TO MESOPOTAMIA AND KURDISTAN IN DISGUISE WITH HISTORICAL NOTICES OF THE KURDISH TRIBES AND THE CHALDEANS OF KURDISTAN ELY BANNISTER SOANE TO MESOPOTAMIA AND KURDISTAN IN DISGUISE With Historical Notices Of The Kurdish Tribes and The Chaldeans of Kurdistan Ely Bannister Soane First published in 1912, by John Murray, London This paperback edition published in 2013 by Weşanxaneya Azad Kurdistan Archive: 01/04 Editor Eslîxan Yildirim Preparing for publication Yasemin Deniz Layout and Cover Design Dawûd Rêbiwar Printed and bound at İmaj Matbaacılık San. Tic. Ltd. Şti. Litros Yolu, 2. Matbaacılar Sitesi, C Blok 2 BC 6 Topkapı / İstanbul Tel: 00 90 212 501 91 40 Sertifika No: 26954 ISBN: 978-0-9575612-3-6 Company No: 8291088 Publisher WEŞANXANEYA AZAD 41 Handa Walk LONDON N1 2RF www.wesanxaneyaazad.com [email protected] TO MESOPOTAMIA AND KURDISTAN IN DISGUISE WITH HISTORICAL NOTICES OF THE KURDISH TRIBES AND THE CHALDEANS OF KURDISTAN ELY BANNISTER SOANE ABOUT E. B. SOANE AND HIS WORKS We see that since the 18th century western travellers, mis- sioners and political officials have showed great interest in Kurdistan and its vicinity, an area of interest throughout his- tory. The travels and observations were put into writing and they have been evolved into outstanding works. Whatever their aims, the travels to Kurdistan and all of the texts written during those travels are invaluable sources for the history of Kurdis- tan. Therefore, as Azad Publishing House we envisioned to re- publish this kind of works as a series under the title “Kurdistan Archive”. Besides being important resources for researchers in the field of Kurdology, the readers of the series will have an interesting journey back to the past. We start up the series with one of the most important of these works, ‘To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise, With Historical Notes of the Kurdish Tribes and Chaldeans of Kurdistan’ by Ely Bannister Soane, first published in 1912. We are publishing the exact version that was published in Boston, in 1914. Ely Bannister Soane was born in Kensington, in 1881. He went to Bishop Latymer School in 1889 and Latymer High School between 1895 and 1898. After working in Imperial Bank of Persia for 1 year, he was sent to Iran. He spent most of his life in Middle East, some years in Tahran, Yezd, Buşir and 5 Şiraz. He learned local languages in this period. He liked Arian culture very much and later became Muslim. In 1906, he was appointed to Iran Imperial Bank in Kirmanşah. He resigned from this bank in 1907 and returned to England. He then start- ed a journey to Mesopotamia and Southern Kurdistan hiding his own identity and introducing himself as Mirza Gulam Hü- seyin Şirazi. In this book, he wrote what he saw, what he heard and his overall life experience through a westerner’s eyes... From 1909 to 1913 he worked at an Iran-British Petrol Compa- ny. When the First World War started he was in Baghdat. He was imprisoned with 20 other Europeans for few weeks and then freed. In 1915 he was appointed to secret missions for his country. In 1916 he was appointed as vice consul to Dizful, Iran. When Otto- man Empire was defeated at the end of the war, European govern- ments started to spread in Middle East. He became an advisor to Kurdish Goverment which was founded in south Kurdistan at this time. In 1921 when the Kurds were denied of their national rights at Cairo Conference, his services to Britain were also came to an end and he returned to England. In 1923, he died on a sea journey while he was looking for a cure for his illness. E. B. SOANE WORKS: -A Southern Kurdish Folksong in Kermanshah Dialect Journal Royal Asiatic Society, 1909 - Notes on a Kurdish Dialect, the Shadi Branch of Kermanji, Journal Royal Asiatic Society, 1909 - Notes on a Kurdish Dialect, Sulaimania (Southern Turkish Kurdistan), Journal Royal Asiatic Society, 1912 - To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise, With Histor- ical Notes of the Kurdish Tribes and Chaldeans of Kurdistan, London, 1912 6 - Grammar of the Kurmanji or Kurdish Language, London, 1913 - Elementary Kurmanji Grammar, Baghdad, 1919 - Kitab i Awalamani Qiraat i Kurdi, ed. E. B. Soane, Bagh- dad, 1920 - A Short Anthology of Guran Poetry, Journal Royal Asiatic Society, January, 1921 - Notes on the Phonology of Southern Kurmanji, Journal Royal Asiatic Society, April, 1922 - The Tale of Suto and Tato “Kurdish Text with Translation and Notes, By B. Nikitine and the late Major E. B. Soane.” Bul- letin, School of Oriental Studies. Vol. 3, Pt. I, 1923 There is an article of C. J. Edmonds below that contains im- portant