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130-543: The Kurdish population of Syria is the country's largest ethnic minority, usually estimated at around 10% of the Syrian population and 5% of the Kurdish population . The majority of Syrian Kurds are originally Turkish Kurds who have crossed the border during different events in the 20th century. There are three major centers for the Kurdish population in Syrian, the northern part of

260-493: A Kurd himself. You've bitten off more than you can chew and you have brought death to yourself. O son of a Kurd, raised in the tents of the Kurds, who gave you permission to put a crown on your head? The usage of the term Kurd during this time period most likely was a social term, designating Northwestern Iranian nomads, rather than a concrete ethnic group. Similarly, in AD 360,

390-590: A Yezidi rebellion which went on from 1506 to 1510. A century later, the year-long Battle of Dimdim took place, wherein the Safavid king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) succeeded in putting down the rebellion led by the Kurdish ruler Amir Khan Lepzerin. Thereafter, many Kurds were deported to Khorasan , not only to weaken the Kurds, but also to protect the eastern border from invading Afghan and Turkmen tribes. Other forced movements and deportations of other groups were also implemented by Abbas I and his successors, most notably of

520-517: A crumbling house or to build a new one. In 1976 the further implementation of the arabization policy along the Turkish border was officially dropped by Hafez al Assad. The achieved demographic changes were not reverted, and in 1977 a ban on non-arabic place names was issued. In March 1986, a few thousand Kurds wearing Kurdish costume gathered in the Kurdish part of Damascus to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz . Police warned them that Kurdish dress

650-518: A football match between Kurdish fans of the local team and Arab supporters of a visiting team from the city of Deir al-Zor . The international press reported that nine people were killed on 12 March. According to Amnesty International hundreds of people, mostly Kurds, were arrested after the riots. Kurdish detainees were reportedly tortured and ill-treated. Some Kurdish students were expelled from their universities, reportedly for participating in peaceful protests. The Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria

780-593: A force of 6,000 soldiers. Syrian troops crossed the Iraqi border and moved into the Kurdish town of Zakho in pursuit of Barzani's fighters Syrian policies in the 1970s led to Arabs resettling in majority Kurdish areas. In 1965, the Syrian government decided to create an Arab cordon ( Hizam Arabi ) in the Jazira region along the Turkish border. The cordon was along the Turkish-Syrian border and 10–15 kilometers wide, stretched from

910-659: A fort along the Tigris ( Akkadian : Idiqlat ), the city is first mentioned in the Fall of Assyria Chronicle as being a refuge for the Babylonian king Nabopolassar during his attack on the city of Assur in 615 BC. Tikrit is usually identified as the Hellenistic settlement Birtha . Until the 6th century, Christianity within the Sasanian Empire was predominantly dyophysite under

1040-472: A headquarter for U.S. 4th Infantry Division , U.S. 1st Infantry Division , and 42nd Infantry Division . The palace complex now serves several purposes for the Iraqi police and army, including headquarters and jails. The U.S. military subsequently moved their operations to al Sahra Airfield, later known as Camp Speicher , northwest of Tikrit. Saddam Hussein's primary palace complex contained his own palace, one built for his mother and his sons and also included

1170-574: A huge shift in the early part of the 20th century. Ottoman authorities with the cooperation of Kurdish troops (and to a lesser degree, Circassian and Chechen tribes) persecuted Armenian and Assyrian Christians in Upper Mesopotamia and were granted their victims' land as a reward. Kurds were responsible for most of the atrocities against Assyrians, and Kurdish expansion happened at the expense of Assyrians (due to factors like proximity). Kurdish as well as Circassian and Chechen tribes cooperated with

1300-407: A joint raid by special operations forces and the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment of 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division . After the fall of Baghdad , Saddam Hussein was in and around Tikrit. He was hidden by relatives and supporters for about six months. During his final period in hiding, he lived in a small hole just outside the town of ad-Dawr , 15 kilometres (9 mi) south of Tikrit on

1430-526: A leader of the Mukhabarat. Ali Hassan al Majid (1941 – 2010), an Iraqi politician and military commander who was saddam's defence minister, interior minister and chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (1914 – 1982), Iraqi politician who served as the president of Iraq, from 17 July 1968 to 16 July 1979. Tikrit is about 160 kilometers (99 mi) north of Baghdad on

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1560-521: A majority in any country, making them a stateless people . After World War I and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire , the victorious Western allies made provision for a Kurdish state in the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres . However, that treaty was not ratified. When the Treaty of Lausanne set the boundaries of modern Turkey three years later, no such provision was made, leaving Kurds with minority status in all of

1690-415: A man-made lake, all enclosed with a wall and towers. Plans for the palace grounds when originally returned to the Iraqi people included turning it into an exclusive and lush resort. However, within weeks of turning over the palace, it was ravaged, and its contents, (furniture, columns, even light switches), were stolen and sold on the streets of Tikrit. The 402nd Civil Affairs Detachment of the U.S. Army, and

1820-570: A people with a distinct language by Arab geographers such as Al-Masudi since the 10th century. Many Kurds are either bilingual or multilingual , speaking the language of their respective nation of origin, such as Arabic, Persian , and Turkish as a second language alongside their native Kurdish, while those in diaspora communities often speak three or more languages. Turkified and Arabised Kurds often speak little or no Kurdish. According to Mackenzie, there are few linguistic features that all Kurdish dialects have in common and that are not at

1950-701: A population of close to 1.5 million in Western countries, about half of them in Germany . A special case are the Kurdish populations in the Transcaucasus and Central Asia , displaced there mostly in the time of the Russian Empire , who underwent independent developments for more than a century and have developed an ethnic identity in their own right. This groups' population was estimated at close to 0.4 million in 1990. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims who adhere to

2080-491: A quarter of the population were Christians. Even though some Kurdish communities have a long history in Syria, most Syrian Kurds originate from Turkey and have immigrated during the 20th century to escape the harsh repression of the Kurds in that country. Kurds were later joined in Syria by a new large group that drifted out of Turkey throughout the interwar period during which the Turkish campaign to assimilate its Kurdish population

2210-505: A revenge attack, Kurdish tribes sided with Damascus and about 500 men from the Dakkuri, Milan, and Kiki tribes led by the Kurdish tribal leader Sa'ed Agha al-Dakkuri attacked the then predominantly Christian Amuda and burned the town. The town was destroyed and the Christian population, about 300 families, fled to the towns of Qamishli and Hasakah . Early demands for a Kurdish autonomy came from

