Kursk was in existence in 1032. It was completely destroyed by the Mongols in 1240. The defence of the town against an incursion of the Turkish Polovtsi (or Comans or Cumani) is celebrated in The Triumph of Igor, an epic which forms one of the most valuable relics of early Russian literature. From 1586 to the close of the 18th century the citadel was a place of considerable strength; the remains are now comparatively few.
KURTZ, JOHANN HEINRICH (1809-1890), German Lutheran theologian, was born at Montjoie near Aix la Chapelle on the 13th of December 1809, and was educated at Halle and Bonn. Abandoning the idea of a commercial career, he gave himself to the study of theology and became religious instructor at the gymnasium of Mitau in 1835, and ordinary professor of theology (church history, 1850; exegesis, 1859) at Dorpat. He resigned his chair in 1870 and went to live at Marburg, where he died on the 26th of April 1890. Kurtz was a prolific writer, and many of his books, especially the Lehrbuch der heiligen Geschichte (1843), became very popular. In the field of biblical criticism he wrote a Geschichte des Alten Bundes (1848-1855), Zur Theologie der Psalmen (1865) and Erklärung des Briefs an die Hebräer (1869). His chief work was done in church history, among his productions being Lehrbuch der Kirchengeschichte für Studierende (1849), Abriss der Kirchengeschichte (1852) and Handbuch der allgemeinen Kirchengeschichte (1853-1856). Several of his books have been translated into English.
KURUMAN, a town in the Bechuanaland division of Cape Colony, 120 m. N.W. of Kimberley and 85 m. S.W. of Vryburg. It is a station of the London Missionary Society, founded in 1818, and from 1821 to 1870 was the scene of the labours of Robert Moffat (q.v.) who here translated the Bible into the Bechuana tongue. In the middle period of the 19th century Kuruman was the rendezvous of all travellers going north or south. Of these the best known is David Livingstone. The trunk railway line passing considerably to the east of the town, Kuruman is no longer a place of much importance. It is pleasantly situated on the upper course of the Kuruman river, being beautified by gardens and orchards, and presents a striking contrast to the desert conditions of the surrounding country. Its name is that of the son and heir of Mosilikatze, the founder of the Matabele nation. Kuruman disappeared during his father’s lifetime and the succession passed to Lobengula (see [Rhodesia]: History). In November 1899 the town was besieged by a Boer force. The garrison, less than a hundred strong, held out for six weeks against over 1000 of the enemy, but was forced to surrender on the 1st of January 1900. In June following it was reoccupied by the British.
KURUMBAS and KURUBAS, aboriginal tribes of southern India, by some thought to be of distinct races. There are two types of Kurumbas, those who live on the Nilgiri plateau, speak the Kurumba dialect and are mere savages; and those who live in the plains, speak Kanarese and are civilized. The former are a small people, with wild matted hair and scanty beard, sickly-looking, pot-bellied, large-mouthed, with projecting jaws, prominent teeth and thick lips. Their villages are called mottas, groups of four or five huts, built in mountain glens or forests. At the 1901 census the numbers were returned at 4083.
See James W. Breeks, An Account of Primitive Tribes of the Nilgiris (1873); Dr John Shortt, Hill Ranges of Southern India, pt. i. 47-53; Rev. F. Metz, Tribes Inhabiting the Neilgherry Hills (Mangalore, 1864).
KURUNEGALA, the chief town in the north-western province of Ceylon. Pop. of the town, 6483; of the district, 249,429. It was the residence of the kings of Ceylon from A.D. 1319 to 1347, and is romantically situated under the shade of Adagalla (the rock of the Tusked Elephant), which is 600 ft. high. It was in 1902 the terminus of the Northern railway (59 m. from Colombo), which has since been extended 200 m. farther, to the northernmost coast of the Jaffna Peninsula. Kurunegala is the centre of rice, coco-nut, tea, coffee and cocoa cultivation.