Balak (tribe)
Balak, باڵەک, Balek is an ancient Kurdish tribe living in the former Soran Emirate which is now part of Erbil Governorate in Southern Kurdistan. it is located in the mountainous region of northern Erbil Governorate in Southern Kurdistan. People from the Balak area speak a language that is mixed in the Kurdish Sorani dialect and the Kurdish Kurmanji dialect. Like most Kurdish tribes, the people from the Balak tribe mainly live in mountains. Balak area ranges from Rawanduz district in the southwest, to the Haji Omaran sub-district in the northeast. There are a total two main districts  located in Balak; namely Choman and Rawanduz, and five sub-districts: Warte, Smilan, Galala, Qasre and Haji Omaran. It is located 120 km north of Erbil, the capital of the Erbil Governorate and borders Eastern Kurdistan region in Iran. Choman is considered the capital of the Balak tribe nowadays. Rawanduz was the capital of the Emirate of Soran, which was based in the geographic region of Kurdistan, specifically in what is today known as Southern Kurdistan. The emirate gained its full independence from the Ottoman Empire shortly after its capture from Safavid control in the 1530s. It was later reincorporated  into the Ottoman Empire and served as a semi-autonomous vassal state for two centuries. The emirate slowly regained full independence for a second time during the late 18th century and early 19th century, but was once again eventually subdued by Ottoman troops in 1835. The city of Rawanduz served as the capital during most of its reign. During his travels across Kurdistan in October and November 1836, Major Rawlinson observes that the Mîr of Rawanduz, Muhammad Pasha, brought tribesmen under his sway and conscripted a male from each family into his service as was his usual custom, and that  the Balak tribe contingent proved to of great service to him. The Name. The name of the Balak tribe came from the area that they inhabit. The earliest mention of Balak tribe comes from a 14th-century book, Masalik al-absar fi mamalik al-amsar, authored by the Arab geographer Ibn Fadl Allah Al-'Omari, the name Balak is said to be derived from Balakan village in Northern Kurdistan. Balakan means "Home of the Balaks". The Balaks are also mentioned by the Ottoman Sharif Pasha who writes in his report that some clans of the Balak reside in Zooka and Mashkan  regions of Northern Kurdistan. The Balak Tribe are also mentioned in the Seyahatname by Evliya Çelebi.