24 January 2014: This is a good time to look through the periscope and see what's going on around on the periphery of the Middle East battlegrounds. One rather expansive tract of territory to place an eye on is that of "Kurdistan."
What we know as Kurdistan looms large right now. The Kurds, all 30 million of them, live in contiguous territory within southeastern Turkey, northeastern Syria, northern Iraq and northwestern Iran and constitutes the world's largest ethnic group without its own internationally recognized homeland.
Since the end of the 1991 Gulf War the Kurds in northern Iraq, a/k/a "Iraqi Kurdistan," have maintained and improved on an autonomous political entity known as the Kurdistan Regional Government. This government essentially functions as if it were a separate country, but it remains an integral part of Iraq. In Iran and Turkey the Kurds have long been a festering insurgency for those two governments, especially with respect to Turkey.
In Syria it's not much different, except that the over two million Kurds living there take on all sides in the ongoing civil war should they encroach upon "Syrian Kurdistan." Following the rejection of a Syrian Kurdish request to join the Syrian civil war negotiations in Switzerland the Kurds on Tuesday of this week made known their extreme displeasure at being rejected as peace parlay participants and promptly declared the formation of their own provincial government for "Syrian Kurdistan." The image at the top is from one of the Kurds flag-festooned rallies this past week in northern Syria.
In the map image, the part of Syria is actually slightly out of date as the Kurdish militia has taken a lot more territory for itself with all lands from Ras-al-Ain on the Turkish border, south along the Khabir River to the city of Al Hassakah and then on to the Iraqi border being under their military control.
The most interesting thing to note with respect to the above map is how much this territory resembles that of ancient Assyria prior to the conquest of Aram, Damascus and the northern kingdom of Israel. With 30 million people longing for a homeland of their own I have come to consider that the prophecy of Isaiah 19:23-25 might very well apply to Kurdistan (Assyria) during the Millennium of the Lord's reign finally getting their homeland as the inheritors of the northern part of ancient Assyria.
"In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”"The prophetic "In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria - a blessing in the midst of the land..." tells me that the map of the Middle East will be radically different than it looks today. Gone from the current map are the countries of Lebanon, Aram (Damascus) Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. In their geographic place are just three countries serving the Lord of hosts: "Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance."
I'm slightly confused, are the Kurds medes or Assyrian?
ReplyDeleteI pose a few more questions in providing your answer.
ReplyDeleteAccording to God through the Spirit-inspired prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, is Elam the same as Persia and is Persia the same as modern-day Iran? (hint: Yes.)
And are Iranians today a mixture of Persians, Medes, Azeris, Lurs, Balochs, various Turkic peoples, Arabs, Jews and a few other ancient ethnic peoples mixed in? (hint: Yes.)
According to the equally Spirit-inspired singing prophet Asaph (Psalm 83) are:
a) "The tents of Edom, and Ishmaelites, Moab, and the Hagarenes" modern-day Jordanians, Arameans, Arabians and "Palestinians"? (hint: Yes.)
b) "Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with inhabitants of Tyre" modern-day Lebanese, Druse, Circassians and "Palestinians"? (hint: Yes.)
c) And is "Asshur also is joined with them" a mix of modern-day Kurds, Medes, and other ancient Mesopotamian peoples like the Assyrians, Babylonians, Sumerians and Chaldeans we refer to today as Iraqis? (hint:Yes.)
So, hartdawg, the answer to your question, "are the Kurds Medes or Assyrian" is Yes, they are. They are Medes and Persians and Assyrians and other ancient peoples such as Akkadians, Sumerians and other Chaldo-Syriacs.
The name "Kurd" is an Iranian word for reference to any ancient tent-dwelling nomads of this region.
Hope this helps end the slight confusion or not make even more confusion for you.
The Assyrians of this future country are whatever peoples are living on that land at that time. Generically, the Lord referred to then as Assyrian through the prophet Isaiah.
Yes, that actually makes sense. I was not looking at the broader picture. Been listening to people limit the Kurds the the ancient Medes.
ReplyDeleteif there is today literally an country named egypt and israel, there needs to be also literally a land named Assyria!
ReplyDeleteanythingelse does not make a sense. Besides that there are still millions of Assyrians who co sider themselves as assyrians in this world. you can find a strong presences of them in northern iraq, namly in the province of dohuk and ninawa (search for ninive plains).
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteIn the future Assyria will be fully restored, as the prophet Isaiah has foretold it.
See: Isaiah 19:18-25