2340-663: A small number of Christian traditions have been preserved. Several Christian prayers in Kurdish have been found from earlier centuries. In recent years some Kurds from Muslim backgrounds have converted to Christianity . Segments of the Bible were first made available in the Kurdish language in 1856 in the Kurmanji dialect. The Gospels were translated by Stepan, an Armenian employee of the American Bible Society and were published in 1857. Prominent historical Kurdish Christians include

2470-492: A very highly controversial census raising concerns among human rights groups. According to the Syrian government, the reason for this enactment was due to groups of Kurds infiltrating the Al-Hasakah Governorate in 1945. The Syrian government claims that the Kurds came from neighboring countries, especially Turkey , and crossed the Syrian border illegally. The government claims that these Kurds settled down, gradually, in

2600-517: Is Ahura Mazda . Leading characteristics, such as messianism , the Golden Rule , heaven and hell , and free will influenced other religious systems, including Second Temple Judaism , Gnosticism , Christianity , and Islam . In 2016, the first official Zoroastrian fire temple of Iraqi Kurdistan opened in Sulaymaniyah . Attendees celebrated the occasion by lighting a ritual fire and beating

2730-635: Is based on the belief of one God who created the world and entrusted it into the care of seven Holy Beings. The leader of this heptad is Tawûsê Melek , who is symbolized with a peacock . Its adherents number from 700,000 to 1 million worldwide and are indigenous to the Kurdish regions of Iraq , Syria and Turkey , with some significant, more recent communities in Russia , Georgia and Armenia established by refugees fleeing persecution by Muslims in Ottoman Empire . Yazidism shares with Kurdish Alevism and Yarsanism many similar qualities that date back to

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2860-563: Is estimated that 25,000 Kurds fled at this time to Syria. The French official reports show the existence of 45 Kurdish villages in Jazira prior to 1927. A new wave of refugees arrived in 1929. The French authorities continued to allow Kurdish migration into the Mandate, and by 1939, the villages numbered between 700 and 800. The French geographers Fevret and Gibert estimated that in 1953 out of the total 146,000 inhabitants of Jazira, agriculturalist Kurds made up 60,000 (41%), nomad Arabs 50,000 (34%), and

2990-599: Is nowadays Iran's West Azerbaijan Province , marked the start of the Ottoman-Persian Wars between the Iranian Safavids (and successive Iranian dynasties) and the Ottomans . For the next 300 years, many of the Kurds found themselves living in territories that frequently changed hands between Ottoman Turkey and Iran during the protracted series of Ottoman-Persian Wars. The Safavid king Ismail I (r. 1501–1524) put down

3120-566: Is relatively small in comparison to the Kurdish populations in nearby countries, such as Turkey , Iran , and Iraq . The majority of Syrian Kurds speak Kurmanji , a Kurdish dialect spoken in Turkey and northeastern Iraq and Iran. It is estimated that at the beginning of the 20th century around 12,000 Kurds lived in Damascus ; an unknown number of Kurds lived in the Kurd-Dagh region; 16,000 Kurds lived in

3250-451: Is said to have encountered Mar Abdisho , a deacon and martyr, who, after having been questioned of his origins by Mar Qardagh and his Marzobans , stated that his parents were originally from an Assyrian village called Hazza, but were driven out and subsequently settled in Tamanon, a village in the land of the Kurds , identified as being in the region of Mount Judi . Early Syriac sources use

3380-589: Is the second most spoken language in Syria, after Arabic . The Kurds often speak the Kurdish language in public, unless all those present do not. According to the Human Rights Watch , Kurds in Syria are not allowed to officially use the Kurdish language, are not allowed to register children with Kurdish names, are prohibited to start businesses that do not have Arabic names, are not permitted to build Kurdish private schools and are prohibited from publishing books and other materials written in Kurdish. In 1988 it

3510-522: Is today Syria, was officially known as the "Sancak of the Kurds" in Ottoman documents. The Millis revolted against the Ottoman government after the death of their leader Ibrahim Pasa and some of them eventually settled for the most part on the Syrian side of the newly drawn Turkish-Syrian border of 1922. When Maurice Abadie, a French general, was overseeing the French occupation of Syria, he made some observations on

3640-523: The Afsharid Empire ruled by Nader Shah at its peak. After Nader's death, Iran fell into civil war, with multiple leaders trying to gain control over the country. Ultimately, it was Karim Khan , a Laki general of the Zand tribe who would come to power. The country would flourish during Karim Khan's reign; a strong resurgence of the arts would take place, and international ties were strengthened. Karim Khan

3770-810: The Alawite State and the Jabal Druze State to the Syrian Republic . Two early presidents, Husni Zaim and also Adib Al Shishakli , were of Kurdish origin, but they didn't identify as Kurds nor did they speak Kurdish. Shishakli even initiated the policy of prohibiting the Kurdish culture. Osman Sabri and Hamza Diweran along with some Kurdish politicians, founded the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (KDPS) in 1957. The objectives of KDPS were promotion of Kurdish cultural rights, economic progress and democratic change. Following their demands for

3900-788: The Armenians , the Georgians , and the Circassians , who were moved en masse to and from other districts within the Persian empire. The Kurds of Khorasan, numbering around 700,000, still use the Kurmanji Kurdish dialect. Several Kurdish noblemen served the Safavids and rose to prominence, such as Shaykh Ali Khan Zanganeh , who served as the grand vizier of the Safavid shah Suleiman I (r. 1666–1694) from 1669 to 1689. Due to his efforts in reforming

4030-555: The Assassins . The Ayyubid dynasty lasted until 1341 when the Ayyubid sultanate fell to Mongolian invasions. The Safavid dynasty, established in 1501, also established its rule over Kurdish-inhabited territories. The paternal line of this family actually had Kurdish roots, tracing back to Firuz-Shah Zarrin-Kolah , a dignitary who moved from Kurdistan to Ardabil in the 11th century. The Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 that culminated in what

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4160-628: The Caucasus , as well as significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey (in particular Istanbul) and Western Europe (primarily in Germany ). The Kurdish population is estimated to be between 30 and 45 million. Kurds speak the Kurdish languages and the Zaza–Gorani languages , which belong to the Western Iranian branch of the Iranian languages . Kurds do not comprise

