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Hurrian Song: The Oldest Known Melody
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Archaeology of Kurdish Clan Names

  M R Izady A. Introduction and a survey of the relevant primary sources: Detailed study of clan names among…

From Ducats to Dollars

Scruples of Kurdish Political Elite under Scrutiny M. R. Izady, 1994 Limping back from the bloody Battle of Chaldiran against…

Sufi Mystic Orders

An overwhelming majority of Muslim and non-Muslim Kurds are followers of one of many mystic Sufi orders (or tariqa). The bonds of…

Judaism

The history of Judaism in Kurdistan is ancient. The Talmud holds that Jewish deportees were settled in Kurdistan 2800 years…

Islam

About three-fifths of the Kurds, nearly all of them Kurmânji speakers, are today at least nominally Sunni Muslims of the…

Yezidism

The followers of the Yezidi religion, who have variously referred to themselves also as the Yazidi, Yazdâni, Izadi, and Dasna’i,…

Alevism

A majority of the Dimila Kurds of Anatolia and some of their Kurmânji speaking neighbors are followers of another denomination…

Cult of Angels

Most non-Muslim Kurds follow one of several indigenous Kurdish faiths of great antiquity and originality, each of which is a…

Christianity

The early history of Christianity in Kurdistan closely parallels that of the rest of Anatolia and Mesopotamia. By the early…

Babaism

Bâbism was formed in Persia in 1844 by Mirzâ Ali Muhammad (1819-1850), the Bdb, or “the portal” (to the Deity). Bdb, or Bdbtl, standing…

An introduction

The infusion of an Indo-European (Iranic) language, culture, and genetic element into the Kurdish population over the two millennia preceding…

Layla Zana (1961 – )

Layla Zana (Kurdish: Leyla Zana) was born in 1961 in the small village of Bache in Northern Kurdistan (Northern Kurdistan…

Political Figures

KURDISTANICA needs your scholarly expertise in this area. Please register with us and help collecting information in this subject area….

The Sphinx’s beard

Notes on Kurdish Political Naiveté By Prof. Mehrdad R. Izady, 1995 The head of Egypt’s celebrated Sphinx is collapsing. To…

THE KURDS: An ancient tragedy

The Economist THEIR history is full of tales of persecution, betrayal and desperate flight. But few Kurdish fables are as…

An Independent Kurdistan?

Robert Olson, Professor of Middle East Politics, University of Kentucky Due to the strong resistance to the US occupation of…

Geopolitics

By Prof. M. R. Izady The geopolitics of Kurdistan has effectively precluded the formation of an independent Kurdish state in this…

Part III, Articles 36-139
Part II, Articles 27-35
Preamble

The Treaty of Sèvres, 1920 THE TREATY OF PEACE BETWEEN THE ALLIED AND ASSOCIATED POWERS AND TURKEY SIGNED AT SÈVRES…

Part I, Articles 1-26

The Treaty of Sèvres, 1920 “PART I” THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS   ARTICLES 1 TO 26 AND…

Treaty of Sèvres, 10 August 1920

The Treaty of Sèvres, 1920 (never adopted, superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne) The treaty of peace between the allied…

Treaties

Treaties and historcial Treaties Treaty of Qasri Shirin, 17 May 1639 Treaty of Sèvres, 10 August 1920

Provisional Constitution

A Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Kurdistan This provisional Constitution shall be presented to a public plebiscite within…

Manifesto of the Kurdish People

Manifesto of the Kurdish People for the Creation of a Free, Independent and Unified Homeland 1996 Justice dictates that all…

Livestock

Included in agricultural production are animal products. The most important animals have been traditionally sheep and to a lesser extent…

The Water

In an otherwise water-starved region, Kurdistan is blessed with abundant precipitation. The generous regime has made Kurdistan one of the…

The Oil

Kurdistan has among the largest oil reserves in the Middle East and the world. With about 45 billion barrels, Kurdistan…

Industries

Marco Polo writes of the Kurds of the area between Mus, Mardin, and Mosul, and reports they produced cotton “in…

