Ehmedê Xanî
Ehmedê Xanî ئەحمەدێ خانی | |
|---|---|
 A bust of Ehmedê Xanî in Kurdistan Region | |
| Born | 1650 |
| Died | 1707 (Bayazid) |
| Occupation(s) | Intellectual, scholar, poet, writer |
| Years active | 17th century |
| Academic background | |
| Influences | Melayê Cizîrî, Ali Hariri, Feqiyê Teyran |
| Academic work | |
| Influenced | Abdurrahman Sharafkandi, Haji Qadir Koyi, Hemin Mukriyani |
Ehmedê Xanî (Kurdish: ئەحمەدێ خانی, romanized: Ehmedê Xanî; Turkish Ahmed Hani), was a Kurdish intellectual, scholar, mystic and poet who is considered the founder of Kurdish nationalism. He was born in the Hakkâri region in 1650 and died in Bayazid in 1707.[1]
The most important work of Xanî is Mem and Zin which is considered the national epic of Kurds. Other important works include Nûbiharan Biçûkan and Eqîdeya Îmanê. These works were studied in Kurdish schools from the time of Kani towards the 1930s.[1]
Xanî admired Melayê Cizîrî and Feqiyê Teyran.[2] Joyce Blau called him the spiritual son of Cizîrî, Teyran and Ali Hariri.[3]
Biography
Xanî was born in the village of Khan near Hakkari in 1650 and is buried in the Ehmed Xani türbe in Bayazid/Doğubayazıt.[4]
Nationalism
Xanî is considered the founder of Kurdish nationalism and supported an independent Kurdistan.[5] In a mathnawi from 1694, he chose not to devote parts of the introduction to praise the rulers of his time, which was typical in classical Oriental literature. Instead, the preface of the mathnawi was dedicated to his opinions on Kurdish nationalism. He explained the subjugation of Kurds by the Ottomans and the Safavids, and their occupation of Kurdistan which he argued had become a reality because of the lack of a Kurdish monarch who could rule Kurdistan. Such a ruler could liberate Kurds from the 'vile'.[1] He also believed that an independent Kurdistan could safeguard the Kurdish language for scientific and intellectual purposes.[5]
In the epic Mem and Zin, he wrote:[5]
If we had unity amongst ourselves,
If we all, together, obeyed one another,
The Turks, the Arabs and the Persians,
Would one and all be in our servitude,[a]
Works
- Mem û Zîn (Mem and Zin)
- Eqîdeya Îmanê (The Path of Faith)
- Eqîdeya Îslamê (Basics of Islam)
- Nûbihara Biçûkan (The Spring of Children)
- Erdê Xweda (Astronomy and Geography book)
- Dîwana Helbestan
References
- ^ Kurdish: Ger dê hebûya me ittifaqek
Vêk ra bikira me inqiyadek
Rûm û ereb û ecem temamî
Hemiyan ji me ra dikir xulamî
Tekmîl dikir me dîn û dewlet
Tehsîl dikir me ilm û hikmet
- ^ a b c Shakely, F. (2002). "AḤMAD-E ḴĀNI". Encyclopedia Iranica.
- ^ Ahmadzadeh, Hashem (2018). Gunter, Michael M. (ed.). Classical and modern Kurdish literature. Routledge. p. 92. ISBN 9781317237983.
- ^ Blau, Joyce (1995). Malmîsanij (ed.). "Jiyan û berhemên Ehmedê Xanî (1650-1707)". Çira (in Kurdish): 7.
- ^ Korangy, Alireza (2020). Kurdish Art and Identity: Verbal Art, Self-definition and Recent History. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 41. ISBN 9783110599626.
- ^ a b c Olson, Robert. "Kurds". The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
External links
- Works by Ehmedê Xanî at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Ahmad Khani, Kurdish Academy of Language KAL
- Our Trouble by Ehmedê Xanî, Noahs Ark Holidays