4290-498: The Church of the East , however, as a result of Miaphysite missionary work, Tikrit became a major Miaphysite (Orthodox Christian) center under its first bishop, Ahudemmeh , in 559. Under Marutha of Tikrit , the bishopric was elevated into a maphrianate and the city's ecclesiastical jurisdiction extended as far as Central Asia. The city remained predominantly Syriac Orthodox Christian in

4420-564: The Druzes , the Alawites , and the Christians , did not receive their own state. Waves of Kurdish Tribes and their families arrived into Syria originally came from Turkey in the 1920s. Kurdish immigration waves to Syria's Jazira province started immediately after WWI . After the war, the construction of road networks and the railway extension to Nusaybin have intensified the Kurdish immigration from

4550-463: The High Middle Ages , the Kurdish ethnic identity gradually materialized, as one can find clear evidence of the Kurdish ethnic identity and solidarity in texts of the 12th and 13th centuries, though, the term was also still being used in the social sense. Since 10th century, Arabic texts including al-Masudi 's works, have referred to Kurds as a distinct linguistic group. From 11th century onward,

4680-568: The Jarabulus region; and an unknown number lived in the Jazira province , where they were likely the majority. The extension of the railway and road to Nusaybin in 1918 intensified the immigration of Kurds southwards into the Syrian foothills and plains along rivers. In the 1920s after the failed Kurdish rebellions in Kemalist Turkey , there was a large migration of Kurds to Syria's Jazira province. It

4810-604: The Jazira , the central Euphrates Region around Kobanî and in the west the area around Afrin . All of these are on the Syria-Turkey border , and there are also substantial Kurdish communities in Aleppo and Damascus further south. Human rights organizations have accused the Syrian government of routinely discriminating and harassing Syrian Kurds. Many Kurds seek political autonomy for what they regard as Western Kurdistan , similar to

4940-646: The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, or to be part of an independent state of Kurdistan . In the context of the Syrian Civil War , Kurds established the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria . Syrian Kurds live mainly in three Kurdish pockets in northern Syria adjacent to Turkey . Many Kurds also live in the large cities and metropolitan areas of the country, for example, in

5070-579: The Kurmanj , Kalhur , and Guran . Kurdish (Kurdish: Kurdî or کوردی) is a collection of related dialects spoken by the Kurds. It is mainly spoken in those parts of Iran , Iraq , Syria and Turkey which comprise Kurdistan . Kurdish holds official status in Iraq as a national language alongside Arabic , is recognized in Iran as a regional language, and in Armenia as a minority language. The Kurds are recognized as

5200-601: The Nineveh Plains , especially Bakhdida , as well as Tur Abdin . The Christian community received a setback when the governor ordered the destruction of the main cathedral known popularly as the " Green Church " in 1089. The maphrian and some of the Christians of Tikrit had to relocate to the Mor Mattai Monastery , where a village named Merki was established in the valley below the monastery. A later governor permitted

5330-671: The Ottoman ( Turkish ) authorities in the massacres of Armenian and Assyrian Christians in Upper Mesopotamia , between 1914 and 1920, with further attacks on unarmed fleeing civilians conducted by local Arab militias. In other parts of the country during this period, Kurds became local chiefs and tax farmers in Akkar (Lebanon) and the Qusayr highlands between Antioch and Latakia in northwestern Syria. The Afrin Plateau northwest of Aleppo, just inside what

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5460-718: The Ottoman–Persian War (1775–76) , Karim Khan managed to seize Basra for several years. Tikrit Originally a fort during the Assyrian empire, Tikrit became the birthplace of Muslim military leader Saladin . Saddam Hussein 's birthplace was in a modest village (13 km) south of Tikrit, which is called " Al-Awja "; for that, Saddam bore the surname al-Tikriti . The inhabitants of this village were farmers. A few significant people from Saladin Governorate , including some from Tikrit, were appointed to government roles during

5590-564: The Sassanid era , in Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan , a short prose work written in Middle Persian, Ardashir I is depicted as having battled the Kurds and their leader, Madig . After initially sustaining a heavy defeat, Ardashir I was successful in subjugating the Kurds. In a letter Ardashir I received from his foe, Ardavan V , which is also featured in the same work, he is referred to as being

5720-523: The Shafiʽi school , while a significant minority adhere to the Hanafi school and also Alevism . Moreover, many Shafi'i Kurds adhere to either one of the two Sufi orders Naqshbandi and Qadiriyya . Beside Sunni Islam, Alevism and Shia Islam also have millions of Kurdish followers. Yazidism is a monotheistic ethnic religion with roots in a western branch of an Iranic pre-Zoroastrian religion. It

5850-745: The Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Gabriel I Tappouni and Michel Dôme the Armenian Catholic president of the Qamishli municipality. The Kurdish-Christian Coalition wanted French troops to stay in the province in case of Syrian independence , as they feared the nationalist Damascus government would replace minority officials by Muslim Arabs from the capital. The French authorities, although some in their ranks had earlier encouraged this anti-Damascus movement, refused to consider any new status of autonomy inside Syria and even annexed

5980-403: The Tigris River . The city is located within the semi-undulating area. It penetrates the branch and valleys and ends with very sloping slopes towards the Tigris River, with a height ranging between 45–50 meters. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh). The Tikrit Museum was damaged during the 2003 Iraq War . The University of Tikrit

6110-402: The Turkish War of Independence led to the renegotiated Treaty of Lausanne of 24 July 1923, which made no mention of a future Kurdish state. The majority of Ottoman Kurdish territory was given to Turkey and the rest in British Mandate of Iraq . Two small pockets with Kurdish majority at the border with Turkey ( Afrin and Ayn al-Arab ) were included in the State of Aleppo who, in contrast to

6240-458: The ethnonym Kurd might be derived from a term kwrt- used in Middle Persian as a common noun to refer to ' nomads ' or 'tent-dwellers', which could be applied as an attribute to any Iranian group with such a lifestyle. The term gained the characteristic of an ethnonym following the Muslim conquest of Persia , as it was adopted into Arabic and gradually became associated with an amalgamation of Iranian and Iranianized tribes and groups in

6370-679: The frame drum or 'daf'. Awat Tayib, the chief of followers of Zoroastrianism in the Kurdistan region, claimed that many were returning to Zoroastrianism but some kept it secret out of fear of reprisals from Islamists. Although historically there have been various accounts of Kurdish Christians , most often these were in the form of individuals, and not as communities. However, in the 19th and 20th century various travel logs tell of Kurdish Christian tribes, as well as Kurdish Muslim tribes who had substantial Christian populations living amongst them. A significant number of these were allegedly originally Armenian or Assyrian , and it has been recorded that

