Kurdistan

Kurdistan(Kurdish:کوردستان,romanized:Kurdistan,lit.'land of the Kurds';[ˌkʊɾdɪˈstɑːn]),orGreater Kurdistan,is a roughly defined geo-cultural regioninWest Asiawherein theKurdsform a prominent majority populationand theKurdish culture,languages, andnational identityhave historically been based.Geographically, Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwesternZagrosand the easternTaurusmountain ranges.
Kurdistan generally comprises the following four regions: southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northernIraq(Southern Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan), and northernSyria(Western Kurdistan).Some definitions also include parts of southernTranscaucasia.CertainKurdish nationalistorganizations seek to create an independentnation stateconsisting of some or all of these areas with a Kurdish majority, while others campaign for greater autonomy within the existing national boundaries.The delineation of the region remains disputed and varied, with some maps greatly exaggerating its boundaries.
Historically, the word "Kurdistan" is first attested in 11th centurySeljukchronicles.Many disparateKurdish dynasties, emirates, principalities, and chiefdomswere established from the 8th to 19th centuries. Administratively, the 20th century saw the establishment of the short-lived areas of theKurdish state(1918–1919),Kingdom of Kurdistan(1921–1924),Kurdistansky Uyezdi.e. "Red Kurdistan" (1923–1929),Republic of Ararat(1927–1930), andRepublic of Mahabad(1946).
In Iraq, following theAylūl Revolt, the government entered into anagreementwith the rebellious Kurds, granting Kurds local self-rule. Soon after, however, the agreementcollapsed. Later, during theIraqi no-fly zones conflict, which followed theGulf War, the Iraqi military withdrew from parts of northern  Iraq, allowing the Kurds to fill the vacuum and regain lost control in those areas. After theinvasion of Iraq, and since the creation of the new Iraqifederal state, the new constitution issued in 2005 recognisesKurdistan Regionas a federal region;even though the constitution does not include the term “autonomy”, it emphasisesdecentralisationanddevolution, allowing regions andgovernoratesto administer local affairs. In practice, however, only Kurdistan Region has exercised this authority granted by the constitution. In September 2017, Iraqi Kurds held a one-sidedindependence referendum, which eventuallyfailedand was abandoned. The subsequent effort by the Iraqi government to punish Kurdistan Region has resulted in the latter losing authorities it had previously possessed,and the future of Kurdish autonomy in Iraq has been called into question.Iraqi Kurdish officials have also complained of efforts by the Iraqi government to return to the pre-2003centralized governmentand dismantle Kurdistan Region altogether.
There is also aKurdistan Provincein Iran, which is not self-ruled. Kurds fighting in theSyrian civil warwere able to take control of large sections of northern Syria and establishself-governing regionsin anAutonomous Administration of North and East Syria(commonly called Rojava), where they seek autonomy in afederal Syriaafter the war.
Kurdistan means "Land of the Kurds"and was first attested in 11th-centurySeljukchronicles.The exact origins of the nameKurdare unclear. The suffix-stan(Persian: ـستان,translit.stân) isPersianfor land.
"Kurdistan" was also formerly spelledCurdistan.One of the ancient names of this region wasCorduene.The 19th-centuryKurdistan Eyaletwas the first time that theOttoman Empireused the term 'Kurdistan' to refer to anadministrative unitrather than a geographical region.
Albeit admitting a thorough delineation is difficult, theEncyclopaedia of Islamdelineated Kurdistan as following:
Many of the maps delineating Kurdistan are greatly exaggerated, also incorporating non-Kurdish regions, which has made the subject very controversial.
Various groups, among them theGuti,Hurrians, Mannai (Mannaeans), andArmenians, lived in this region in antiquity.The original Mannaean homeland was situated east and south of theLake Urmia, roughly centered around modern-dayMahabad.The region came underPersianrule during the reign ofCyrus the GreatandDarius I.
The Kingdom ofCorduene, which emerged from the decliningSeleucid Empire, was located to the south and south-east ofLake Vanbetween Persia and Mesopotamia and ruled northern Mesopotamia and southeasternAnatoliafrom 189 BC to AD 384 as vassals of the vyingParthianandRomanempires. Corduene became avassalstate of theRoman Republicin 66 BC and remained allied with the Romans until AD 384. After 66 BC, it passed another 5 times betweenRomeand Persia. Corduene was situated to the east ofTigranocerta, that is, to the east and south of present-dayDiyarbakırin south-eastern Turkey.
