Kalhor (tribe)

{{Short description|Large Kurdish tribe in Iran and Iraq}} {{about|the ethnic Kurdish tribe|the Sindhi tribe|Kalhora|other uses|Kalhor (disambiguation)}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} '''Kalhor''' ({{Langx|ku|کەڵھوڕ }})<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=نوێترین ئەلبوومی کەیھان کەڵھوڕ لە ئاستی جیھاندا بڵاودەکرێتەوە|url=http://zagrosn.com/11446-6|access-date=|website=23 December 2020|language=ku|archive-date=24 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224182102/http://zagrosn.com/11446-6|url-status=dead}}</ref> is a major Kurdish tribe<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Kalhor|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kalhor|access-date=|website=Encyclopædia Iranica|quote=KALHOR, a Kurdish tribe in the southernmost part of Persian Kurdistan}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Potts|first1=Daniel T.|title=Nomadism in Iran: From Antiquity to the Modern Era|year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199330799|page=352|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8c3QAgAAQBAJ&q=Britannica+Kalhor&pg=PA352|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Arjomand|first1=Said Amir|title=The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic Revolution in Iran|year=1988|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195042580|page=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IQci1YIffjYC&q=Kalhor+Kurd&pg=PA56|language=en|quote=Furthermore, the Kalhor Kurds in the west, the Turkman tribes in the northeast and the Baluch in the southeast were showing clear signs of open insubordination}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hamzehʼee|first1=M. Reza|title=The Yaresan: a sociolgoical, historical and religio-historical study of a Kurdish community|year=1990|publisher=K. Schwarz|isbn=9783922968832|page=62|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XzptAAAAMAAJ&q=Kalhor+Kurd|language=en|quote=The Kalhor (Kelhor) and Zangana (Zengene) Kurds, with the help of the Afshars, fought the invading army but were defeated.136 Therefore Nader Shah came to ...}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kurdish, Southern|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/sdh|website=Ethologue}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Kalhori of Kurdish, Southern (sdh)|url=http://multitree.org/codes/sdh-kal|website=MultiTree:A Digital Library of Language Relationships}}{{dead link|date=February 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

== Etymology == The name of the Kalhor tribe was often said to derive from "Kal" and "Hur", meaning "mountain goat" and "the sun".<ref>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.</ref> Vladimir Minorsky also speculated if the name Kalhor came from "kal-xwar", meaning "buffalo-eaters", and added that three was a village north of Ardabil known as "Kalxoran".<ref>V. Minorsky, “The Gūrān,” ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 85, 1943. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00071226.</ref> The Kalhor tribe was sometimes called "Kalkhur".<ref>"Ilat", pp. 1109, in Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 3 (H–IRAM).</ref> 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 meaning "nomad". Killing a mountain goat was traditionally seen as a symbol of bravery among the tribes of the region. The Kalhor tribe was known by the Guran and other neighboring Kurdish tribes for its historic dominance over the Kermanshah region. 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" came from Persian, especially the "h" and "o", as the "o" sound in Persian was not a native sound in the Kalhori dialect of Southern Kurdish. Over time, due to Persian influence, some of the Kalhor began pronouncing the "h" in their name.<ref>گویش کلهری، دکتر حمید خانیان، محمد کرم‌پور، بهار ۱۳۸۹، pp. 9. ISBN: 9789642335308.</ref><ref>دستورزبان کردی کرمانشاهی کلهر، کریم کریم‌پور، شرافت وزیری، تیرماه 1373، ص. 5.</ref> There was another possibility that Kalhor derived from "Kalgir", which meant conquering or capturing a mountain goat. The shift from "g" to "h" was said to have been gradual in many Iranic languages. It was generally agreed that "Kal" meant mountain goat, as it meant the same thing in Kurdish and Persian, and most disagreements were about the "Hor" part. The name of the Kalhor tribe was originally pronounced "Kełeř" and generally believed to represent bravery and warrior nature.<ref>گویش کلهری، دکتر حمید خانیان، محمد کرم‌پور، بهار ۱۳۸۹، pp. 9-10. ISBN: 9789642335308.</ref>

==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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KALHOR |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kalhor/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}</ref> In the Sharafnama, Sharafkhan Bidlisi wrote that the Kurdish nation was made up of four subdivisions, the Goran, Kurmanj, Kalhor, and Lur.<ref>Agha, Shaikh and State: The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan, Martin van Bruinessen, 1992, pp. 114, ISBN: 9781856490191.</ref> 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.<ref>Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 5, pp. 460.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=KALHOR |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kalhor/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}</ref>

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.<ref>A Modern History of the Kurds, David McDowall, 2007, pp. 77-78, I.B. Tauris, ISBN: 9781850434160.</ref> Some Kalhor remained Yarsani after most of the tribe became Shia Muslim.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KALHOR |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kalhor/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref>Gorani in Its Historical and Linguistic Context, 2024, pp. 137, ISBN: 9783111169286.</ref>