6500-449: The 11th-century Kurdish dynasties crumbled and became incorporated into the Seljuk dynasty. Kurds would hereafter be used in great numbers in the armies of the Zengids . The Ayyubid dynasty was founded by Kurdish ruler Saladin , as succeeding the Zengids, the Ayyubids established themselves in 1171. Saladin led the Muslims to recapture the city of Jerusalem from the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin ; also frequently clashing with

6630-447: The 2003 invasion of Iraq, AFN Iraq ("Freedom Radio") broadcast news and entertainment within Tikrit, among other locations. On November 22, 2005, HHC 42nd Infantry Division New York Army National Guard, handed over control of Saddam Hussein's primary palace complex in Tikrit to the governor of Saladin Province, who represented the Iraqi government, discontinuing the existence of what once was FOB Danger. The palace complex had served as

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6760-476: The Anatolian mountains to Syrian Jazirah. After that, massive waves of Kurds fled their homes in the mountains of Turkey after the failed Kurdish rebellions in Kemalist Turkey . It is estimated that 25,000 Kurds fled at this time to Syria, under French Mandate authorities , who encouraged their immigration, and granted them Syrian citizenship. The French official reports show the existence of at most 45 Kurdish villages in Jazira prior to 1927. In 1927, Hadjo Agha,

6890-408: The Caliph Al-Mu'tasim who sent the commander Itakh to combat him. Itakh won this war and executed many of the Kurds. Eventually, Arabs conquered the Kurdish regions and gradually converted the majority of Kurds to Islam, often incorporating them into the military, such as the Hamdanids whose dynastic family members also frequently intermarried with Kurds. In 934, the Daylamite Buyid dynasty

7020-429: The French Mandate of Syria, newly-arriving Kurds were granted citizenship by French Mandate authorities and enjoyed considerable rights as the French Mandate authority encouraged minority autonomy as part of a divide and rule strategy and recruited heavily from the Kurds and other minority groups, such as Alawite and Druze , for its local armed forces. n 1936, the French forces bombarded Amuda. On 13 August 1937, in

7150-575: The Iraqi border in the east to Ras Al-Ain in the west. The implementation of the Arab cordon plan began in 1973 and Bedouin Arabs were brought in and resettled in Kurdish areas . The toponymy of the area such as village names were Arabized. According to the original plan, some 140,000 Kurds had to be deported to the southern desert near Al-Raad . Although Kurdish farmers were dispossessed of their lands, they refused to move and give up their houses. Among these Kurdish villagers, those who were designated as alien were not allowed to own property, to repair

7280-501: The Iraqi government became something of an embarrassment to Hussein and, in 1977, he abolished the use of surnames in Iraq to conceal the fact that so many of his key supporters bore the same surname, al-Tikriti (as did Saddam himself). Saddam Hussein was buried near Tikrit in his hometown of Al-Awja following his hanging on December 30, 2006. In the opening weeks of the 2003 US-led invasion , many observers speculated that Saddam would return to Tikrit as his "last stronghold". The city

7410-411: The Jazira province among Kurds and Christians. The Kurdish leaders Hajo Agha, Kaddur Bey, and Khalil Bey Ibrahim Pasha. Hajo Agha was the Kurdish chief of the Heverkan tribal confederation and one of the leaders of the Kurdish nationalist party Xoybûn (Khoyboun). He established himself as the representative of the Kurds in Jazira maintaining the coalition with the Christian notables, who were represented by

7540-403: The Kurdish deputy Nuri Kandy of Kurd Dagh, who asked the authorities of the French mandate to grant an administrative autonomy to all the areas with a Kurdish majority in 1924. Also the Kurdish tribes of the Barazi Confederation demanded autonomy for the Kurdish regions within the French Mandate. But their requests were not fulfilled by the French at the time. Between December 1931 and January 1932,

7670-439: The Kurdish tribes were settled near Mardin in Turkey, and paid the governor of that city for the right of grazing their herds in the Syrian Jazira. These Kurdish tribes gradually settled in villages and cities and are still present in Jazira (modern Syria's Hasakah Governorate ). In the mid 1800s, the Emirate of Bohtan of Bedir Khan Beg span over parts of present day northeastern Syria. The demographics of this area underwent

7800-492: The President signed Decree 49 which provides citizenship for Kurds who were registered as foreigners in Hasaka. However, a recent independent report has suggested that the actual number of non-citizens Kurds who obtained their national ID cards following the decree does not exceed 6,000, leaving the remainder of 300,000 non-citizens Kurds living in Syria in a state of uncertainty. One newly nationalized Kurd has been reported as saying: ‘I’m pleased to have my ID card .... But not until

7930-540: The Sassanid king Shapur II marched into the Roman province Zabdicene , to conquer its chief city, Bezabde, present-day Cizre . He found it heavily fortified, and guarded by three legions and a large body of Kurdish archers. After a long and hard-fought siege, Shapur II breached the walls, conquered the city and massacred all its defenders. Thereafter he had the strategically located city repaired, provisioned and garrisoned with his best troops. Qadishaye, settled by Kavad in Singara , were probably Kurds and worshiped

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8060-404: The Syrian considered them as pagan , followers of mahdi and adepts of Magianism . Their mahdi called himself Christ and the Holy Ghost . In the early Middle Ages , the Kurds sporadically appear in Arabic sources, though the term was still not being used for a specific people; instead it referred to an amalgam of nomadic western Iranian tribes, who were distinct from Persians . However, in

8190-414: The Syrian government falsely claimed that many of the Kurds who were the original inhabitants of the land were foreigners, and in turn, violated their human rights by stripping them of their Syrian citizenship. As a result of government claims of an increase in illegal immigration, the Syrian government decided to conduct a general census on 5 October 1962 in the governorate with claims that its sole purpose

8320-433: The Turkish intervention. On 9 October 2019, Turkey started bombarding Kurdish-controlled regions of Syria for a planned invasion called Operation Peace Spring . International and Kurdish human rights organizations have accused the Syrian government of discriminating against the Kurdish minority. Amnesty International also reported that Kurdish human rights activists are mistreated and persecuted. The Kurdish language

