Dersim ve Zazalar

Land 
Dersim is an ancient ethnical and geographical name, which has been 
mentioned in the historical sources, at least since Xenophon`s book called 
Anabasis, written at the turn of the 5th century BC. The name was recorded 
under different forms, such as Derxene/Xerxene in Xenophon, Pliny and 
Strabo; Tzanica in Procopius and Agathias; and Derjan or Chaniuk in 
Armenian geography. The once extensive territory has been reduced to Inner 
Dersim, that is today a province in the eastern part of Turkey, situated 
between the two branches of the river Euphrates, known as Karasu and Murat. 
It was renamed as “Tunceli” during a Turkish military expedition in 1935. 
Arriving Turkish troops appeared on all sides to complete the occupation, 
which was eventually suceeded through a genoside in 1938. Thus the land 
remained to be officially known as “Tunceli”, though it was never accepted 
by the nation itself. 
An alternative historical name for Dersim is that of Zazana, mentioned in 
B.C. 521 in the old Persion inscription of Behistun. It has menaged to 
survive over the course of the centuries under diferent forms such as 
Zavzan, Gozan/Guzana, Zozan, Zauzan, Zawazan (Andzevatsik in Armenian 
sources) and Sason. 

People 
The name of the Dersimis is often used synonymously with those of the Zazas 
and Dailamits (Gilanis), simple because they all are branches of the same 
race. 
Although there are some who regard them as Kurds, this designation neither 
corresponds with the historical facts, nor with the self-definition of the 
people itself. Besides none of their many traditions and legends points to a 
Kurdish connection. Quite the contrary all of them suggest otherwise. 
In other words they are a seperate people clearly distinguished from the 
Kurds. 
Combining the account given in the oral tradition with that of the 
historical record and archaeological findings, the above mentioned study 
comes to the conclusion that the early Dersimis are descendants of Mamans 
(the Mamikonians of Armenian sources), who were otherwise known as Tzanians 
to the classical writers. Sin, San or Çan are only different forms for Tzan, 
which can also be seen forming the second half of the name Der-Sim in a 
slightly distinct shape, i.e. Sim. 
As to the name Zaza, it is simply a different pronunciation of that of 
Sasan. The account of their Sasanian origin is also recorded by many 
writers, the first Kurdish historian Sharaf Khan among them. 
It is almost impossible not to come to the conclusion that the Mamans 
(Tzanians) and Sasanians (Zazas of modern times) were infact different 
sections of one and the same people. 
There is also a Parthian element in the ethnical make-up of Dersimis as 
their traditions suggest. 
Briefly; Mamans, Sasanians and Parthians are the ones that formed the early 
substrata of the people of Dersim/Zazana. 
According to the tradition these early Dersimis during their migration were 
headed by two brothers, Kal Mem and Kal Ferat, who are seen as ancestors. In 
the study mentioned above this tradition is identified with that of the 
Mamikonians, in which the Mamik-Konak brothers are mentioned instead. 
Given the fact that nationalities are personified in legends, the study 
arrives at the conclusions that the name Kalmem in the Dersimi tradition is 
a reference to Mamikonians and that of Kalferat to Parthians. 
Thomas Artsruni, a 9/10th century historian, mentions an ancient tradition, 
according to which, or rather his interpretation of it, the name Zaza or 
Sasan is derived from that of Sanasar, son of the Assyrian king Sennacherib 
(705-682 B.C), who took refuge in Armenia (Zazana) together with his 
brother, army and followers, and settled on Mount Sason (Mt. Sin) after 
being defeated by his half-brother Esarhaddon in 681 B.C. 
The tradition spoken of is indeed an historical event, connected with the 
origin of the Zazas. However it must be added that the House of Angle (Gel, 
Gilan) and that of Sennacherib are often confused or identified in the then 
traditons as Toumanoff warns us. For that matter the above statements can 
hardly refer to the Assyrians proper, though there certainly existed an 
Assyrian colony among them, whose traces can still be seen in the names of 
some Dersimi tribes, such as “Asuran” and “Munzur”. 
The names Sasan and Sanasar seem to me to be related. 
The Dersimi legends of their origin also speak of some late migrations into 
Dersim, headed by Shah Hasan and Sayyid, sons of a certain Shaikh Ahmet. 
This, again, is also supported by written records almost fully, except that 
two separate waves of migrations with the same sets of the names be 
understood instead of a single one as suggested in the legend, which merges 
the two into one. 
Thus, the name Shaikh Ahmet actually refers to two seperate person of the 
same name: 
The first of whom is Ahmet Basri (Ahmet Rifai, 1118-1182), founder of the 
Rifai order of Darvishes, who is frequently replaced with one of his 
descendents and namesake Ahmet Kucheki Rifai (d. 1251/52), otherwise known 
as Karaja Ahmet and occasionally as Hajji Bektash, the elder brother of 
Shaikh Mahmut Harrani (Mahmut El Rifai, d. 1268/69); and the other, named as 
Ahmet Yesevi, is none other than one of the Safawi leaders, most probable 
Shah Haydar the Safawi (d. 1488). 
The rest of the names that still remains to be identified are those of Shah 
Hasan and Sayyid. Shah Hasan represents at least three separate people of 
that name. Of the three, the two are being identified in the study with the 
Emirs of Chemishgezek Principality, namely Shah Hasan the First (d. c. 1473) 
and Shah Hasan the Second (d. 1543/44), Saltuqids by descent; and the other 
with the famous Uzun Hasan the Akkoyunlu (d. 1478), who married his daughter 
Alemshah Begum to Shah Haydar the Safawi. Alemshah Begum is called by her 
nisba ‘Kıncısur’ (the one dressed in red) in Dersimi tradition. 
Finally, by the name Sayyid in the tradition, the following two persons are 
meant: Seyit Ali (Darvish Gewr) and Shah Haydar the Safawi. 
These late migrations took place between the11th and 15/16th centuries A.D 
and the new comers referred to in the tradition are identified in the study 
with the Saltuqids, Rifais (Goranis), Aqqoyunlus and Safawids, who were 
mostly from the same stock as that of early Dersimis, so far as their 
origins and nationality are concerned. 
To sum up, the Dersimis/Zazas of modern times are descendants of the 
country`s early and late inhabitants mentioned above. 
The above conclusions are reached through a detailed examination of the 
tradition as well as a comprehensive study of the written history. 
The identity of Dersimis/Zazas being thus established, one can proceed 
further to discuss the rest which becomes easier to deal with. 

