These articles were originally intended to be part of a larger and broader project addressing the Kurdish reality in the South Kurdistan region. However, I decided to publish this part independently and in Arabic, as I intend to publish the other parts of this study in Kurdish. Therefore, I decided to write this part in Arabic because the majority of Faylies do not read or write in their mother tongue. I also feel that most of my writings address the Kurdish public more than the Arab public, and that the rising Kurdish generation does not master the Arabic language, which necessitates delivering my views and opinions to Kurdish readers—especially those views and opinions dealing with special Kurdistan affairs. At the same time, I will continue writing in Arabic to communicate with Arabic readers.
In this series of articles, I will discuss the Faylies in the context of two different definitions. The first definition of the Faylies is made through a historical concept of the Kurdish population who are given this designation, and who in this case constitute all Kurds living in the plain regions within the historical borders of Kurdistan. My discussion of the Faylies within this classification will be limited to the ancient historical aspect and following up on the political changes that befell them after the disappearance of the Sumerian state that used to unite them. After that, I will talk about the Faylies within another different classification, which is based on their current reality after their dispersion, according to which the Faylies are formed from the Kurdish segment living outside the South Kurdistan region, which includes population concentrations living in Iraq and in the diaspora.
A. Glances from the History of the Fayli Segment
Before talking about the subject, I would like to point out that I am not a historian, but rather I rely on history books and the results of exploration operations to put a part of Kurdish history before the dear readers objectively and honestly, after the enemies concealed it and prevented its publication to deprive the Kurds in particular and the world in general from learning about the ancient history of the Kurds. I would also like to mention that researching ancient Kurdish history faces great difficulties as a result of the peoples occupying Kurdistan stealing, falsifying, and distorting Kurdish history in an ugly and terrible way, which requires a lot of effort and time to conduct scientific studies in this field. This denial of the antiquity of the Kurdish people makes the path before historians thorny and full of difficulties to reach the discovery of historical facts about the Kurdish people. The vast majority of historical sources about the Kurds, which date back to Arab, Turkish, and Persian historians, are unreliable sources, as they lack objectivity and scientific honesty. Those (studies) are politicized and based on racism and working to abolish Kurdish history, obliterate its features, and steal it. Therefore, the historian finds himself facing great difficulties in his search for reliable and honest historical sources about the Kurds and is often forced to resort to Western sources and use the results of Western research to ensure the authenticity of the sources he relies on.
The negative impact of the falsification and theft of Kurdish history by racist Turkish, Arab, and Persian historians can be observed on the Arab, Turkish, and Persian peoples. Falsifying history and claiming the existence of ancient and unique civilizations for each of the Persians, Turks, and Arabs—while ignoring other peoples living in the region for tens of thousands of years, abolishing the history of those indigenous peoples on the one hand, and talking about the civilizational and historical achievements of the Persian, Arab, and Turkish peoples while hiding the negative aspects of the injustices, failures, and brutality of their states on the other hand—has led to a real catastrophe facing these peoples. On the one hand, history books indoctrinate the Persian, Arab, and Turkish generations with the greatness of their civilizations and the great achievements their peoples provided to serve humanity, and the perfection that the governments of those peoples were characterized by, where achievements and golden ages were free of failures and negatives throughout the historical stages they went through. Meanwhile, on the other hand, Arab, Turkish, and Persian generations live in miserable conditions of backwardness, delay, poverty, disease, and ignorance, and see that many peoples of the world are more advanced than them, and that developed countries have even surpassed them by centuries. This situation has caused these peoples to abandon the present and the future and live with the mirage of the past and nostalgia for the return of the “golden ages” of their rule. This situation also created a dangerous duality in the personality of the Arab, Turkish, and Persian human being, which made these peoples feel despair and frustration that pushes them towards hatred, violence, terrorism, rebellion, the cancellation of the other, and the rejection of the other opinion. In my opinion, this factor is one of the important factors leading to the state of terrorism, violence, and racism spread among the Persian, Arab, and Turkish peoples that we see at the present time.