8450-412: The Yarsani lack political rights in both countries. The Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism has had a major influence on the Iranian culture, which Kurds are a part of, and has maintained some effect since the demise of the religion in the Middle Ages. The Iranian philosopher Sohrevardi drew heavily from Zoroastrian teachings. Ascribed to the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster , the faith's Supreme Being

8580-400: The administration for renewal. However, many of those Kurds who submitted their cards received nothing in return. Many were arbitrarily categorized as ajanib ('foreigners'), while others who did not participate in the census were categorized as maktumin ('unregistered'), an even lower status than the ajanib ; for all intents and purposes, these unregistered Kurds did not exist in the eyes of

8710-456: The administration of the Kurdish Supreme Committee, the People's Protection Units (YPG) were created to control the Kurdish inhabited areas in Syria. On 19 July, the YPG captured the city of Kobanê , and the next day captured Amuda and Afrin . The KNC and PYD afterwards formed a joint leadership council to run the captured cities. By 24 July, the Syrian towns of Al-Malikiyah ), Ras al-Ayn , Al-Darbasiyah and Al-Muabbada had also come under

8840-400: The attack in its list of deadliest attacks in 2011. On June 11, 2014, during the Northern Iraq offensive , the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took control of the city . Hours later, the Iraqi Army made an attempt to recapture the city, which resulted in heavy fighting. On June 12, ISIL executed at least 1,566 Iraqi Air Force cadets from Camp Speicher at Tikrit. At the time of

8970-402: The attack there were between 4,000 and 11,000 unarmed cadets in the camp. The Iraqi government blamed the massacre on both ISIL and members of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region . By July 2014, government forces had withdrawn from Tikrit. On September 25, 2014, Islamist militants destroyed the Assyrian Church there that dated back to 700 AD. The historic Al-Arba'een Mosque

9100-416: The brothers Zakare and Ivane Mkhargrdzeli. "The land of Karda" is mentioned on a Sumerian clay tablet dated to the 3rd millennium BC. This land was inhabited by "the people of Su" who dwelt in the southern regions of Lake Van ; the philological connection between "Kurd" and "Karda" is uncertain, but the relationship is considered possible. Other Sumerian clay tablets referred to the people, who lived in

9230-423: The chief of the powerful Kurdish tribe Havergan, arrived with more than 600 families in Qubour el-Bid (later renamed al-Qahtaniyah ). The mandatory authorities continued to encourage Kurdish immigration into Syria, and a new significant wave of refugees arrived in 1929. The number of Kurds settled in the Jazira province during the 1920s was estimated between 20,000 and 25,000. With the continuous intensive immigration

9360-467: The city were tasked with both maintaining order and protecting the pilgrims’ route toward Mecca . Many Kurds from Syria's rural hinterland joined the local Janissary corps in Damascus. Later, Kurdish migrants from diverse areas, such as Diyarbakir , Mosul and Kirkuk , also joined these military units which caused an expansion of the Kurdish community in the city. The Kurdish dynasty of Janbulads ruled

9490-673: The control of the People's Protection Units. The only major cities with significant Kurdish populations that remained under government control were Hasaka and Qamishli . Kurdish-inhabited Afrin Canton has been occupied by the Turkish Armed Forces and Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army since the Turkish military operation in Afrin in early 2018. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people were displaced due to

9620-409: The declining Iranian economy, he has been called the "Safavid Amir Kabir " in modern historiography. His son, Shahqoli Khan Zanganeh , also served as a grand vizier from 1707 to 1716. Another Kurdish statesman, Ganj Ali Khan , was close friends with Abbas I, and served as governor in various provinces and was known for his loyal service. After the fall of the Safavids, Iran fell under the control of

9750-636: The developing protest movement of the Syrian Revolution.' Kurds Ancient Medieval Modern Kurds or Kurdish people ( Kurdish : کورد , romanized :  Kurd ) are an Iranic ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia , which spans southeastern Turkey , northwestern Iran , northern Iraq , and northern Syria . There are exclaves of Kurds in Central Anatolia , Khorasan , and

9880-636: The early centuries of Islamic rule and gained fame as an important center of Syriac and Christian Arab literature. Some famous Christians from the city include its bishop Quriaqos of Tagrit who ascended to become the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church , theologians Abu Zakariya Denha and Abu Raita , and translator Yahya ibn Adi . From the ninth century Christians of Tikrit began to migrate northwards due to restrictive measures taken by some Muslim governors. Many settled in Mosul and villages in

10010-573: The eastern bank of the Tigris, a few kilometers southeast of his hometown of Al-Awja (although the story of having been found in a hole specifically has come into question as being a piece of war-time propaganda). The missions which resulted in the capture of Saddam Hussein were assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Teams of the 4th Infantry Division, commanded by Colonel James Hickey of the 4th Infantry Division. The U.S. Army finally captured Saddam Hussein on December 13, 2003 during Operation Red Dawn . During

10140-546: The end of 3rd millennium BC and distinguished them as the Guti , speakers of a pre-Iranic language isolate . They conquered Mesopotamia in 2150 BC and ruled with 21 kings until defeated by the Sumerian king Utu-hengal . Many Kurds consider themselves descended from the Medes , an ancient Iranian people, and even use a calendar dating from 612 BC, when the Assyrian capital of Nineveh

10270-574: The failure of Syrian political union with Egypt in 1961, Syria was declared an Arab Republic in the interim constitution. On 23 August 1962, the government conducted a special population census only for the province of Jazira based on reports of illegal infiltration of tens of thousands of Turkish Kurds into Syria. As a result, around 120,000 Kurds in Jazira (20% of Syrian Kurds) were stripped of their Syrian citizenship even though they were in possession of Syrian identity cards. The inhabitants who had Syrian identity cards were told to hand them over to

10400-607: The federal government and provincial governments. Following the Tunisian Revolution and the Egyptian Revolution , 4 February 2011 was declared a Day of Rage in Syria by activists through Facebook. Few turned out to protest, but among the few were Kurdish demonstrators in the northeast of the country. On 7 October 2011, Kurdish leader Mashaal Tammo was gunned down in his apartment by masked men widely believed to be government agents. During Tammo's funeral procession

10530-517: The first elections under the new Syrian constitution were held. Among the deputies there were three members of the Syrian Kurdish nationalist Xoybûn (Khoyboun) party from the three different Kurdish enclaves in Syria: Khalil bey Ibn Ibrahim Pacha ( Jazira province ), Mustafa bey Ibn Shahin ( Jarabulus ) and Hassan Aouni ( Kurd Dagh ). In the mid-1930s, there arose a new autonomist movement in

