Sonqor County
Sonqor County is in Kermanshah province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Sonqor.
History
In 2021, Bavaleh and Gavrud Rural Districts were separated from the Central District in the formation of Bavaleh District.Demographics
Language and ethnicity
The majority of the people in this county are Kurds and Turks. Sonqor county is made up of two distinct population elements. The city of Sonqor and the villages of Qalʿa-ye Farhād Khan and Qorva are predominantly populated by Turks, whose ancestors reportedly arrived during the Mongol domination of Iran. The Turkic people of Sonqor originally speak the Sonqori dialect. The dialects of Sonqori spoken in Qalʿa-ye Farhād Khan and Qorva differ barely from this main dialect.The other areas within Sonqor County are predominantly populated by Kurds most of whom have originally been agriculturalists. The chiefs of the Kurds of Sonqor County belonged to the Kulya'i tribe. These Kurdish feudal lords were in control of the Kurdish-populated parts of the county until early 20th century Qajar Iran, and were reportedly scions of a certain Safi Khan who lived in the later Safavid period. In 1786, the district was ceded to Ardalan as a gift from Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. In 1798, Ali Hemmat Khan and his brother Baba Khan of the Nanakali tribe were executed by Iranian ruler Fath-Ali Shah Qajar as they had supported Soleyman Khan, the pretender to the Iranian throne. The Kulya'i Kurds of the Sonqor District speak a Kurdish dialect that resembles the dialect of Kermanshah, and, according to the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam are thought to be affiliated to the Ahl-e Haqq syncretic religion. At least 177 villages in the county speak the Kulya'i dialect, 112 of these are in the Kolyai District.