My interest in the history of this Kurdish segment aims to shed light on an aspect of Kurdish history that the enemies of the Kurdish people have tried and are still trying to obliterate, steal, and distort. This study also aims to demonstrate the authenticity and antiquity of the Kurdish people and the depth of its roots in the region, which begins before the emergence of history itself. The third goal of this series of articles is to introduce the Faylies to their history, which it is unfortunate to say that most of them are ignorant of because it was concealed by the occupiers of Kurdistan from the Kurdish people and this generation was prevented from learning about its ancient history. I also aim behind this writing to inform the Faylies that they are the owners of great empires and ancient civilizations, and that the land on which they live is the home of their fathers and grandfathers, and their roots extend into its depths for more than five thousand years, as they are the descendants of the Elamites, Sumerians, and Medes. They must know that their civilization is the origin of human civilizations and that their Sumerian ancestors were the first to invent writing, language, and numbers, and to be proud that the English language—which has today become the language of science, understanding, economy, computer, and media, and is the undisputed first global language at the present time—has taken more than 75% of its vocabulary from the Sumerian language. From here, the Faylies must realize that they belong to an ancient nation that is no less important than other nations, that they live on the land of their fathers and grandfathers, and that they do not need to obtain a testimonial and certificate from any party or authority to prove their authenticity in the region and the extension of their roots in its depths. The sudden strangers to the region must resort to the Faylies to grant them a certificate of citizenship. The time has come for the Faylies to get to know themselves, trust themselves, and never consent to be branches or followers of anyone because they are a segment of an ancient people. They must find their natural place in the ranks of their Kurdish people and occupy their rightful positions in Kurdish society in all political, economic, social, cultural, and artistic aspects. I would also like here to thank my friend Mr. Muhammad Mandalawi for his valuable assistance to me in translating the texts of the Persian sources that I relied on in writing this study, and with his help, the facts in those sources were conveyed accurately and honestly.
1. The Elamites
I touched upon the Sumerian civilization in my article entitled “The Faylies are the Indigenous Peoples of Mesopotamia,” where the reader can review it to learn about an aspect of the history of this Kurdish segment. The Elamites belong to the Gutian Kurdish tribes, which are Aryan peoples coming from the Zagros Mountains, which were their original home, as the scholar (Hinz) mentions. They migrated from the Zagros Mountains to the Ahwaz region, where the fertile plains are, and settled there, discovering agriculture and food production. They were able to build a large and powerful empire with an advanced civilization about 5,000 years ago. The city of Susa (Shush) was the center for the Elamites, as well as the center for Mesopotamian trade. Through excavations carried out by an American team of archaeologists led by Dr. (Zambaz), the team discovered the ruins of the Elamite city of “Anshan” or “Anzan,” which was considered the center of one of the main provinces of Elam.
When the Kingdom of Elam was at the height of its power, it included parts of Mesopotamia and eastern Iran. The borders of the Elamite state extended from Isfahan in the east, the banks of the Tigris River in the west, the Gulf in the south, and the road leading between Babylon and Hamadan in the north. At the time of King “Kutir-Nahhunte,” the Elamites were able to seize Babylon, end the rule of the Kassites, and appoint the son of King “Kutir-Nahhunte” as king over Babylon, during whose reign parts of the Code of Hammurabi were transferred to the city of Susa.
Professor (Borda) mentions that as a result of the advancement of the Elamite civilization, many aspects of the life of the Achaemenid Empire, such as the style of clothing and how to run the state, were influenced by the Elamite civilization, to the extent that the Achaemenids used the Elamite alphabet. The language of the Elamites is called the (Japhetic) language and it was the conversational language, but with the emergence of the alphabet, the Elamite language and alphabet became more developed.