10660-472: The government of Salah ad Din province, began plans to improve local economic conditions. One of the many projects they are working on is building an industrial vocational school in the Tikrit area. The school will teach local people skills in different fields of technology, which will help to build and improve Iraq's economic stability. The curriculum will educate men and women in multiple occupational fields such as

10790-509: The governorate of Al-Hasakah , foreigners cannot be employed at government agencies and state-owned enterprises; they may not legally marry Syrian citizens. Kurds with foreigner status do not have the right to vote in elections or run for public office, and when they attend universities they are often persecuted and cannot be awarded with university degrees. non-citizens Kurds living in Syria are not awarded school certificates and are often unable to travel outside of their provinces. In April 2011,

10920-635: The independent Kardouchoi as the ancestors of the Kurds, while others prefer Cyrtians . The term Kurd , however, is first encountered in Arabic sources of the seventh century. Books from the early Islamic era, including those containing legends such as the Shahnameh and the Middle Persian Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan , and other early Islamic sources provide early attestation of the name Kurd . The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. During

11050-678: The land of Karda, as the Qarduchi (Karduchi, Karduchoi) and the Qurti. Karda/Qardu is etymologically related to the Assyrian term Urartu and the Hebrew term Ararat. However, some modern scholars do not believe that the Qarduchi are connected to Kurds. Qarti or Qartas, who were originally settled on the mountains north of Mesopotamia , are considered as a probable ancestor of the Kurds. The Akkadians were attacked by nomads coming through Qartas territory at

11180-490: The main opposition group, announced Abdulbaset Sieda , an ethnic Kurd, as their new leader. Protests in the Kurdish inhabited areas of Syria evolved into armed clashes after the opposition Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Kurdish National Council (KNC) signed a cooperation agreement on 12 July 2012 that created the Kurdish Supreme Committee as the governing body of all Kurdish controlled areas. Under

11310-524: The martyr Abd al-Masih. They revolted against the Sassanids and were raiding the whole Persian territory. Later they, along with Arabs and Armenians, joined the Sassanids in their war against the Byzantines. There is also a 7th-century text by an unidentified author, written about the legendary Christian martyr Mar Qardagh . He lived in the 4th century, during the reign of Shapur II, and during his travels

11440-525: The name Kurd are unclear. The underlying toponym is recorded in Assyrian as Qardu and in Middle Bronze Age Sumerian as Kar-da . Assyrian Qardu refers to an area in the upper Tigris basin, and it is presumably reflected in corrupted form in Classical Arabic Ǧūdī ( جودي ), re-adopted in Kurdish as Cûdî . The name would be continued as the first element in

11570-597: The neighborhood Rukn al-Din in Damascus , which was formerly known as Hayy al Akrad (Kurdish Quarter), and the Aleppo neighborhoods of al Ashrafiya and Sheikh Maqsood . Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria , and make up between 5 and 10 percent of the Syrian population. The estimates are diluted due to the effects of the Syrian civil war and the permeability of the Syrian-Turkish border. The Kurdish population in Syria

11700-415: The new countries of Turkey, Iraq, and Syria . Recent history of the Kurds includes numerous genocides and rebellions , along with ongoing armed conflicts in Turkish , Iranian , Syrian , and Iraqi Kurdistan . Kurds in Iraq and Syria have autonomous regions, while Kurdish movements continue to pursue greater cultural rights , autonomy , and independence throughout Kurdistan . The exact origins of

11830-479: The next day in the town of Qamishli , Syrian security forces fired into a crowd of more than 50,000 mourners, killing five people. According to Tammo's son, Fares Tammo, "My father's assassination is the screw in the regime's coffin. They made a big mistake by killing my father." Since then, Kurdish demonstrations became a routine part of the Syrian uprising. In June 2012, the Syrian National Council (SNC),

11960-519: The number of stateless Kurds has grown to more than 200,000. According to Refugees International, there are about 300,000 Kurdish non-citizens in Syria; however, Kurds dispute this number and estimate about 500,000. An independent report has confirmed that there are at least 300,000 non-citizen Kurds living in Syria. According to the Human Rights Watch, by many accounts, the special census was carried out in an arbitrary manner separating members of

12090-785: The population in Turkey , 15 to 20% in Iraq ; 10% in Iran ; and 9% in Syria . Kurds form regional majorities in all four of these countries, viz. in Turkish Kurdistan , Iraqi Kurdistan , Iranian Kurdistan and Syrian Kurdistan . The Kurds are the fourth-largest ethnic group in West Asia after Arabs , Persians , and Turks . The total number of Kurds in 1991 was placed at 22.5 million, with 48% of this number living in Turkey, 24% in Iran, 18% in Iraq, and 4% in Syria. Recent emigration accounts for

12220-673: The pre-Islamic era. Yarsanism (also known as Ahl-I-Haqq, Ahl-e-Hagh or Kakai) is also one of the religions that are associated with Kurdistan. Although most of the sacred Yarsan texts are in the Gorani and all of the Yarsan holy places are located in Kurdistan , followers of this religion are also found in other regions. For example, while there are more than 300,000 Yarsani in Iraqi Kurdistan, there are more than 2 million Yarsani in Iran. However,

12350-421: The process is completed will I truly trust the intentions of this action. Before my card is activated, I must have an interview, no doubt full of interrogation and intimidation, with State Security. Citizenship should not be a privilege. It is my right.’ According to one researcher, the Kurdish street perceived the measure of providing citizenship as 'not well-intentioned, but simply an attempt to distance Kurds from

12480-417: The production of high-tech products, plastic production technology, masonry, carpentry, petroleum equipment maintenance and repair, farm machinery and automotive repair. This self-supporting educational institution owns a textile mill where many of the graduates will work producing uniforms. The mill is scheduled to begin producing and selling products within the year, with the profits from the mill going to fund

12610-531: The recognition of the Kurdish cultural rights, the Party got suppressed by the United Arab Republic and the possession of Kurdish publications or music was enough to be sent to be detained. KDPS was never legally recognized by the Syrian state and remains an underground organization, especially after a crackdown in 1960 during which several of its leaders were arrested, charged with separatism and imprisoned. After

