!['Kurdistan and the Kurds' [‎15r] (29/122)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000239.0x00013c/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_22_0029.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Kurdistan and the Kurds' [‎15r] (29/122)")
'Kurdistan and the Kurds' [15r] (29/122)
The record is made up of 1 file (59 folios). It was created in 1919?. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
27
these two tribes and Urfah, the Badelli and Dukurlu Kurds ; and, lastly,
the Barazi and Ketkan Kurds, near Seruj, between Birijik and Urfah.
The Milli, who are the strongest and the-most numerous of all the Kurdish
people, play a predominant part among these tribes, although their claim
to exercise a hegemony over them is vigorously disputed and is rarely
successful.
The Milli,+ who are both herdsmen and cultivators, spend January
till April on the lower slopes of the Qarajah Dagh ; in the month of April
they descend to the plains that lie round Ras-el-‘Ain, at the foot of the
southern slopes of that range, where they feed their herds on the rich
spring pasture, as far as the Jebel ‘Abd-el-‘Aziz; from the middle of June
till September they are found trekking northwards in the direction of
Diarbekr, while from October to December they move slowly back to their
quarters on the Qarajah Dagh ; their easternmost limit would seem to be
the village of Derek.
There are at least 28 sub-tribes, both Arabs and Kurds, in the con
federation at the Milli Kurds, of whom twelve can be considered important;
these are the sub-tribes of ‘Adwan, Baqqarah, Buhaimah, Burguhan,
Chuvan, Kezhan, Khalejan, Kumnakshan, Kuran, Seidan, Sharkian,§ and
Terkan. The majority of the tribes are Kurds and speak Kurdish, though
a few are of Yezidi or Arab origin. In the following table, which has
been taken from statistics compiled in April, 1919, the name of the aghd,
the approximate number of families, the number of mounted men, and of
rifles in their possession, as far as is known, are given.
Sub-tribe.
Sheikh.
Families.
Mount
ed men.
Rifles.
Origin.
1. ‘Adwan x ...
Mahmud ibn Haiti ...
400-500
400
400-500
Arabs.
2. Aresha
Govri Mehmed Agha ..
150
75
150
Kurds.
8. Baqqarah...
Husein Khalil Aghat..
800
150
800
Arabs.
Gharajuah
orCharajuah
(a sub-division
of the Baq
qarah)
Khalil Agha
150
200
Arabs.
I According to local tradition, the Milli Kurds came originally from Arabia and
settled in the district of Dersim; when the.Sultan Selim conquered western Kurdistan,
those who wished to live sedentary lives were ordered to build houses and settle down
in the Dersim; the rest were bidden to go southwards, amongst whom was the family
of which Mahmud is the present head.—(Sykes).
§ Or Shargien.
* The bodyguard of the paramount chief, Mahmud, and his brothers are called the
‘Abrah; they are mainly recruited from the tribes of ‘Adwan and Sharjian.
t Assad-ul-Bashir, according to another account.
About this item
- Content
The file consists of a publication concerning Kurdistan and the Kurds. Produced and published by the General Staff, India, and printed in Mount Carmel, Palestine. It provides an edited collection of information based on the reports of military and political officers Captain C F Woolley, and Major Edward Noel (dated c 1919), and a paper written by Sir Mark Sykes in 1908.
It is divided into the following sections:
- Kurdistan and the Kurds - including boundaries, topography, and its inhabitants;
- the Kurdish tribes - including their locality, rough numbers, character, prominent families, and allegiances;
- Kurdish tribes outside Kurdistan - between Erzingan [Erzincan] and Sivas and in the neighbourhood of Marash [Kahramanmaraş], in Anatolia Peninsula that forms most of modern-day Turkey. , and in Syria;
- the Kurdish Movement for independence - history, origins, and causes;
- additions and corrections.
Also includes one map on folio 61: 'KURDISTAN AND THE KURDISH TRIBES'.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (59 folios)
- Arrangement
The file consists of a single publication. A contents page is at the front of the volume (f 2).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio, with 61, which is a folded map attached to the outside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'Kurdistan and the Kurds' [15r] (29/122), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/22, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100035251755.0x00001e> [accessed 20 July 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100035251755.0x00001e
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100035251755.0x00001e">'Kurdistan and the Kurds' [‎15r] (29/122)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100035251755.0x00001e"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000239.0x00013c/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_22_0029.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000239.0x00013c/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/22
- Title
- 'Kurdistan and the Kurds'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:19r, 21v:60v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence