Baloch–Kurdish relations covers the historical relations between Baloch and Kurds
History After the spread of Islam, it was common for Baloch and Kurds, as it was for other non-Arab Muslims, to claim Arab descent, usually from a prestigious historical figure. Thus, by the 20th century, the claims of Arab descent for both were dismissed.Two Years in Kurdistan: Experiences of a Political Officer, 1918-1920, William Rupert Hay, 1921, pp. 92An Inquiry Into the Ethnography of Afghanistan: Prepared and Presented to the Ninth International Congress of Orientalists (London, September, 1891), Henry Walter Bellew, 1891, pp. 179-180
Mir Gul Khan Nasir and Longworth Dames asserted that the Baloch and Kurds had the same exact origin, with the distinctions emerging after the Baloch migrated to what later became Balochistan. Gul Khan Nasir claimed that the ancestors of the Baloch and Kurds lived as one people in the Alborz mountains until a group of them fought against Nosherwan, and Nosherwan killed 200,000 Baloch until they fled the Alborz mountains and migrated to Balochistan in groups. Janmahmad Dashti, Baloch academic, stated that "The Kurds are from the same origin as that of Baloch. The period of their migration from the Caspian region may be a few centuries earlier than the Baloch who followed at a later period; but instead of going to their people in Zagros mountainous region, outskirts of Mesopotamia, they headed towards east. Linguistically and culturally they must have been from the same stock." Nasir Dashti asserted that the Baloch and Kurds descended from the Balashchik and Cyrti, two closely allied tribal groups of the same Median origin living in the same region near the Alborz mountains. When the Balashchik left their homeland of Balasagan and migrated to what later became Balochistan, many Cyrti accompanied them and fully merged into them. According to Dashti, many of the proto-Baloch in Kerman, south Makran, and Bashkard were called Cyrtici and were likely the descendants of the Cyrti who migrated with the Balashchik, leading many historians to further link them to the people known as Kuch, who were mentioned towards the end of the Sasanian era as the Kuch and Baluch.The Baloch and Balochistan: A Historical Account from the Beginning to the Fall of the Baloch State, Naseer Dashti, 2012, pp. 3-4, 46-47, 354-355, Balasagan historically had a known and well documented Kurdish community during the late Sasanian and early Islamic era.Chaumont, M. L.; Bosworth, C. E. (1988). "Balāsagān". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. III, Fasc. 6. New York. pp. 580–582. Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo claimed that the Baloch and Brahui were the same people, and that the only difference was language, with Brahui having some Dravidian influence, adding a possibility that the Brahui adopted the language of the older inhabitants when they migrated to their land. He claimed that the Mengals were not Mongols, the Brahui were not Dravidian, but that they were ethnically Baloch. He then stated that despite the geographical distance, the closest people to the Baloch were the Kurds, and that the two people were the same and one nation, but that he could not say which tribe was the progenitor, and the split happened after the Baloch left the Alborz mountains.The Baloch Cultural Heritage, Jan Muhammad Dashti, 2nd edition, 2019, pp. 17-27, 21st century genetic evidence showed that Brahuis were indistinguishable from the Baloch and distant from Dravidian speakers.
It had largely been associated with the lifestyle of Kurds, causing groups which lived a similar lifestyle to also be called Kurds. Similarly, the term Baloch was also initially used for all nomadic groups outside the reach of authorities, before also narrowing down over time to refer to the ethnic Baloch only.Brian Spooner, "Baluchistan: Geography, History, and Ethnography" (pp. 598-632), In: Ehsan Yarshater, (ed.), Encyclopedia Iranica, (Vol. III) London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988. Historically, non-Baloch have been called Baloch due to living lifestyles associated with the Baloch.G. P Tate, Seistan: A Memoir on the History, Topography, Ruins, and People of the Country, p. 365.