Agriculture

Kurdistan’s wealth of high-grade pasture lands has long made it suitable for a pastoralist economy, but it is equally suitable…

The first documented resettlement of Kurds

The First Documented Resettlementof Kurds into Western and Southwestern Anatoliacirca 181 BC By: M. R. Izady, July 1998 During the Seleucid/Macedonian…

The drowning of the Kurdish historical and artistic heritage

By Prof. Mehrdad R. Izady The late Dr. Henny Harald Hansen (1900-93) will long be remembered for her many authored and…

The Sharafnama of Bitlisi: manuscript copies, translations and appendixes

by Anwar Soltani Presented to the International Conference on the Sharafnama in Berlin, 1-3 May, 1998 THE MANUSCRIPTS Soon after…

Sharafkhan Bidlisi

By Dr Kamal Mirawdeli Sharafkhan Bidlisi (Kurdish: Mír Sheref el Dín Bitlísí) was born to a ruling family from the…

Kurdistan, Where Historical Credit is Due

By Mehrdad R. Izady, 1992 In correspondence with the prestigious British scientific journal, Nature (Vol.360,5, Nov. 1992, p.24), Rudolph Michel of…

Desperately Seeking Full-Time Kurdologists

By Prof. Mehrdad Izady A most important first step in launching the field of Kurdish studies is the creation of…

Are Kurds Descended From the Medes?

Prof. M. R. Izady A few years ago, I was given a letter from an American, non-academic individual, asking “Are Kurds…

A history of Kurdish navigation

By Prof. M. R. Izady General history One of the least-known-and most fascinating-chapters in Kurdish history is the long-lasting participation…

History: Related articles

KURDISTANICA introduces related articles to History section at this page. You may apply for a scholarly membership to post your…

Prince Sharaf al-Dîn Bitlîsî

Prince Sharaf al-Dîn Bitlîsî By Prof M.R. Izady Although primarily a collection of dynastic histories, there is little doubt that the…

Muhammad Amin Zaki Bag

KURDISTANICA needs your scholarly expertise in this area. Please register with us and help collecting information in this subject area….

Mehrdad M. R. Izady

Mehrdad lzady (Kurdish: Mihrdad Ízedí, مهرداد ئیزه‌دی) was born in 1963 to a Kurdish father and a Belgian mother. He spent much…

Kamal Mazhar Ahmad

KURDISTANICA needs your scholarly expertise in this area. Please register with us and help collecting information in this subject area….

Jalile Jalil

Prof Jalile Jalil

Plotting the Geographical Distribution of Kurds.

By Prof. M. R. Izady Like many other aspects of their national existence and identity, the extent of the areas…

Land & Environment – Terrain

By Prof. M.R. Izady The most prominent geophysical feature of Kurdistan is clearly its mountainousness. Kurdistan at present is composed…

Land & Environment – Geology

By Prof. M.R. Izady Kurdistan is geologically quite active. The land straddles the subduction zone between the colliding Eurasian and…

Internal Subdivisions

By Prof. M.R. Izady Kurdistan can be divided historically, and on a socio-economic, cultural, and political basis, into five major…

Boundaries & Political Geography

By Prof. M. Izady The vast Kurdish homeland consists of about 200,000 square miles of territory. Its area is roughly…

Kurdish dialectology

Dialectology is a sub-field of historical linguistics, the scientific study of linguistic dialect. It studies variations in language based primarily on…

The History of Kurdish Language

The unprejudiced academics that study Kurdish history are united in the view that the Kurds are an ancient race (1)….