Some historians have correlated a connection between Corduene with the modern names of Kurds and Kurdistan;T. A. Sinclairand other scholars have dismissed this identification as false,while a common association is asserted in theColumbia Encyclopedia.
Some of the ancient districts of Kurdistan and their corresponding modern names:
One of the earliest records of the phraseland of the Kurdsis found in anAssyrianChristian document oflate antiquity, describing the stories of Assyrian saints of theMiddle East, such asAbdisho. When theSasanianMarzbanasked Mar Abdisho about his place of origin, he replied that according to his parents, they were originally fromHazza,a village inAssyria. However, they were later driven out of Hazza bypagans, and settled inTamanon,which according to Abdisho was in theland of the Kurds.Tamanon lies just north of the modern Iraq-Turkey border, while Hazza is 12 km southwest of modernErbil. In another passage in the same document, the region of theKhabur Riveris also identified asland of the Kurds.According toAl-MuqaddasiandYaqut al-Hamawi, Tamanon was located on the south-western or southern slopes ofMount Judiand south ofCizre.Other geographical references to the Kurds inSyriacsources appear inZuqninchronicle, writings ofMichael the SyrianandBar Hebraeus. They mention the mountains of Qardu, city of Qardu and country of Qardawaye.
In the tenth and eleventh centuries, severalKurdish principalitiesemerged in the region: in the north theShaddadids(951–1174) (in eastTranscaucasiabetween theKurandAraxesrivers) and theRawadids(955–1221) (centered onTabrizand which controlled all ofAzerbaijan), in the east theHasanwayhids(959–1015) (in Zagros between Shahrizor andKhuzistan) and theAnnazids(990–1116) (centered inHulwan) and in the west theMarwanids(990–1096) to the south ofDiyarbakırand north ofJazira.
Kurdistan in theMiddle Ageswas a collection of semi-independent and independent states calledemirates. It was nominally under indirect political or religious influence ofKhalifsorShahs. A comprehensive history of these states and their relationship with their neighbors is given in the text ofSharafnama, written by PrinceSharaf al-Din Bitlisiin 1597.The emirates includedBaban,Soran,BadinanandGarmiyanin the south; Bakran, Bohtan (or Botan) andBadlisin the north, andMukriyanandArdalanin the east.
The earliest medieval attestation of thetoponymKurdistanis found in a 12th-centuryArmenianhistorical text byMatteos Urhayeci. He described a battle nearAmidandSiverekin 1062 as to have taken place inKurdistan.The second record occurs in the prayer from thecolophonof an Armenian manuscript of theGospels, written in 1200.
A later use of the termKurdistanis found inEmpire of Trebizonddocuments in 1336and inNuzhat al-Qulub, written byHamdallah Mustawfiin 1340.
According to Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi in hisSharafnama, the boundaries of the Kurdish land begin at theStrait of Hormuzin thePersian Gulfand stretch on an even line to the end ofMalatyaandMarash.Evliya Çelebi, who traveled in the region between 1640 and 1655, mentioned that Kurdistan includesErzurum,Van,Hakkari,Cizre,Imaddiya,Mosul,Shahrizor,Harir,Ardalan,Baghdad, Derne, Derteng, untilBasra.
In the 16th century, after prolonged wars, Kurdish-inhabited areas were split between theSafavidandOttomanempires. A major division of Kurdistan occurred in the aftermath of theBattle of Chaldiranin 1514, and was formalized in the 1639Treaty of Zuhab.In a geography textbook of late Ottoman military school byAhmet CevadKurdistan span over the citiesErzurum,Van,Urfa,Sulaymanyah,Kirkuk,MosulandDiyarbakiramong others and was one out of six regions of Ottoman Asia.
