Storia della Regione del Kurdistan e delle sette di religione ivi esistenti, del P. M. Giuseppe Campanile [...]

The first overview of Kurdish region and about their customs. With four engraved plates, three show the Kurdish costumes and the fourth a wild goat which is among the Kurdish national symbols.

Giuseppe Campanile (1762-1835) was among the earliest Europeans who reached Kurdistan. He was sent to Mosul by the Roman Propaganda in 1802 and within a few years he was named the Apostolic Prefect for Mesopotamia and Kurdistan. During this time he wrote his book "Storia della Regione del Kurdistan" (History of the Region of Kurdistan). Beside recalling historical events of the region it is a travelogue, a description of the customs, geography, the economy, social and religious life, that Campanile observed.

Campanile made some interesting observations and also collected information about the otherwise poorly documented, cultural and religious practices of the Shemsi the small ethno-religious group of the Middle East, thus the book became one of the most important source about the Shemsi.

Early and interesting source about the Kurds and their land.

[Ref.: Campanile, G.; Bois, Th.: Étude kurdes 1. Histoire du Kurdistan. Paris: Fondation-Institut kurde de Paris - l'Harmattan, 2004.; Blau, J.: Kurdish language ii. History of Kurdish studies." In: Encyclopaedia Iranica. R.: The Shemsi and the Assyrians.

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