Kurds historically lived in close proximity to Balochistan. Arab and Persian historians in early Islamic Iran frequently mentioned Kurds living outside Kurdistan. Mas'udi and Istakhri were the first to describe the Kurds and their tribes and presence in Fars. In Muruj al-dhahab, Masudi claimed that the Shuhjan lived at Dinawar and Hamadan, the Majurdan at Kangawar, the Hadhbani and Sarat in Azerbaijan, the Shadanjan, Lurri, Madanjan, Mazdanakan, Barisan, Khali, Jabarki, Jawani, and Mustakan in Jibal, the Dababila in Syria, and the Yaqubiya and Jurqan in Mawsil and Judi, who practiced Christianity. He then added the tribes of Bazinjan, Nashawira, Budhikan, and Kikan. He also gave a list of places where there were Kurds, such as Fars, Kirman, Sijistan, Khurasan (mainly in Asadabad), Isfahan (some Bazinjan as well as a nearby rapidly developing Kurdish town), Jibal, Jazira, Hamadan, Shahrizur, Azerbaijan, and Dvin in Armenia, where Salahuddin was originally from, as well as Arran, Baylakan, Darband, and al-Thughur. Istakhri listed five Kurdish tribes in Fars, the Jiluya or Ramidian, on the borders with Isfahan and Khuzestan, the Lawalijan, between Shiraz and the Persian Gulf and Diwan in the of Sabur, the Kariyan in the direction of Kirman, and the Bazanjan in Isfahan. Based on the records of Diwan al-sadaqat, also produced by Ibn Hawqal and Muqaddasi, Istakhri then produced a list of 33 Kurdish tribes, the Kirmani, Ramani, Mudaththir, Mohammad-Bashar, Baqili (also called Thaalabi according to Muqaddasi), Bundadhmahri, Mohammad-Ishaq, Sabahi, Ishaqi, Adharkani, Shahraki, Tahmadini, Zabadi, Shahrawi, Bundadaki, Khusrawi, Zanji, Safari, Shahyari, Mihraki, Mubaraki, Ishtamhari, Shahuni, Furati, Salmuni, Siri, Azaddokhti, Barazdokhti, Mutallabi, Mamali, Shahkani, Kajti, and Jalili, all numbering 500,000 families living in tents. In the Farsnama, it claimed that all Kurds of Fars were killed after the Islamic conquest of Iran, although some historians doubted the killing of 500,000 families at once and suggested regrouping, migration, and assimilation as other factors for the disappearance of the Kurds of Fars. According to Ibn Balkhi, only one Kurd survived, named Alak, a former warrior who became Muslim and left descendants. Ibn Balkhi then claimed that the Buyid Adud ud Dawla moved more Kurds from Isfahan to Fars. However, Ibn Balkhi distinguished the Shabankara from both the Kurds of Fars which perished after the Islamic conquest, and the Kurds from Isfahan who were moved to Fars.Kurds, Kurdistān, pp. 450. Th. Bois, V. Minorsky, D.N. MacKenzie, Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English), , ISSN: 1573-3912Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1912, pp. 6-14 Rashid Yasami claimed that all Kurds originated from Fars, including the ones in Kurdistan, and that the Kurds of Fars were not only a major source of Sasanian support, but Ardashir I himself was a Kurd, claiming that Sasan, Ardashir's grandfather, married a Kurd by the name of Rambehesht. Taking advantage of his powerful Kurdish connections, Papak the son of Sasan sent his son Ardashir as governor to Darabgerd (Darab), which was the center of the Chupanan, or Shabankara, who had also been Sasan's original protectors. These same Kurds of Fars supported Ardashir in his revolt against Ardavan V, the Arsacid ruler. After Ardashir had proclaimed himself king of kings, Ardavan wrote an insulting letter to him which stated "You've bitten off more than you can chew and you have brought death to yourself. O son of a Kurd, raised in the tents of the Kurds, who gave you permission to put a crown on your head?" Not all Kurds supported Ardashir, as both the Shahnameh and the Karnamak-e-Ardashir spoke of the Kurds defeating Ardashir. In the Shahnameh, Ardashir fought with the Kurds before subduing the neighboring areas of Kerman and Sistan, implying that the Kurds were in Fars. But in the Karnamak, Ardashir fought with the Kurds of the land of Masi, Sadeq Hedayat, the translator, asserted was synonymous with Madi, a region around what later became West Azerbaijan province of Iran. John Limbert added a possibility that the Kurds of Fars were not actual Kurds but extinct Iranian tribes who spoke non-Persian dialects, but that it was still likely they were actual Kurds.The Origins and Appearance of the Kurds in Pre-Islamic Iran, John Limbert, Iranian Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Spring, 1968), pp. 41-51, International Society for Iranian Studies, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4309997 Ibn Balkhi claimed that the Shabankara of eastern Fars were distinct from the other Kurds. Despite claiming descent from Manuchehr, the Shabankara were thought to have been descendants of Daylamites or of some of the Kurds who were sent to Fars by Adud od-Dowla. The Shabankara had five tribes, the Ramani, the Ismaili, the Karzuvi, the Masudi, and the Shakani.Nomadism in Iran: From Antiquity to the Modern Era, D. T. Potts, 2014, pp. 166, Most British travellers failed to notice Kurds when they met them. They knew that Marco Polo in 1597 included "Curdistan" among the "eyght Kingdomes" of Persia, locating it "towards the South", but failed to recognize that Fars was not Kurdistan and that Marco Polo was only describing the Shabankara Kurds of Fars, who were later moved to Khorasan by Shah Abbas.Kurdish Studies Archive: Vol. 7 No. 22019, 2024, pp. 132, There was a Kurdish tribe named Shabankara in Kermanshah province, which alongside the Sanjabi, were Yarsanis and protected the Iranian border against the Ottomans.Ateş, Sabri (2013), Ottoman-Iranian Borderlands: Making a Boundary, 1843–1914, Cambridge University Press, p. 162,