The Elamites used to call “Elam” by the name “HAL – TAMTI” or “HATAMTI”. The word is composed of two syllables: (Hal), which means (earth), and (Tamti), which means (sacred) or (gods). Thus, Haltamti (Elam) means the sacred land or the land of the gods. Other sources mention that “Elam” meant to the Elamites a “happy state”. This name was written in the Sumerian cuneiform script “NIMKI”. This name is pronounced “(MA) ELAM” in the Sumerian language and “ELAMTU” in the Akkadian language, while the Persians called it “AJU”, and the name “Khuzestan” is derived from the aforementioned name. In the Akkadian language, “Elam” means the land located in the highlands and also means the highlands. The name Elam was found for the first time on a Sumerian tablet where it is mentioned that the king of the Sumerians (Enmebaragesi) plundered many weapons and spoils in his wars with the Elamites.
To this day, the Kurdish language retains words containing the word “Hal”, preserving its Elamite meaning indicating elevation and ascent. Examples of these words are “Helperki” (dancing), “Helbest” (poetry), “Helo” (eagle), “Helsan” (rising), “Helkewt” (apparent or prominent), “Helat” (appearance or dawn or sunrise), “Helhatin” (escaping), “Helmet” (attack), “Helhele” (ululation), “Tiheldan” (striking, etc.). We see that the meanings of these Kurdish words appended with the syllable “Hel” all indicate elevation, whether through movement, sound, or high status. It is also very likely that Arabic words, such as Hilal (crescent), Halhala (ululation), and others, were taken from the Elamite language or the Kurdish language during communication between their two civilizations after the extinction of the Elamite state.
The state of Elam included both current Khuzestan, Lorestan, Pisht-e Kuh, and the Bakhtiari Mountains (all of these regions are located within Kurdistan). It was bounded on the west by the Tigris River, on the east by the current Shiraz province, on the north by the Bakhtiari Mountains, and on the south by the Persian Gulf. During the period when the Elamite Empire was at the peak of its power, the kingdom included a wide area with sprawling borders, consisting of a mountainous region and a plain region. The mountainous section was located in the east of the country, and the city of “NAZNA” was the center of this region, while the plain section consisted of western Elam, and the city of “Susa” was its center.
The Kurdish Elamites had their independent entity in the period between 2950 and 650 BC. The Elamites built the city of (Susa) on the Karun River. The Elamites occupied the land of Sumer and Babylon for a period of time. They learned writing from the Sumerians, who were also of Aryan peoples. The Elamites were nature worshippers, especially the sun, while the Assyrians and Babylonians were idol worshippers.
The system of government in the Elamite Empire was a federal system, and the major city centers were managed by independent governments, except that the central government subjected local governments to its control when it was strong. The ruling family of the Kingdom of Elam was from the city of “AVAN”, whose rule lasted from about 2500 BC to about 2200 BC. The relations that linked the Kingdom of Elam with neighboring powerful states, such as Sumer, Akkad, and later Babylon and Assyria, were relations of hostility and harmony, depending on the convergence and divergence of their interests with their neighbors and depending on the balance of power in the region. This relationship contributed to building a prosperous civilization in the region, as indicated by the ruins left behind by these peoples.
With the rise of the power of Akkad in about 2550 BC, a large part of Elam fell under Akkadian occupation, which led to the dominance and hegemony of the Akkadian language and writing in the Elamite state. The attack of the Gutians in about 2120 BC in Mesopotamia led to the decline of the influence and hegemony of the Akkadian state. As a result of this attack, the kings of Sumer in Ur expanded their sphere of control in Elam, some parts of which were ruled at the time by the “SIMISHKI” dynasty, and its rule came under Sumerian tutelage. In 2006 BC, the Elamites attacked the city of Ur and brought it under their control, and at that time they were able to enjoy independence for a period of time, but the long and bitter conflict between the Elamites and the Sumerians was an obstacle for the Elamites to achieve their goals. After the emergence of the Amorite state in Babylon, the power of Sumer waned, and the Elamites and Babylonians became equals. During the reign of the Babylonian king Hammurabi (1792–1750 BC), the Babylonians were able to impose their control over Elam. In about 1700 BC, the Elamite king “Kutir-Nahhunte” rejected Babylonian influence and launched a sweeping attack on the Kingdom of Babylon, during which he was able to occupy many Babylonian cities. Kassite rule in Babylon and Mesopotamia (1595–1160 BC) constituted a continuous threat to the Elamites and a cause for concern and a feeling of a lack of security and stability in their country. After the decline of the Babylonian state, prosperity returned to the Elamite state, and it was able to restore its glory and greatness, which led to major historical reflections in the history of the Elamite state, as the Elamites kings were able during that time period to extend their influence over the eastern and western parts of their country, which included the city of Anshan and Susa, respectively. The thirteenth century BC was a golden age in the life of the Elamite state, as Elamite rulers were able to bring their country to the height of its greatness.
