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78-570: Iranian Kurdistan or Eastern Kurdistan ( Kurdish : ڕۆژھەڵاتی کوردستان , romanized :  Rojhilatê Kurdistanê ) is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern Iran with either a majority or sizable population of Kurds . Geographically, it includes the West Azerbaijan Province , Kurdistan Province , Kermanshah Province , Ilam Province and parts of Hamadan Province and Lorestan Province . In totality, Kurds are about 10% of Iran's total population. According to

156-722: A Kurdish chief from Baneh , took control of Sardasht , Baneh and Mariwan in western Iran. He was finally driven out of the region by the Persian Army in the fall of 1944. Although Iran had declared its neutrality in the Second World War , it was occupied by Allied forces. With support from the Soviet Union , a Kurdish state was created in the city of Mahabad in 1946 by the Kurdish Movement Komeley Jiyanewey Kurd under

234-774: A Kurdish opposition activist, Shivan Qaderi (also known as Shwane Qadri or Sayed Kamal Asfaram), and two other Kurdish men were shot by Iranian security forces in Mahabad . For the next six weeks, riots and protests erupted in Kurdish towns and villages throughout Eastern Kurdistan such as Mahabad , Piranshahr . Sinne ( Sanandaj ), Sardasht , Oshnavieh (Şino), Baneh , Bokan and Saqiz (and even inspiring protests in southwestern Iran and in Baluchistan in eastern Iran) with scores killed and injured, and an untold number arrested without charge. On 13 March 2006, Saleh Nikbakht ,

312-544: A barrier between the south Caspian and the Iranian plateau . It is only 60–130 km wide and consists of sedimentary series dating from Upper Devonian to Oligocene , prevalently Jurassic limestone over a granite core. Continental conditions regarding sedimentation are reflected by thick Devonian sandstones and by Jurassic shales containing coal seams. Marine conditions are reflected by Carboniferous and Permian strata that are composed mainly of limestones. In

390-570: A crude but effective policy against the Kurds. Hundreds of Kurdish chiefs were deported and forced into exile. Their lands were also confiscated by the government. When Allied troops entered Iran in September 1941, the Persian Army was quickly dissolved and their ammunition was seized by the Kurds. Sons of the Kurdish chiefs seized the opportunity and escaped from their exile in Tehran . Hama Rashid,

468-428: A dialect of Southern Kurdish or as a fourth language under Kurdish is a matter of debate, but the differences between Laki and other Southern Kurdish dialects are minimal. The literary output in Kurdish was mostly confined to poetry until the early 20th century, when more general literature became developed. Today, the two principal written Kurdish dialects are Kurmanji and Sorani. Sorani is, along with Arabic , one of

546-496: A fair trial. The Kurdistan Free Life Party or PJAK. Feb 4, 2009, Stuart Levey, U.S. Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence stated "With today's action, we are exposing PJAK's (Free Life Party of Kurdistan) terrorist ties to the PKK and supporting Turkey's efforts to protect its citizens from attack." Kurdish language Ancient Medieval Modern Kurdish ( Kurdî , کوردی )

624-614: A legendary mountain in the Avesta , the main text of Zoroastrianism . Harā Barazaitī is from a Proto-Iranian name, Harā Bṛzatī , meaning "Mountain Rampart." Bṛzatī is the feminine form of the adjective bṛzant- "high", the ancestor of modern Persian bouland and BarzBerazandeh , cognate with Sanskrit Brihat . Harā may be interpreted as "watch" or "guard", from an Indo-European root * ser- "protect". In Middle Persian, Harā Barazaitī became Harborz , Modern Persian Alborz , which

702-638: A particular target of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Kurds' "social, political and cultural rights have been repressed, as have their economic aspirations". As a result, many human rights activists in Iran often shift their focus to specifically identify the Iranian authorities' violations of human rights against the Kurdish minority. However, according to Amnesty International, those activists who do "link their human rights work – drawing attention to

