Zaro Aga: The Kurdish Man Who May Have Been the World's Oldest Person
- Dala Sarkis
- May 6
- 4 min read
Who Was Zaro Aga?
Zaro Aga — also known as Zaro Agha — was a Kurdish man from Bitlis in what is now southeastern Turkey who died in 1934. He claimed to have been born in 1777, which would have made him 157 years old at the time of his death — one of the longest claimed lifespans in recorded human history.
He was brought to significant public attention in the early 20th century, appearing in newspapers and being examined by physicians who sought to verify or refute his extraordinary age claims. His physical condition at the time of examination — apparent vigour for such an advanced age — attracted medical attention.
Whether Zaro Aga actually lived to 157 or whether his claimed birth year was inaccurate or fabricated has been the subject of ongoing debate. No documentary proof of his birth date exists. However, he remains one of the most famous longevity claimants in history and represents a fascinating chapter in the intersection of Kurdish identity, Ottoman history, and human longevity research.
Key Takeaways
• Zaro Aga (c. 1777-1934) was a Kurdish man from Bitlis who claimed to have lived to 157 years old.
• His claimed lifespan would make him one of the longest-lived humans in recorded history.
• He attracted significant medical and public attention in the early 20th century.
• No documentary proof of his birth date exists, making the claim unverifiable.
• He is listed among notable Kurds and represents a fascinating chapter in longevity history.
Quick Facts
Table of Contents
Early Life and Origins
Zaro Aga was born, according to his own account, around 1777 in Bitlis — the historically Kurdish city in eastern Anatolia that had been the home of the Bitlisi family tradition (including Idris Bitlisi and Sharafkhan Bidlisi). He grew up in the Ottoman Kurdish society of the late 18th century.
His early life coincided with the late Ottoman period in Kurdistan — the era of Karim Khan Zand's rule in Iran (d. 1779), the beginning of European colonial pressure on the Ottoman Empire, and the gradual erosion of the Kurdish emirate system that had governed Kurdistan since Chaldiran.
Historical Context
The late Ottoman period was a time of dramatic political and social change. The Kurdish emirate system was being dismantled by Ottoman centralisation reforms in the mid-19th century. The Kurdistan region experienced the first Kurdish political movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Into this context, Zaro Aga's claimed extraordinary age made him a figure of public fascination — both as a human curiosity and as a living connection to an older Kurdistan.
Major Achievements and Contributions
Claimed Extraordinary Longevity
Zaro Aga's primary claim to historical fame is his purported lifespan of 157 years. If true, he would have been born during the era of Karim Khan Zand, witnessed the entire 19th-century transformation of Kurdistan, and survived into the early Turkish Republic — an astonishing continuity across one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the Middle East.
He was examined by physicians in the early 20th century who attempted to verify his age through physical examination. His apparent physical condition was noted as remarkable for his claimed age. However, without documentary birth records, the claim could not be definitively verified.
Public Attention and Cultural Significance
Zaro Aga achieved significant public attention in the final years of the Ottoman Empire and the early Turkish Republic. His story was reported in newspapers, and he became something of a celebrity as one of the most extraordinary claimed centenarians of the early 20th century.
For Kurdish cultural memory, he is a figure who embodied continuity — a man whose claimed lifespan stretched from the era of Kurdish emirate autonomy through the 19th-century suppression of the Kurdish emirs to the early 20th century.
Timeline and Key Events
Debates, Controversies, and Historical Questions
The central debate about Zaro Aga is whether his claimed birth date of c. 1777 is accurate. No documentary evidence from his birth has been found, and the ages of people in the late Ottoman period were often not precisely recorded. Skeptics argue that his actual age may have been significantly less than 157. However, his claim has never been definitively disproven either.
His Kurdish identity is not disputed — he was from Bitlis and identified as Kurdish throughout his life.
Legacy and Cultural Impact
Zaro Aga is listed in discussions of extreme human longevity and in the Kurdish historical tradition. Whether or not his claimed lifespan is accurate, he represents a fascinating chapter in the intersection of Kurdish identity and world history — a man whose story connected the old Kurdistan of the emirate period with the modern world of newspapers, medical examination, and public celebrity.
Kurdish History Connections
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Zaro Aga?
Zaro Aga (c. 1777-1934) was a Kurdish man from Bitlis who claimed to have lived to 157 years old. His claimed lifespan would make him one of the longest-lived humans in recorded history. He attracted significant medical and public attention in the early 20th century, though no documentary proof of his birth date exists.
Was Zaro Aga actually 157 years old?
This cannot be definitively determined. No documentary evidence of his birth date has been found, and the ages of people in the late Ottoman period were often not precisely recorded. His claim has never been definitively proven or disproven.
Was Zaro Aga Kurdish?
Yes. He was from Bitlis — a historically Kurdish city — and identified as Kurdish throughout his life.
Where was Zaro Aga from?
He was from Bitlis, a historically significant Kurdish city in what is now Bitlis Province of southeastern Turkey. Bitlis was the home of the Bitlisi family tradition that included Idris Bitlisi and Sharafkhan Bidlisi.
References and Further Reading
Wikipedia contributors. 'Zaro Agha.' Wikipedia. Accessed 2025.
Wikipedia contributors. 'List of Kurds.' Wikipedia. Accessed 2025.
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