Horasan

Horasan is one of the historical regions located in the northeast of Iran and forming the eastern half of the Islamic world. In the sources of Kurdish history, it appears both as a stage for significant political events and as a geography where the presence of the Kurdish population is recorded.

Its Place in the Islamic World

Horasan is considered one of the important regions of the Islamic world and had a strategic location even before the advent of Islam. Many details about the region are found in Islamic cultural heritage books; it played a fundamental role in the process of the Abbasids gaining the caliphate, and important figures emerged from here (Vol. 2, p. 68). The depiction of Kurdish lands ("Ardu'l-Ekrâd") as bordering Horasan in Arabic geographical literature reveals the region's proximity to Kurdish geography (Vol. 2, p. 55). When classifying the eastern half of the Islamic world, Horasan, along with Iran, Azerbaijan, Sind, and Sijistan, was counted among the main regions of this eastern half (Vol. 2, p. 18).

Ebu Müslim-i Horasanî

The most debated connection of the region in Kurdish history is Ebu Müslim-i Horasanî, the legendary commander of the Abbasid revolution. When examining the first two centuries of the Abbasid era, it is seen that Kurds provided great support to the Abbasid revolution, and even that Ebu Müslim-i Horasanî's Kurdish identity was voiced (Vol. 1, p. 98). Sources provide different information about Ebu Müslim's birthplace; some historians state that this was the village of Ebu Müslim from Horasan, and it has been stated that if he is accepted to have been born in Mahan, Mahan would need to be considered a Kurdish village or a village where Kurds also lived (Vol. 2, p. 68).

Kurdish Settlements in the Region

Geographical sources also record actual Kurdish settlements within Horasan. Istakhri, when speaking of Horasan, mentions a small city in the desert called Ushturj; in this city, there are seven villages and houses belonging to Kurds. Istakhri also states that there are deserts in the rural areas of the cities in Kuhistan, where Kurds and herders raising camels and sheep live, and when mentioning distances in Horasan, he refers to Karyetü'l-Ekrad (Kurdish Village) located near Esadâbad (Vol. 2, p. 17). Ibn Hawqal, while providing information about Kuhistan, states that, as in other regions of Horasan, there are no dense settlements here, and that Kurds, camel and sheep herders, reside in the deserts between cities and villages (Vol. 2, p. 20). Ibn Said al-Maghribi, on the other hand, speaks of Kuhistan Mountain, whose location he defines as somewhere between Horasan, Fars, and Kirman (Vol. 2, p. 82).

Kurdish Dynasties and Figures

Horasan is also indirectly reflected in the history of Kurdish dynasties and figures. Hasanveyh, the founder of the Hasanveyhid Kurdish Emirate, provided military assistance to the Buyid ruler Rukn al-Dawla in his war against the Samanids in Horasan and gained his favor (Vol. 1, p. 119). The region also appears in the military presence of Kurds in distant lands; Allush al-Kurdi, appointed governor of Antakya, succeeded in gaining the trust of the Horasanis, who were brought as soldiers from Horasan during the reign of Sayf al-Dawla al-Hamdani and numbered 5000 (Vol. 2, p. 72).