Ahmed Mohammad Barzani (1896 – 11 January 1969) ( ku, ئه‌حمه‌د محه‌ممه‌د بارزانی / Ehmed Mihemed Barzanî), also known as Khudan ( ku, Xodan / خودان), was the head of the Barzani tribe in

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages ...

. Sheikh Ahmed is considered to be the architect of Barzani rule in

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also inc ...

. He was a Kurdish nationalist who brought many different

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

tribes under his command and expanded the

Barzan Barzan can refer to: Geography * Barzan, Iraq, a city in northern Iraq * Barzan, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province, Iran * Barzan, alternate name of Sevaldi, a village in North Khorasan Province, Iran * Barzan, Charente-Maritime, a town in Fran ...

region. Along with his younger brother

Mustafa Barzani Mustafa Barzani ( ku, مەلا مسته‌فا بارزانی, Mistefa Barzanî; 14 March 1903 – 1 March 1979) also known as Mela Mustafa (Preacher Mustafa), was a Kurdish leader, general and one of the most prominent political figures in mod ...

, he fought against the

Iraqi government The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution, approved in 2005, as an Islamic, democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as w ...

in the 1920s and 1930s.

Battle with Assyrians

When Assyrians were returning to Hakkari, Ahmed Barzani and his Zibari allies tried to prevent the Assyrians from passing through their territory. The Assyrians defeated them and inflected heavy losses.

Barzani revolts

The first of the major Barzani revolts took place in 1931 after Mustafa Barzani, one of the most prominent

leaders in

and the brother of Ahmed, succeeded in defeating a number of other

tribes who questioned their dominance.''The Kurdish Minority Problem'', p.11, Dec. 1948, ORE 71-48,

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

. He was later forced to flee to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, where he was held in detention and then sent to exile in the south of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. He headed

's largest revolution from 1931 to 1937 and gained the respect of many

i Army generals who were fighting him, such as General Abdul-Jabar Barznji the commander of

i Army in

region. Barzani was the center of focus of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

i and Turkish discontent. He was very sympathetic to the

movements in the North led by Khoyboun (the Ararat Revolt). He received many

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...

who were seeking sanctuary in

, including Kor Hussein Pasha. In September 1930, a Turkish military attaché in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

told

's Prime Minister Nuri Said, "the Turkish military operations in Ararat were very successful. The army will carry similar operations to the west of the Lake of Wan. We expect these operations to come to an end soon. The Turkish army will mobilize along the

border if the

i Army moves against the Sheikh

. In fact, Ismet Inonu complained to Nuri Said in Ankara that Sheikh Ahmed was supporting the insurrection in Ararat (see Archive E4976/1932/93, dated 4SEP1930)

Environmental protection

Barzani was the first known

environmentalist and conservationist leader. He enforced regulations to maintain a clean and sustainable environment. He prohibited, among other things: *Cutting down trees, especially those which provide shade and prevent erosion *Overharvesting honey *Killing non-poisonous snakes. *Fishing with dynamite and other explosives *Hunting during breeding season.

Barzani's legacy

Barzani rejected the traditional way of maintaining leadership within the same family. He emphasized that whoever takes the lead must be qualified for such a job. He condemned the corruption which was beginning to take part within the

Movement and was highly critical of ignoring the oppressed masses who were the victims of the movement's failures. He is also credited with emphasizing that marriage should be voluntary: such freedom he considered a basic civil right and stressed it publicly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barzani, Ahmed 1896 births 1969 deaths Converts to Christianity from Islam Iraqi former Muslims Iraqi Kurdish people Kurdish Christians Kurdish nationalists People from Barzan Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan politicians