780-516: A second Kurdish political prisoner, Fasih Yasamani, for "enmity against God". Like Fattahian, Yasamani was tortured and authorities tried to force him to confess, but he refused. He was also denied a fair trial. Without notifying the families or lawyers of the political prisoners, Iranian authorities ordered the execution of four more Kurdish political prisoners - Ali Heydarian, Farhad Vakili, Mehdi Eslamian, Shirin Alam Hooli, and Farzad Kamangar ,

858-405: A teacher who received a lot of attention internationally following his arrest - in Iran on May 9, 2010. The four political prisoners suffered severe torture at the hands of Iranian authorities and were also forced to confess their memberships in an illegal organization - namely PJAK. None of the activists were given fair trials nor did they have access to their lawyers. Amnesty International described

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936-510: A variety that was an important literary language since the 14th century, but it was replaced by Central Kurdish in the 20th century. European scholars have maintained that Gorani is separate from Kurdish and that Kurdish is synonymous with the Northern Kurdish group, whereas ethnic Kurds maintain that Kurdish encompasses any of the unique languages or dialects spoken by Kurds that are not spoken by neighbouring ethnic groups. Gorani

1014-450: A well-known Iranian human rights lawyer who is Mr. Qaderi's lawyer, announced that Qaderi's murderer was a member of the police who shot the victim illegally. He also added that the murderer and the one who ordered the act are under investigation and the judiciary system has been cooperative up to now. Kurds have suffered a long history of discrimination in Iran. In a report released in 2008, Amnesty International said that Kurds have been

1092-565: Is a Northwestern Iranian language or group of languages spoken by Kurds in the region of Kurdistan , namely in southeast Turkey , northern Iraq , northwest Iran , and northern Syria . It is also spoken in northeast Iran, as well as in certain areas of Armenia and Azerbaijan . Kurdish varieties constitute a dialect continuum , with some mutually unintelligible varieties, and collectively have 26 million native speakers. The main varieties of Kurdish are Kurmanji , Sorani , and Southern Kurdish ( Xwarîn ). The majority of

1170-807: Is a cognate with Elbrus , the highest peak of the Caucasus . Zoroastrians seem to identify the range with the dwelling place of the Peshyotan , and the Zoroastrian Ilm-e-Kshnoom sect identifies Mount Damavand as the home of the Saheb-e-Dilan ('Masters of the Heart'). In his epic Shahnameh , the poet Ferdowsi speaks of the mountains "as though they lay in India ." This could reflect older usage, for numerous high peaks were given

1248-610: Is an official language in Iraq. In Syria, on the other hand, publishing materials in Kurdish is forbidden, though this prohibition is not enforced any more due to the Syrian civil war . Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish, prohibiting the language in education and broadcast media. In March 2006, Turkey allowed private television channels to begin airing programming in Kurdish. However,

1326-622: Is classified as part of the Zaza–Gorani branch of Indo-Iranian languages. The Zaza language , spoken mainly in Turkey, differs both grammatically and in vocabulary and is generally not understandable by Gorani speakers but it is considered related to Gorani. Almost all Zaza-speaking communities, as well as speakers of the closely related Shabaki dialect spoken in parts of Iraqi Kurdistan , identify themselves as ethnic Kurds. Geoffrey Haig and Ergin Öpengin in their recent study suggest grouping

1404-521: Is considered a national epic second only to Mem û Zîn by Ahmad Khani . The first literary account of Dimdim battle was written by Faqi Tayran . Kurds took advantage of the Afghan invasion of the Safavid realm in the early 18th century, and conquered Hamadan and penetrated to the area near Isfahan . Nader Shah sought to suppress a Kurdish rebellion in 1747, but he was assassinated before completing