Kurdish Language

Kurdish (Kurdish: Kurdí, كوردی, Kurdî, Кöрди) language belongs to the Indo-European family of languages. Kurdish dialects are members of the northwestern subdivision…

Language

Language, the principal means used by human beings to communicate with one another. Language is primarily spoken, although it can…

Popular Culture

Kurds are fortunate to have some of the most visible aspects of their popular culture authenticated to remote antiquity. Some…

The National Goat – KELL

Origin The goats were the first livestock animal to be domesticated. The pinpoint this landmark moment: 10,000 years ago in…

National Birds

Red-legged partridge with scientific name “Alectoris rufa” calls “Kew, kev, Kewk, keví, and kevkí” in Kurdish. Red-legged partridge is normally 33…

National Anthem

Sirúdí Níshtimaní Kurdistan, Ey reqíb Ey reqíb her, mawe qewmí Kurd ziman Nayshékiné daneyí topí zeman (2) Kes nellé Kurd…

Cultural characters

Flag of Kurdistan National Anthem National Birds Kurdish Currency The National Goat – KELL

Writtings from prison

A new release by blue crane books Watertown, Massachusetts – Writings from Prison by Leyla Zana, the first Kurdish woman…

Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History

Pelizzari, Maria Antonella. by Susan Meiselas New York: Random House, 1997, pp 388 “. . . The world is a…

Justice and the Kurds

By Christopher de Bellaigue, “New York Review of Books, June 24, 1999” Imagine that you head a foreign delegation on…

An Excerpt from Fateful Triangle

By Naom Chomski, ” Updated Edition, June 1999″ One of the best books for Naom Chomski being updated it includes…

Bibliographic review

KURDISTANICA publishes reviews of bibliographic records related to Kurdistan in any languages. We encourage our callers to submit their reviews….

Bibliography

KURDISTANICA tend to use its global network to collect bibliographic records on Kurds and Kurdistan. Individual can submit records of…

Culture

Kurds are fortunate to have some of the most visible aspects of their popular culture authenticated to remote antiquity. Some…

Kurdistan’s Economy

Kurdistan’s wealth of high-grade pasture lands has long made it suitable for a pastoralist economy, but it is equally suitable…

Legal documents

The Legal Documents section of KURDISTANICA provides agreement and Treaties which historically and politically have made an impact of the…

Politic

Like other places in the world where many parties are struggling for the limited available support of their constituents, and…

Religion in Kurdistan

The infusion of an Indo-European (Iranic) language, culture, and genetic element into the Kurdish population over the two millennia preceding…

FAQ

FAQ Following are Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ] that might arise when you look at KURDISTANICA. For answers to other questions,…

Geography

The vast Kurdish homeland consists of about 200,000 square miles of territory. Its area is roughly equal to that of…

Biographies

Selected biographies of Kurdish historical figures featured on KURDISTANICA history section. You can joing this project by writing a shortbiography…

The glazed bricks from Bukan: new insights into Mannaean art

Yousef Hassanzadeh; Antiquity Vol 80 No 307 March 2006 Mannaean studies as an independent field began with the discovery of…

Historians & Kurdologists

KURDISTANICA needs your scholarly expertise in this area. Please register with us and help collecting information in this subject area….

Modern History

1915 up to Present The idea of a nation-state in the modern sense and on the European model was more…

Early Modern History

1497 – 1918 This period in the history of the Kurds is one of steady decline in every aspect of…

Medieval History

600 AD – 1600 AD This vibrant period of Kurdish history is marked by the reemergence of Kurdish political power…

Classical History

400 BC – 600 AD This period in Kurdish history marks the homogenization and consolidation of the modern Kurdish national…

Ancient history

3000 BC- 400 BC This period marks the progressive technological and commercial overshadowing of Kurdistan by neighboring Mesopotamian cultures. It…

Prehistory

0,000 BC – 3000 BC This is by far the most noteworthy period in the history of Kurdistan. The technological…

Origin of The Kurds

By Prof. Mehrdad A. Izady Being the native inhabitants of their land. there are no “beginnings” for Kurdish history and people….

History

Being the native inhabitants of their land, there are no “beginnings” for Kurdish history and people. Kurds and their history…

How the project of KURDISTANICA works?

