Reflections on Kurdish History: A Study of Apocryphal Narratives

The inscribed writings on the marble and stone of palaces and castles built by occupying kings do not reflect the true history of oppressed peoples. In every era, history has been glorified in the name of kings or altered under their command. So, what should we take from history? We must begin with what we see in the present. Therefore, we must approach such histories with critical thinking-and rewrite Kurdish history anew. The realities and outcomes of today can clearly illuminate the history of centuries past. The identity, culture, and heritage of the Kurds today are a testament to a civilization that has endured for hundreds, even thousands, of years. The history and civilization of the Kurds were not lesser than those of Rome or Greece-in fact, in many ways, they were more significant. The difference is that those civilizations were preserved, while Kurdish civilization was destroyed-its libraries burned, and its history lost. If a civilization could, over a thousand years ago, build a dam across the Euphrates River and construct two hundred cities beneath the surface of the land, then one must wonder-what astonishing civilization might that have been?