurdish Issue in Turkey
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