Barzani (tribe)
The Barzani tribe is one of the Kurdish tribes in Iraq.[1] Notable members from the family are Masoud Barzani, Nechervan Barzani, Masrour Barzani, Adham Barzani and Idris Barzani.
The sheikhs of Barzan are descendants of Bahdinan and of Yazidi origin (Sheikh caste) but have converted to Islam. Their grandfather, Massoud, moved to the village of Nafneka, near Barzan, where he settled and married. His son Sa’id stayed on. His grandson, Taj al-Din, a talented religious scholar—who led the clan into joining the sufi Naqshbandi tariqa in the 19th century—was one of the main Sufi orders of the dominant Shafi'i branch of Islam in the region.[2]
The tribe received the formal support of several mountain tribes (the Dolmari, Muzuri, Sherwani, Baroji, Gerdi, Herki Bneji and Nizari)[2] and attracted a great number of followers, and eventually founded his own tekkeyeh of Barzan. His son, Sheikh Abdul Rahman, inherited the sheikhdom, and passed it on to his son Sheikh Abdullah, who was known for his asceticism and piety. Sheikh Abdullah sent his son Sheikh Abdul Salam to the Nahriya Seminary to be taught by the eminent Sheikh Taha Nahri. After the death of his father, Sheikh Abdul Salam ran the Barzan Tekkeyeh and the number of his followers grew immensely. He founded a seminary in Barzan, which became famous throughout the region. After him, his son Mohammad administered the Barzan Tekkeyeh. The Tekkeyeh became an asylum for the oppressed and the aggrieved of the tribes adjacent to Barzan. He died in 1903. He was survived by five sons: Sheikh Abdul Salam, Sheikh Ahmed (Khudan), Mohammed Siddique, Babo Barzani, and Mustafa Barzani.
Persecution by the Iraqi Government
On the 10 June 1932 the Iraqi Army approached the Barzani to avenge their forgoing uprising. Some 400 families left their possessions and fled. Women and children went to Turkey and about 250 men stayed to defend their homeland. Between 1932 and 1934 the Iraqi Army together with the Royal Air Force attacked and destroyed 79 villages in the Barzan area. 2382 families had to flee the area. On the 11 November 1945 the Royal Air Force bombed and destroyed 35 villages. More than 15.000 civilians fled to Iran. On the 10 April 1947 the Irani Army attacked the Barzani with tanks and artillery and about 5000 men, women and children fled back to Iraqi Kurdistan, where they were imprisoned and held captive between 2 and 12 years.[3]
See also
- Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic, a dialect spoken by Kurdish Jews
- Barzani (surname)
References
- ^ Farkas, E. (2003). Fractured States and U.S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, Ethiopia, and Bosnia in the 1990s. Springer. ISBN 9781403982438.
- ^ a b Government of Kurdistan Cabinet: "Profile of Masoud Barzani, a life in the service of Kurdistan" 27 September 2012
- ^ Ihsan, Mohammed (June 17, 2016). Nation Building in Kurdistan: Memory, Genocide and Human Rights. Routledge. p. 67. ISBN 9781317090168.
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| Historical tribes | |
