This book is a fundamental contribution to the history of the Kurdish national movement and the Kurds of Syria from 1920-1940. Through it, the author analyzes the formation process of what is called 'Syrian Kurdistan' and shows how the political contradictions of the French Mandate enabled Kurdish leaders—of Turkish origin—to establish themselves as 'community' notables and architects of 'small political spaces'. Thus, at an intersection between Ottoman tradition and the 'North African' model in Syrian territories, the French Mandate initiated dynamics that were partially accepted but not necessarily controlled. This research is based on diplomatic, military, and private archives, as well as specialized studies, research, and writings from that era. The author has drawn upon a wealth of diverse and original information, particularly concerning the cultural and intellectual movement centered around Xoybûn and its relations with French researchers specializing in Kurdish affairs, as well as with Iran, Iranian Kurdish elites, and the Armenian Dashnak. The book also provides distinguished, complex, and sometimes contradictory analyses of the 'problematic' junctures between tribal (clan), local, regional, and national identities, and the birth of Kurdish minority consciousness in the face of the hardening of Arab nationalism in Mandate Syria.

• Publishing House: Dar Al-Farabi for Publishing and Distribution
• Author: Jordi Gorgas
• Number of Pages: 428
• Year of Publication: 2013
• ISBN: 9789953718750
• Number of Volumes: 1
• Cover Type: Paperback
• Dimensions: 23 x 15 cm