Kalhor (tribe)

The Kalhor () are a Kurdish tribe native to the southern regions of Kurdistan where they traditionally lived on both sides of the Iran-Iraq border between Kermanshah and Khanaqin. They are mostly Shia Muslims with a Yarsani and Ali-Illahi minority. Their dialect, Kalhori, is a branch of Southern Kurdish.

Etymology The name of the Kalhor tribe was often said to derive from "Kal" and "Hur", meaning "mountain goat" and "the sun".نیروی نظامی ایلات کرد و الگوی موازنه قدرت در عصر صفوی: مطالعه موردی ایل زنگنه و کلهر، مهناز کلوندی، نیره دلیر، ص. ٢٩. مطالعات تاریخی جنگ، دوره ۸، شماره ۴۰، سال ۱۴۰۳، صفحات ۲۶-۴۲. Vladimir Minorsky also speculated if the name Kalhor came from "kal-xwar", meaning "buffalo-eaters".V. Minorsky, “The Gūrān,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 85, 1943. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00071226. The Kalhor tribe was sometimes called "Kalkhur"."Ilat", pp. 1109, in Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 3 (H–IRAM). The Guran tribe, neighbors of the Kalhor, referred to the Kalhor as "keł weř", with "keł" meaning a mountain goat, and "weř" being commonly interpreted as "slayer", but also used for "nomad". Killing a mountain goat was seen as a symbol of bravery among the tribes of the region. The Kalhor tribe was known by the Guran and the other Kurdish tribes of the region for its historic dominance over Kermanshah. There was even a village in the Kermanshah region named "Kełkweş", meaning "goat killer". The Kalhor tribe traditionally pronounced its name as "Kełeř", while "Kalhor" was the Persian pronunciation. The "o" sound in Persian was not a native sound in the Kalhori dialect of Southern Kurdish, although some Kalhor began pronouncing the "h" in their name due to Persian influence.گویش کلهری، دکتر حمید خانیان، محمد کرم‌پور، بهار ۱۳۸۹، pp. 9. .دستورزبان کردی کرمانشاهی کلهر، کریم کریم‌پور، شرافت وزیری، تیرماه 1373، ص. 5. It was also suggested that the name Kalhor derived from "Kalgir", roughly meaning someone who conquered or captured a mountain goat. The shift from "g" to "h" was said to have gradually occurred in many Iranic languages. It was generally agreed that "Kal" meant a mountain goat, as it meant the same thing in Kurdish and Persian, while most disagreements were about the meaning of "Hor". Either way, the Kalhor tribe traditionally pronounced its name as "Kełeř" which was generally believed to represent bravery and warrior nature.گویش کلهری، دکتر حمید خانیان، محمد کرم‌پور، بهار ۱۳۸۹، pp. 9-10. .

History 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. In the Sharafnama, Sharafkhan Bidlisi wrote that the Kurdish nation was made up of four subdivisions, the Goran, Kurmanj, Kalhor, and Lur.Agha, Shaikh and State: The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan, Martin van Bruinessen, 1992, pp. 114, . Sharafkhan Bidlisi also wrote that the Kalhor leaders claimed descent from Gudarz, the father of Giv in the Shahnama.Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 5, pp. 460.

The Kalhor, as a tribe often mentioned among the Lak tribes, were sometimes mislabeled as Lurs in early foreign works, although scholars later clarified that they were a well known Kurdish tribe and rejected other possible origins.كردان گوران و مسأله كرد در تركيه: از آغاز جنبش كماليان تا كنفرانس لوزان، G. B. Akopov (Hakopian), M. A. Hasarof, translated by Sirus Izadi, 2007, pp. 92, .Nomadenstämme in Persien im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert, Marina Kunke, 1991, pp. 120.To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise: With Historical Notices of the Kurdish Tribes and the Chaldeans of Kurdistan, Ely Bannister Soane, 1914, pp. 387. While some Lak tribes were considered Lur, the Kalhor were among those consistently considered as Kurds.Kurden und Kurdentum: Zeitgeschichte eines Volkes und seiner Nationalbewegungen, Erhard Franz, 1986, pp. 30, . Like other Lak tribes, the Kalhor also had a tradition of originating from further north.Agha, Shaikh and State: The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan, Martin van Bruinessen, 1992, pp. 131, . A historically prominent theory considered the Kalhor as the descendants of the Jews carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar.Gorani in Its Historical and Linguistic Context, 2024, pp. 136,

The Kalhor were historically Yarsani, but increasingly converted to Shia Islam after the 1830s, and were mostly 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.A Modern History of the Kurds, David McDowall, 2007, pp. 77-78, I.B. Tauris, . Some Kalhor remained Yarsani after most of the tribe became Shia Muslim. 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.Gorani in Its Historical and Linguistic Context, 2024, pp. 137, .