1482-638: Is lush and forested. The natural vegetation of this region grows in distinct zones: The wild cypress is the dominant form of vegetation in some valleys, while olive trees grow in the western valleys of the Central Alborz near the Sefidrud . The bezoar ibex , Blanford's fox , Rüppell's fox , red fox , Persian fallow deer , wild boar , Syrian brown bear , Persian leopard , Indian wolf , buzzard , goose , woodpecker , griffon vulture , and eagle are among important animals and birds found in

1560-458: Is not a unified language, its many dialects are interrelated and at the same time distinguishable from other Western Iranian languages . The same source classifies different Kurdish dialects as two main groups, northern and central. The average Kurmanji speaker does not find it easy to communicate with the inhabitants of Sulaymaniyah or Halabja . Some linguistic scholars assert that the term "Kurdish" has been applied extrinsically in describing

1638-459: Is not recognized in Turkey, and prior to 2013 the use of Kurdish names containing the letters X , W , and Q , which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet , was not allowed. In 2012, Kurdish-language lessons became an elective subject in public schools. Previously, Kurdish education had only been possible in private institutions. In Iran, though it is used in some local media and newspapers, it

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1716-468: Is not used in public schools. In 2005, 80 Syrian and Iranian Kurds took part in an experiment and gained scholarships to study in Kurdistan Region , Iraq, in their native tongue. In Kyrgyzstan , 96.21% of the Kurdish population speak Kurdish as their native language. In Kazakhstan, the corresponding percentage is 88.7%. Alborz The name Alborz is derived from Harā Barazaitī ,

1794-461: Is translated to simply mean Kurdish. The Mokriani variety of Sorani is widely spoken in Mokrian. Piranshahr and Mahabad are two principal cities of the Mokrian area. Zaza–Gorani languages , which are spoken by communities in the wider area who identify as ethnic Kurds, are not linguistically classified as Kurdish. Zaza-Gorani is classified as adjunct to Kurdish, although authorities differ in

1872-598: The Ayyarids (990–1117) (in Kermanshah , Dinawar , Ilam and Khanaqin ). The Ardalan state, established in the early 14th century, controlled the territories of Zardiawa ( Karadagh ), Khanaqin , Kirkuk , Kifri , and Hawraman . The capital city of the state was first in Sharazour in present-day Iraqi Kurdistan , but was later moved to Sinne ( Sanandaj ) (in present-day Iran). The Ardalan Dynasty continued to rule

1950-533: The Department of Paleolithic of the National Museum of Iran and ICHTO of Gilan . The presence of large numbers of cave bear and brown bear remains and sparse stone artifacts at the site indicates that Darband primarily represents a bear den. The co-occurrence of artifacts and bear bones does not imply human predation or scavenging. Because there are no clear cut marks, except a few burning signs on

2028-707: The Iranian plate and their final collision, the Iranian plate was pressed from both sides. The collisions finally caused the folding of the Upper Paleozoic, Mesozoic , and Paleogene rocks and the Cenozoic (chiefly the Eocene ) volcanism , to form the Alborz Mountains, primarily during the Miocene . The Alpine orogeny began, therefore, with Eocene volcanism in southwestern and south-central parts of

2106-550: The Khwarazmid king, who were sent from Hamadan. According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam , the Safavid family came from Iranian Kurdistan, and later moved to Azarbaijan . They finally settled in the 11th century C.E. at Ardabil . During Safavid rule, the government tried to extend its control over Kurdish-inhabited areas in western Iran. At that time, there were a number of semi-independent Kurdish emirates such as

2184-621: The Pahlavi dynasty in line with a series of anti-revolutionary revolts across the country. In early 1979 armed conflict broke out between armed Kurdish factions and the Iranian revolutionary government's security forces. The Kurdish forces included primarily the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) and the leftist Komalah (Revolutionary Organization of Kurdish Toilers). In a speech in December 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini called

2262-528: The Safavid Empire. The battle took place around a fortress called Dimdim located in Beradost region around Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran. In 1609, the ruined structure was rebuilt by Emîr Xan Lepzêrîn ("Golden Hand Khan"), ruler of Beradost, who sought to maintain the independence of his expanding principality in the face of both Ottoman and Safavid penetration into the region. Rebuilding Dimdim