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.<ref>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.</ref> The Kalhor and Pazuki tribes were known for being Kurdish tribes allied with the Safavids.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=KALHOR |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kalhor/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref>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.</ref> 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.<ref>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.</ref> 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.<ref>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.</ref> 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.<ref>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.</ref><ref>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.</ref> 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.<ref>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.</ref><ref>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).</ref> Despite being under Ottoman rule for some time, the Kalhor tribe continued to provide military services to the Safavids.<ref>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).</ref> After the fall of the Safavids, the Kalhor tribe gained more autonomy<ref>ایل 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).</ref>

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.<ref>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).</ref><ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref>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).</ref> 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.<ref>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).</ref>

In 1830, the Kalhor and Zangana tribes under Muhammad Husayn Mirza Hishmat al-Dawla, the governor of Kermanshah, clashed with the Bakhtiari Lurs under Hisam al-Saltana.<ref>Tribes and Empire on the Margins of Nineteenth-Century Iran, Arash Khazeni, 2011, pp. 44, ISBN: 9780295800752.</ref> Later in 1910, the Kalhor leader Dawud Khan also helped the governor of Kermanshah counter the growing power of the Bakhtiari Lurs to the east and the lawlessness in Luristan to the southwest.<ref>A Modern History of the Kurds, David McDowall, 2021, pp. 97, ISBN: 9780755600786.</ref> In 1923, when Reza Shah saw the difficulty of suppressing the revolt in nearby Lorestan province, he requested help from the Kalhor tribe.<ref>A Modern History of the Kurds, David McDowall, 2007, pp. 223, {{ISBN|978-1-85043-416-0}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KALHOR |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kalhor/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}</ref> In August 1946, the Kalhor tribe, numbering around three million, was nervously forging allegiances with Kurdish tribes to the north and possibly with some of the southern tribes. Amir Maksus, the Kalhor leader, who spent fourteen years in prison under Reza Shah, had persuaded many community leaders in Kermanshah to sign a manifesto for Kurdish independence, although the situation in Iran would stabilize.<ref>Blood & Oil: A Prince's Memoir of Iran, from the Shah to the Ayatollah, Manucher Farmanfarmaian, Roxane Farmanfarmaian, 2007, pp. 187, ISBN: 9780307430717.</ref>

The Kalhor tribe was also present in Posht-e-Kuh (around Ilam province) before the Safavids emerged, and had successfully defended their land in Posht-e-Kuh from the Shahsevan during the reign of Shah Abbas I.<ref>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.</ref> There was a large Kalhor population in the Eyvan region of Ilam province, 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.<ref>Nourallahi, A. (2023). Socio-Political Structure of Khezel Tribe of Ilam in West Central Zagros from an Anthropological Perspective. Iranian Journal of Anthropological Research, 13(24), 179-214, pp. 181-182. doi: http://10.22059/ijar.2023.361624.459826</ref> The Rizavand, a Kurdish tribe native to the Chardavol region next to Eyvan, were also included among the Kalhor tribes.<ref>مقاومت زندگیست: خودزندگی‌نامۀ کامیل احمدی، کامیل احمدی، pp. 209, {{ISBN|9788794295833}}.</ref><ref>جلوه‌های جهانگردی عشایر، حسن زنده‌دل، 2000, pp. 124. "ايل كلهر شامل: چنار و کنار (تیره های رجب، کرمه، باپیر، صالگه، فرضی، روتون، برگه، وارگه، علامی، سید محمد)، ماهیدشت، کرگاه، زینل خانی، مغیره، چوبانکاره، چله ای، میرعزیزی، ریزه وند، سیاه سیاه، بهرام بگ، صالح، رضی، قوچه ای، کله پایی، صیادان و…"</ref><ref>ایل‌ها و طايفه‌های عشایری کرد ایران: مشتمل بر اوضاع اجتماعی، اقتصادی، فرهنگ ملی، 1989, علی میرنیا، pp. 107-108.</ref>

The tribe speaks Southern Kurdish, specifically the Kalhori dialect, which stretched from southwestern Kermanshah province to northern Ilam province to eastern Iraq.<ref>Aliakbari, Mohammad; Gheitasi, Mojtaba; Anonby, Erik (2015). "On Language Distribution in Ilam Province, Iran". Iranian Studies. 48 (6): 841-842 (6-7). doi:10.1080/00210862.2014.913423. S2CID 162337795.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=KERMANSHAH vii. LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kermanshah-07-languages/ |access-date=2026-04-21 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}</ref> In Iraq, the Kalhor tribe mainly lived in Khanaqin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chaman Ara |first1=Behrooz |last2=Amiri |first2=Cyrus |date=12 March 2018 |title=Gurani: practical language or Kurdish literary idiom? |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13530194.2018.1430536?scroll=top&needAccess=true&journalCode=cbjm20 |journal=British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=627–643 |doi=10.1080/13530194.2018.1430536 |s2cid=148611170 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KALHOR |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kalhor/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}</ref>

== See also ==

* Sanjabi * Zangana * Feyli Kurds

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Kurdish tribes}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalhor (Tribe)}} Category:Kurdish tribes of Iran