An Analysis of the Economic Activities of Kurdistan’s Jews from the Late Naseri Period to the End of Reza Shah’s Reign”

Sanginabadi, Nahie; Shikhahmadi, S.M.; Shafei, Kaivan

doi:10.30465/ehs.2025.52805.2062

An Analysis of the Economic Activities of Kurdistan’s Jews from the Late Naseri Period to the End of Reza Shah’s Reign”

Document Type : .

Authors

Nahie Sanginabadi ¹

S.M. shikhahmadi ²

Kaivan Shafei ²

¹ PhD student in History, Department of History, Sanandaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Department of History, Sanandaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran

10.30465/ehs.2025.52805.2062

Abstract

Kurdistan has historically functioned as a locus of coexistence and interaction among diverse ethno-religious communities. Although Jews constituted a demographic minority, they played a significant role in the region’s socio-economic transformations. Improvements in their social and legal status facilitated broader participation in trade, commerce, and regional economic networks, although their activities were continuously mediated by relations with the central state, interactions with foreign powers, and the Muslim majority.

This study employs archival sources and historical data through a descriptive–analytical methodology to examine the economic occupations and commercial agency of Kurdish Jews from the Constitutional Revolution to the end of the Pahlavi era, analyzing the structural and social factors that enabled or constrained their economic opportunities. Findings indicate that Kurdish Jews were able to secure a firm position within the regional economy and played a pivotal role as merchants within trade networks connecting Iran, the Ottoman Empire, and Mesopotamia. Strategic selection of professions with lower social sensitivity, capacity to navigate structural constraints, and leveraging emergent opportunities were key determinants of their economic success.

Keywords

Kurdistan

Jews

Qajar

Pahlavi I

economic activity

Subjects