The Lost and Untold History of the Kurds—Interview with Soran Hamarash

The Washington Kurdish Institute (WKI) hosted Soran Hamarash, the author of The Lost and Untold History of the Kurds: Rediscovering the Beginning of the Western Civilisation and the Origin of the Indo-European Languages. Soran Hamarash, a Kurdish writer, academic, historian, and linguist, has devoted almost 30 years of his life to studying the Kurds and their history. His book takes readers on a comprehensive journey through the beginnings of writing and agriculture, which are integral to the earliest civilizations and the history of the Kurds. Hamarash argues that the modern foundation of our understanding of ancient history and civilization was not established for the purpose of knowing the past, but rather to serve ideological, religious, and political agendas. This has led to non-objective approaches among scholars, resulting in a selective and isolated treatment of people in historical records. As a consequence, the existing historiography does not reflect the organic nature of human society, leading to significant misunderstandings about ancient history and a lost and untold history for the Kurds.