2340-645: The Talish Mountains , is mainly made up of Upper Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary deposits, with a strip of Paleozoic rocks and a band of Triassic and Jurassic rocks in the southern parts, both in a northwest–southeast direction. As the Tethys Sea was closed and the Arabian plate collided with the Iranian plate , and was pushed against it, and with the clockwise movement of the Eurasian plate towards

2418-476: The Alborz Mountains. The extinct Caspian tiger also lived in the Alborz Mountains. Archaeological evidence from Alborz indicates that early human groups were present in the region since at least late Lower Paleolithic . The Darband Cave located at the Gilan Province contains evidence for late Lower Paleolithic . Stone artifacts and animal fossils were discovered by a group of archaeologists of

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2496-533: The Alborz, and continued with the uplift and folding of the older sedimentary rocks in the northwestern, central and eastern parts of the range, during the most important orogenic phases, which date from the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. While the southern slopes of the Alborz Mountains are usually semiarid or arid, with irregular and low precipitation, the northern slopes of the range are usually humid, especially in

2574-549: The Central Alborz Range is formed mainly of Triassic and Jurassic rocks, while the northwestern section of the range is mainly composed of Jurassic rocks. Very thick beds of Tertiary (mostly Eocene ) green volcanic tuffs and lavas are found mainly in the southwestern and south-central parts of the range. The far northwestern part of the Alborz, that constitutes the Western Alborz Range or

2652-566: The Eastern Alborz Range, the far eastern section is formed by Mesozoic (chiefly Triassic and Jurassic) rocks, while the western part of the Eastern Alborz Range is made primarily of Paleozoic rocks. Precambrian rocks can be found chiefly south of the city of Gorgan situated in the southeast of the Caspian Sea and, in much smaller amounts, in the central and western parts of the Central Alborz Range. The central part of

2730-537: The Kurdish languages into Northern Kurdish, Central Kurdish, Southern Kurdish, Zaza , and Gorani, and avoid the subgrouping Zaza–Gorani. The notable professor Zare Yusupova has carried out a lot of work and research into the Gorani dialect (as well as many other minority/ancient Kurdish dialects). During his stay in Damascus , historian Ibn Wahshiyya came across two books on agriculture written in Kurdish, one on

2808-432: The Kurds of Amadiya . This work is very important in Kurdish history as it is the first acknowledgment of the widespread use of a distinctive Kurdish language. Garzoni was given the title Father of Kurdology by later scholars. The Kurdish language was banned in a large portion of Kurdistan for some time. After the 1980 Turkish coup d'état until 1991 the use of the Kurdish language was illegal in Turkey. Today, Sorani

2886-747: The Kurds speak Kurmanji, and most Kurdish texts are written in Kurmanji and Sorani. Kurmanji is written in the Hawar alphabet , a derivation of the Latin script , and Sorani is written in the Sorani alphabet , a derivation of the Arabic script . A separate group of non-Kurdish Northwestern Iranian languages, the Zaza–Gorani languages , are also spoken by several million ethnic Kurds. The classification of Laki as

2964-548: The Mukriyan ( Mahabad ), Ardalan (Sinne), and Shikak tribes around Lake Urmiye and northwest Iran. Kurds resisted this policy and tried to keep some form of self-rule. This led to a series of bloody confrontations between the Safavids and the Kurds. The Kurds were finally defeated, and as a result the Safavids decided to punish rebellious Kurds by forced relocation and deportation in the 15-16th century. This policy began under

3042-428: The Turkish government said that they must avoid showing children's cartoons , or educational programs that teach Kurdish, and could broadcast only for 45 minutes a day or four hours a week. The state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) started its 24-hour Kurdish television station on 1 January 2009 with the motto "we live under the same sky". The Turkish prime minister sent a video message in Kurdish to

