Kurdish History Journal
Articles filed under Kurdish States.
The Hasanwayhids were a Kurdish ruling family whose power developed in the central Zagros during the tenth century. Their history centres on Hasanwayh, his son Badr and a contested succession involving the Buyids and Annazids. The loss of their main principality around 1015 must be distinguished from the family’s continued possession of Sarmaj until 1047.
Read article →The Marwanids were a medieval Kurdish ruling house centred on Mayyafariqin, now Silvan, and Amid, now Diyarbakır. Their history connects frontier alliances, urban patronage and the Seljuk conquest of 1085.
Read article →The Shaddadid Dynasty (951–1199): the first Kurdish state in the Caucasus, builders of the Manuchihr Mosque in Ani, and one of the longest-ruling Kurdish dynasties of the medieval Islamic world.
Read article →The kingdom centred on Edessa is documented through royal coins, Syriac inscriptions and ancient narratives. These sources reveal local society and imperial pressure while placing later Christian traditions in context.
Read article →Shaykhan’s political history is best traced through named leaders, changing institutions and documented campaigns. Religious authority and the princely household survived severe losses of territory and autonomy, while Lalish remained a centre of pilgrimage.
Read article →Hadhbani, or Hadhbaniyya, names a major medieval Kurdish tribal grouping associated with Erbil, Mosul, Shahrazur and Azerbaijan. Chronicles and modern scholarship document chiefs, seasonal movement, alliances and links to the Rawadiyya and Saladin’s family.
Read article →Rojava names a Kurdish region and political experience in Syria, not a fixed international boundary. This history distinguishes the pre-war communities, wartime institutions and dated evidence about integration and rights in 2026.
Read article →Bakur is the Kurdish name for the northern part of Kurdistan within Turkey. Its history connects multilingual communities, cities and rural landscapes with imperial frontiers, republican state-building and struggles over political and cultural rights.
Read article →The proposed House of Kayus needs careful separation from the story of Madig, Sasanian royal monuments and later historical interpretation. Primary texts and archaeological research explain what these different sources can establish.
Read article →Herodotus describes peace between Lydia and Media after a battle interrupted by darkness. His account connects warfare, mediation and royal marriage. The eclipse’s conventional date, the treaty’s timing and the Halys boundary require different kinds of evidence.
Read article →Pontus, Cappadocia and Commagene had distinct dynastic histories within an interconnected Anatolian world. This article examines the modern “Zelanid” interpretation alongside ancient testimony, specialist histories and the monuments of Antiochus I.
Read article →Mass killing, deportation, torture, restrictions on Kurdish expression and the destruction of civilian homes have distinct documentary histories. Selected cases from Dersim to Cizre show what historians, contemporary investigators and European Court decisions establish.
Read article →The Medes are important to the ancient history of western Iran and to discussions of Kurdish origins. Assyrian records, Greek historical writing, archaeology and linguistics answer different questions; reading them together reveals both substantial evidence and significant uncertainty.
Read article →Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centred on Lake Van. Its fortresses, canals, inscriptions and metalwork illuminate highland history; they do not establish a direct, exclusive genealogy for a modern people.
Read article →Mannea was an Iron Age kingdom south of Lake Urmia. Its rulers negotiated with Assyria and Urartu, while archaeological discoveries reveal fortified settlements, decorated buildings and a complex regional culture.
Read article →Kassite rulers governed Babylonia for centuries, built Dur-Kurigalzu and participated in international diplomacy. Inscriptions, seals and land-grant monuments reveal their world while leaving important questions about their homeland and language unresolved.
Read article →Mitanni was a major Late Bronze Age kingdom centred on the upper Khabur. Royal letters, treaties and excavations reveal its power and cultural connections, while leaving important questions about language, geography and later ancestry unresolved.
Read article →Gutian rulers belong to the ancient history of Mesopotamia and the Zagros. King lists, royal inscriptions and literary narratives establish political claims, while leaving major questions about language, geography and later ancestry unresolved.
Read article →Shir Sarim, also called Sarim Khan, appears in accounts of Kurdish resistance to Shah Ismail I and in later Persian heroic tales. Comparing the campaign narratives with the storytelling tradition reveals why his age, weapons and supposed death cannot all be treated as straightforward biography.
Read article →The Seljuk Empire, which stretched across the Middle East in the 11th century, significantly affected many regions, including Kurdish territories. This interaction not only shaped the political landscape but also left a profound mark on kurdish history, culture, and societal structures that continue to resonate today. This article explores the intricate relationships formed during the Seljuk era and highlights the enduring legacy in Kurdish regions, intertwined with kurdistan culture and her...
Read article →Kurdish life under Ottoman rule included negotiated provincial government, military service, religious learning and literary production. Relationships changed across regions and centuries: local autonomy, imperial office, conflict and cultural expression often existed together.
Read article →Izz al-Din Usama governed Ajlun under the Ayyubids and is associated with its late-twelfth-century castle. Fortifications, political alliances and his eventual removal reveal how provincial authority worked within Saladin’s dynasty.
Read article →The Mahabad Republic was proclaimed in northwestern Iran on 22 January 1946 and fell in December that year. Its government, Kurdish teaching and publishing, and difficult international position need to be distinguished from the executions that followed in March 1947.
Read article →