Turan Shah: Saladin’s Brother and the Conquest of Yemen
Saladin’s elder brother led the Ayyubid expedition to Yemen in 1174. This biography explains the campaign, its aftermath and the namesakes often confused with him.
Read article →Kurdish History Journal
Kurdish States
Articles filed under Kurdish States.
Al-Ashraf Musa of Homs: The Last Ayyubid Prince
The last Ayyubid prince of Homs navigated family rivalry, Mongol invasion and Mamluk supremacy. A sourced account of his interrupted reign and local legacy.
Read article →Will Kurdistan Become a Country?
Will Kurdistan become a country? A clear, sourced analysis of the world's largest stateless nation, why independence has failed before, and when it may finally happen.
Read article →The Republic of Ararat (1927–1930): The Kurdish State on the Mountain
The Republic of Ararat was a Kurdish state proclaimed on Mount Ararat in 1927, led militarily by Ihsan Nuri and the Xoybûn league, crushed by Turkey in 1930.
Read article →The Kingdom of Kurdistan (1921–1924): Sheikh Mahmud's State
The Kingdom of Kurdistan was a short-lived Kurdish state proclaimed by Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji in Sulaymaniyah in the early 1920s, crushed by British forces by 1924.
Read article →The Emirate of Soran: Rawanduz and the Mir Kor
The Emirate of Soran was a Kurdish principality centred on Rawanduz, famed for the warrior-queen Mir Xanzad and Mir Muhammad, the powerful 19th-century 'Mir Kor'.
Read article →The Emirate of Bohtan: The Kurdish Princes of Cizre
The Emirate of Bohtan was a great Kurdish principality centred on Cizre, ruled by the Azizan dynasty and home of the epic Mem û Zîn and Bedir Khan Beg.
Read article →The Bradost Emirate and the Siege of Dimdim
The Bradost Emirate was a Kurdish principality famed for the 1609–1610 siege of Dimdim, where Khan Lepzerin made a legendary stand against Shah Abbas.
Read article →The Principality of Palu: A Kurdish Emirate on the Murat
The Principality of Palu was a Kurdish emirate on the Murat River near Elazığ, kin to the Eğil princes and later home to Sheikh Said of the 1925 revolt.
Read article →The Mahmudi Emirate: Kurdish Lords of Hoşap
The Mahmudi Emirate was a Kurdish principality south-east of Lake Van, famous for Hoşap Castle, rebuilt by the Mahmudi lord Sarı Süleyman Bey in 1643.
Read article →The Emirate of Bahdinan: The Kurdish Princes of Amadiya
The Emirate of Bahdinan was one of the great Kurdish principalities, centred on Amadiya in Iraqi Kurdistan, lasting from the late 14th century until 1843.
Read article →The Mukriyan Emirate: Kurdish Lords of Mahabad
Mukriyan was a Kurdish emirate of the Mukri tribe centred on Mahabad (old Savojbolagh) in north-western Iran, later the cradle of the 1946 Kurdish Republic.
Read article →The Ayyubids of Hasankeyf: The Last Ayyubid Dynasty
The Ayyubids of Hasankeyf were the last surviving branch of Saladin's Kurdish Ayyubid dynasty, ruling a Tigris fortress-principality from 1232 to about 1524.
Read article →The Donboli Dynasty: Kurdish Khans of Khoy
The Donboli were a Kurdish tribe and dynasty who ruled the city of Khoy in north-western Iran as hereditary khans until their fall under the Qajars.
Read article →The Emirate of Çemişgezek
The Emirate of Çemişgezek was a Kurdish principality of the Dersim highlands and an autonomous hereditary Ottoman sanjak recorded in the Sharafnama.
Read article →The Emirate of Kilis: The Kurdish Janbulad Dynasty and the Revolt of Ali Pasha
The Emirate of Kilis was ruled by the Kurdish Janbulad family of northern Syria, whose chief Ali Pasha led a famous 1607 revolt — and whose heirs became Lebanon's Jumblatts.
Read article →The Zakarids (Mkhargrdzeli): Medieval Armenia's Military Dynasty and the Question of Their Kurdish Origin
The Zakarids (Mkhargrdzeli) were a medieval dynasty of disputed Kurdish origin who reconquered Armenia from the Seljuks and ruled it under the Georgian crown.
Read article →The Principality of Eğil: The Bulduqani Dynasty and the Kurdish Lords of the Tigris (c. 1049–1864)
The Principality of Eğil (c. 1049–1864) was a Kurdish emirate near Diyarbakır ruled by the Bulduqani dynasty — among the longest-lived in Kurdish history.
Read article →The Baban Dynasty: The Kurdish Principality of Sulaymaniyah and the Babani Literary School (1649–1850)
The Baban Dynasty (1649–1850): the great Ottoman-side Kurdish principality, founders of Sulaymaniyah in 1784, patrons of the Babani school of Sorani Kurdish poetry — Nali, Salim, Kurdî, Mawlana Khalid.
Read article →The Ardalan Dynasty: The Longest-Surviving Kurdish Dynasty in History (1169–1867)
The Ardalan Dynasty (1169–1867): the longest-surviving Kurdish dynasty in history, ruling 698 years from Sanandaj. Safavid walis, Gorani literature, Mastoureh Ardalan, the founding of Sanandaj.
Read article →The Hazaraspid Dynasty: The Kurdish Atabegs of Greater Lorestan (1148–1424)
The Hazaraspid Dynasty (1148–1424): Kurdish Atabegs of Greater Lorestan, the longest-surviving Kurdish dynasty of medieval Iran. Survived the Mongols, patronised Persian literature, ruled 276 years.
Read article →The Rawadid Dynasty: The Kurdish Lords of Tabriz and Iranian Azerbaijan (955–1071)
The Rawadid Dynasty (955–1071): the Kurdicized Kurdish lords of Tabriz, Maragha, and Iranian Azerbaijan. Wahsudan, Qatran Tabrizi, the 1042 earthquake, and the Hadhbani tribal link to Saladin.
Read article →The Ayyubid Empire: Saladin's Kurdish Dynasty and the Largest Kurdish State in History (1171–1341)
The Ayyubid Empire (1171–1341): the largest Kurdish state in history, founded by Saladin. Egypt, Syria, the Jazira, Yemen — Kurdish dynasty, Arab empire, the climax of the Kurdish Intermezzo.
Read article →The Annazid Dynasty: The Kurdish Lords of Hulwan and the Iran-Iraq Frontier (990–1117)
The Annazid Dynasty (990–1117): the Sunni Kurdish lords of Hulwan and the Iran-Iraq frontier, drawn from the Shadhanjan tribe. The longest-surviving Kurdish dynasty of the medieval Zagros.
Read article →