Ksenophon

Ksenophon (431-354 BC) is one of the leading historians and soldiers of the Ancient Greek world. With his work named Anabasis, considered one of the earliest written testimonies of Kurdish history, he left firsthand information about the peoples living in the mountainous regions of the Tigris basin in the 5th-4th centuries BC.

Anabasis and the Expedition of Young Kyros

The core of Anabasis consists of the struggle undertaken by Young Kyros, who was the satrap of Sardes (Manisa-Salihli) and the brother of the Persian king II. Artaxerxes, to seize the throne, and the return journey of the mercenary Greek soldiers who joined this rebellious army. In his work titled Hellenica, Ksenophon directs those curious about this subject to the work of Syrakusaili Themistogenes; however, it is thought that he actually refers to himself here under a pseudonym (Volume 1, p. 26). The work, consisting of seven books, begins with the expedition of Young Kyros; it recounts from whom and by what methods he gathered soldiers, his arrival at Kunaxa where the war broke out, and subsequently the experiences of the Greek soldiers who were forced into a difficult return journey through an unknown geography until they reached their homeland (Volume 1, p. 26).

Kardukhia and the Kardukhialılar

The importance of this return route for Kurdish history lies in the details Ksenophon provides regarding the region he called "Kardukhia" and the Kardukhialılar living there. This information is superficially repeated in the third and fourth books of Anabasis. Ksenophon describes the Kardukhialılar as a warlike people, disobedient to the king, and who made steep mountains their home (3.5.15-18). He also states that, like the Cossaealılar, Mardialılar, and the Uxii tribe to the east of Iran-Susiana, the Kardukhialılar also abandoned their homes and took refuge in the mountains with their wives and children in the face of a great danger (4.1.1-12) (Volume 1, p. 27).

Med and Persian World

Ksenophon's testimony is not limited to Kardukhia alone. In another work, he discusses the principles of being a good ruler through the life and reign of the Persian king II. Kyros (550-529 BC) and portrays him as an ideal king. The same author also touched upon Pers-Med relations and conveyed important details about the traditions and customs of the Meds; in this respect, it is a source that should be consulted to understand the Med and Persian world of that period (Volume 1, p. 27).

The Later Echo of the Naming

Ksenophon's naming of Kardukhia was also adopted by later writers and became embedded in the historical memory of the region. Indeed, Agathias recorded this geography, which was referred to as Gordyene, Corduene, or Carduene in later periods, directly as Kardukhia and attributed this name to Ksenophon as it was mentioned in Anabasis. According to Agathias, after I. Hüsrev ascended the Sasani throne, he stayed in the village of Thamanon, which was built on a high hill in Kardukhia and had a climate suitable for summer accommodation (Volume 1, p. 38).