Ardalan



Ardalan (میرنشینی ئەردەڵان) was a hereditary Kurdish vassaldom in western Iran from around the 14th century until 1865 or 1868 with Sanandaj as capital. The territory corresponded roughly to present-day Kurdistan Province of Iran and the rulers were loyal to the Qajar Empire. Baban was its main rival. Gorani was the literary language and lingua franca. When the vassaldom fell, literary work in Gorani ceased.

History
The ruling family of Ardalan belonged to the Bani Ardalan tribe, whose name may has been suggested to have been acquired from a Turkic rank. The ruling family considered themselves to be descended from Saladin ((r. 1174 – 1193)), the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty (1171–1260/1341). Other tribal folklore stories claim that they emerged during the Sasanian (244–651) or early Abbasid (750–1258) eras. One source claims that the ruling family was descended from the first Sasanian monarch, Ardashir I ((r. 224 – 242)). According to Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi, the renowned Kurdish historian, the earliest known leader of the tribe, Bani Ardalan, was a descendant of Nasr al-Dawla Ahmad ibn Marwan, who was the ruler of Marwanid Emirate in 1011–1061 centered in Diyar Bakr. He settled down among the Goran Kurds in Kurdistan and toward the end of the Mongol period took over the Sharazor, where he established himself as an absolute ruler.

By 1736, Nader Shah had overthrown the Safavid dynasty and started expanding the borders of Iran both to the east and west. He fought numerous wars against the Ottoman Empire from the start of his reign until his death in June 1747. Some of the lands controlled by the Kurdish rulers were repeatedly transferred during these battles. The Ottomans and Nader Shah occupied Ardalan more than any other of those regions. In addition to these states, Ardalan was also invaded by the principalities of Mukriyan, Baban, and Shahrizor.

Soon after Nader Shah's assassination, Karim Khan Zand became the new ruler of Iran. He gained control over most of the country, and before the winter of 1749, had launched a military operation against Ardalan. Its ruler, Hasan Ali, attempted to diffuse the conflict despite his lack of preparation, but failed. The Zand army destroyed his capital, Sanandaj. Kurdish rulers were never awarded important posts in the Zand dynasty's administrative hierarchy, such as the office of beglerbegi (governor-general). Hereditary positions required royal approval, and Karim Khan did not always acknowledge the rulers those who were in line to take over their inherited domains.

Literature
Under Halo Khan Ardalan and his successor Khan Ahmad Khan Ardalan, the towns of Ardalan were restored. They also supported writers and poets who wrote in Arabic, Persian, and especially Gorani, a language that was far more spoken than it is now.