RELATIONS OF KURDS WITH ARMENIANS (951-1150)

Abstract

Kurds and Armenians are local peoples of the Middle East. Historically, Armenians lived in the Caucasus and Anatolia, and the Kurds in Upper Mesopotamia and southwest of Iran. Although the places where Kurds and Armenians lived were close to each other, the question of when, where and how the relations between the two communities began has not been answered so far because there is not enough scientific research on this subject. Armenian historians were interested in Armenian-Kurdish relations in the early 19th century and conducted some research. Although some researchers, including N. J. Marr, found the Kurds to be closer to Georgians and Armenians than the Caucasian peoples, this idea was not generally accepted. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Kurdish intellectuals have claimed that the two communities have the same religion, the same lineage, and the same culture, without any cohesive research. However, there is very little information in the Armenian chronicles about the partnership of the two communities. Modern Armenian historians, however, do not consider these assumptions of the Kurds reliable. In this article, an answer was sought to the question of when, where, and how the relations of Kurds with Armenians began in the Middle Ages. Since there are no Kurdish works in our research that describe the early periods of the Kurds; Armenian chronicles, Islamic history sources and the works of modern researchers were used. According to the information given in Armenian chronicles and Islamic sources, Kurdish-Armenian relations seem to have started in the 10th century. This was disclosed through primary sources.