Kurdistan’s Name Put on a World Map by a Turk in Arabic in Bagdad in 1072

A Political Cartography Approach

By Dr. M. Koohzad

Figure 1 is a world map drafted by Mahmud Ibn Hussein Ibn Muhammad al-Kashghari (1005-1102). He was approaching the age of centenarian when he died at 97. More importantly, he was an elderly scholar, 67 years of age, when he went to Baghdad in 1072 to write a book on the Turks for the Caliph Al-Qaim (1031-1075) of the Abbasids Dynasty. He inserted a map to provide a spatial perspective on the content of his book. At 941 years of age, this map is the oldest surviving map that displays Kurdistan’s Name, Ardh Al-Akrad or Land of the Kurds. Arrows on all of the maps point to Kurdistan.

Kashghari’s father, Hussein, was the mayor of Barskon, a town now in the northeastern country of Kyrgyzstan. He was related to the Turkish Qara-Khanid ruling dynasty. Mahmud was born and spent parts of his childhood and formative years there. Mahmud’s mother, Bibi Rabiya, was formerly from the city of Basra in Iraq. She was of an Arab in origin and a Shia-Muslim unlike the majority of the Turks. Therefore, Mahmud Kashghari was not a full-blooded Turk. The family later moved to the larger city of Kashghar. Both of these cities were on the famous Silk Road and were more prosperous than they are today. Both of them went dormant economically as soon as traffic on the roads declined due to poor environment, political unrest, diminishing security, and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

Kashghari’s book that contained the map was stored away in libraries and ignored until 1266 when a copy of it was discovered in Damascus. The book resurfaced again in Diyarbakir in the Ottoman Empire. It was in 1908 that Ali Amiri Efendi purchased Kashghari’s book. He established the Library of the Nation in Istanbul in 1916 and donated all of his collection to his nation. The book is kept under the call number of 4189. Kashghari’s book had a major influence on the formation of the concept Turanism of the young or old Turks.

Denial of the existence of the Kurds started only a year after the establishment of Republic of Turkey in 1923 when Kurdish was banned. Turkish state terrorism against the Kurds still is in full swing. Figure 2 is the same as the first map only rotated to locate places at modern cardinal directions. According to Ankara the map became 900 years old in 1972. For this occasion, Kashghari’s map was used to issue a postage stamp. Ankara sees Kashghari as on of the founding father of Turkish nationalism. Around this time, as shown on Figure 3, Kurdistan’s name was taken off the map and was replaced by “Land of the Turks. Yet, nowhere on the original map one can find the word “Turk”. This is an obvious example of “Carto-Propaganda”. Adulterating maps for propaganda was mainly used by the Nazi Germany. Turks just followed suit. Figure 4 is a restored and beautified version of the original map. Figure 5 shows names from previous map in English. As a living document of their own, the map silently rejects the failed Turkish claim of non-existence of the Kurds. Now, nearly 50 million Kurds around the world can see Kurdistan on a Turkish map.

Figure 1 The Original 1072 Mahmud Kashghari’s World Map From his Diwan

(The Arrow Points to Kurdistan)

Figure 2 Kashghari’s World Map Rotated to Accurate Modern Orientation

(The Arrow Points to Kurdistan)

Figure 3 Kashghari 1072 World Map Rotated, Restored, and Adulterated

Kurdistan Removed—Replaced by Land of Turks

Figure 4 Kashghari’s 1072 World Map Rotated, With Restored Colors and Beautified

(The Arrow Points to Kurdistan)

Figure 5 Kashghari’s 1072 World Map Rotated, Restored, and Translated into English

(The Arrow Points to Kurdistan)