Kurdish History Journal
Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf (1924-2009) was a Kurdish Iraqi politician who served as Vice President of Iraq from 1974 to 2003 — the longest-serving Kurdish holder of a senior Iraqi state position.
Read article →Yaşar Kemal (1923-2015) was a Kurdish Turkish novelist whose epic tales of Anatolian peasant life, especially Memed My Hawk, made him Turkey's greatest novelist and a perennial Nobel Prize candidate.
Read article →Ahmad Hardi (1922-2006), Kurdish poet from Erbil, is celebrated for lyric poetry of exceptional beauty that captures love, loss, and the Kurdish landscape with philosophical depth and emotional intensity.
Read article →Hemin Mukriyani (1921-1986), Kurdish poet from Mahabad, is one of the most celebrated Sorani Kurdish poets of the 20th century, whose lyric verse about love, nature, and Kurdish identity remains deeply beloved.
Read article →Hassan Zirak (1921-1973), Kurdish singer from Sulaymaniyah, was the most beloved and humorous Kurdish musician of the 20th century whose songs brought joy to Kurds across the world.
Read article →The Sunni teacher and political figure associated with Mahabad helped lead negotiations after Iran’s 1979 revolution. Contemporary reports and later research clarify his autonomy demands, alliances and opposition to clerical government.
Read article →Abdurrahman Sharafkandi (1921-1986), known by his pen name Hazhar, was a Kurdish Iranian poet and linguist who compiled the authoritative Kurdish-Persian dictionary and translated Shakespeare into Kurdish.
Read article →Known as Apê Musa, Anter wrote satire, drama, memoir and journalism. His work in Kurdish and Turkish, repeated prosecutions and murder in 1992 connect cultural history with a continuing struggle over accountability.
Read article →Nûredîn Zaza, also published as Noureddine Zaza, was a Kurdish politician, educator and writer born in Maden. His life connected Syria, Beirut and Lausanne, political imprisonment, cultural work and exile.
Read article →Dildar (1918-1948), born Yusuf Salih, was a Kurdish poet from Sulaymaniyah who wrote Ey Reqib — the Kurdish national anthem — before dying at just 30 years old, leaving an immortal legacy.
Read article →Ahmed Kuftaro (1915–2004) served as Syria’s Grand Mufti from 1964. His educational network and interfaith work developed within a close, debated relationship with state power.
Read article →Khalid Bakdash (1912-1995) was a Kurdish Syrian politician who led the Syrian Communist Party for over 60 years and was the first communist ever elected to parliament in the Arab world.
Read article →Qedrîcan (1911-1972), born Kadri Cemilpaşa, was the most beloved Kurdish classical singer of the 20th century whose recordings of traditional Kurdish songs brought Kurdish music to international audiences.
Read article →Samand Siabandov (1909-1989) was a Kurdish Soviet actor, director, and cultural figure who pioneered Kurdish theatre and performing arts in the Soviet Caucasus, founding Kurdish dramatic culture in the USSR.
Read article →Qanate Kurdo (1909-1985) was a Kurdish Soviet scholar who produced the first comprehensive Kurdish grammar and dictionary, founding Kurdish linguistics as a modern academic discipline.
Read article →Heciyê Cindî’s work connected oral storytelling, schoolbooks, journalism and fiction in the Kurdish-speaking world of Soviet Armenia.
Read article →Abdolqader Zahedi was a Sunni Kurdish religious scholar, Saqqez Friday prayer leader and Kurdistan representative in Iran's Assembly of Experts from 1999 to 2005.
Read article →Osman Sabri (1905-1993) was a Kurdish Syrian politician and writer who co-founded the Kurdish Democratic Party of Syria in 1957 — the first organised Kurdish political party in Syria.
Read article →Karim Sanjabi (1905-1995) was a Kurdish Iranian politician who led the National Front of Iran and briefly served as Foreign Minister in 1979, resigning in protest at the direction of the Islamic Revolution.
Read article →Abdullah Suleiman Goran (1904–1962), born in Halabja, helped reshape Sorani poetry through new rhythms, dramatic dialogue, translation and socially engaged writing.
Read article →Leyla Bedir Khan (1903-1986) was a Kurdish princess from the Bedir Khan family who became a celebrated dancer, artist, and cultural ambassador for Kurdish culture in Europe, and a scholar of Kurdish language.
Read article →Cigerxwîn (1903-1984), pen name meaning bleeding heart, was the greatest Kurdish nationalist poet of the 20th century whose Kurmanji verse called his people to consciousness, freedom, and dignity across five decades.
Read article →Rafiq Hilmi (1898-1960) was a Kurdish poet, scholar, and political activist from Sulaymaniyah who pioneered modern Sorani Kurdish poetry and contributed to the development of Kurdish political consciousness in Iraq.
Read article →Husni al-Za'im (1897-1949) was a Kurdish Syrian general who staged the first military coup in Syrian history in March 1949, became president, and was overthrown and executed just 137 days later.
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