12740-471: The reconstruction of the cathedral. However, instability returned and the maphrian moved indefinitely to Mosul in 1156. Regardless, the city remained an important center of the Syriac Orthodox Church until its destruction by Timur in the late 14th century. A Christian presence has not existed in the city since the 17th century. The town was also home to the Arab Christian tribe of Iyad. The Arabs of

12870-463: The region in cities like Amuda and Qamishli until they accounted for the majority in some of these cities. The government also claims that many Kurds were capable of registering themselves illegally in the Syrian civil registers. The government further speculated that Kurds intended to settle down and acquire property, especially after the issue of the agricultural reform law, to benefit from land redistribution. However, according to Human Rights Watch,

13000-505: The region of Aleppo as governors for the Ottomans from 1591 to 1607. At the beginning of the 17th century, Kurdish tribes were forcefully settled in the vicinity of Jarabulus and Seruj by the Ottoman sultans. In the mid-18th century, Ottomans recognized Milli tribal leaders as iskan başı or chief of sedentarization in Raqqa area. They were given taxing authority and controlling other tribes in

13130-426: The region. Sharafkhan Bidlisi in the 16th century states that there are four division of Kurds: Kurmanj , Lur , Kalhor , and Guran , each of which speak a different dialect or language variation. Paul (2008) notes that the 16th-century usage of the term Kurd as recorded by Bidlisi, regardless of linguistic grouping, might still reflect an incipient Northwestern Iranian "Kurdish" ethnic identity uniting

13260-684: The region. In 1758, Milli chief and iskan başı Mahmud bin Kalash entered Khabur valley, subjugated the local tribes and brought the area under control of Milli confederation and attempted to set up an independent principality. In 1800, the Ottoman government appointed the Milli chief Timur as governor of Raqqa (1800–1803). The Danish writer Carsten Niebuhr , who traveled to Jazira in 1764, recorded five nomadic Kurdish tribes (Dukurie, Kikie, Schechchanie, Mullie and Aschetie) and six Arab tribes ( Tay , Kaab, Baggara, Geheish, Diabat and Sherabeh). According to Niebuhr,

13390-533: The same families and classifying them differently. HRW claims that some Kurds in the same family became citizens while others became foreigners suggesting an inaccuracy in the Syrian government's process; HRW also alleges that some of the Kurds who had served in the Syrian army lost citizenship while those who bribed officials kept theirs. Stateless Kurds also do not have the option of legally relocating to another country because they lack passports or other internationally recognized travel documents. In Syria, other than in

13520-477: The same time found in other Iranian languages . The Kurdish dialects according to Mackenzie are classified as: The Zaza and Gorani are ethnic Kurds, but the Zaza–Gorani languages are not classified as Kurdish. The number of Kurds living in Southwest Asia is estimated at between 30 and 45 million, with another one or two million living in the Kurdish diaspora . Kurds comprise anywhere from 18 to 25% of

13650-445: The school. The vocational school's operation, support and funding are modeled after a system South Korea used in another part of Iraq. On April 18, 2010, Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi were killed in a raid 10 km (6 mi) southwest of Tikrit in a safe house. The Islamic State of Iraq launched an attack on March 29, 2011 that killed 65 people and wounded over 100. Reuters news agency included

13780-502: The settlements of Kurds in 1920: Over the course of the past century the Kurds have migrated and spread throughout northern Syria. Those who have spread to the west of the Euphrates have come from the valleys of Kurdistan. They have gradually settled in and live alongside the Turks, Turkmen, Christians and Arabs, all of whose customs they have adopted to some degree. Following World War I,

13910-434: The state. They could not get jobs, become educated, own property or participate in politics. In some cases, classifications varied even within Kurdish families: parents had citizenship but not their children, a child could be a citizen but not his or her brothers and sisters. Those Kurds who lost their citizenship were often dispossessed of their lands, which were given by the state to Arab and Assyrian settlers. A media campaign

14040-446: The subsequent occupation , Tikrit became the scene of a number of resistance attacks against Coalition forces . It is commonly regarded as being the northern angle of the " Sunni Triangle " within which the resistance was at its most intense. In June 2003, Abid Hamid Mahmud , Saddam Hussein's Presidential Secretary and the Ace of Diamonds on the most wanted 'Deck of Cards,' was captured in

14170-614: The term Kurd is explicitly defined as an ethnonym and this does not suggest synonymity with the ethnographic category nomad. Al-Tabari wrote that in 639, Hormuzan , a Sasanian general originating from a noble family, battled against the Islamic invaders in Khuzestan , and called upon the Kurds to aid him in battle. However, they were defeated and brought under Islamic rule. In 838, a Kurdish leader based in Mosul, named Mir Jafar , revolted against

14300-641: The terms Hurdanaye, Kurdanaye, Kurdaye to refer to the Kurds. According to Michael the Syrian , Hurdanaye separated from Tayaye Arabs and sought refuge with the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus . He also mentions the Persian troops who fought against Musa chief of Hurdanaye in the region of Qardu in 841. According to Barhebreaus , a king appeared to the Kurdanaye and they rebelled against the Arabs in 829. Michael

14430-630: The time of Ba'athist Iraq until the US -led invasion of Iraq in 2003. After the invasion, the city has been a site of conflict with the Islamic State , culminating in the Second Battle of Tikrit from March to April 2015, which resulted in the displacement of 28,000 civilians. The Iraqi government regained control of the city from the Islamic State on March 31, 2015, with the city at peace since then. As

14560-468: The toponym Corduene , mentioned by Xenophon as the tribe who opposed the retreat of the Ten Thousand through the mountains north of Mesopotamia in the 4th century BC . There are, however, dissenting views, which do not derive the name of the Kurds from Qardu and Corduene but opt for derivation from Cyrtii ( Cyrtaei ) instead. Regardless of its possible roots in ancient toponymy,

14690-617: The town secretly assisted the Muslims when they besieged the town. The Muslims entered Tikrit in 640; it was from then considered as part of the Jazira province. It was later regarded as belonging to Iraq by Arab geographers. Tikrit was briefly controlled by the Nizari Ismailis . After a failed Seljuk campaign against it, the Nizaris handed it over to the local Shia Arabs there. The Arab Uqaylid dynasty took hold of Tikrit in 1036. Saladin

14820-419: The victorious Allied powers and the defeated Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Sèvres of 10 August 1920. The treaty stipulated that Ottoman Kurdistan, which included Kurdish inhabited areas in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq to be given autonomy within the new Turkish Republic , with the choice for full independence within a year. The Kemalist victory in Turkey and subsequent territorial gains during