There was a historic bridge named "Pul-i Kalhur" (the Kalhur Bridge) located on the Kashkan river north of the village of Mamulan in Lorestan province, which was located next to inscriptions dedicated to the Kurdish dynasty of the Hasanwayhids.The Monumental Inscriptions from Early Islamic Iran and Transoxiana, Sheila Blair, 2024, pp. 49, . The Kalhor tribe had a relatively independent status before the rise of the Safavids. When the Safavids came to power, the Kalhor tribe aligned itself with the state and served as defenders of the border against the Ottomans. The Kalhor tribe had maintained its independent local government until the reign of Shah Tahmasp I. However, some Kalhor territory briefly became part of the Ottoman Empire after a treaty with the Safavids.نیروی نظامی ایلات کرد و الگوی موازنه قدرت در عصر صفوی: مطالعه موردی ایل زنگنه و کلهر، مهناز کلوندی، نیره دلیر، ص. ٣٠-٣١. مطالعات تاریخی جنگ، دوره ۸، شماره ۴۰، سال ۱۴۰۳، صفحات ۲۶-۴۲. The Kalhor and Pazuki tribes were known for being Kurdish tribes allied with the Safavids. Iraj Afshar claimed that Safavid state influence over the Kalhor tribe was initially very limited, and that the tribe was fully autonomous and lived between Mahidasht and Mandali. The Safavid policy of appointing Qizilbash governors over the natives to prevent rebellions had dissatisfied the Kalhor tribe.نیروی نظامی ایلات کرد و الگوی موازنه قدرت در عصر صفوی: مطالعه موردی ایل زنگنه و کلهر، مهناز کلوندی، نیره دلیر، ص. ٣٠. مطالعات تاریخی جنگ، دوره ۸، شماره ۴۰، سال ۱۴۰۳، صفحات ۲۶-۴۲. Sharafkhan Bidlisi claimed that the Safavids divided the Kalhor tribe into three branches, Polangan, Tang-e Zohab, and Mahidasht, and that their division caused the Turkmen Qizilbash elements to dominate. Sharafkhan Bidlisi also claimed that during the reign of Shah Abbas I, the conflict between the Shahbazi and Mansuri clans of the Kalhor tribe had caused it to lose power, with the Zangana tribe emerging as the most powerful Kurdish tribe in the region, establishing authority over the Kalhor tribe.نیروی نظامی ایلات کرد و الگوی موازنه قدرت در عصر صفوی: مطالعه موردی ایل زنگنه و کلهر، مهناز کلوندی، نیره دلیر، ص. ٣١. مطالعات تاریخی جنگ، دوره ۸، شماره ۴۰، سال ۱۴۰۳، صفحات ۲۶-۴۲. Under Shah Abbas I, the Zangana tribe replaced the Kalhor tribe as the most powerful Kurdish tribe in Kermanshah, and was supported by the government, while the Kalhor tribe was weakened after internal conflict, and had lost favor with the Safavids after occasionally rebelling and siding with the Ottomans, such as the revolt of Zulfiqar Khan against Shah Tahmasp I.نیروی نظامی ایلات کرد و الگوی موازنه قدرت در عصر صفوی: مطالعه موردی ایل زنگنه و کلهر، مهناز کلوندی، نیره دلیر، ص. ٣٣. مطالعات تاریخی جنگ، دوره ۸، شماره ۴۰، سال ۱۴۰۳، صفحات ۲۶-۴۲.نیروی نظامی ایلات کرد و الگوی موازنه قدرت در عصر صفوی: مطالعه موردی ایل زنگنه و کلهر، مهناز کلوندی، نیره دلیر، ص. ٣٨. مطالعات تاریخی جنگ، دوره ۸، شماره ۴۰، سال ۱۴۰۳، صفحات ۲۶-۴۲. Towards the end of the Safavid era, much of the Kalhor territory was taken by the Ottoman Empire before it was restored by Nader Shah.نیروی نظامی ایلات کرد و الگوی موازنه قدرت در عصر صفوی: مطالعه موردی ایل زنگنه و کلهر، مهناز کلوندی، نیره دلیر، ص. ٣٢. مطالعات تاریخی جنگ، دوره ۸، شماره ۴۰، سال ۱۴۰۳، صفحات ۲۶-۴۲.ایل کلهر و قدرت‌های حاکم از دوره صفویه تا پایان حاکمیت محمدشاه قاجار، ص. ٨٤. منیژه کرمی، مهری ادریسی، نظام علی دهنوی، صالح امین‌پور، پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران، سال نهم، شماره دوم، پیاپی ١٨، بهار و تابستان ۱۴۰۰ (صفحات ۷۹–۹۳). Despite being under Ottoman rule for some time, the Kalhor tribe continued to provide military services to the Safavids.ایل کلهر و قدرت‌های حاکم از دوره صفویه تا پایان حاکمیت محمدشاه قاجار، ص. ٨٢. منیژه کرمی، مهری ادریسی، نظام علی دهنوی، صالح امین‌پور، پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران، سال نهم، شماره دوم، پیاپی ١٨، بهار و تابستان ۱۴۰۰ (صفحات ۷۹–۹۳). After the fall of the Safavids, the Kalhor tribe gained more autonomyایل کلهر و قدرت‌های حاکم از دوره صفویه تا پایان حاکمیت محمدشاه قاجار، ص. ٨٤-٨٥. منیژه کرمی، مهری ادریسی، نظام علی دهنوی، صالح امین‌پور، پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران، سال نهم، شماره دوم، پیاپی ١٨، بهار و تابستان ۱۴۰۰ (صفحات ۷۹–۹۳).

