Islamic era

Between 932 and 1062 AD the Kurdish dynasty of Daylamites spread from the Indian Ocean to Anatolia. Daylamites practiced the Cult of Angels mixed with some Shi'ite influences. Some of the Daylamite leaders tried to wipe out Islam, but they lost their lives in the attempt. In AD 1169 the Islamic Ayyubids, under Kurdish Saladin, defeated the Crusaders and gained power over much of the Middle East until the late 15th century. These medieval Kurdish dynasties were very tolerant of Jews and Christians.

Kurdish dominance in the Islamic world faded in the beginning of the 13th century, and for the next four centuries the Turks took control. Turkish nomads moved through Kurdistan to wipe out many of the cultures of the Middle East. Small Kurdish kingdoms continued to exist but paid taxes to the Turks. The major Kurdish powers disappeared. The Mongol invasions that followed seemed mild compared to the ruthlessness of the Turks.

Yet, while the Kurds languished politically, the Cult of Angels nearly swallowed Shi'ite IsIam under the guise of being the true Islam. The Cult of Angels, now called Alevism, spread until the Sunni Ottoman Turks rose up against it. Around AD 1600 Shi'ite Islam made a comeback but has never been able to completely eradicate Alevism.

Kurdistan fades

Wearied by the destruction, nationalistic attitudes took root and grew until the Kurds were able to achieve a degree of autonomy in the 1600s. In AD 1639 the Ottomans signed the Treaty of Zahab leaving the area calm for 80 years. When the Persian Safavids fell in AD 1722, all of Kurdistan came under Ottoman rule. The Kurdish Zands rose to power and ruled a large area of Kurdistan until AD 1794. In AD 1750, Persia again rose under the rule of the Afsharids, who challenged the Ottomans. This time southern, eastern, and central Kurdistan became a battleground, and the entire region was plunged into a darkness that lasted until the 19th century. Much of the original culture was lost during this time. Many of the Kurds were forced to relocate, and large numbers were deported to Khurasan, where there is still a significant enclave of Kurds.

During the 16th and 17th centuries the population shifted from primarily sedentary, Pahlawani-speaking Kurds to nomadic, Sunni Muslim, Kurmanji-speaking Kurds which now typify Kurdish identity. This shift was a result of continual destruction of the land during wars and the decline of the silk road's use for trade. During the 19th century the Kurdish population in Armenia grew until nearly two-thirds of northern Kurds lived in historical Armenia.

After the Russo-Persian War in 1828, a treaty was signed placing a large number of Kurds under the rule of the Russian Empire. Russia then took a Kurdish section of the Ottoman Empire, ending Kurdistan's long period of isolation. In the middle of the 19th century the last elements of local government among the Kurds was eradicated, and with it traditional religious tolerance disappeared. Religion became a weapon among the Kurds in Turkey, and many of the Yezidis were massacred. In 1842 the massacre of 5000 Assyrians opened a campaign against Christians, then turned against Shi'ites, Alevis, and Jews.

World War I again made Kurdistan a battleground, this time between Russia and the Ottomans. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds died. This war altered the face of Kurdistan, again leaving it divided between Turkey, Russia, French Syria, British Iraq, and Persia. Kurdistan was too weak and devastated to become an independent state and has been shaken by uprisings and independence movements ever since. Deportations and resettlements have continued to plague the Kurds since 1900.

The Kurds continue to remain culturally distinct from their neighbors. Many of the people who have moved into Kurdistan over the past 5000 years have become thoroughly assimilated into Kurdish culture, but they have also influenced it. Once one of the important political and commercial centers of the world, Kurdistan now is virtually isolated from the rest of the world. It is too early to ascertain whether the present exposure that the Gulf War gave the Kurds is the beginning Of the end for this isolation, or whether it is a window of opportunity that will soon fade.

References

	Vol 6. Spring 1993
Copies of this article are available from Horizons International. This document should be cited as follows in a bibliography: Brown, Marli. ReachOut, The Plight of the Kurds: A History of Kurdistan. Horizons International, Vol 6, Spring 1993. pp. 13-14.