3120-453: The approximate borders of the areas where the main ethnic core of the speakers of the contemporary Kurdish dialects was formed. The most argued hypothesis on the localisation of the ethnic territory of the Kurds remains D.N. Mackenzie 's theory, proposed in the early 1960s (Mackenzie 1961). Developing the ideas of P. Tedesco (1921: 255) and regarding the common phonetic isoglosses shared by Kurdish, Persian, and Baluchi , Mackenzie concluded that

3198-570: The area. Although, there is a new rise of Kurdish identity movement in the southern parts of Iranian Kurdistan, which has risen up from the first decade of 21st century that shows itself in the way of formation of an armed group called the Partisans of Southern Kurdistan and some other organizations specially about Yarsani people of that parts of Kurdistan. On December 2, 1996, the death of a prominent Sunni clergyman, Mulla Mohammed Rabiei, in Kermanshah led to violent clashes between Sunni Kurds and

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3276-535: The bear bones, they probably accumulated through natural processes. During Middle Paleolithic period, Neanderthals were most probably were present in the region as their fossil have been found at northwest of Alborz, in the Azykh Cave . Their stone tools found in the Buzeir Cave and Kiaram cave and number of other surveyed sites. Evidence for Modern human comes from a river side site called Garm Roud in

3354-532: The book Alam Aray-e Abbasi ) and resettled the Turkish Afshar tribe in the region while deporting many Kurdish tribes to Khorasan . Although Persian historians (like Eskandar Beg) depicted the first battle of Dimdim as a result of Kurdish mutiny or treason, in Kurdish oral traditions ( Beytî dimdim ), literary works (Dzhalilov, pp. 67–72), and histories, it was treated as a struggle of the Kurdish people against foreign domination. In fact, Beytî dimdim

3432-666: The central government to defeat the separatists and return Kurdistan to Iran. Kurdish political organizations were enthusiastic supporters of the revolution against the Shah , which brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power in February 1979. The Shah had shown himself to be no friend of Kurdish aspirations for greater autonomy and a loosening of Tehran's control over their affairs. The Kurds, with their different language and traditions and their cross-border alliances, were seen as vulnerable to exploitation by foreign powers who wished to destabilize

3510-558: The chaotic situation in the aftermath of World War I and rebelled against the Iranian government. He was finally defeated by Reza Shah Pahlavi . The weakness of the Persian government during World War I encouraged some Kurdish chiefs to take advantage of the chaotic situation. Simko , chief of the Shikak tribe, established his authority in the area west of Lake Urmia from 1918 to 1922. Jaafar Sultan of Hewraman region took control of

3588-610: The concept of ethnic minorities contrary to Islamic doctrines. He also accused those "who do not wish Muslim countries to be united" in creating the issue of nationalism among minorities. His views were shared by many in the clerical leadership. David McDowall has argued that since the 1990s Kurdish nationalism has seeped into the Shia Kurdish area partly due to outrage against government's violent suppression of Kurds farther north, but David Romano reject such claims noting that there's no evidence of an active guerrilla insurgency in

3666-520: The culture of the vine and the palm tree, and the other on water and the means of finding it out in unknown ground. He translated both from Kurdish into Arabic in the early 9th century AD. Among the earliest Kurdish religious texts is the Yazidi Black Book , the sacred book of Yazidi faith. It is considered to have been authored sometime in the 13th century AD by Hassan bin Adi (b. 1195 AD),

3744-553: The details. groups Kurdish with Zaza Gorani within a "Northwestern I" group, while Glottolog based on Encyclopædia Iranica prefers an areal grouping of "Central dialects" (or "Kermanic") within Northwest Iranic, with Kurdish but not Zaza-Gorani grouped with "Kermanic". Gorani is distinct from Northern and Central Kurdish, yet shares vocabulary with both of them and there are some grammatical similarities with Central Kurdish. The Hawrami dialects of Gorani includes