The Encyclopaedia of Kurdistan, KURDISTANICA is a digital information and database focusing on the Kurdish People. The Encyclopaedia of Kurdistan…

The Kurdish Republic of Mahabad

Title The Kurdish Republic of Mahabad Publication Type Journal Article Authors Roosevelt, Jr. Archie Title of Journal The Middle East…

In Guti we Trust

Prof. M. R. Izady Recently I came across a new, and otherwise excellent pictorial book on Kurdish costumes and fabrics. In…

Abu-Hanifa Ahmad Dinawari

The 1,100th Anniversary of a World-Class Kurdish Scholar By Prof. M. R. Izady The year 1996 marks the 1,100th anniversary of…

7,000 years older than Stonehenge

7,000 years older than Stonehenge: the site that stunned archaeologists Circles of elaborately carved stones from about 9,500BC predate even…

Treaty of Qasri Shirin, 17 May 1639

The Treaty of Zohab “17 May 1639” Text of the Letter by Envoys of Sultan Murat IV to the Envoys…

Kurdish-Turkish Dictionary

Title Kurdish-Turkish Dictionary Publication Type Book Year of Publication 1967 Authors Anter, Musa Publisher Yeni Matbaa City Istanbul Publication Language…

How can I get involve with projects such as KAL and KURDISTANICA so that I might be able to contribute to this good cause?

One thing that Individuals/organisations can do to support projects like KAL and KURDISTANICA is to ask their friends, colleagues or…

Khurasani Kurdish Exclave in the 19th Century

By Prof. M. R. Izady This detached exclave of Kurdish inhabited land is found on the modern northeastern borders of Iran…

The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion, 1880-1925

By Robert Olson, University of Texas Press, Austin The Sheikh Said rebellion was the first large-scale nationalist rebellion by the…

An Independent Kurdistan?

Robert Olson, Professor of Middle East Politics, University of Kentucky Due to the strong resistance to the US occupation of…

Exploring Kurdish Origins – Prof. Mehrdad R. Izady

By Prof. Mehrdad R. Izady The question of Kurdish origins, i.e., who the Kurds are and where they come from, has…

Problems In Kurdish Historiography

By Prof. Mehrdad Izady Compilation and organization of Kurdish history is a time consuming task. Happily, the cause is the sheer…

Are Kurdology departments needed?

The state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation’s (TRT) recent launch of a TV channel, TRT 6, has been followed by…

Kurdistan Mission (I)

The first part of the documentary “Kurdistan Mission ” is now available on SCOLA television network on Internet. This documentary…

Prehistory of Saladin

Vladimir Minorsky, Prehistory of Saladin Saladin’s Origins (A) The famous biographer Ibn Khallikân (A.D. 1211-82) made a special inquiry into the history of…

Kurdistan Mission (II)

Kurdistan Mission (Part two) Is a documentary based on the availble issues of “Kurdistan Missionary” a publication of Inter-Synodical Ev.Lutheran…

Kurdistan Mission (III)

Part 3 of documentary series ” Kurdistan Mission” now could be downloaded or played on SCOLA’s homepage. The life and…

Kurdistan Mission (IV)

Part five of documentary series ‘Kurdistan Mission’ videos now is available on Scola’s homepage. In this part the works of…

Soviet Plans for Baba Gurgur

Henry D. Astarjian With Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, which marked the inception of the cold war, Soviet propaganda in the…

The Local Vandals Destroy Another Piece of Kurdish History

Tagheh Farhad or Rawansar tomb is a rock tomb near the small town of Ravansar (Kurdish: Rewanser) 57 km north-west…

Watery graves

Gaziantep, Turkey, The Economist, April 29th 2009 When Turkey’s Birecik dam begins filling up at the end of the month,…

Kurdistan Mission (VIII)

Kurdistan Mission, is a documentary series on the activities of the “Lutheran Orient Mission Society” in Sablax (Mahabad) and its…

PERSIAN CARAVAN SKETCHES

The Land of the Lion and the Sun as Seen on a Summer Caravan Trip By Harold F. Weston,  The…

Kurdistan: Toward a Cultural-Historical Definition

By Kamal Mirawdeli, The International Conference, The Kurds Political status and Human Rights, March 1993 Introduction: Kurdistan means the land of…

Anahita Temple avoids destruction

Mehr News Agency, Tehran, 01/30/2010 The construction project that caused damages to the Anahita Temple in Kangavar in Kermanshah Province…

