Malekshahi (tribe)

Malekshahi (Kurdish: مەڵگشای, Mełigşay) is a Kurdish tribe found in the borderlands between Iran and Iraq. The tribe speaks Southern Kurdish.[1][2][3]

History

The Malekshahi tribe was one of the Kurdish tribes native to the region around Ilam province, Iran.[4][5] The Malekshahi mainly lived in the provinces of Ilam province in Iran, and Diyala Governorate, Wasit Governorate and Baghdad Governorate in Iraq.[2] The Malekshahi was considered one of the main tribes of Ilam.[6] There was a theory that the tribe were natives of a region around Ilam named Arkavaz (from "arak" meaning "capital" and "vaz" meaning "wide"), and that during the reign of the Seljuk sultan Malik-Shah I, the governor of the Arkavaz region renamed the region to Malekshahi after the sultan, after which the natives of the region were also called Malekshahi.[7] The historical region of Arkavaz, also known as Arkavaz-e-Malekshahi, later became the Malekshahi County of Ilam province.[8]

There was an unrelated tribe also called Malekshahi but more commonly Malkishi, which historically lived in the Emirate of Çemişgezek.[9][10][11]

The Malekshahi tribe speaks the Malekshahi dialect of Feyli, also known as Ilami, which is a dialect of Southern Kurdish.[12] The main clans within the Malekshahi tribe were the Khamis, Qaytol Qaytas, Qaytol Gachi, Hosseynbegi, Shakarbegi, Khalilwand, Chashmaadina, Jomeh, Alinazar, Kolegah, Baveh, Shahremir, Kazembegi, Garawandi, Kanariwand, Naqi, Dusageh, Kolehwand, Khalaf, Khairsha, Kuki, Duqorseh, Rasulwand, Rusageh, Kolkol, Bawlik, Milehga, Siyehga, Khwadag (Khodadad), Kugir (Kabekgir), Kharzinewand, and Gulan.[13] The tribes of Panjasetun and Melkhatawi were also part of the Malekshahi.[14]

Among the famous historical leaders of the Malekshahi tribe were Musa Khan Garzinvand and Shah Mohammad Yari.[15] Leyla Qasim was also from the tribe.[16] The tribe intensely resisted the Iraqi invaders in Ilam province during the Iran-Iraq war.[17] The Malekshahi tribe gained significant attention for their role during the 2025–2026 Iranian protests, and they were the main victims of the 2026 Malekshahi massacre.[18]

References

  1. ^ Mabry, Tristan James (2015-03-25). Nationalism, Language, and Muslim Exceptionalism. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4691-9.
  2. ^ a b Fattah, Ismaïl Kamandâr (2000). Les dialectes kurdes méridionaux. Acta Iranica 37. pp. 30–31.
  3. ^ "Malekshahi". Glottolog. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  4. ^ پزشكی سنتی مردم ايران: شامل طب سنتی، گياهان دارويی و آبهای معدنی، ایرج افشار سیستانی، ١٩٩٢، ص. ١۵١.
  5. ^ نگاهى به ايلام: مجموعه‌اى از اوضاع تاريخى، جغرافيائى، اجتماعى و اقتصادى منطقه، ایرج افشار سیستانی، ١٩٨٧، ص. ١١٩.
  6. ^ "ILĀM i. Geography". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-04-26.
  7. ^ ايلام و تمدن ديرينۀ آن، افشار سيستانى، ايرج، ١٩٩٣، ص. ٣٧١.
  8. ^ ابراهیم یعقوبی، خداکرم مظاهری، "کوچ والیان لرستان فیلی به پشتکوه؛ بازخورد سیاست قاجاری کردن ایران"، فرهنگ ایلام, vol. 21, no. 66-67, 2020, pp. 161-177 (pp. 44).
  9. ^ Alsancaklı, Sacha (1 January 2021). "Warriors, Kings, and Caliphs: Questions of Origins and Dynastic Culture in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Kurdistan". pp. 103. C. U. Werner, M. Szuppe, N. Michel, A. Fuess (Eds.), Families, Authority, and the Transmission of Knowledge in the Early Modern Middle East.
  10. ^ Baluken, Yusuf (2017-01-01). "Çend Dokument ji Serdema Mîrektiya Melkîşî". Nübihar Akademi. 2(7): 118. ISSN 2147-883X.
  11. ^ زبده‌ی تاريخ كرد و كردستان، جلد دوم، ص ٢۴١-٢۴٢، محمدامین زکی‌بیگ، ترجمه: يدالله روشن اردلان، ISBN 978-964-315-563-6.
  12. ^ Aliakbari, Mohammad; Gheitasi, Mojtaba; Anonby, Erik (2015). "On Language Distribution in Ilam Province, Iran". Iranian Studies. 48 (6): 841-842 (6-7). doi:10.1080/00210862.2014.913423. S2CID 162337795.
  13. ^ ايلام و تمدن ديرينۀ آن، افشار سيستانى، ايرج، ١٩٩٣، ص. ٣٧۴.
  14. ^ ساختار اجتماعی-سیاسی ایل خزل ایلام در غرب زاگرس مرکزی از دیدگاه انسان شناسی، ص 182، علی نوراللهی، پژوهش‌های انسان‌شناسی ایران، دوره 13، شماره 1 - شماره پیاپی 24، شهریور 1402، ص 179-214. DOI: 10.22059/IJAR.2023.361624.459826.
  15. ^ ساختار اجتماعی-سیاسی ایل خزل ایلام در غرب زاگرس مرکزی از دیدگاه انسان شناسی، ص 181، علی نوراللهی، پژوهش‌های انسان‌شناسی ایران، دوره 13، شماره 1 - شماره پیاپی 24، شهریور 1402، ص 179-214. DOI: 10.22059/IJAR.2023.361624.459826.
  16. ^ "عاماً على استشهاد المناضلة ليلى قاسم". www.arknews.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 2026-04-26.
  17. ^ ايلام و تمدن ديرينۀ آن، افشار سيستانى، ايرج، ١٩٩٣، ص. ٣٧۶.
  18. ^ "Feyli Kurdish city Malekshahi turns protest flashpoint in Iran's Ilam". Shafaq News. Retrieved 2026-04-26.
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