Ely Banister Soane

Ely Bannister Soane (1881–1923) was a British writer, linguist, and political officer whose name is closely tied to early English-language writing on Kurdistan. Sources describe him as especially noted for his travels in Kurdistan and Mesopotamia, and for his studies of Kurdish language and culture.

He wrote To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise, first published in 1912, a travel narrative built from a journey from Constantinople through Kurdistan to Baghdad. He also produced linguistic work, including Grammar of the Kurmanji or Kurdish Language and Notes on Kurdish Dialects, showing that his interest in the region went far beyond travel writing.

Reference works and later summaries note that he knew Persian and Kurdish well, and that this deep language knowledge shaped both his travels and his books. He died in 1923 at only forty-one, but his writing has remained useful to readers interested in Kurdish studies, Middle Eastern travel, and the history of British encounters with the region.