# Kurds = Hittites? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 9, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619 "2005-06-09T17:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/1 "2005-06-09T17:56:16Z")
Are modern Kurds related to the ancient Hittites? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/2 "2005-06-09T18:01:15Z")
I Am Not An Expert, but I doubt there is a close relationship (besides their both being Indo-European). Kurdish is in the branch of Indo-European that includes Persian (Farsi) and I think Pashto, wheras Hittite was essentially its own branch, somewhat related (?) to the western Anatolian languages such as Lydian spoken in Classical Greek and Roman times. But we await more informed thoughts on the matter. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/3 "2005-06-09T18:05:58Z")
If you mean _genetically_ rather than linguistically, I doubt we can say much about the Hittites. Anatolia/Turkey has seen many groups come and go over the centuries, and it’s likely that some modern Turks have some “Hittite” blood coursig through their veins, but I don’t think we could ever know. Kurds, on the other hand, could be shown to have or not have as close genetic connections to Persians as their linguistic connections. I don’t know if such a study has been done. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/4 "2005-06-09T18:19:30Z")
Yes, I meant genetically. The Hittite language is long gone, but before they were overrun by the Persian empire the neo-Hittites occupied roughly the same geographic location as modern Kurds. I wondered if the Hittites might have survived as an ethnic subgroup within the Persian --\> Greek --\> Roman --\> Arab --\> Ottoman Empires, or had been largely exterminated and replaced. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/5 "2005-06-09T18:54:21Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > Yes, I meant genetically. The Hittite language is long gone, but before they were overrun by the Persian empire the neo-Hittites occupied roughly the same geographic location as modern Kurds. Well, not really. Kurdistan would have been east of the Hittite Empire, although there would be some overlap between the eastern edges of the Hittite region and the western edges of the Kurdish region. I don’t think the Kurds are related to the Hittites, other than the usual historical mixing. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/6 "2005-06-09T20:56:12Z")
I believe the Kurds generally consider themselves to be descended from the [url=]Medes. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/7 "2005-06-09T21:03:41Z")
I couldn’t get JM’s link to work. [Try this.](http://www.itnet.org/kurdhistory.html) ---
**Author:** ![Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aram_Hittite_KURD)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/8 "2013-07-20T20:31:02Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Are modern Kurds related to the ancient Hittites? Hi guys, I am a KURD and I wanna answer this question. Yes indeed, we have studied the matter and our mothers and father generation by generation told us that, we are Hittites generation, there is a saying among us ; No friends but the mountains. also we were not mixed with any other nations, even when Islam came, Kurds pretended for centuries that they converted, but we were not! So we remained and Isolated in the mountains of Ararat and Zagross in the caves! The most important thing is WE STILL SPEAK THE VERY SAME LANGUAGE and we started Excavations with Archaeologists to rediscover our civilization and Find these Libraries in the Lost capital city of Hattusa as my grandpa told us to do so! we will invite the media in the world when we found them. Thanks all God bless 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aram_Hittite_KURD)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/9 "2013-07-20T20:37:47Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Are modern Kurds related to the ancient Hittites? Hi guys, I am a KURD and I wanna answer this question. Yes indeed, we have studied the matter and our mothers and father generation by generation told us that, we are Hittites generation, there is a saying among us ; No friends but the mountains. also we were not mixed with any other nations, even when Islam came, Kurds pretended for centuries that they converted, but we were not! So we remained and Isolated in the mountains of Ararat and Zagross in the caves! The most important thing is WE STILL SPEAK THE VERY SAME LANGUAGE and we started Excavations with Archaeologists to rediscover our civilization and Find these Libraries in the Lost capital city of Hattusa as my grandpa told us to do so! we will invite the media in the world when we found them. Thanks all God bless 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aram_Hittite_KURD)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/10 "2013-07-20T20:39:53Z")
Hi guys, I am a KURD and I wanna answer this question. Yes indeed, we have studied the matter and our mothers and father generation by generation told us that, we are Hittites generation, there is a saying among us ; No friends but the mountains. also we were not mixed with any other nations, even when Islam came, Kurds pretended for centuries that they converted, but we were not! So we remained and Isolated in the mountains of Ararat and Zagross in the caves! The most important thing is WE STILL SPEAK THE VERY SAME LANGUAGE and we started Excavations with Archaeologists to rediscover our civilization and Find these Libraries in the Lost capital city of Hattusa as my grandpa told us to do so! we will invite the media in the world when we found them. Thanks all God bless ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/11 "2013-07-20T20:49:21Z")