14950-559: The villages numbered between 700 and 800 in 1939. Consequently, Kurds became majority in the districts of Tigris (later renamed al-Malikiyah ) and Qamishli , while Arabs remained the majority in Hasakah district. Immigration from Turkey was not limited to the Jazira area. In the 1930s, Kurdish Alevis who fled the persecution of the Turkish army during the Dersim massacre , settled in Mabeta . Under

15080-488: Was administered from Damascus . The Kurdish regiments that accompanied Salidin established self-ruled areas in and around Damascus. These settlements evolved into the Kurdish sections of Damascus of Hayy al-Akrad (the Kurdish quarter) and the Salhiyya districts located in the north-east of Damasacus on Mount Qasioun . The Kurdish community's role in the military continued under the Ottomans. Kurdish soldiers and policeman from

15210-520: Was at it highest. The government has used the fact that some Kurds fled to Syria during the 1920s to claim that Kurds are not indigenous to the country and to justify its discriminatory policies against them. In the 12th century, Kurdish and other Muslim regiments accompanied Saladin , who was a Kurd from Tikrit , on his conquest of the Middle East and establishment of the Ayyubid dynasty (1171–1341), which

15340-504: Was born there around 1138. The modern province of which Tikrit is the capital is named after him. The city was devastated in 1393 by Timur . During the Ottoman period Tikrit existed as a small settlement that belonged to the Rakka Eyalet ; its population never exceeded 4,000–5,000. In September 1917, British forces captured the city during a major advance against the Ottoman Empire during World War I . The Tikriti Jewish community

15470-565: Was conquered by the Medes. The claimed Median descent is reflected in the words of the Kurdish national anthem : "We are the children of the Medes and Kai Khosrow ." However, MacKenzie and Asatrian challenge the relation of the Median language to Kurdish. The Kurdish languages , on the other hand, form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages like Median . Some researchers consider

15600-604: Was detonated as well, damaging the cemetery surrounding it. In March 2015, the Iraqi Army along with the Hashd Shaabi popular forces launched an operation to retake Tikrit . On March 31, the Iraqi government claimed the city had been recaptured. Saladin (1137 – 1193), was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Saddam Hussein (1937 - 2006), Dictator of Iraq from 16 July 1979 – 9 April 2003 . Barzan al-Tikriti (1951 – 2007), one of three half-brothers of Saddam Hussein, and

15730-456: Was established in 1987 and is one of the largest universities in Iraq. Tikrit Stadium is a multi-use facility used mostly for football matches and serves as the home stadium of Salah ad Din FC . It holds 10,000 people. There is also a new world-class stadium that meets FIFA standards with a capacity of 30,000 seats being built in Tikrit. The Iraqi Air Force has had several air bases at Tikrit:

15860-596: Was formed to represent Syrian Kurds based on two major conferences, one at the US Senate in March 2006 and the other at the EU parliament in Brussels in 2006. The Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria (KNAS) seeks democracy for Syria and supports granting equal rights to Kurds and other Syrian minorities. They seek to transform Syria into a federal state, with a democratic system and structure for

15990-468: Was founded, and subsequently conquered most of present-day Iran and Iraq. During the time of rule of this dynasty, Kurdish chief and ruler, Badr ibn Hasanwaih, established himself as one of the most important emirs of the time. In the 10th–12th centuries, a number of Kurdish principalities and dynasties were founded, ruling Kurdistan and neighbouring areas: Due to the Turkic invasion of Anatolia and Armenia,

16120-530: Was launched against the Kurds with slogans such as Save Arabism in Jazira! and Fight the Kurdish Menace! . These policies in the Jazira region coincided with the beginning of Barzani 's uprising in Iraqi Kurdistan and discovery of oilfields in the Kurdish inhabited areas of Syria. In June 1963, Syria took part in the Iraqi military campaign against the Kurds by providing aircraft, armoured vehicles and

16250-523: Was mostly gone by 1948. By the time Saddam Hussein rose to power there were only two Jewish families in the city. The city is the birthplace of Saddam Hussein . Many senior members of the Iraqi government during his rule were drawn from Saddam's own Tikriti tribe, the Al-Bu Nasir , as were members of his Iraqi Republican Guard , chiefly because Saddam apparently felt that he was most able to rely on relatives and allies of his family. The Tikriti domination of

16380-483: Was portrayed as being a ruler who truly cared about his subjects, thereby gaining the title Vakil e-Ra'aayaa (meaning Representative of the People in Persian ). Though not as powerful in its geo-political and military reach as the preceding Safavids and Afsharids or even the early Qajars, he managed to reassert Iranian hegemony over its integral territories in the Caucasus , and presided over an era of relative peace, prosperity, and tranquility. In Ottoman Iraq , following

16510-479: Was prohibited also to sing in non-arabic language at weddings or festivities. There are also some " nawar people " (gypsies) who speak Kurdish and call themselves Kurds in some regions. The decree 768 of the year 2000, prohibited shops to sell cassettes or videos in Kurdish language. The decree also encouraged to implement older restrictions of the Kurdish language. In 1962, 20 percent of Syria's Kurdish population were stripped of their Syrian citizenship following

16640-767: Was prohibited and they fired on the crowd leaving one person dead. Around 40,000 Kurds took part in his funeral in Qamishli. Also in Afrin , three Kurds were killed during the Newroz demonstrations. After the protests, the Syrian government prohibited the Newroz festivities and established a new holiday on the same day, honoring the mothers. After an incident in a football stadium in Qamishli , 65 people were killed and more than 160 were injured in days of clashes starting from 12 March. Kurdish sources indicated that Syrian security forces used live ammunition against civilians after clashes broke out at

16770-436: Was subjected to intense aerial bombardment meant to throw Saddam's elite Republican Guard troops out of the city. On April 13, 2003, several thousand U.S. Marines and other coalition members aboard 300 armored vehicles converged on the town, meeting little or no resistance. With the fall of Tikrit, U.S. Army Major General Stanley McChrystal said, "I would anticipate that the major combat operations are over." However, during

16900-430: Was to purify registers and eliminate the alien infiltrators. As a result, the verified registrations of the citizens of Syria were included in the new civil registers. The remaining, which included 100,000 Kurds, were registered as foreigners (or "ajanib") in special registers. Many others did not participate in the census through choice or other circumstances; they are known as "maktoumeen", meaning "unrecorded". Since then,

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