Seven years have passed since I wrote the first edition of this Historical Dictionary of the Kurds. For this second edition I have reviewed every entry, expanded many of them, and added a number of new ones. I also dropped a few entries that seemed no longer relevant. In addition, I have updated the historical narrative and expanded the bibliography to reflect the tremendous explosion in material published on the Kurds.
This new edition contains mainly historical and political entries, with an emphasis on topics closer to the present day. Nevertheless, I have sought to include the most important earlier names and events, too. In addition, I have included a number of entries on important cultural, economic, and social topics, among others. As an aid to readers, many of the entries have extensive cross-references in boldface type or a See also at the end. Yet, inevitably, there is a certain amount of subjectivity when choosing topics for entries. Furthermore, I am sure that I have simply neglected to provide entries on topics that deserved to be included. Therefore, I welcome suggestions from readers for additional entries in any future edition....
Contents
Editor’s Foreword Jon Woronoff / ix Maps / xi Preface / xv Acronyms and Abbreviations / xix Chronology / xxiii
Introduction 1 THE DICTIONARY / 27 Bibliography / 315 About the Author / 409
Preface
Seven years have passed since I wrote the first edition of this Historical Dictionary of the Kurds. For this second edition I have reviewed every entry, expanded many of them, and added a number of new ones. I also dropped a few entries that seemed no longer relevant. In addition, I have updated the historical narrative and expanded the bibliography to reflect the tremendous explosion in material published on the Kurds. This new edition contains mainly historical and political entries, with an emphasis on topics closer to the present day. Nevertheless, I have sought to include the most important earlier names and events, too. In addition, I have included a number of entries on important cultural, economic, and social topics, among others. As an aid to readers, many of the entries have extensive cross-references in boldface type or a See also at the end. Yet, inevitably, there is a certain amount of subjectivity when choosing topics for entries. Furthermore, I am sure that I have simply neglected to provide entries on topics that deserved to be included. Therefore, I welcome suggestions from readers for additional entries in any future edition.
In writing a dictionary on the Kurds in the English language, I have attempted to simplify the transliteration of names and terms as much as possible. Given the rich variety of spellings among Western scholars and the linguistic differences among the Kurds themselves, it was not possible to be completely consistent in my transliterations. Rather, I have used spellings that are most comfortable to me, an Englishspeaking reader and writer. Although the purist might object, the result should be that readers will be easily able to identify quickly what they are reading about.
In some cases, Kurds and those who write about them most commonly use the Kurdish term, while in others they use the English. To compound the inconsistency, Kurdish acronyms are sometimes commonly employed with full English terms. The Kurdistan Workers Party, commonly known by its Kurdish acronym, PKK, is a good example. By contrast, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are usually known by both their English full names and their English acronyms. Therefore, by seeking to use the terms that seem to me most common, I have not been consistent in regard to language. Nevertheless, the result is that I have used terms that readers should most easily recognize. In most entries, I have sought to use both full Kurdish and English names upon first mention.
Another problem of consistency involves the birth and death years in some of the entries on persons. Because of the unsettled conditions usually prevailing in Kurdistan, even today, many Kurds simply do not know when they were born. Therefore, I have not been able to list dates for all my person entries. This problem becomes even greater for historical figures. Nevertheless, I have been able to establish the dates for a number of persons and have entered them when I could. The result is an obvious inconsistency in my entries, although they have the merit of giving as much information as they can. In a few cases I have listed slightly different dates in this edition from the first edition based on new data I have gathered. Again I would welcome comments from my readers, some of whom may undoubtedly help fill in a few of the numerous gaps here.
In writing this historical dictionary, I have always sought to be as objective as possible without being egregiously politically correct. Therefore, I have offered many criticisms both overt and implied of the states in which the Kurds live as well as of the Kurds themselves. To do otherwise would have overly sanitized and missed much of the essence of the subject with which I am dealing. In addition, of course I am writing on a subject about which many facts are inherently very much in disagreement, emotional, and/or subjective. As a Westerner and an American, my relative objectivity is hopefully an advantage that will make up for some of the lapses in understanding I inevitably suffer from in not being a Kurd.
I have learned a great deal from my friendships and acquaintances with other scholars who have written about the Kurds, as well as many Kurdish leaders, some of whom I best not mention here. The scholarly writings of Martin van Bruinessen, David McDowall, and Wadie Jwaideh have been especially informative. Among many other scholars and practitioners I also would like to mention in no particular order Mohammed M. A. Ahmed, Hamit Bozarslan, Amir Hassanpour, Mehrdad Izady, Lokman I. Meho, Robert Olson, Gareth R. V. Stansfield, and Hakan Yazuz, among others, who have helped me understand the subject better. Special thanks are also due to Mehrdad Izady for the detailed maps he provided for this historical dictionary and to Lokman I. Meho for the help he gave me with the bibliography while also suggesting several entries. I also would like to mention my friends Kariane Westrheim, Hans Branscheidt, and Kerim Yildiz, whom I have come to know well as fellow members of the board of directors of the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC). I, of course, am entirely to blame for any misunderstandings, misinterpretations, or sheer errors that inevitably have crept into my book. All the more, therefore, I would welcome comments from my readers so that I can make necessary corrections in any future edition. My e-mail address is mgunter@tntech.edu.
