Khorasani Kurds ( ku, کوردانی خۆراسان, fa, کردهای خراسان) are

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...

who live in the provinces of North Khorasan and Razavi Khorasan in northeastern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, along the Iran-

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

border. There are about 696 Kurdish villages in the two Khorasan provinces.

History

Deportations of Kurds from present-day

Turkish Kurdistan Turkish Kurdistan or Northern Kurdistan () refers to the southeastern part of Turkey, where Kurds form the predominant ethnic group. The Kurdish Institute of Paris estimates that there are 20 million Kurds living in Turkey, the majority of the ...

and

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

to Khorasan were initiated by

Ismail I Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...

and continued under

Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after ...

in the early 16th century. A further 45,000 Kurdish families were deported from 1598 to 1601. In the following decades, five Kurdish domains were established in Khorasan by

Abbas the Great Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son ...

stretching from

Astarabad Gorgan ( fa, گرگان ; also romanized as ''Gorgān'', ''Gurgān'', and ''Gurgan''), formerly Esterabad ( ; also romanized as ''Astarābād'', ''Asterabad'', and ''Esterābād''), is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies app ...

Chenaran Chenaran ( fa, چناران; also Romanized as Čenārān, Chanārān, Chinārān, and Cenârân) is a city and capital of Chenaran County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 41,735, in 10,179 families. Che ...

. During the reign of Nader Shah, Kurds from

Ardalan Ardalan ( ku, میرنشینی ئەردەڵان) was a hereditary Kurdish vassaldom in western Iran from around the 14th century until 1865 or 1868 with Sanandaj as capital. The territory corresponded roughly to present-day Kurdistan Province ...

and those already deported to Khorasan were settled in Gilan Province. The main reason behind the deportations was the desire to create a defense-line against Turkmen and Uzbek nomads from

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

Kurdish tribes

Kurdish tribes in Khorasan include the Amar, Baçvan, Badlan, Berivan, Bicervan, Çapeş, Davan, Hamazkan, Izan, Keyvan, Mamyan, Mastyan, Mozdegan, Palokan, Qaçkan, Qarabas, Qaraçur, Qaraman, Reşwan, Rudkan, Sevkan, Silsepuran, Şad, Şeyhkan, Şirvan, Torosan, Tukan, Tupkan, Zafaran, Zangalan, Zaraqkan, Zardkan and Zeydan who are all

Kurmanji Kurmanji ( ku, کورمانجی, lit=Kurdish, translit=Kurmancî, also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northern dialect of the Kurdish languages, spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, northern Iraq, northern Sy ...

-speaking and

Shia Muslim Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

. Other tribes include the Lak in Kalat and Darragaz who still speak

Laki Laki () or Lakagígar (, ''Craters of Laki'') is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The fissure is properly ...

Villages

The following villages are populated by Kurds:

Bojnord

References

Bibliography