21 Facts About Ahmed Barzani

Ahmed Barzani was the head of the Barzani tribe in Kurdistan.

Sheikh Ahmed is considered to be the architect of Barzani rule in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Ahmed Barzani was a Kurdish nationalist who brought many different Kurdish tribes under his command and expanded the Barzan region.

Ahmed Barzani was described as eccentric, "young and unstable", and "half mad", when he first became leader of the Barzanis, and his growing religious authority led to conflict, as controversies about his divinity quickly spread.

Ahmed Barzani fused Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, as well as Kurdish mythology.

Ahmed Barzani officially proclaimed divinity and was nicknamed "the God of Barzan".

Ahmed Barzani allowed his disciples to proclaim him as the human incarnation of God, and he allowed his followers to pray to him.

Ahmed Barzani was given an Islamic funeral after his death in 1969, and was remembered as being a religious figure like Sheikh Said, Sheikh Ubeydullah, and Abdulsalam Barzani.

The first of the major Barzani revolts took place in 1931 after Mustafa Barzani, one of the most prominent Kurdish leaders in Iraqi Kurdistan and the brother of Ahmed, succeeded in defeating a number of other Kurdish tribes who questioned their dominance.

Ahmed Barzani was later forced to flee to Turkey, where he was held in detention and then sent to exile in the south of Iraq.

Ahmed Barzani headed Barzan's largest revolution from 1931 to 1937 and gained the respect of many Iraqi Army generals who were fighting him, such as General Abdul-Jabar Barznji the commander of Iraqi Army in Barzan region.

Ahmed Barzani was the center of focus of the British, Iraqi and Turkish discontent.

Ahmed Barzani was very sympathetic to Xoybun, a Kurdish separatist movement that started the Ararat rebellion in Turkey.

Ahmed Barzani received many Kurds who were seeking sanctuary in Barzan, including Kor Hussein Pasha.

Ismet Inonu complained to Nuri Said in Ankara that Sheikh Ahmed Barzani was supporting the insurrection in Ararat.

Ahmed Barzani was the first known Kurdish environmentalist and conservationist leader.

Ahmed Barzani enforced regulations to maintain a clean and sustainable environment.

Ahmed Barzani rejected the traditional way of maintaining leadership within the same family.

Ahmed Barzani emphasized that whoever takes the lead must be qualified for such a job.

Ahmed Barzani condemned the corruption which was beginning to take part within the Kurdish Movement and was highly critical of ignoring the oppressed masses who were the victims of the movement's failures.

Ahmed Barzani is credited with emphasizing that marriage should be voluntary: such freedom he considered a basic civil right and stressed it publicly.