Saying it three times makes it true, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/12 "2013-07-20T22:32:00Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Saying it three times makes it true, I guess. Only if you tap the heels of your ruby slippers together at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/13 "2013-07-21T01:02:37Z")
The Kurdish and Hittite languages aren’t even very closely related. They are in separate subfamilies of the Indo-European language family. Since English is also Indo-European, that means that Kurdish and Hittite are no more closely related than Kurdish and English or Hittite and English. Incidentally, Kurdish isn’t even a single language. It’s generally considered to be a group of four closely related ones. Also, the idea that the Kurds would speak Hittite, a language that died out perhaps three thousand years ago, is pretty ridiculous just by itself. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/14 "2013-07-21T01:32:50Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Only if you tap the heels of your ruby slippers together at the same time. That makes the Kurdyman jump out of the mirror and disembowel you. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/15 "2013-07-21T02:35:38Z")
One theory is that the Kurds are descended from tribal mercenaries who were hired by the Persian Empire. They were actually from a number of different tribes but one of the tribes was the Corduene and that developed into the name Kurds for the entire group. Being brought in as outsiders and working as mercenaries, the Kurds developed their own distinct identity. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/16 "2013-07-21T02:51:52Z")
Seems reasonably unlikely that the Kurds have only pretended to be Muslim for the last 1200 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aram_Hittite_KURD)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/17 "2013-07-21T02:57:40Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > The Kurdish and Hittite languages aren’t even very closely related. They are in separate subfamilies of the Indo-European language family. Since English is also Indo-European, that means that Kurdish and Hittite are no more closely related than Kurdish and English or Hittite and English. Incidentally, Kurdish isn’t even a single language. It’s generally considered to be a group of four closely related ones. Also, the idea that the Kurds would speak Hittite, a language that died out perhaps three thousand years ago, is pretty ridiculous just by itself. Dear Wendell Wagner; That’s right, Kurdish language generally considered to be a group of four closely related ones, That’s how Hittites disappeared! we moved to the mountains, can you tell me what happened to the Hittites? how about if I take you to a place and get you some written on clay to prove it to you that even Hittites and Sumerians had a very same language? how does sounds like? or get you into a Library tell you that Hittites were all KURDS? 🙂 thanks ---
**Author:** ![Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aram_Hittite_KURD)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/18 "2013-07-21T03:08:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One theory is that the Kurds are descended from tribal mercenaries who were hired by the Persian Empire. They were actually from a number of different tribes but one of the tribes was the Corduene and that developed into the name Kurds for the entire group. Being brought in as outsiders and working as mercenaries, the Kurds developed their own distinct identity. The Iranian and Persian Empire were not there when Medes were ruling the area! Fars and Medes they fought for centuries, this is all Persian and Turkish people they abused our civilization! Farsi Language wasn’t exist when Medes = the Hittites generation were building their empire! they, I recommend you to not follow what they have written, especially any history teller who were a muslim! I don’t trust anyone of them, because I have the Original one! and when the time is right, I will tell them who we were and who we are! ---
**Author:** ![Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aram_Hittite_KURD)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/19 "2013-07-21T03:15:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One theory is that the Kurds are descended from tribal mercenaries who were hired by the Persian Empire. They were actually from a number of different tribes but one of the tribes was the Corduene and that developed into the name Kurds for the entire group. Being brought in as outsiders and working as mercenaries, the Kurds developed their own distinct identity. I am writing a book with evidence that we Kurds educated Persians and taught them how to write! we made them Persians! Kurds and Iranian are totally 2 different people! Kurds had one language! and it was Hittites, ever since Medes and after then, they never had chance to unify again. but we are coming again the generation of Hittites. I hope that we can draw your attention by then 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Aram\_Hittite\_KURD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aram_Hittite_KURD)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619/20 "2013-07-21T03:19:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That makes the Kurdyman jump out of the mirror and disembowel you. It’s not Kurdyman it’s Kurdish Sir, Thought you were serious Scientist who actually looking to reveal the Truth, but it seems you are probably one of the Kurd killers around the area! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kurds-hittites/307619.md?page=2)