You are listening to a Podhoc podcast — a platform where anything can be turned into a Podcast to Learn in Motion.
The Khezel Tribe in the Second Millennium BCE: Names, originally presented by Dr. Mohammad Karimi, opens with a fundamental question about the enduring nature of identity. This research takes an interdisciplinary approach, weaving together history, historical linguistics, geopolitics, and tribal ethnography to explore the standing and identity of the Khezel tribe in the second millennium BCE. The earliest written reference to an ancestor of this tribe, known as "Khazi" or "Khazay," is found in the geographical lists of Thutmose III, who reigned from 1479 to 1425 BCE.
The central hypothesis guiding this study is a profound insight: that names are essentially time capsules, packed with historical information. They serve as symbolic vessels, preserving and transmitting the collective memory, geographical location, and cultural identity of a people across millennia. By analyzing the context and the political-military structure of Egyptian campaigns into Asia, and then cross-referencing this with linguistic evidence and field-based ethnographic research within the geographical scope of the Khezel tribe, this paper aims to demonstrate something quite remarkable.
It shows that phonetic shifts, from "Khazay" to "Khezel," "Khazali," "Khazali," or "Khaza'i," have occurred within a context of remarkable geopolitical stability. This geographical expanse begins in the central Zagros Mountains, encompassing the modern-day Ilam province and the historical region of Poshtkooh, specifically the city of Shirvan Chardavol. This territory then extends westward to Qasr-e Shirin, Nahavand, and Kangavar in Iran, and also into areas of eastern Iraq like Khanaqin, bordering the central Zagros.
The findings suggest that the mention of this tribe's name in ancient Egyptian texts reflects the enduring significance of this region as a vital commercial and military corridor in the ancient Near East. Furthermore, the traditional attire of the people in this tribe is presented as a living, visual testament to this very cultural continuity. It’s a fascinating idea that our names, the very labels we use, might be far more than simple identifiers; they could be direct links to our ancient past.
So, let's begin by exploring the historical landscape and the methodology that underpins this fascinating research. We'll delve into the foreign policy of Thutmose III and the strategic rationale behind recording names in the Karnak temples. This provides crucial context for understanding why these ancient Egyptians bothered to list these specific groups.
Thutmose III, a powerful pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, significantly expanded Egypt's empire, reaching as far as the Euphrates River and the central Zagros Mountains through numerous military expeditions. His objectives extended beyond simply defeating the Mitanni Kingdom, which was situated in the northern central Zagros. He was keenly interested in controlling the vital trade routes that connected the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Egypt.
The recording of names of mountainous tribes in the Zagros region on the victory stelae at Karnak was not merely a display of military might. It also signified a form of recognition, essentially acknowledging these groups as distinct geopolitical entities within the tribute-paying system of the ancient Egyptian state. This act, in essence, represented the initial step in "encapsulating" their names within the historical record.
Egyptian pharaohs, in their efforts to solidify their power and project their authority, would meticulously inscribe the names of conquered cities and peoples onto temple walls, such as those found in the Karnak complex in Thebes. These inscriptions, beyond their propagandistic function, served as invaluable geopolitical and geographical archives. Today, they stand as some of the most significant sources for identifying ancient Near Eastern peoples.
The inscription of the name "Khazay" alongside regions that archaeologists generally associate with the cultural sphere of the central Zagros marks the starting point for this investigation into this historical "time capsule." It's like finding an ancient address book that still holds clues to who lived where.
The methodology employed here goes beyond mere library research. It is firmly rooted in ethnographic fieldwork among tribal communities. As a researcher with extensive personal experience living among the tribes of the central Zagros, and driven by a long-standing commitment to illuminating the missing links in the history of this tribe and others, I've engaged in continuous communication with elders and long-standing members of the Khezel tribe.
Through methods of participant observation and in-depth, semi-structured interviews, linguistic, sartorial, oral, and anecdotal data have been meticulously gathered from this tribe. This approach, which synthesizes oral history, field linguistics, and visual anthropology, offers a dynamic way to re-examine tribal identity as it has evolved from the second millennium BCE to the present day. It’s about piecing together a story from many different angles.
Now, let's turn our attention to identifying the "Khazay" people in the second millennium BCE. We'll explore the geographical correlation between the Karnak documents and the settled area of the Khezel tribe in the central Zagros and Ilam's Poshtkooh region. This is where the ancient name begins to align with a specific place.
One of the most challenging aspects of studying ancient Zagros history is precisely pinpointing the exact boundaries of the tribes mentioned in the Karnak lists. However, a comparative analysis of archaeological data, historical geography of western Iran, and the researcher's own field findings reveals a remarkable correspondence. The location of the "Khazay" people in Thutmose III's records from the 15th century BCE aligns astonishingly well with the historical and current settlement expanse of the Khezel tribe.
This region, documented in written records from the Safavid to the Pahlavi eras, and further substantiated by contemporary field research conducted by the author between 2021 and 2025, can be described as follows. It starts with the central Zagros and the Ilam province, extending into the Kermanshah province and Hamadan. This area forms the core settlement zone for the Khezel tribe, notably including the historical region of Poshtkooh, which literally means "behind the mountains" of the Zagros.
Specifically, the city of Shirvan Chardavol serves as one of the primary centers of habitation for this tribe. From this central point, the territory of the Khezel tribe extends northwestward, encompassing the cities of Qasr-e Shirin, Nahavand, and Kangavar, which are located in the Kermanshah and Lorestan provinces, as well as Hamadan. This demonstrates the tribe's historical influence and range.
