Review of Boris James, Genèse du Kurdistan

International Journal of Middle East Studies, 1997

The position of the 19 million Kurds is an extremely complex one. Their territory is divided between 5 sovereign states, none of which has a Kurdish majority. They speak widely divergent dialects, and are also divided by religious affiliations and social factors. It has taken the tragic and horrifying events in Iraq this year to bring the Kurds to the centre of the world stage, but their particular problems, and their considerable geo-political importance, have been the source of growing concern and interest during the last two to three decades.

2011

The aim of this thesis is to study the concept of Kurdism and its emergence in the first half of the nineteenth century. The study explores the foundations, origins and evolution of Kurdish nationalism, which has grown out of Kurdism. It focuses on the three Kurdish emirates of Soran, Botan and Baban and their relationship with the Ottomans during the first half of the nineteenth century. Warm Ottoman-Kurdish relations continued until the beginning of the New Order (Nizami Cedit) under Sultan Selim III 1789-1807 and Sultan Mahmud II 1808-1839, and the modernisation and administrative reform (known in Turkish as Tanzimat) of the empire, which took place between 1839-1876. At this time, central power was in the hands of the Sultan who abolished all local authorities in the capital and in the Ottoman provinces, including Kurdish semi-autonomous emirates. This direct rule was met by strong Kurdish resistance. From this point, the Kurds conceived of the Ottomans as the "other" whose direct rule over them was unwelcome. They resisted the Ottoman policy of centralisation and the notion of Kurdism flourished. This can be regarded as a key turning point for the development of Kurdish nationalism, reinvigorating a Kurdish consciousness in respect of politics, language an literature. Kurdish Melas (Islamic scholars), popular poets and Kurdish folkloric poets played a major role in the creation of Kurdism in the first half of the nineteenth century in Soran, Botan and Baban emirates. Kurdish writers and scholars turned to literary forms for the expressions of Kurdish cultural politics. This thesis examines a range of literary sources to consider the rule of Kurdish mirs (princes), in politics, and the position of Kurdish intellectuals in the politics of language and culture in Kurdish emirate in the first half of the nineteenth century. This study shows how identification with Kurdism had enabled the Kurds to articulate their claim to their community and their emirates. Kurdism went on to engender Kurdish nationalism, whose growth was reflected in the late nineteenth century through the Kurdish revolt of 1880 by Sheikh Ubeydullah Nehri, the establishment of the first Kurdish newspaper in 1897 and the literature of the period, and which matured further in the twentieth century. Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Introduction: The Scope and Purpose of the Study The last thirty years have seen a remarkable growth in the number of works dealing with the Kurds, Kurdistan and Kurdishness. 1 A new generation of scholars has examined the history of the Kurds and their national movements resulting in considerable discussion around the controversial origins and formation of Kurdism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, a new relationship was developing between the Kurdish emirates and the Ottoman Empire. Events during the first half of that period led to a deterioration in the relationship between the central administration and the Kurds. This led to the destruction of all remaining Kurdish emirates. In turn within this historical context, it will be argued, Kurdism was born. These events have rarely been the sustained focus of historical literature. Yet almost from the inception of post-Second World War historiography, their importance has been noted. Elphinston wrote in 1946 that: "the assistance given by the Kurds to the Ottoman Army in its fight against the Persians secured for them a privileged and autonomous position within the Ottoman Empire…history tells of no serious trouble between the Kurds and the Turkish Government until 1826, when the modernising policy of Sultan Mahmud II began to antagonize the feudal chiefs and led to the insurrection of 1830…led by two families." 2 The history of the Kurdish principalities and their downfall in the first half of the nineteenth century has received far less attention than other periods in Kurdish history. This thesis attempts to analyse the background, context, issues and events that led to the development of Kurdism during the reform of the Ottoman Empire, when national movements emerged amongst the diverse peoples within that empire. It could be argued that Kurdism developed out of self-awareness, with language, literature, and administration all being used to advance 1For a recent overview see;

2001

Journal of Political Studies, 2013

This article presents an overview of the history the largest nation in the world without its own independent state. nationalist aspirations of an approximately 30 million Kurds living within the borders of Turkey, iran, iraq, and Syria remain a factor of instability in the geostrategically important Middle East, especially due to the fact that Kurds inhabit areas with strategically important resources. The desire of many Kurds for statehood, or at least cultural autonomy, has led to an almost continuous series of Kurdish revolts since the creation of the modern Middle East state system following World War i. The Kurdish problem refers to the fear of the states in which the Kurds live that Kurdish demands will threaten and even destroy their territorial integrity, even though, as the author points out, the Kurds themselves are notoriously divided geographically, politically, linguistically, and tribally. The article is divided into parts, which are devoted to the origin of the Kurdish nation, as well as the history and the current situation of Kurds in Turkey, iraq, iran, Syria, and Europe (the European diaspora).

This article discusses the problem of the Kurds in ensuring regional stability and security in the Middle East, the history of this problem in comparison with the history of the countries of the region in the 15-19 centuries. The analysis of the facts presented in the historical literature about the Kurds is carried out. The attitude of the Middle East countries to these issues, the factor of external power in this matter, the relationship of the problem with other confessional problems in the region are also being studied.

Kurdish Studies Journal, 2023

Zekî. Even the prolific Iraqi historian Abbas al-Azzawi devoted one of the volumes of his historical encyclopaedia to Kurdish tribes in Iraq. Although not as comprehensive as the studies done by the aforementioned scholars, the present work brings together 25 papers, mostly historical but also representing anthropological and sociological studies on Kurdish tribes. Besides well-established scholars with a research focus on tribal studies, the majority of the papers are written by early career researchers. In his short foreword, Martin van Bruinessen focuses on the transformation of Kurdish tribes in the context of formal education, urbanisation, and party politics in post-Ottoman modern states. Emphasising the tribal factor in Kurdish politics, Hamit Bozarslan provides a succinct history of relations between tribes and state from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century. In the third chapter, Suavi Aydın provides some Kurdish vocabulary of tribalism while taking us through the valley of the Tigris River to show the division and dichotomy between the nomadic and sedentary tribes whom he classifies as Botî and Torî. The fourth chapter by Serhat Bozkurt focuses on laws and regulations aiming at the sedentarisation of the tribes during the last decade of the Ottoman Empire.