Archaeological expedition team in Nakhjavan discovers Iran’s Median Dynastic architectural remains

LONDON, (CAIS) — The joint archaeological expedition team from United States and the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the autonomous republic…

Pilot excavation in Iraqi Kurdistan

The Netherlands organisation for Scientific Research NWO has granted a subsidy to prof. dr Wilfred H. van Soldt (Humanities, LIAS)…

2,700-year-old royal loyalty oath discovered in Turkey

By Owen Jarus, 15 October 2010 Archaeologists excavating a 2,700 year old temple at the ancient city of Tayinat, in…

معرفی كتاب؛ گورستان آغاز نوسنگی در غار شانیدر

The Proto-Neolithic Cemetery in Shanidar Cave. By Ralph S. Solecki, Rose L. Solecki and Anagnostis P. Agelarakis, Texas A&M University…

Fieldwork and Fear in Iraqi Kurdistan

Diane E. King, 2009 Before the Iraqi Baath regime’s ouster in 2003, I intermittently lived and carried out research in…

Witness to Genocide

Forensic archaeologists uncover evidence of a secret massacre—and help convict Saddam Hussein of crimes against humanity. In May 1988, a…

Kurdish Currency

The Kurdish national currency KURO inherited its name from a common combined word in Kurdish language. KURO is combined of Kur -which…

Assessment of the conservation of the Paikoli Monument

Paikoli Monument(1) was probably formed by a quadrilateral stone wall (average size: 40 x 60 x 40 cm) filled with…

Urartian Red Burnished Pottery From Diyarbakir Museum

Urartian Kingdom has not only become known by its organized state structure, advanced architecture, irrigation system, superior quality metal workmanship…

The Sassanian Inscription of Paikuli

The Sassanian Inscription of PaikuliThe Paikuli inscription is comprised of three parts: introduction, main part, and conclusion. The main part…

The Tell Nader and Tell Baqrta Project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

In October 2010 the University of Athens obtained permission by the Ministry of Municipalities and Tourism of the Kurdistan Regional…

Evidence for the World’s earliest Beer and Wine making in Kurdistan

In a correspondence to the prestigious British scientific journal Nature (vol.360, 5 November, 1992, p. 24) Rudolph Michel of Museum…

Ismet Sheríf Vanlí

Prof. Ismet Cherif Vanli (1924-2011), (Kurdish: Ismet Sheríf Wanlí, عیسمەت شەریف وانلی) was born on November 21, 1924, to Kurdish parents…

Qazi Muhammad

Qazi Muhammad [1900 – 1947] (Kurdish: Qazí Mihemed) was born on 1st May 1900 in the city of Mehabad in…

Yaresanism

The followers of Yârsânism, also known as the Yârisân, Aliullâhi, Ali-llâhi (i.e., “those who deify Ali”), Alihaq, Ahl-i Haqq (“the…

Flag of Kurdistan

The National Flag of Kurdistan   INTRODUCTION: The aim of this document is to introduce in brief the history of…

Archaeology of Kurdish Clan Names

  M R Izady A. Introduction and a survey of the relevant primary sources: Detailed study of clan names among…

From Ducats to Dollars

Scruples of Kurdish Political Elite under Scrutiny M. R. Izady, 1994 Limping back from the bloody Battle of Chaldiran against…

Sufi Mystic Orders

An overwhelming majority of Muslim and non-Muslim Kurds are followers of one of many mystic Sufi orders (or tariqa). The bonds of…

Judaism

The history of Judaism in Kurdistan is ancient. The Talmud holds that Jewish deportees were settled in Kurdistan 2800 years…

Islam

About three-fifths of the Kurds, nearly all of them Kurmânji speakers, are today at least nominally Sunni Muslims of the…

Yezidism

The followers of the Yezidi religion, who have variously referred to themselves also as the Yazidi, Yazdâni, Izadi, and Dasna’i,…

Alevism

A majority of the Dimila Kurds of Anatolia and some of their Kurmânji speaking neighbors are followers of another denomination…

