Kurdish History Journal
Articles filed under Kurdish History and Resilience.
The Anubanini relief, an ancient rock carving at Sarpol-e Zahab in Iranian Kurdistan — made over 4,000 years ago by the Lullubi, showing a king before a goddess, among the oldest reliefs of the region.
Read article →The Rawanduz Gorge, the dramatic river canyon in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan below Rawandiz — a wonder of sheer cliffs, waterfalls, and the famous Hamilton Road.
Read article →The Walls of Diyarbakır, the great black basalt ramparts around the old city of Amed — among the longest and best-preserved ancient city walls in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Read article →Mar Mattai, the ancient Syriac Orthodox monastery on Mount Alfaf above the Nineveh Plains — founded around 363, among the oldest monasteries in the world and famed for its Syriac manuscripts.
Read article →Ecbatana (Hegmataneh), the ancient capital of the Medes beneath modern Hamadan — a great capital of the Iranian world tied to the Median heritage many Kurds look back to.
Read article →Nineveh, the great capital of the Assyrian empire on the Tigris by Mosul — famed for its lamassu guardians and the library of Ashurbanipal, and destroyed in 612 BC by a coalition including the Medes.
Read article →Dara, the ancient Roman-Byzantine fortress city near Mardin — built in the 6th century against Persia, with vast cisterns, a dam, rock-cut tombs, and the famous 530 AD Battle of Dara.
Read article →The Great Mosque of Diyarbakır (Ulu Cami / Mizgefta Mezin) — one of the oldest mosques in Anatolia, in the walled old city of Amed, famous for its courtyard of reused ancient columns.
Read article →The Church of Mar Jacob (Mor Yakup) at Nusaybin — one of the oldest churches in the world, founded in the early 4th century by Jacob of Nisibis and tied to the famed School of Nisibis.
Read article →Halfeti, the half-submerged town on the Euphrates in Şanlıurfa — where a dam drowned part of the old town and a sunken minaret rises from the water, famous too for its rare black rose.
Read article →Arsameia, the Commagene hilltop sanctuary near Mount Nemrut in Adıyaman — with its famous relief of a king and Heracles, a long Greek inscription, and a mysterious rock tunnel.
Read article →Balıklıgöl, the sacred pool of fish in Şanlıurfa — revered in tradition as the place of the prophet Abraham, ringed by historic mosques and gardens and a major place of pilgrimage.
Read article →The Hevsel Gardens, the ancient green fields along the Tigris below the walls of Diyarbakır — cultivated for thousands of years, a haven for birds, and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Read article →Deyrulzafaran, the “Saffron Monastery” near Mardin — an ancient Syriac Orthodox monastery that was for centuries the seat of the patriarchs, built in golden stone on a far older sacred site.
Read article →The Cendere Bridge, a Roman stone arch in Adıyaman built nearly 1,800 years ago near Mount Nemrut — among the largest Roman arches ever raised, and still standing today.
Read article →Rumkale, the “Roman castle” on a cliff promontory above the Euphrates — a near-impregnable fortress and former Armenian church seat, now rising above a reservoir near Halfeti.
Read article →Harran, the ancient town near Şanlıurfa famed for its conical beehive houses — nearly 5,000 years old, named in the oldest scriptures, and a great centre of moon-god worship and early science.
Read article →Göbekli Tepe, the ~12,000-year-old temple complex near Şanlıurfa — the world’s oldest known monumental sanctuary, built by hunter-gatherers and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Read article →The Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island in Lake Van — a thousand-year-old Armenian royal church famous for the vivid carved stone reliefs covering its walls.
Read article →Mardin Castle, the ancient “Eagle’s Nest” citadel crowning the rocky summit above the old city of Mardin — a stronghold of many empires overlooking the Mesopotamian plain.
Read article →Harput Castle, the ancient “Milk Castle” crowning the old town above Elazığ — a hilltop fortress of the upper Euphrates with origins in the Iron Age and a layered history of many empires.
Read article →Çavuştepe, the ruined Urartian fortress and palace south-east of Van — built in the 8th century BC with temples, cisterns, and remarkably fine cut stone and inscriptions.
Read article →The Aras River (Çemê Aras / Araxes), a great river of the highlands flowing beneath Mount Ararat along the northern edge of the Kurdish world — a river of borders, plains, and ancient history.
Read article →Lake Van (Gola Wanê), the largest lake in Turkey — a great soda lake among the volcanoes of the eastern Kurdish highlands, dotted with islands and rich in ancient history from Urartu to Akdamar.
Read article →