Ehmedê Xanî

Ehmedê Xanî (Kurdish: ئەحمەدێ خانی, romanized: Ehmedê Xanî; 1650, Hakkari – 1707, Bayazid), 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]

Not to be confused with Ehmedê Xasî.
For the village in Iran, see Ahmad Khani, Iran.

Ehmedê Xanî
ئەحمەدێ خانی
A bust of Ehmedê Xanî in Kurdistan Region
Born1650
Hakkari
Died1707
(Bayazid)
Occupation(s)Intellectual, scholar, poet, writer
Years active17th century
Academic background
InfluencesMelayê Cizîrî, Ali Hariri, Feqiyê Teyran
Academic work
InfluencedAbdurrahman Sharafkandi, Haji Qadir Koyi, Hemin Mukriyani
Ehmed Xani türbe in Bayazid

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.[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, 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 writes:[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,[lower-alpha 1]

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
  1. 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
  1. Shakely, F. (2002). "AḤMAD-E ḴĀNI". Encyclopedia Iranica.
  2. Ahmadzadeh, Hashem (2018). Gunter, Michael M. (ed.). Classical and modern Kurdish literature. Routledge. p. 92. ISBN 9781317237983.
  3. Blau, Joyce (1995). Malmîsanij (ed.). "Jiyan û berhemên Ehmedê Xanî (1650-1707)". Çira (in Kurdish): 7.
  4. Korangy, Alireza (2020). Kurdish Art and Identity: Verbal Art, Self-definition and Recent History. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 41. ISBN 9783110599626.
  5. Olson, Robert. "Kurds". The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
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