Cult of Angels

Most non-Muslim Kurds follow one of several indigenous Kurdish faiths of great antiquity and originality, each of which is a…

Christianity

The early history of Christianity in Kurdistan closely parallels that of the rest of Anatolia and Mesopotamia. By the early…

Babaism

Bâbism was formed in Persia in 1844 by Mirzâ Ali Muhammad (1819-1850), the Bdb, or “the portal” (to the Deity). Bdb, or Bdbtl, standing…

An introduction

The infusion of an Indo-European (Iranic) language, culture, and genetic element into the Kurdish population over the two millennia preceding…

Layla Zana (1961 – )

Layla Zana (Kurdish: Leyla Zana) was born in 1961 in the small village of Bache in Northern Kurdistan (Northern Kurdistan…

Political Figures

KURDISTANICA needs your scholarly expertise in this area. Please register with us and help collecting information in this subject area….

The Sphinx’s beard

Notes on Kurdish Political Naiveté By Prof. Mehrdad R. Izady, 1995 The head of Egypt’s celebrated Sphinx is collapsing. To…

THE KURDS: An ancient tragedy

The Economist THEIR history is full of tales of persecution, betrayal and desperate flight. But few Kurdish fables are as…

An Independent Kurdistan?

Robert Olson, Professor of Middle East Politics, University of Kentucky Due to the strong resistance to the US occupation of…

Geopolitics

By Prof. M. R. Izady The geopolitics of Kurdistan has effectively precluded the formation of an independent Kurdish state in this…

Part III, Articles 36-139
Part II, Articles 27-35
Preamble

The Treaty of Sèvres, 1920 THE TREATY OF PEACE BETWEEN THE ALLIED AND ASSOCIATED POWERS AND TURKEY SIGNED AT SÈVRES…

Part I, Articles 1-26

The Treaty of Sèvres, 1920 “PART I” THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS   ARTICLES 1 TO 26 AND…

Treaty of Sèvres, 10 August 1920

The Treaty of Sèvres, 1920 (never adopted, superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne) The treaty of peace between the allied…

Treaties

Treaties and historcial Treaties Treaty of Qasri Shirin, 17 May 1639 Treaty of Sèvres, 10 August 1920

Provisional Constitution

A Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Kurdistan This provisional Constitution shall be presented to a public plebiscite within…

Manifesto of the Kurdish People

Manifesto of the Kurdish People for the Creation of a Free, Independent and Unified Homeland 1996 Justice dictates that all…

Livestock

Included in agricultural production are animal products. The most important animals have been traditionally sheep and to a lesser extent…

The Water

In an otherwise water-starved region, Kurdistan is blessed with abundant precipitation. The generous regime has made Kurdistan one of the…

The Oil

Kurdistan has among the largest oil reserves in the Middle East and the world. With about 45 billion barrels, Kurdistan…

Industries

Marco Polo writes of the Kurds of the area between Mus, Mardin, and Mosul, and reports they produced cotton “in…

Agriculture

Kurdistan’s wealth of high-grade pasture lands has long made it suitable for a pastoralist economy, but it is equally suitable…

The first documented resettlement of Kurds

The First Documented Resettlementof Kurds into Western and Southwestern Anatoliacirca 181 BC By: M. R. Izady, July 1998 During the Seleucid/Macedonian…

The drowning of the Kurdish historical and artistic heritage

By Prof. Mehrdad R. Izady The late Dr. Henny Harald Hansen (1900-93) will long be remembered for her many authored and…

The Sharafnama of Bitlisi: manuscript copies, translations and appendixes

by Anwar Soltani Presented to the International Conference on the Sharafnama in Berlin, 1-3 May, 1998 THE MANUSCRIPTS Soon after…

Sharafkhan Bidlisi

By Dr Kamal Mirawdeli Sharafkhan Bidlisi (Kurdish: Mír Sheref el Dín Bitlísí) was born to a ruling family from the…

Kurdistan, Where Historical Credit is Due

By Mehrdad R. Izady, 1992 In correspondence with the prestigious British scientific journal, Nature (Vol.360,5, Nov. 1992, p.24), Rudolph Michel of…

Desperately Seeking Full-Time Kurdologists

By Prof. Mehrdad Izady A most important first step in launching the field of Kurdish studies is the creation of…

Are Kurds Descended From the Medes?

