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Introduction xiii two main dialects (Kurmanji and Sorani), the Kurdish language is rich in oral tradi- tions, such as songs, legends, and religious hymns, the most famous of which is the love epic Mem u Zin written by Ahmad Khani in 1692. This and other influential literary works are discussed in this volume. Although the two main dialects have many similarities, they are written in dif­fer­ent alphabets based on the country of origin. Kurds in Turkey speak Kurmanji and write with Latin letters, Kurds in Iraq mostly speak Sorani and use the Arabic/Persian alphabet to write their dialect, and the Kurds in the Trans-­Caucasus region mostly use the Cyrillic alphabet to write their Kurmanji vernacular. And recently, they have added an Armenian version. The origins of the Kurds are contested, but for many they represent an indige- nous group of upper Mesopotamia often described as the mountain ­ people in the Zagros and Taurus. Certainly, a close relation with the Iranization of the region during the reign of the Medians and Scythians starting in the ninth ­ century BCE must be noted. The name “Kurds” as a common label appeared only ­after the Islamic conquest of the area denoting ­those nomadic tribes of non-­Arab or Turkish origin. The isolated mountainous character of their homeland preserved the special fea- tures of the Kurdish ethnicity with their unique language, culture, and religions. Foreign control and outside rule ­ were enforced only in limited areas, and the Kurds lived semi-­autonomously for centuries or­ ga ­ nized in tribal clans and emirates, ­ until by the end of the 19th ­ century a national identity across the tribes and leading families emerged in response to social transformation, Ottoman pressures and growing Western influence in the ­ Middle East region. The revolt of Sheykh Ubey- dallah in 1880 was the first to demand a ­free and unified Kurdistan. This was fol- lowed by a growing movement of nationalism that saw the opening of national clubs, po­liti­cal parties, and the publication of the first Kurdish newspaper in 1898. World War I changed the po­liti­cal landscape of the ­ Middle East significantly with the dissolving of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of nation-­states. Although the Allies first assured the Kurds of their potential track ­ towards in­de­ pen­dence in the Treaty of Sevres, three years ­ later in the Treaty of Lausanne they divided the land among Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. In the de­cades to follow, Kurds in all ­those countries launched multiple rebellions against the central governments and for po­liti­cal rights, but ultimately ­ were defeated and experienced a ­ century of foreign rule, persecution, and discrimination. However, concurrently, they contin- uously pushed for cultural autonomy or po­liti­cal in­de­pen­dence ­ until the pres­ent time. During the short-­lived Republic of Mahabad in present-­day Iran, this dream became real­ity in 1946 ­ until it was shattered ­ after the Soviet Union withdrew its support and troops, and the Kurds had to learn again the harsh lesson of de­pen­ dency on foreign support. While the Kurds seem to fall into the trap repeatedly, they also did not surrender or gave up their strug­gle of Kurdistan. Masud Barzani, now president of the Kurdish Autonomous Region in Iraq, was born in Mahabad and an array of po­liti­cal parties was founded and modeled ­ after Mulla Mustafa Bar- zani’s Kurdish Demo­cratic Party (KDP). Not necessarily in agreement, and often in ideological or personal competition, ­ these Kurdish parties, such as the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), or the KDP’s branches in other countries, used their limited means to pressure the central governments