In 1160 BC, the King of Elam “KUTIR – NAHHUNTE” succeeded in ending the authority of the Kassite kings in Babylon and extending his control over Babylon, making it dependent on his empire. Precious and sacred things from the temples of Babylon were transferred to Susa. Among them were wonderful artistic treasures such as the stele of the Akkadian king (Manishtushu) and the stele of his son (Naram-Sin), and they also took some stone copies of the Code of Hammurabi. After the return of “Kutir-Nahhunte” to Elam, he appointed his son as ruler of Babylon, but a Babylonian prince named (Enlil-Aakhi) continued to resist the Elamite forces for three years. In 1157 BC, the Elamites invaded the land of Babylon led by their king (Shilhak-Inshushinak). The Elamites took the statue of the god (Marduk) among their spoils after their withdrawal and left a military garrison there, but the Babylonian king (Marduk-Kabit-Akhheshu) expelled the aforementioned garrison that the Elamites left behind after their withdrawal from Babylon. It seems that the Elamites did not possess sufficient power at that time to undertake a counter-military action to control Babylon again. During the reign of King “Shutruk-Nakhunte” (or Shilhak-Inshushinak, 1165–1151 BC), the Elamites made numerous conquests in various regions; the vanguard of the Elamites crossed the Diyala region from the north and reached the current Kirkuk region, and the Assyrians were expelled from the region and pushed away from the banks of the Tigris River. The greater part of the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the plains of the western Zagros Mountains were occupied by the Elamites, and for the first time, the Elamite state reached such breadth and greatness. These military and political achievements contributed to the prosperity of the cultural reality of the Elamites and led to their rejection of foreign intrusive cultures that were imposed on them, and thus the Elamite language and writing flourished and developed, as did art and architecture, especially in the Susa region.
During the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar I, this king was able to build a large and strong army, and the morale of the Babylonians was high, while Elam was living in a state of chaos following the rule of its king “Shilhak-Inshushinak”, which made the political stage more ready than ever for the Babylonians to take revenge on the Elamites who had destroyed their temples and robbed them of their most sacred possession, which was the statue of the god Marduk, which they had taken with them to the city of Susa.
After Babylon regained its power in about 1110 BC, the Elamites entered into a long conflict with the Babylonians during the reign of their king “Nebuchadnezzar”. Nebuchadnezzar I drew up a plan to get rid of the threats that the Elamites posed to the Babylonians and to return the statue of the god “Marduk” to its previous place in the (Esagila) temple located in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar I launched a military campaign against the Elamite state, taking the traditional route to Elam passing through the city of (Der) near Badra, but this campaign failed. The retreat of Nebuchadnezzar I’s forces was due to the outbreak of an epidemic among his military forces after reaching the Karkheh River, so they retreated to the city of (Kar-Dür-Abil-Sin) located east of the Tigris River, but they were forced to withdraw from this city as well.