Prof. M. R. Izady A few years ago, I was given a letter from an American, non-academic individual, asking “Are Kurds…

A history of Kurdish navigation

By Prof. M. R. Izady General history One of the least-known-and most fascinating-chapters in Kurdish history is the long-lasting participation…

History: Related articles

KURDISTANICA introduces related articles to History section at this page. You may apply for a scholarly membership to post your…

Prince Sharaf al-Dîn Bitlîsî

Prince Sharaf al-Dîn Bitlîsî By Prof M.R. Izady Although primarily a collection of dynastic histories, there is little doubt that the…

Muhammad Amin Zaki Bag

KURDISTANICA needs your scholarly expertise in this area. Please register with us and help collecting information in this subject area….

Mehrdad M. R. Izady

Mehrdad lzady (Kurdish: Mihrdad Ízedí, مهرداد ئیزه‌دی) was born in 1963 to a Kurdish father and a Belgian mother. He spent much…

Kamal Mazhar Ahmad

KURDISTANICA needs your scholarly expertise in this area. Please register with us and help collecting information in this subject area….

Jalile Jalil

Prof Jalile Jalil

Plotting the Geographical Distribution of Kurds.

By Prof. M. R. Izady Like many other aspects of their national existence and identity, the extent of the areas…

Land & Environment – Terrain

By Prof. M.R. Izady The most prominent geophysical feature of Kurdistan is clearly its mountainousness. Kurdistan at present is composed…

Land & Environment – Geology

By Prof. M.R. Izady Kurdistan is geologically quite active. The land straddles the subduction zone between the colliding Eurasian and…

Internal Subdivisions

By Prof. M.R. Izady Kurdistan can be divided historically, and on a socio-economic, cultural, and political basis, into five major…

Boundaries & Political Geography

By Prof. M. Izady The vast Kurdish homeland consists of about 200,000 square miles of territory. Its area is roughly…

Kurdish dialectology

Dialectology is a sub-field of historical linguistics, the scientific study of linguistic dialect. It studies variations in language based primarily on…

The History of Kurdish Language

The unprejudiced academics that study Kurdish history are united in the view that the Kurds are an ancient race (1)….

Kurdish Language

Kurdish (Kurdish: Kurdí, كوردی, Kurdî, Кöрди) language belongs to the Indo-European family of languages. Kurdish dialects are members of the northwestern subdivision…

Language

Language, the principal means used by human beings to communicate with one another. Language is primarily spoken, although it can…

Popular Culture

Kurds are fortunate to have some of the most visible aspects of their popular culture authenticated to remote antiquity. Some…

The National Goat – KELL

Origin The goats were the first livestock animal to be domesticated. The pinpoint this landmark moment: 10,000 years ago in…

National Birds

Red-legged partridge with scientific name “Alectoris rufa” calls “Kew, kev, Kewk, keví, and kevkí” in Kurdish. Red-legged partridge is normally 33…

National Anthem

Sirúdí Níshtimaní Kurdistan, Ey reqíb Ey reqíb her, mawe qewmí Kurd ziman Nayshékiné daneyí topí zeman (2) Kes nellé Kurd…

Cultural characters

Flag of Kurdistan National Anthem National Birds Kurdish Currency The National Goat – KELL

Writtings from prison

A new release by blue crane books Watertown, Massachusetts – Writings from Prison by Leyla Zana, the first Kurdish woman…

Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History

Pelizzari, Maria Antonella. by Susan Meiselas New York: Random House, 1997, pp 388 “. . . The world is a…

Justice and the Kurds

By Christopher de Bellaigue, “New York Review of Books, June 24, 1999” Imagine that you head a foreign delegation on…

An Excerpt from Fateful Triangle

By Naom Chomski, ” Updated Edition, June 1999″ One of the best books for Naom Chomski being updated it includes…

Bibliographic review

KURDISTANICA publishes reviews of bibliographic records related to Kurdistan in any languages. We encourage our callers to submit their reviews….

