The Barzani tribe ( ku, Eşîra Barzanî) is a term for both the
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
Barzani
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
and for the confederation of various neighboring tribes inhabiting
Barzan in
Kurdistan Region
Kurdistan Region ( ku, هەرێمی کوردستان, translit=Herêmî Kurdistan; ar, إقليم كردستان), abbr. KRI, is an autonomous region in Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok ...
of
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. The Barzanis are mostly
Naqshbandi and one of the most influential tribes in
Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages ...
. Barzanis were originally
Yezidis
Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The maj ...
who in 19th century converted to the
Sufi or
mystical
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
form of
Sunni Islam. By late 19th century, the Barzani tribe, who were led by a Barzani sheikh (hereditary local ruler), had established a local
tekkeyeh and attracted support of several other Kurdish tribes. The tekkeyeh became an asylum for the aggrieved local Kurdish tribes, assisting in strengthening the authority of the Barzani
sheikhdom
A sheikhdom or sheikdom ( ar, مشيخة 'Mashyakhah'' is a geographical area or a society ruled by a tribal leader called sheikh (Arabic: ). Sheikhdoms exist exclusively within Arab countries, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula (Arab States o ...
in the region and becoming the focal point of a claim for greater regional autonomy from what was at the time the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. The tribe has many
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
members as well. Other than the Barzani tribe, the Barzani confederation consists of the Sherwani,
Muzuri, Beroji, Nizari, Dolomari,
Herki
Herki, also spelled Harki () is a large tribe in Kurdistan. The largest part of this tribe live in Iraqi Kurdistan and a significant number live in Iranian Kurdistan. They are also found in Northern Kurdistan.
Sub-tribes
The Herkis are divided in ...
bneji and Gerdi tribes. During the
Anfal campaign
The Anfal campaign; ku, شاڵاوی ئەنفال or the Kurdish genocide was a counterinsurgency operation which was carried out by Ba'athist Iraq from February to September 1988, at the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The campaign targeted rur ...
, about 8,000 members of the tribe were massacred.
Persecution by the Iraqi Government
On 10 June 1932 the
Iraqi Army approached the Barzanis to avenge their prior
uprising
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
. Some 400 families had to leave their possessions and fled. Numerous women and children of the Barzani tribe fled to Turkey meanwhile about 250 men stayed to defend their homeland. Between 1932 and 1934 the Iraqi Army together with the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
attacked and destroyed 79 villages in the Barzan area. 2382 families were displaced from area. On 11 November 1945 the Royal Air Force bombed the area again, destroying 35 villages. More than 15.000 civilians fled to Iran. On 10 April 1947, the Iranian Army launched attacks on the Barzanis with tanks and artillery which led to 5000 men, women and children fleeing and returning to Iraqi Kurdistan, where they were imprisoned and held captive for between 2 and 12 years.
In July and August 1983, by the orders of President
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
over 8,000 men and boys of the Barzani tribe, some as young as 13, were killed by the
Ba'athist Iraq.
See also
*
Barzani (surname) Barzani is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Adham Barzani (born 1962), Iraqi Kurdish politician
* Ahmed Barzani (1896–1969), head of the Barzani tribe in Northern Iraq
* Asenath Barzani (1590–1670), Jewish Iraqi writer
* ...
*
Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic
Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic is a modern Jewish Aramaic language, often called ''Neo-Aramaic'' or '' Judeo-Aramaic''. It was originally spoken in three villages near Aqrah in Iraqi Kurdistan. The native name of the language is ''Lishanid Janan'', ...
*
Anfal genocide
The Anfal campaign; ku, شاڵاوی ئەنفال or the Kurdish genocide was a counterinsurgency operation which was carried out by Ba'athist Iraq from February to September 1988, at the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The campaign targeted ru ...
*
Asenath Barzani
Asenath Barzani (, 1590–1670), was a Kurdish Jewish female rabbinical scholar and poet who lived near Duhok, Kurdistan.
Biography
Family background
Asenath was born into the Barzani family, a well-known Jewish family in northern Kurd ...
*
Moshe Barazani
Moshe Barazani, also Barzani ( he, משה ברזני; June 14, 1926 – April 21, 1947), was an Iraqi-born Kurdish Jew and a member of Lehi ("Freedom Fighters of Israel," aka the "Stern Gang") underground movement in pre-state Mandate Palestine ...
*
Rawan Barzani
Rawan Idris Barzani (born February 17, 1981) is the son of the late Kurdish leader Idris Barzani and brother of the current president of the Kurdistan region, Nechirvan Barzani. He is the commander of the First Special Forces Brigade of the Kurdi ...
References
{{Kurdish tribes
Kurdish tribes
Sufis
Jewish Kurdish history