Balak (tribe)

Balak, باڵەک, Balek is a Kurdish tribe descendant of an ancient Kurdish clan[1] living in the former Soran Emirate which is now part of Erbil Province in Southern Kurdistan. it is located in the mountainous region of northern Erbil Province in Southern Kurdistan., People from the Balak area speak a language that is mixed in the Kurdish Sorani dialect and the Kurdish Kurmanji dialect. Like most Kurdish tribes, the people from the Balak tribe mainly live in mountains. Balak area starts from Rawanduz district ends in Haji Omaran Sub-district. There are two main Districts in Balak; Choman and Rawanduz. also five sub-districts: Warte, Smilan, Galala, Qasre and Haji Omaran. Its 120 Kilometers north to Erbil, the capital of the Erbil Governorate. It borders with Eastern Kurdistan in Iran.

Choman is the capital of the Balak tribe nowadays. Rawanduz was the capital of the Emirate of Soran which was based in the geographic region of Kurdistan, specifically in what is today known as Southern Kurdistan. The emirate presumably gained its full independence from the Ottoman Empire shortly after it was captured from Safavid control, in the 1530s, but was later reincorporated into the Ottoman Empire as a semi-autonomous vassal state. After serving the empire as a semi-autonomous vassal state for the next couple of hundred years, the emirate slowly gained full independence for a second time, during the late 1700s and early 1800s, but was eventually subdued by Ottoman troops in 1835. Its capital for most of that time was the city of Rawanduz[1]

The Name

The name of the Balak tribe came from the area that they inhabit.[2] The oldest source that mentions the name of Balak tribe is the book Masalik al-absar fi mamalik al-amsar, by the Arab geographer, Ibn Fadl Allah Al-'Omari, the name Balak said to be derived from Balakan Village[3] in Northern Kurdistan. Balakan means home of the Balak's. Then the Ottoman Sharif Pasha mentions in his report that some clans of the Balak tribe reside in Zooka and Mashkan regions in Northern Kurdistan. The Balak Tribe was also mentioned in the Seyahatname by Evliya Çelebi.[2]

Notables and Tribe Rulers

The tribe supreme chieftain is Mala Sharafi Clan. Mala Sharafis are Land Lords and Tribe Leading Family. People calling them Agha which is the title given to tribal chieftains, is also given to wealthy landlords and owners of major real estates in the urban Kurdish centers, although these landlords are usually with heavy tribal relations.

Leaders and notables from Mala Sharafi Clan (Balak)
  • Mala Sharaf Land lord and Chief of Balak tribe. 17th Century.[2]
  • Shaikh Muhammad Agha (Died in 1952) Balak's most powerful Leader. Established good relation with both the British Government and the King of Iraq. He became a member of the Iraqi Parliament in 1938.[4]
  • Shemhamad Balak Prominent Peshmerga leader, former Politburo member of PASOK.[5]
  • Mustafa Agha Nawpirdani (1951 - 1991) The most popular Leader of the Balak tribe, Commander of the 33rd Regiment and the 48th special detachment of the Iraqi Army (estimated to be nearly 6,000 soldiers), due to continuous support and aid to the KDP and PUK Peshmerga’s through weapons, equipment, money, and medical supplies. He was caught, imprisoned, and was sentenced to the death sentence but fortunately was granted a presidential pardon and only served 2 years in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. After his release through his heavy relations with the KDP leadership, he returned to the Peshmerga and participated in the uprising against Saddam Hussein’s regime. On March 11, 1991 after heroic battles on his way to Erbil, which in these battles he liberated Pirzin and Shaways from the Baathist Forces, on his way to Erbil’s Citadel his convoy was ambushed by heavy weaponry which lead to his death, while the rest of his forces were either wounded or killed in action as well. His legacy still lives on in the Balak tribe, he’s often named the Charismatic irreplaceable leader and he still hasn’t been replaced to this day.
  • Hasan Kwestani (1950-1994) Prominent Peshmarga Leader in Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK. He wasn’t often tribal or a tribe leader, but he was a very notable Peshmerga leader of the PUK. He was assassinated by the KDP on 17 May 1994.[6]

Other notables
  • Sheikh Muhammad Balak, a leader of the Suhrawardiyya Sufi order in the 17th century.[7]
  • Azad Jundiani (1960) Senior Advisor of President Barzani [8]
  • Hemin Malazade anchorman.[9] at Rudaw TV and 24/7 Kurdish News Channel[10]
  • Kamal Chomani journalist and writer.[11]
  • Hamadamin Nawpirdani Director of Education of Erbil, Iraq (KRG). He’s also the brother of Tribe Leader Mustafa Agha Nawpirdani.
  • Nafiz Mustafa Agha Member of Erbil Provincial Council and the eldest son of Tribe Leader Mustafa Agha Nawpirdani.

References
  1. McDowall, David (2004-05-14). A Modern History of the Kurds. ISBN 9781850434160.
  2. عبلس العزاوى. عشائر العراق. الجلد الأول. جزء 1-2. مكتبة الحضارات، بيروت لبنان. ص 312.
  3. "Masālik al-abṣār fī mamālik al-amṣār | work by ʿUmarī".
  4. Iraq and Rupert Hay's Two Years in Kurdistan, By Paul J. Rich Pages 140, 155, 176, 177, 180, 199, 205, 208, 233,
  5. "پێشمەرگەکانی پاسۆک".
  6. "شەھیدی سەرکردە حەسەن کوێستانی (١٩٥٠-١٩٩٤)". Archived from the original on 2014-05-31.
  7. "General Board of Tourism". kurdistantour.net. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014.
  8. Editorial Staff (2017-02-11). "Senior PUK official Azad Jundiani resigns in Iraqi Kurdistan". Kurd Net - Ekurd.net Daily News. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  9. کوردیپێدیا, Kurdipedia -. "هێمن عومەر سادق - هێمن مەلازادە". Kurdipedia.org.
  10. http://rudaw.net/english/about
  11. "Iraqi Kurdistan's historic election. By Kamal Chomani". www.ekurd.net.
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