Language 
The People of Dersim speak an Iranian language called Zaza (Zazaki). 
Although some as pointed above reject the non-Kurdish identity of Zazas and 
thereby regard their language as a dialect of Kurdish, the speakers of both 
languages cannot communicate with one another unless Turkish, the language 
of the colonial power, is used. 
What this simple fact indicates is that the two languages have nothing much 
to do with one another except that they both are Iranian languages and 
therefore have some similarities further strenghten by mutual contacts 
between the two peoples as neighbours. 
Zazaki, if we search back, is the surviving representative of Parthian 
(Pahlavi) and Sasanian languages, both of which to my knowledge were the 
same. 
It is not yet quite certain whether or not the language of the sacred book 
of the Zoroastrian religion related to Zazaki, though the two seem to be 
akin. 




Religion 
The religious ideas of the Dersimis/Zazas have always been of great interest 
to the outside world. 
They were at first among the adherents of an Iranian religion called 
Mazdaism, founded by Zoroaster (Zarathustra), the Prophet of ancient Iran, 
who is thought to have lived in the 6th century BC. From 4th century on, 
some sections of them converted to Christianity mainly through the Gregorian 
and Paulician sects. The Magian (Mazdaic) and Christian traces are still 
easily detectable in the land and beleifs of Dersim/Zazana. 
The religion of Islam among Dersimis spread in the form of the Sufi ideas, 
introduced by the orders like Kadiris, Rifais (Babais, Bektashis), Ismailis 
of Alamut, Ehl-i Haks and Safawids. From late 15th century onward they 
adopted a new religion, called Kızıl-Bash (Turkish word for the İranian 
Surh-i Ser, having reference especially to the red head-dress worn by its 
adherents), founded by Shah Haydar Safawi of Ardabil, who in Dersimi and 
Kızılbash traditions is referred to under numerious names or ‘nisbas’, such 
as Father Mansur, Kalemamsor or Kalman Sar (this title slightly differing in 
spelling and pronunciation denoted “the one dressed in red”, “Surkhalaman” 
or “Surkhjamagan” in its original form), Sayyid, Pir Sultan (Kodja Haydar), 
Sultan Baba, Father Düzgün (Shah Haydar), and sometimes also as Ahmet Yesevi 
and Hajji Bektash. 
In his time millions took him to be a universal god. 
The term “Yesevi” is infact a distorted form of that of Safawi. Therefore 
the religio-political movement that labeled as “Yesevism” in later periods 
cannot be anything else other than Safawism. 
Shah Haydar the Safawi is regarded as the founder of their religion by 
Dersimis. 
It was a religion seperate from both the Christianity and Islam though 
influenced by both to a certain extent. Due to their new religion, 
consedered as heretical (Rafizi or Gulat in Arabic), Dersimis/Zazas were 
heavily persecuted by the Ottoman and Turkish rulers time and again. These 
persecutions occasionally turned into the massacares of the worst kind. 
Eventually a section of the Zazas living outside Inner Dersim, that is, 
under ottoman occupation, converted to mainstream Sunni Islam, which has 
caused an internal division within the nation. 

