The first historical mention of the Zangana tribe was by Mu'inoddin Natanzi, who listed them as one of the tribes living in
Lur-e-Kuchak, although noting that not all of the tribes of Lur-e-Kuchak were Lur.
Sharafkhan Bidlisi, in the
Sharafnama, listed the Zangana as one of the three main Kurdish tribes of Iran, alongside the Chegini and Siyah Mansur, and claimed that the three tribes descended from three brothers from either
Luristan or Guran and
Ardalan. He also said that they had really good relations with the
Safavid government. After the Sharafnama, there was no more historical mentions of the Zangana tribe until
Ahmad Monshi Ghomi mentioned a person named Dawlatyar Khan Zanganeh who was the ruler of Soltaniyeh and the surrounding areas, although it was disputed as most other sources of the time referred to him as Dawlatyar Siyah Mansouri, a leader of the Kurdish Siyah Mansour tribe. The Zangana tribe were also described as native to Kermanshah province. Kermanshah was seen as the homeland of the Zangana tribe. The Zangana tribe also had a presence in Iraq and Khorasan. Other claims suggested that the Zangana were transferred from the
Mosul region to Kermanshah by Sheikh Ali Khan Zangana in 1640. The Zangana was historically one of the most prominent Kurdish tribes. There were several theories about the origin of the name Zangana, one derived it from
Zangay-i Shavaran, a hero in the
Shahnameh, while another one derived it from "Zangin", meaning "strong" in
Persian. Some suggested a link between the names of Zangana and
Zand, one of the
Lak tribes, although it was dismissed. During the early reign of
Shah Abbas, the Zangana tribe was mentioned as being in military service to the Safavids under the command of Abedin Sultan Zanganeh. At the time, the Zangana tribe were likely Shia Muslims or Yarsanis. Akbarali Beg Zangana was appointed as the Mirakhurbashi of Shah Abbas, succeeding Mehdiqoli Beg. In the Safavid period, the Zangana tribe was given governance over parts of Kermanshah, which lasted until the Qajar period, and parts of Khorasan, which only lasted until the end of the Safavid period. The
Kalhor were previously the most powerful Kurdish tribe in Kermanshah without support from any government, although their position was replaced by the Zangana tribe in the Safavid period.
Shah Abbas II appointed Sheikh Ali Khan Zangana as governor of Kermanshah. Sheikh Ali Khan Zangana was also named as the chief of the Zangana tribe in 1640 by
Shah Safi and later served as grand vizier under
Shah Soleyman. They remained powerful after the fall of the Safavids, with Ibrahim Khan bin Zahir al-Dawla Zangana being appointed sipahsalar of Kurdistan and Feyli Luristan in 1743. At the end of the rule of Nader Shah, the Zangana tribe lost Kermanshah and switched their allegiance to
Karim Khan Zand, who appointed Allahqoli Khan Zangana as governor of Kermanshah and its surrounding region. The Zand government settled more Zangana in southern Iran around
Shiraz to counter the
Qashqai and
Bakhtiari tribes. Those Zangana were gradually absorbed into the tribal structure of the Qashqai or Bakhtiari tribes they were settled with, and assimilated into their Turkic or Lur cultures, while retaining their name. Some Zangana were exiled to Shiraz for supporting
Zulfiqar Khan Afshar, a Zand rebel, against
Ali-Morad Khan Zand. Ali Qoli Khan was succeeded by his uncle Haji Ali Khan Zangana as governor of Kermanshah.
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar recognized his governorship, although
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, who stripped local rulers of their positions, installed Mohammad Ali Khan Sham Bayati in his place. Many Zangana abandoned nomadism and began to settle at this time. Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar targeted the Kurdish tribes which earlier came to the Shiraz region with Karim Khan Zand, and deported them to other parts of Iran. The Zangana were among them. Karim Khan Zand was said to have maternal Zangana origins. The Zangana tribe were specifically targeted by the
Ba'athist Iraqi government. The Talabani family, founded by Mullah Mahmud in the late 18th century, was part of the Zangana tribe. It also included
Jalal Talabani. The Zangana tribe spoke the Zangana dialect of
Southern Kurdish which was very close to the dialect spoken by the Kalhor and
Sanjabi tribes. Some Zangana in Iraq spoke
Gorani, and their Gorani variety was also called Zangana. They were still a Kurdish tribe despite speaking a non-Kurdish language. Nevertheless, many of the Zangana in Iraq who spoke Gorani later shifted to
Sorani. In Kermanshah, the Kalhor and Zangana tribes were two major factors behind the Kurdification of the
Guran and their language shift from Gorani to Southern Kurdish. The Zangana tribe in Iran was divided into the Chubin, Pashayi, and Sabzewari clans, and mostly followed Shia Islam. In Iraq, the Zangana tribe was divided into the Faris Agha and Rustam Agha clans, and mostly folllwed Sunni Islam although some followed Yarsanism. There were also pockets of Arabized Zangana in Iraq. The Zangana tribe mainly lived in the provinces of Kermanshah and Ilam in Iran, and Kirkuk, Khanaqin, Kifri, and Sulaymaniyah in Iraq. ==See also==