After the failure of the Babylonian military campaign against Elam, the Elamites continued to threaten Babylonian lands. After the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar believed that the gods would help him win against the Elamites, he gathered a large military force to launch another attack on the Elamites to rid the country of the Elamite threat. He gathered many war chariots and formed a large force with which he marched on the Elamite capital “Susa” in a surprise attack that caught the Elamites off guard, during which he was able to seize the land of Elam after the king of Elam was forced to flee. The Babylonians plundered Elam and imposed tribute on the Elamites.
The emergence of two powerful states in Mesopotamia, the state of Assyria from the north and the state of Babylon from the south, led to bitter conflicts between these two great states in competition to gain influence and control. In 710 BC, the Assyrian king “Sargon” entered into a war with the Babylonians, as a result of which the Babylonian king was forced to seek refuge in Elam, and with the help of the Elamites, the Babylonian king was able to break the power of the Assyrians. During the reign of the Assyrian king “Sennacherib”, the Elamites and Assyrians were in continuous conflict to control Babylon, but this conflict did not lead to any notable result. In the end, in 689 BC, the Assyrians were able to subdue Babylon and take control of it. In 653 BC, a fateful conflict broke out between the army of the Assyrian king “Ashurbanipal” and the army of the Elamite king “Teumman” (Umman-menanu / Temti-Humban-Inshushinak). This conflict ended with the fall of Elam and the destruction, plunder, and extermination of its population by the Assyrians. No state of Elam ever rose again after this date, and thus Elam disappeared as a unified state.
Despite those massacres to which the Elamites were subjected at the hands of the Assyrians, the Elamites were able afterwards to establish numerous petty states for many centuries on the land of Elam and continued to live independently, far from foreign control.
After the end of the era of Nebuchadnezzar I, Babylonian-Elamite relations witnessed stagnation as a result of internal problems that Elam suffered from, as the Medes began to control it gradually, while the land of Babylon was in intense conflict with the Assyrian state.
The time periods passed by the Elamite state can be divided into three periods or eras. The first period began in prehistory (8,000 BC to 2225 BC). This period was contemporaneous with the Sumerians and Akkadians, and this era concludes with the extinction of the Sumerian and Akkadian states at the hands of the Elamites. Their conquests were mentioned in the Torah in a special discussion in the fourth chapter of the Book of Genesis, verses (1, 5, 9, 17), and the name of the king of Elam (Chedorlaomer) is mentioned therein. The second period is the period of the Elamites’ contemporaneity with the Babylonians, which extended from 2225 BC to 745 BC. As for the third period, it is the period of the Elamites’ contemporaneity with the Assyrians, which began in 745 BC and ended in 645 BC, when the Elamite state became extinct at the hands of Ashurbanipal in 645 BC. After this period, the rule of the Achaemenids, who were the Persian Parsis, began. This state united with the Kurdish Median state, forming the state of Iran, which was ruled by Cyrus the Great until its fall at the hands of Alexander the Great in 331 BC at the Battle of Arbela, where the Seleucid state began. Afterwards, the Sasanian Empire emerged, and King Khosrow was its last king, during whose reign his empire was overthrown by the Muslims between 636 AD and 640 AD, where it became part of the Islamic Empire during the time of the Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab.
Archaeological excavations conducted in the Khuzestan region indicate that the Elamite state had an advanced civilization during the third millennium BC. Excavations revealed dwellings of agricultural communities, pottery vessels, and tools used for various purposes. Some of these vessels were colored and others decorated. Clay tablets bearing records written in pictographic writing were also discovered in the city of “Susa”. This type of writing is known as “Mother or Original Elamite”. This type of writing moved to the Iranian plateau, where it remained in use for many centuries.
Sources
Amiet, Pierre (1372 AH). History of Elam. Translated by Shirin Bayani, Tehran University Press.
Cameron, George (1365 AH). Iran in the Dawn of History. Translated by Hassan Anousheh, Elmi o Farhangi Publications.
Hinz, Walter (1376 AH). The Lost World of Elam. Translated by Firouz Firouznia, Elmi o Farhangi Publications.
2006 / 12 / 7
Note: This text is translated from the original Arabic version… Read the Arabic version:Click here
