Kalhor (tribe)

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The Kalhor were one of the oldest Kurdish tribes, if not the oldest. The tribe was native to Kermanshah province in Iran where it was historically the most powerful tribe.^[8] In the Sharafnama, Sharafkhan Bidlisi wrote that the Kurdish nation was made up of four subdivisions, the Goran, Kurmanj, Kalhor, and Lur.^[9] Sharafkhan Bidlisi also wrote that the Kalhor leaders claimed descent from Gudarz, the father of Giv in the Shahnama. Henry Rawlinson also suggested a theory that considered the Kalhor as the descendants of the Jews carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar.^[10][11]

The neighboring Goran referred to the Kalhor as "keł weř", with "keł" meaning a mountain goat, and "weř" meaning either "slayer" or "nomad". It was generally claimed to originate from the first one, as killing a mountain goat was seen as a symbol of bravery. The tribe was also known by the Goran and other neighboring Kurdish tribes for its historic dominance over the Kermanshah region. There was even a village in the region named Kełkweş, meaning "goat killer". The Kalhor tribe originally pronounced its name as "Kełeř", while "Kalhor" came from Persian, especially the "h" and "o". The "o" sound in Persian did not exist in Kalhori. Over time, due to Persian influence, some of the Kalhor began adding the "h" in their name.^[12][13] There was another possibility that Kalhor derived from Kalgir, meaning "conqueror of the mountain goat", with the shift from "g" to "h" having been gradual in Iranic languages. It was agreed that "Kal" meant mountain goat, and it meant the same thing in Kurdish and Persian. However, most disagreements were about the "Hor" part. The native pronounciation of Kalhor was "Kełeř", and the origin of the name was generally believed to represent bravery and warrior nature.^[14]

The Kalhor were Yarsani in the 1830s but increasingly began converting to Shia Islam afterwards, and the majority of the Kalhor were Shia Muslim by the early 1900s. As the Kalhor tribe became major players in Kermanshah at the time of their conversion to Shia Islam at the turn of the century, it was likely that the Kalhor leaders decided that a Shia identity was more politically prudent, like the Ardalan did in the 1820s. It remained one of the largest Kurdish tribes in Iran alongside the neighboring Guran tribe and the Mangur tribe around Mahabad.^[15] Some Kalhor remained Yarsani after most of the tribe became Shia Muslim.^[16] In the 19th century, the local government cooperated with Shia clergy to promote Shia Islam in Kermanshah province, and especially in Kermanshah city, as part of their organized effort to promote Shia Islam in the region. The process might have been accelerated by the residence of notable cleric families in the city, who were usually invited by governors, and later the establishment of a madrasa under the governorship of Emad al-Dowleh in 1868. The main targets had been the Yarsanis, but also the Jews.^[17]

The Kalhor were influential during the Safavid era. Minorsky added that the Kalhor tribe possibly had close ties to the Safavid court like the other Shia Kurdish tribe of Pazuki. The Kalhor were also supporters of Karim Khan Zand throughout his entire rule, although he did not bring any with him when he settled in Shiraz and brought his allied tribes, likely thinking that the Kalhor were better at defending the Iranian border from the Ottoman Empire.^[18]

The last influential Kalhor leader was Dawud Khan who led the tribe in the early 1900s, starting off as a mere peddler but gradually becoming "the absolute master of the entire territory between Kermanshah and the Ottoman border". Dawud Khan later joined the revolt of Salar al-Dawla and was killed in battle in 1912. His successor, Abbas Khan, was imprisoned by Reza Shah in 1926. He was released in 1941, after Reza Shah was abdicated, and was even elected a deputy in the Parliament from Kermanshah in 1944. However, most of the Kalhor tribe had become sedentary by then and had lost the cohesion that had once made them strong. Despite its large size, the tribe had significantly weakened. However, it was still comparatively rich.^[19] There was also a large Kalhor population in the Eyvan region of Ilam province, historically Posht-e-Kuh, which was under the Vali dynasty. The Kalhors of Ilam were known as Eyvan Kalhor, and were considered Feyli Kurds. Although they were Kalhor, their tribal organization was different from the main branch of the Kalhor in Kermanshah. During the rule of the Vali dynasty, the Eyvan Kalhor were constantly in conflict with the Khezel and Arkawazi tribes, and with Valis, over territory and pastures.^[20] The Rizavand, a Kurdish tribe native to the Chardavol region next to Eyvan, were also included among the Kalhor tribes.^[21][22][23]

The tribe speaks Southern Kurdish, specifically the Kalhori dialect, which stretched from southwestern Kermanshah province to northern Ilam province to eastern Iraq.^[24][25] In Iraq, the Kalhor tribe mainly lived in Khanaqin.^[26] Branches of the Kalhor tribe included Khaledi, Shiani, Siasia, Kazemkhani, Khoman, Talesh, Garga, Kolehpa, Kolehjow, Shuwan, Quchemi, Mansuri, Alvandi, Mahidashti, Harunabadi, Shahini, Mushgir, Bodaqbeygi, Zeynalkhani, and Komara.^[27]

• Sanjabi
• Zangana
• Feyli Kurds