3822-592: The elections, Kurdish rebel groups - specifically the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan or PJAK - have taken up arms against the state. In November 2009, Iran executed Ehsan Fattahian - the first of over a dozen political prisoners on death row - despite an international campaign calling for his release. Authorities accused Fattahian of carrying arms for an "illegal organization" and sentenced him to several years in prison. Fattahian never confessed to carrying arms and

3900-497: The executions as "a blatant attempt to intimidate members of the Kurdish minority." Despite repeated international calls demanding the release or retrial of these four political prisoners, all were executed without any prior notice or warning. Following the executions, Iranian authorities refused to return the bodies of those executed to their families. As of May 2010, there were at least 16 other Kurdish political prisoners on death row. Not one case has been reported as having received

3978-516: The expedition. After Nadir's death, Kurdish tribes exploited the power vacuum and captured parts of Fars . In 1880, Shaykh Ubaydullah, a Kurdish leader, engaged in a series of revolts against the Iranian government. These revolts were successfully suppressed by the Qajar kings, and this was one of Iran's few victories during the Qajar period. In the early 20th century, Ismail Agha Simko took advantage of

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4056-564: The fact that this usage reflects the sense of ethnic identity and unity among the Kurds. From a linguistic or at least a grammatical point of view, however, Kurmanji and Sorani differ as much from each other as English and German, and it would seem appropriate to refer to them as languages. For example, Sorani has neither gender nor case-endings, whereas Kurmanji has both.... Differences in vocabulary and pronunciation are not as great as between German and English, but they are still considerable. According to Encyclopaedia of Islam , although Kurdish

4134-493: The fifteenth century. From the 15th to 17th centuries, classical Kurdish poets and writers developed a literary language. The most notable classical Kurdish poets from this period were Ali Hariri , Ahmad Khani , Malaye Jaziri and Faqi Tayran . The Italian priest Maurizio Garzoni published the first Kurdish grammar titled Grammatica e Vocabolario della Lingua Kurda in Rome in 1787 after eighteen years of missionary work among

4212-559: The glory of Kurdish culture and history. From the Kurdish side, the demands were mainly related to the Kurdish language and top-level officials. In his first term, Khatami appointed Abdollah Ramezanzadeh to be the first Kurdish governor of the Iranian province of Kurdistan. He also appointed several Sunni and Shia Kurds as his own or cabinet members' advisors. In his second term, Khatami had two Kurdish cabinet members; both of them were Shia. The increased presence of Kurdish representatives in

4290-417: The government and in support of Abdullah Öcalan . This was viewed as "trans-nationalization" of the Kurdish movement. These protests were violently suppressed by the government forces. According to human rights groups, at least 20 people were killed. Despite the fact that more than one million Sunnis live in Tehran , many of them Kurds, no Sunni mosque exists to serve their religious needs. On July 9, 2005,

4368-443: The government's failure to observe international human rights standards - to their Kurdish identity they risk further violations of their rights." At the beginning of the 21st century, a number of Kurdish activists, writers, and teachers have been arrested for their work and were sentenced to death. The increase is likely due to the government's crackdown following the nationwide protests after Iran's presidential elections. Even before

4446-524: The great-grandnephew of Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir (d. 1162), the founder of the faith. It contains the Yazidi account of the creation of the world, the origin of man, the story of Adam and Eve and the major prohibitions of the faith. According to The Cambridge History of the Kurds , "the first proper 'text'" written in Kurdish is a short Christian prayer. It was written in Armenian characters, and dates from

4524-490: The language the Kurds speak, whereas some ethnic Kurds have used the word term to simply describe their ethnicity and refer to their language as Kurmanji , Sorani , Hewrami , Kermanshahi , Kalhori or whatever other dialect or language they speak. Some historians have noted that it is only recently that the Kurds who speak the Sorani dialect have begun referring to their language as Kurdî , in addition to their identity, which