History 
The Kingdom of Urartu (880/850-590 B.C) could be taken as a reference point 
to start with, as it was the first political entity which had unified almost 
all the lands populated by Zazas. 
At peresent it is difficult to determine for certain whether or not the 
Kingdom of Urartu was a Zaza monarchy. 
After the collapse of Urartu, its territory was first conquered by the Medes 
and at a later period by the Akamenids, i.e. Old Persions, who replaced them 
in Iran. 
By this time the former land of Urartu, at least a great portion of it, 
received a number of other names. Of them the commonest were those of 
Armenia and Dersim/Zazana. 
Under Akamenids, perhaps since the time of the Medes, Dersim/Zazana had 
nominally been governed by the Dynasty of Orontids (401-200 B.C), and then, 
at the time of Macedonians, by two other dynasties related to them, Sophene 
(Tsophk) and Artaxiad (200-1 B.C). In ethnical sense both Orontids and the 
ruler of the latter were Gilanians, which is another name for modern Zazas 
as mentioned before. 
Parthians (247 B.C-224 A.D) and Romans, who defeated the Macedonians, were 
next to rule. Thereafter we find Byzantines and Sasanians (224-651 AD) in 
the possession of the land. 
The Sasanian rule came to an end with the Arab invasion of the 7th century 
A.D. 
The tradition refers to the Parthians and Sasanians as the ancestors of 
Dersimi/Zaza people alongside with the Mamikonians. 
In the 11th century the country was invaded by the late Dailamits (Gilanis) 
and Seldjuq Turks. After the periods of Mongols and Timurids the land fell 
into the hands of the tribal confederations known as the Karakoyunlu and 
Akkoyunlu, who were mainly Mamakonians in origin, but mixed and partly 
Turkicized in later times. Eventually, the Akkoyunlu, who gained a decesive 
victory over the Karakoyunlu exercised the supremacy until they were 
replaced by the Safawids, their succesors. 
The brief rule of the Safawids was followed by that of the Ottomans. 
As is known from historical sources during the centuries-long war between 
Safavids and Ottomans, Dersimis had sided with the former against the 
latter. 
When all combined together these facts clearly show that despite foreign 
interventions, frequent interruptions and fragmentation of the country, the 
Zazas, under different names, have been repeatedly spoken of during the 
historical times. At least since the Persian domination we find them 
governing some parts of the country here and there though not always 
independently. 
Nevertheless it is important to note that they are most easily recognisable 
during the times of the Parthians and Sasanians, who are referred to as 
ancestors. It was their golden millenium, the end of which marked by the 
Arab invasion. They returned to power in the person of Dailamits and menaged 
to maintain it for a century (945-1055) until the coming of the Saldjukid 
Turks. The Arab and Turkish invasions were obviously the most unfortunate 
for the Zazas. They rose to power once more with the early Safawids and 
continued to share their fate ever after. 