notes about E. B. Soane and his book. The article pub- lished at the Journal of The Royal Central Asian Society(Vol. XXIII., p:622-625) in 1936: SOANE AT HALABJA: AN ECHO By C. J. EDMONDS There has just (1936) been published at Sulaimani a small collection of poems, in Kurdish and in Persian, by Tahir Beg Jaf,1 a poet of some repute among the Southern Kurds. The following is an extract from the introduction in Kurdish: 1 The Jaf are a typical Kurdish nomad tribe numbering several thousand tents. They spend the winter in the Kifri region as far south as Qara Tappa, and the summer in the mountains of Iran, east of Bana. Their range of migration is thus some 130 miles. The settled Jaf are even more numerous than the nomads, occupying many villages throughout the length and breadth of the migration routes. The members of the ruling family are referred to as Begzada. These Jaf of ‘Iraq are known as Jaf Muradi; other sections remained in Iran. 7 Tahir Beg, the well-known, celebrated, melodious and word- sweet poet, was the son of Osman Pasha, son of Muhammad Pa- sha, Jaf. The stock and family of the Jaf Begzadas were accounted among the great and celebrated Kurdish Amirs. One hundred and fifty years ago they held the chieftainship of the Jaf tribe. Later, on the encourage ment of the Baban2 Government they came to Sharazur, and from the time of the Baban Government until the formation of the ‘Iraqi Government they continued to hold the leadership of the Jaf. Tahir Beg came into this world in the year 1295 of the Hijra (= a.d. 1878), and departed from it in 1337 (=a.d. 1918). He died in Sulaimani; they brought his body to Halabja; he was buried in the village of Ababaile, so named after one of the Com- panions of the Prophet, one hour’s ride up-hill from Halabja. Tahir Beg did not study in a big or high school, but only passed through a local village school. Nevertheless, his under- standing, general knowledge and sagacity did not correspond with the degree of his studies; they were ten times higher. Tahir Beg composed poetry in four languages—Kurdish, Persian, Turkish and Arabic. He produced a vocabulary of these four lan- guages in rhymed verse. We have expended great effort and trouble, but unfortunately we have not been able to lay hands on that rare book. The fragments of his work that we have been able to obtain we owe to his sister, Nahida Khanum, who sent them to us. We request those who have any more works of this personage in their possession to send them to us for inclusion in the second edition. The sagacity of Tahir Beg was on this wise. In the time of the Turkish Government, fifteen (sic) years before the Great War, the well-known Major Soane came on a journey to Kurdistan in ‘Iraq. 2 See my article, “A Kurdish Lampoonist,” in Part I. of the Journal for 1935. 8 After spending several years in this manner he went to the house of Osman Pasha, the father of Tahir Beg. He became his servant and remained in his employment six or seven months. He called himself Ghulam Husain. This Ghulam Husain, who was Major Soane, worked very well at his duties as servant. Ta- hir Beg also, on account of his good service, treated him with the greatest respect and liked him. From certain peculiarities of the behaviour of this Ghulam Husain Tahir Beg conceived some doubts; for he observed that his manners were not like those of other servants, so polite and conscientious was he. One day Tahir Beg was looking at a French book. Ghulam Husain (Major Soane) said to him, “Sir, I suppose that your Hon- our knows French?” Tahir Beg replied, “Yes, I know a little; and you, don’t you know any?” He said, “Yes; some six or seven years ago in Persia I was serv- ant to a Frenchman; through him I know a little.” When Tahir Beg knew that, he always talked to him in French about any secret matter. One day when they were talking there slipped from the tongue of Ghulam Husain (Major Soane) in- stead of the word na, the word new—no. Tahir Beg was puzzled at this and concluded that this man named Ghulam Husain was English, because the word new—no is the English for na. Then Tahir Beg called to Ghulam Husain and said, “What is your name?” Ghulam Husain said, “May I be thy sacrifice; what do you mean, what is my name? My name is what you called me by.” T. B. “No, you have changed your name; you are English.” G. H. “How do you know?” T. B. “It is obvious from your speech.” 9 G. H. “You are right; I am English; my name is Major3 Soane; for some years now I have been travelling about ‘Iraq, ‘Iran and Turkey.” When he knew this, Tahir Beg asked him not to stay there, lest he should fall foul of the Government.