There was chaos in Iran after the death of Nader Shah Afshar, allowing tribal leaders and commanders to emerge again. The Kalhor tribe was able to regain some of its former prestige. When Karim Khan Zand came to power, due to ethnic and cultural similarities, the Kalhor were among his biggest allies alongside the Zangana tribe.ایل کلهر و قدرت‌های حاکم از دوره صفویه تا پایان حاکمیت محمدشاه قاجار، ص. ٨٦. منیژه کرمی، مهری ادریسی، نظام علی دهنوی، صالح امین‌پور، پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران، سال نهم، شماره دوم، پیاپی ١٨، بهار و تابستان ۱۴۰۰ (صفحات ۷۹–۹۳). Under Karim Khan Zand, the Kalhor and Zangana tribes captured the Kermanshah fortress, previously occupied by Arab and Turkmen tribes, and Karim Khan Zand gave the authority in the region to the Kurdish tribal leaders. Karim Khan married the daughter of Mohammad Khan Kalhor, known as Qamar Khanom. This political marriage strengthened not only the Kalhor tribe but all Kurdish tribes of Kermanshah. The Kalhor tribe fought against the Ottomans and internal rebels as well during the Zand era.ایل کلهر و قدرت‌های حاکم از دوره صفویه تا پایان حاکمیت محمدشاه قاجار، ص. ٨٧. منیژه کرمی، مهری ادریسی، نظام علی دهنوی، صالح امین‌پور، پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران، سال نهم، شماره دوم، پیاپی ١٨، بهار و تابستان ۱۴۰۰ (صفحات ۷۹–۹۳). When Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar came to power, Aliqoli Khan Zangana became the governor of Kermanshah. One of the most important events of his rule in Kermanshah was his military confrontation with Khosrow Khan Ardalan. Khosrow Khan defeated him and killed him, and transferred control of Kermanshah to one of the descendants of Haji ‘Ali Khan Zangana. Some Kalhor leaders had supported Khosrow Khan.ایل کلهر و قدرت‌های حاکم از دوره صفویه تا پایان حاکمیت محمدشاه قاجار، ص. ٨٩. منیژه کرمی، مهری ادریسی، نظام علی دهنوی، صالح امین‌پور، پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران، سال نهم، شماره دوم، پیاپی ١٨، بهار و تابستان ۱۴۰۰ (صفحات ۷۹–۹۳).