Bibliography

KURDISTANICA tend to use its global network to collect bibliographic records on Kurds and Kurdistan. Individual can submit records of…

Culture

Kurds are fortunate to have some of the most visible aspects of their popular culture authenticated to remote antiquity. Some…

Kurdistan’s Economy

Kurdistan’s wealth of high-grade pasture lands has long made it suitable for a pastoralist economy, but it is equally suitable…

Legal documents

The Legal Documents section of KURDISTANICA provides agreement and Treaties which historically and politically have made an impact of the…

Politic

Like other places in the world where many parties are struggling for the limited available support of their constituents, and…

Religion in Kurdistan

The infusion of an Indo-European (Iranic) language, culture, and genetic element into the Kurdish population over the two millennia preceding…

FAQ

FAQ Following are Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ] that might arise when you look at KURDISTANICA. For answers to other questions,…

Geography

The vast Kurdish homeland consists of about 200,000 square miles of territory. Its area is roughly equal to that of…

Biographies

Selected biographies of Kurdish historical figures featured on KURDISTANICA history section. You can joing this project by writing a shortbiography…

The glazed bricks from Bukan: new insights into Mannaean art

Yousef Hassanzadeh; Antiquity Vol 80 No 307 March 2006 Mannaean studies as an independent field began with the discovery of…

Historians & Kurdologists

KURDISTANICA needs your scholarly expertise in this area. Please register with us and help collecting information in this subject area….

Modern History

1915 up to Present The idea of a nation-state in the modern sense and on the European model was more…

Early Modern History

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History

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He was a Kurdish Emir of Bitlis. He was also a historian, writer and poet.

Izady is a contemporary writer on ethnic and cultural topics, particularly the Greater Middle East and Kurds.

Greatest Kurdish and Islamic minds of all times…

Qazi Muhammad was a political and religious leader who became the Head of the Republic of Kurdistan…

Leyla Zana is a Kurdish politician who was imprisoned for ten years for her political activism…

Prof Kamal Mazhar Ahmad was born in Silémaní, Baban province 1938. He grew up in a …

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Hurrian Songs Lyrics

Ḫan[u]ta niyaša ziwe š[i]nute zuturiya ubugara [ḫub]urni tašal killa [z]ili šipri

Ḫumaruḫat uwari wanda[n]ita ukuri kurkurta išalla ulali kabgi a[l]l[i]bgi širit m[u]rnuršu

Wešal tatib tišiya unu[g]a kabšili unugat akli šamšamme[ni tal]il uklal tununi[ka ḫanu]ka

Kalitanil Nikala niḫ[ur]ašal ḫana ḫanuteti attayaštal attari ḫ[u]weti ḫanuka [šati wewe] šati wewe ḫanuku

I have made offerings to the goddess
That she will open her heart in love,
And that my sins will be forgiven.
May my jars of sweet sesame oil please her,
That she may look kindly upon us,
And make us fruitful.Like the sprouting fields of grain,
May women bring forth with their husbands
And may those who are yet virgins
One day be blessed with children.

Hymm to nikkal of the moon 1400 B.C.E.
Interpretation based on the remarkable work of Dr. Richard Dumbrill

By approximately 4300 BC, a new culture, and possibly a new people, came to dominate the mountains: the Hurrians.

Of the Hurrians we know much more, and the volume of our knowledge becomes greater as the time becomes more recent. We know, for example, that the Hurrians spread far and wide into the Zagros-Taurus-Pontus mountain systems, and intruded for a time also on the neighboring plains of Mesopotamia and the Iranian Plateau. However, they never expanded too far from the mountains. Their economy was surprisingly integrated and focused, along with their political bonds, which runs largely parallel with the Zagros-Taurus-Pontus mountains, rather than radiating out to the lowlands, as was the case during the preceding Ubaid cultural period. Mountain-plain economic exchanges remained secondary in importance, judging by the archaeological remains of goods and their origin.

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