4602-576: The last census conducted in 2006, the four main Kurdish-inhabited provinces in Iran – West Azerbaijan, Kermanshah Province, Kurdistan Province and Ilam Province – had a total population of 6,730,000. Kurds generally consider northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan) to be one of the four parts of a Greater Kurdistan , which under that conception are joined by parts of southeastern Turkey ( Northern Kurdistan ), northern Syria ( Western Kurdistan ), and northern Iraq ( Southern Kurdistan ). Outside

4680-418: The leadership of Qazi Muhammad . Since the minuscule entity extended no further than the small cities of Mahabad , Bukan , Piranshahr , and Oshnaviyeh in Iran, not even all of Iranian Kurdistan supported the experiment, let alone the Kurds in other states. The Republic of Mahabad , as it is often called, lasted less than a year, as the end of the war and the withdrawal of the occupying Soviet forces allowed

4758-649: The name, and some even reflect it to this day, including Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains and Mount Elbariz (Albariz, Jebal Barez ) in the Kerman area above the Strait of Hormuz . All these names reflect the same Iranian language compound, and have been speculatively identified, at one time or another, as the legendary mountain Hara Berezaiti of the Avesta . The Alborz mountain range forms

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4836-581: The north-west Iranian group". Ludwig Paul concludes that Kurdish seems to be a Northwestern Iranian language in origin, but acknowledges that it shares many traits with Southwestern Iranian languages like Persian , apparently due to longstanding and intense historical contacts. Windfuhr identified Kurdish dialects as Parthian , albeit with a Median substratum. Windfuhr and Frye assume an eastern origin for Kurdish and consider it as related to eastern and central Iranian dialects. The present state of knowledge about Kurdish allows, at least roughly, drawing

4914-665: The opening ceremony, which was attended by Minister of Culture and other state officials. The channel uses the X , W , and Q letters during broadcasting. However, most of these restrictions on private Kurdish television channels were relaxed in September 2009. In 2010, Kurdish municipalities in the southeast began printing marriage certificates , water bills, construction and road signs , as well as emergency, social and cultural notices in Kurdish alongside Turkish. Also Imams began to deliver Friday sermons in Kurdish and Esnaf price tags in Kurdish. Many mayors were tried for issuing public documents in Kurdish language. The Kurdish alphabet

4992-441: The other languages spoken by Kurds in the region including the Gorani language in parts of Iranian Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan. Philip G. Kreyenbroek , an expert writing in 1992, says: Since 1932 most Kurds have used the Roman script to write Kurmanji.... Sorani is normally written in an adapted form of the Arabic script.... Reasons for describing Kurmanji and Sorani as 'dialects' of one language are their common origin and

5070-433: The region between Marivan and north of Halabja and remained independent until 1925. In 1922, Reza Khan (who later became the first Pahlavi monarch), took action against Kurdish leaders. Simko was forced to abandon his region in the fall of 1922, and spent eight years in hiding. When the Iranian government persuaded him to submit, he was ambushed and killed around Ushno ( Oshnavieh ) in 1930. After this, Reza Shah pursued

5148-435: The region until the Qajar monarch Nasser-al-Din Shah (1848–1896) ended their rule in 1867. In the 12th century CE, Sultan Sanjar created a province called "Kurdistan" centered at Bahar , located to the northeast of Hamadan . This province included Hamadan, Dinawar, Kermanshah, Sanandaj and Sharazur. It was ruled by Sulayman, the nephew of Sanjar. In 1217, Kurds of Zagros defeated the troops of Ala ad-Din Muhammad II ,

5226-449: The reign of the Safavid King Tahmasp I (r. 1514–1576). Between 1534 and 1535, Tahmasp I began the systematic destruction of the old Kurdish cities and the countryside. Large numbers of Kurds from these areas found themselves deported to the Alborz mountains and Khorasan (Khurasan), as well as the heights in the central Iranian Plateau . At this time the last remnant of the ancient royal Hadhabâni ( Adiabene ) tribe of central Kurdistan

