Mir Xanzad

Mir Xanzad (or Khanzad) was a military commander and ruler of the Soran Emirate in the late 16th or early 17th century.

[2] She moved the capital from Dwin Qala to Harir, built roads and castles and attacked many surrounding towns at the head of a huge army of 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers, including 12,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry archers to protect the Soran Emirate from its enemies.

[3] During her reign, she ruled over two Kurdish districts called Harir and Soran, constituting the current Erbil governorate.

On the battlefield, her face hidden by a veil and her body covered with a black cloak, she resembled [the legendary Iranian hero] Sam, the son of Nariman, as she rode her Arabian thoroughbred and performed courageous feats of swordsmanship.

At the head of a forty to fifty thousand strong army, she several times carried out raids into Iran, plundering Hamadan, Dargazin, Jamjanab and other considerable cities and returning to Soran victorious, loaded with booty.The name of Xanzad, the legendary Kurdish warrior queen, remains alive and is commemorated through various Kurdish songs and poems, including the Laskiri poem.