Furthermore, this geographical span transcends modern political borders, extending into eastern Iraq, including areas like Khanaqin. This region, situated adjacent to the central Zagros, shares deep historical, linguistic, and cultural ties with the Khezel people residing in Iran. The commonalities in attire, dialect, and kinship between the Khezel communities on both sides of the border serve as compelling evidence of the tribe's historical cohesion.
This extensive geographical distribution, stretching from Ilam and Poshtkooh all the way to Khanaqin, indicates that "Khazay" in the second millennium BCE was not merely a small, localized clan. Instead, it represented a powerful tribal confederation, or a tribal union, that exerted influence over vast swathes of the crucial communication routes connecting Mesopotamia and the Iranian Plateau, including areas from Nahavand and Kangavar to Khanaqin. This broad territorial control is a key piece of the puzzle.
The complete alignment of this territory with the Karnak texts strongly supports the hypothesis of "absolute spatial stability" concerning the Khezel tribe. This represents a rare pattern in Near Eastern history where names and geography have, hand in hand, remained consistent for over three and a half millennia. It's like a fixed point on a shifting map.
Now, let's consider who were the contemporaries of Khazay within the complex civilizational network of the Zagros during the second millennium BCE. During the era of Thutmose III, the central Zagros region was a dynamic zone of interaction among several major civilizations.
To the southwest, in Khuzestan and modern-day Ilam, the Elamites flourished, with their capital at Susa, as documented by Hinz in 1964. Further north, the Kassites, or the larger Lur and Lak populations, emerged as dominant mountain peoples who were renowned for their exceptional skills in horsemanship, archery, and chariot warfare. Brinkman's work in 1976 highlights their significant role.
Additionally, various local cultures in Lorestan, such as those associated with Marlik and Giyan, were centers for bronze metalworking and the production of exquisite artistic objects. The strategic positioning of the Khazay people along the communication routes linking these diverse civilizations, from Nahavand and Kangavar down to Khanaqin, suggests they played a pivotal role.
This role involved controlling the Khorasan Great Road, which is essentially the western Silk Road, and facilitating cultural exchanges between the Mesopotamian civilizations, the Iranian Plateau, and the wider eastern world. The mention of the Khazay name alongside these prominent civilizations thus serves as a testament to the tribe's political and military significance during the second millennium BCE. It underscores their importance in the regional power dynamics.
Let's now examine the fascinating phenomenon of name transformations and the enduring geopolitical stability that has acted as the vessel for preserving this ancient identity across millennia. The process of phonetic mutation, involving shifts in consonants and vowels over vast periods, is a natural linguistic process. This occurs due to factors like language contact, migrations, and dialectal evolution.
Field evidence meticulously gathered by the researcher in the regions of Ilam, Kermanshah, and Hamadan confirms the existence of the form "Khaza'eli," featuring a hamza, or glottal stop. This form serves as a crucial intermediary link between the ancient "Khazay" of the second millennium BCE and the modern "Khezel." This term, preserved in local dialects, particularly in the Qasr-e Shirin and Khanaqin areas, and within the oral narratives of the tribe's elders, is phonetically the closest variant to the ancient root Khazay.
Just as the name "Parsua" in Assyrian texts evolved into "Persia," or "Madaia" into "Media," it is probable that "Khazay," over time and influenced by local Zagros dialects such as Luri, Kurdi, and Laki, transformed into the forms "Khezel" and "Khazali." The phonetic analysis further suggests that the presence of the hamza in "Khaza'eli" reflects the original final vowel sound, a /y/, which over time transformed into a hamza and was subsequently omitted in certain branches of the language.
Therefore, "Khaza'eli" stands as living proof of the unbroken connection between inscriptions like those of Thutmose III from the second millennium BCE and the contemporary identity of the Khezel tribe. This finding, a direct result of linguistic fieldwork among the tribe's elderly speakers, some over ninety years old, represents one of the most significant pieces of evidence for this community's historical continuity. It's a linguistic echo resonating through thousands of years.
Now, let's consider the role of geopolitical stability in the central Zagros region. This stability has acted as the constant container for these ancient "name capsules" from the second millennium BCE to the present day. Unlike many nomadic groups who have experienced extensive population shifts throughout history, the inhabitants of the central Zagros have, due to the region's unique geopolitical and human geography, largely remained within their historical territories.
This spatial constancy has provided the crucial environment that has preserved the "capsule" of names for over three millennia. The central Zagros mountains, with their rugged terrain, have served as a formidable natural fortress. Ranges like Alvand near Nahavand, Dalahu, Kerend, and Bazi Deraz, the Qasr-e Shirin mountains, and Kuh-e Qal'eh, along with Kabir Kuh in Ilam, have offered a secure haven for independent and self-governing peoples.
This inherent defensibility allowed these communities to maintain their distinct identities, offering protection against the successive empires that sought to dominate the region, including the Elamites, Assyrians, Achaemenids, Parthians, Sassanians, and later the Islamic caliphates. The mountains provided a buffer, allowing their culture and identity to endure.
Furthermore, this region holds strategic importance because it sits directly on the communication route between Mesopotamia and the Iranian Plateau. Key mountain passes, such as Patagh Pass between Kermanshah and Ilam, Godar-e Gash, and the routes leading to the plains of Mehran and Khanaqin, were critical points for controlling trade and military movements between the major civilizations of the ancient world. The control over these routes would have afforded the ancient Khazay, and later the Khezel, considerable political and economic leverage. Think of the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz today; it's a similar concept of geographical advantage.
The Khezel people of today are, in essence, the living inheritors of the Khazay from 3,500 years ago. The fieldwork and visual evidence gathered by the ethnographer directly support this deep historical connection. This enduring presence, marked by shared traditions and linguistic continuity, offers a powerful testament to their ancient roots.
Thank you for listening to this Podhoc podcast.