5304-410: The security forces. Mulla Rabiei was the prayer leader in the Al-Shafe'i mosque in Kermanshah. The protests continued for three days and spread to neighboring towns in the region. In 1997, Sunni Kurds like many other Iranians took part in the presidential election. Both civilian and military Kurdish opposition groups requested Kurds "not to be indifferent" toward the election. President Khatami praised

5382-446: The sixth parliament led to expectations that some of the voters' demands would be met. After the first round, in which 18 Kurds were elected, one candidate said that he expected there would be more Kurdish instruction at the university in Sanandaj, and he called on the Khatami government to have more Kurdish officials. Subsequently, a 40-member parliamentary faction representing the predominantly Kurdish provinces of Kurdistan and Kermanshah

5460-407: The speakers of these three languages may once have been in closer contact. Kurdish varieties are divided into three or four groups, with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility. In historical evolution terms, Kurmanji is less modified than Sorani and Pehlewani in both phonetic and morphological structure. The Sorani group has been influenced by among other things its closer cultural proximity to

5538-427: The traditional Kurdistan region, a sizable isolated community of Kurds live in north-eastern Iran, about 1000 km away from Iranian Kurdistan. They are referred to as the Kurds of Khorasan and speak the Kurmanji dialect unlike Kurds in western Iran. Ancient Medieval Modern From the 10th century to 12th century A.D., two Kurdish dynasties were ruling this region, the Hasanwayhids (959–1015) and

5616-532: The two official languages of Iraq and is in political documents simply referred to as "Kurdish". The Kurdish varieties belong to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family . They are generally classified as Northwestern Iranian languages, or by some scholars as intermediate between Northwestern and Southwestern Iranian. Martin van Bruinessen notes that "Kurdish has a strong South-Western Iranian element", whereas "Zaza and Gurani [...] do belong to

5694-572: The western parts of the Central Alborz. The Alborz is the easternmost extent of many European plant species. In the southern slopes or the Elburz Range forest steppe ecoregion , the higher elevations are arid with few trees. Juniper is the most common tree in inaccessible areas and at high elevation, while common shrubs are pistachio , maple , and almond . But in the northern slopes, the Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests ecoregion

5772-400: The young republic. The crisis deepened after Kurds were denied seats in the "Assembly of Experts" gathering in 1979, which were responsible for writing the new constitution . Ayatollah Khomeini prevented Dr. Ghassemlou , the elected representative of the region, from participating in the assembly of experts' first meeting. The wave of nationalism engulfed eastern Kurdistan after the fall of

5850-483: Was considered a move toward independence that could threaten Safavid power in the northwest. Many Kurds, including the rulers of Mukriyan ( Mahabad ), rallied around Amir Khan. After a long and bloody siege led by the Safavid grand vizier Hatem Beg, which lasted from November 1609 to the summer of 1610, Dimdim was captured. All the defenders were massacred. Shah Abbas ordered a general massacre in Beradost and Mukriyan (reported by Eskandar Beg Turkoman, Safavid historian, in

5928-409: Was formed. However, there were many other civilian Kurdish activists who did not join the reform movement. Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand was among the latter who started an independent human rights association to defend the rights of the Kurdish people. In February 1999, Kurdish nationalists took to the streets in several cities such as Mahabad , Sanandaj and Urmia and staged mass protests against

6006-472: Was not given a fair trial, nor was he permitted access to his lawyer, and the Komala - the illegal organization he was accused of associating with - claimed that he had left the group a long time ago. Fattahian attempted to appeal, and when he did so, he was sentenced to death for "enmity against God". His execution was condemned by human rights groups and activists internationally. In January 2010, Iran executed

6084-440: Was removed from the heartland of Kurdistan and deported to Khorasan, where they are still found today. The Safavid era played a substantial role in the integration of Iranian Kurdistan into the political structure of Iran. The Kurdish local elites were strongly aware of their affiliation with Iran, which helped shape Iran's western border. There is a well documented historical account of a long battle in 1609–1610 between Kurds and

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