Search for justice 
The collapse of the Ottomans had left a power vacuum, filled by the Turkish 
nationalists, called Kemalists at a later time. In order to create a Turkish 
nation from above, they waged a bloody campaign against Armenians, Zazas and 
Assyrians, the non-Turkish elements of the empire. It was a deliberate and 
sustain war, in the course of which the national resistance of the Zazas 
with the sole purpose of self-defence in 1920 (Kochgiri), 1925 (Shaikh Sait) 
and 1937-1938 (Inner Dersim) had been ruthlessly suppressed one after 
another and thousands were forced into exile. 
That`s how the previously independent part of the country, known as Inner 
Dersim, has also been subdued and colonised by Turks. 
In 1937-38, i.e., at a time when world attention was focused on the Second 
World War, Turkey commited a genocide, by killing approximately 70.000 
people in the process. 
Especially the year 1938 became one of the most important date in the 
nation`s calender commemerated every year, in particular by its Kızılbash 
section. Hence the people speak of “before and after the year 1938” 
whenever the recent history is concerned. 
What happened back then has been handed down to the later generations by 
their parents and grand-parents, who witnessed the onslaught, and of whom 
some are still alive. Furthermore the sites of the mass graves all over 
Dersim are well known and can easily be located if and when need be. The 
ruins of the country`s cultural heritage including churches belonged to the 
nations`s Christian section are still visible. 
Let there be no doubt that a legal action against Turkey will at long last 
be taken at some time in the future. A search for justice has already began. 
People wish to see the justice served. 
Despite a long interval the Zaza aspirations for a free homeland has never 
died out. The turning point arrived in the late-1980s, when a new patriotic 
movement began to emerge. This movement has continued to gather momentum up 
until now. 
The struggle for a democratic self-rule is still on. 
It is a struggle for survival. 



Zazas and Zazaki 

Zazaki is a language spoken in eastern Anatolia between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. It belongs to the northwest-Iranian group of the Iranian language branch of the Indo-European language family. The Zaza language is related to Kurdish, Persian and Balōchi. An exact indication of the number of Zaza speakers is unknown. Internal Zaza sources estimate the total number of Zaza speakers at 3 to 6 million. 

Zazaki probably originates from northern Iran, from the historical region "Deylamān" at the Caspic sea, in the present province of Gīlān. Today the Iranian languages still spoken there (also called the Caspian dialects) like Sangsarī, Māzandarānī, Tātī (Herzendī), Semnānī, Tāleshī are grammatically closer to Zazaki than Kurdish. Apart from the presently in Balochistan spoken Balochi, only Gōrānī, which is spoken in a few remote areas in Iran and Mesopotamia, have relatively closer linguistic affinity with Zazaki. 

Among northwestiranian Languages Zazaki is acording to the scheme of Prof. Dr. Jost Gippert and P. Lecoq (cf. Die iranischen Sprachen) classified as follows: 



NORTHWEST-IRANIAN: 

Hyrkanian Group: Balōčī, Sangesarī; Goranī, Zaza (Dımılki) 
Karmanian Group: Kurdish (Kurmanjī, Soranī, South-Kurdish), Sivandī 
Medo-Caspian Group: Gīlakī, Māzenderānī, Semnāni, Sorcheī; Tāleshī, Āsarī 

SOTHWEST-IRANIAN: 
Persian, Tajikian, Tatī, Dialects of Fārs 

The ancestors of the contemporary Zazas (and with them the Zaza-language) supposedly immigrated between the 10th and 11th centuries to their present-day homeland in eastern Anatolia. One interpretation thesis contends that the Zazas are the descendants of the Daylamites. 

Linguistically and historically Zazaki differs from the scripturally fixed Middle Iranian languages. A recent thesis on the origin of the Zazas and their language holds that they are the autochtonous inhabitants of their present homeland. It is likely they have spread out into various regions. 

The Zaza language is partly spoken in provinces such as Dersim (Dêsım), Erzincan (Erzıngan), Bingol (Çewlıg), west Sivas (Sêvaz/Qoçgiriye), south Erzurum, Varto (Gımgım), Elazığ (Xarpêt), Diyarbakır, Siverek (Sêwregı), Adıyaman (Semsür), as well as in a few villages of Malatya (Pötürge and Arapkir), Mardin, Mutki, Sarız (Kayseri), Aksaray, and in Turkish metropolitan areas such as İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir or Mersin. Diasporic communities exist both in Europe and in other countries (US, Canada, Australia, etc.). An estimated 150,000-200,000 Zazas live in Germany. The Zazas approximately bisect into Alawis and Sunni Muslims. The Alawis live in the northern part of the Zaza region, whereas the Sunni inhabit the southern Zaza region. 

Both in the past and in the present the Zazas, particularly those from Dersim, were systematically persecuted because of their Alawitic confession. Until recently, a Zaza-national movement of independence did not exist due to religious tensions between the two religious groups, an obstacle which precluded rapproachment between Zazas. In areas such as Dersim or Varto leftist organizations blossomed. The Zazas have proven to be one of the most rebellious Anatolian peoples ever. Most well-known resistances of the 20th century involved Zazas: both leaders of the 1925 Sheikh Said rebellion (Piran) and the 1937 Seyyid Riza rebellion (Dersim) were Zazas. Both rebellions were religiously motivated. The latter resistance was quelled in 1938 with a genocide and the subsequent deportation of the survivors to western Turkey. 

It is hardly amazing that many Zazas live outside their homeland. Apart from widespread suppression and wholesale evacuation of villages, the economically miserable situation of the Zaza areas forces the local population to emigrate into Turkish or European metropoles. 

Zazas are residents of the mountainous area of Anatolia and live on agriculture and pastoralism. The lives of many Zazas, Kurds and Assyrians were strongly damaged in the past two decades because of the guerrilla war between the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) and the Turkish army. Due to the fact that many villages were either thoroughly depopulated or integrally destroyed, many villages now remain eerily empty or are only inhabited by the elderly during the summer months. In the metropoles the refugees struggle in difficult living conditions. Emigration into diaspora accelerated the process of cultural assimilation, i.e. the loss of native languages. 

The first written statements in the Zaza language were compiled by the linguist Peter Lerch in 1850. Two other important documents are the religious writings (Mewlıd) of Ehmedê Xasi of 1899, and of Usman Efendiyo Babıc (published in Damascus in 1933); both of these works were written in the Arabic alphabet. 

In Latin letters Zazaki only became popular in the diaspora after meager efforts, in Sweden, France and Germany at the beginning of the 1980s. This was followed by the publication of magazines and books in Turkey, particularly in Istanbul. The efforts of Zaza intellectuals to advance the comprehensibility of their native language by alphabetizing were not fruitless: the number of publications in Zaza increased by the multiple. The rediscovery of the native culture by Zaza intellectuals not only caused a renaissance of Zaza language and culture, it also triggered feelings among younger generations of Zazas (who unfortunately, rarely speak Zaza as a mothertongue anymore) in favor of modern western in the Zaza language, and thus their interest in the most important inheritance of their ancestors. In diaspora a limited amount of Zaza-language broadcasts are realized. 

Regarding the present situation of the Zaza language it can be safely stated that the hitherto accomplished alphabetizing and publishing still seem like a drop in the ocean. 

A cause for these devastating consequences is mainly rooted in the forced assimilation policies of the Turkish state. Until the beginning of the 1990s public use of Zaza was punishable and Turkish-nationalist education policies unfortunately obtained substantial successes. The consequences of this process of turkification were so detrimental that under the Alawi-Zaza population the youngest generations hardly speak the language or teaches it to its children. Cultural assimilation is also becoming a tangible issue among the Sunni-Zazas. Nevertheless, it is pleasant to note that among young Zazas the interest to learn their native language or extend their basic knowledge is gradually growing. 

Although at the beginning of this century it was linguistically proven that Zazaki is a language of its own and no Kurdish dialect, it was misrepresented in political circles. The political classification of the Zaza-language as a Kurdish dialect is in line with the frequent misunderstanding that ethnic labeling of populations in Turkey are incorrectly denominated, without any kind of differentiation. For example, all inhabitants of the Black Sea region of northeastern Turkey are identified as Laz, whereas only a small minority in that area is of ethnic Laz origin. The Zazas suffered from the same treatment, were it even solely due to their geographical origin. It was above all the one-sided and nationalist state policy, as well as ignorance that placed the Zaza in this predicament. If you consider the fact that any meaningful ethnic, cultural and/or linguistic research in Turkey was punishable; that until today books and associations are considered to be separatist organizations, and that they are in some cases even prohibited and closed down. Though in Europe objective and scientific research on the Zazas and their language is possible, a climate which does not exist in Turkey, until today there’s unfortunately still lots of ignorance on the Zazas. Although the elderly Zazas do not regard themselves as Kurds and their language as Kurdish, clusters of younger generations were affected by the Kurdish-nationalist liberty war, so that many Zazas, generally the politically engaged, consider themselves to be Kurds, and some as Turks. Before the era of the national consciousness religious affiliations played a key role. Among the Alawitic population it’s presently still usual that the ‘Alawi’ identity is granted priority above other loyalties. For traditional-minded people, Alawitism is endogenous, therefore they prefer marriage among themselves. This feeling of cohesion of the Alawis from different ethnic groups was culturally inspired through the course of history. Intra-Alawi endogamy is also a product of Ottoman religious suppression. The Ottoman rulers defamed all Alawis as ‘Kızılbaş’ (red heads) and accused them of heresy.