After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, theAlliescontrived to split Kurdistan (as detailed in the ultimately unratifiedTreaty of Sèvres) among several countries, including Kurdistan,Armeniaand others. However, the reconquest of these areas by the forces ofKemal Atatürk(and other pressing issues) caused the Allies to accept the renegotiatedTreaty of Lausanne (1923)and the borders of the modern Republic of Turkey, leaving the Kurds without a self-ruled region.Other Kurdish areas were assigned to the new British and Frenchmandatedstates ofIraqandSyria.
At theSan Francisco Peace Conferenceof 1945, the Kurdish delegation proposed consideration of territory claimed by the Kurds, which encompassed an area extending from the Mediterranean shores nearAdanato the shores of thePersian GulfnearBushehr, and included theLurinhabited areas of southernZagros.
The historianJordi Tejelhas identified "Greater Kurdistan" as being one of the "Kurdish myths" that theKurdistan Democratic Party of Syria(KDPS) were involved in promoting to Kurds in Syria.
An academic source published by theUniversity of Cambridgehas described maps of greater Kurdistan created in the 1940s and forward as: "These maps have become some of the most influential propaganda tools for the Kurdish nationalist discourse. They depict a territorially exaggerated version of the territory of Kurdistan, extending into areas with no majority Kurdish populations. Despite their production with political aims related to specific claims on the demographic and ethnographic structure of the region, and their questionable methodologies, they have become 'Kurdistan in the minds of Kurds' and the boundaries they indicate have been readily accepted."
At the end of the 1991Gulf War, theCoalitionestablished ano-fly zone over northern Iraq to provide humanitarian relief to and safeguard the Kurdswho would be subjected to Iraqi air attacks. Amid the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from three northern provinces,Kurdistan Regionemerged in 1992 as an autonomous entity inside Iraq with its own local government and parliament.
A 2010 US report, written before the instability in Syria and Iraq that exists as of 2014, attested that "Kurdistan may exist by 2030".The weakening of the Iraqi state following the2014 Northern Iraq offensiveby theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levanthas also presented an opportunity for independence for Iraqi Kurdistan,augmented by Turkey's move towards acceptance of such a state although it opposes moves toward Kurdish autonomy in Turkey and Syria.
The incorporation into Turkey of the Kurdish-inhabited regions of eastern Anatolia was opposed by many Kurds, and has resulted in a long-running separatist conflict in which tens of thousands of lives have been lost. The region saw several major Kurdish rebellions, including theKoçgiri rebellionof 1920 against theGrand National Assembly, then successive insurrections under the Turkish state, including the 1924Sheikh Said rebellion, theRepublic of Araratin 1927, and the 1937Dersim rebellion. All were forcefully put down by the authorities. The region was declared a closed military area from which foreigners were banned between 1925 and 1965.
In an attempt todeny their existence, the Turkish government categorized Kurds as "Mountain Turks" until 1991.The words "Kurds", "Kurdistan", or "Kurdish" were officially banned by the Turkish government.Following themilitary coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life.Many people who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, political parties that represented Kurdish interests were banned.
In 1983, the Kurdish provinces were included in thestate of emergency region, which was placed undermartial lawin response to the activities of the militant separatist organization theKurdistan Workers' Party(PKK).Aguerrilla wartook place through the 1980s and 1990s in which much of the countryside was evacuated,thousands of Kurdish villages were destroyed by the government, and numeroussummary executionswere carried out by both sides.Food embargoes were placed on Kurdish villages and towns.Tens of thousands were killed in the violence and hundreds of thousands were forced to leave their homes.
Turkey has historically feared that a Kurdish state in Northern Iraq would encourage and support Kurdish separatists in the adjacent Turkish provinces, and have therefore historically strongly opposed Kurdish independence in Iraq. However, following the chaos in Iraq afterthe US invasion, Turkey has increasingly worked with the autonomousKurdistan Regional Government.The word 'Kurdistan', whether written or spoken, can still lead to detention and prosecution in Turkey.Kurdistan has been characterized as an "international colony" by the scholarIsmail Besikci.
The successful2014 Northern Iraq offensiveby theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant(ISIS), and the resultant weakening of the ability of the Iraqi state to project power at the time, also presented a "golden opportunity" for the Kurds to increase their independence and possibly declare an independent Kurdish state.TheIslamic State in Iraq and the Levant, who took more than 80 Turkish persons captive in Mosul during their offensive, is an enemy of Turkey, making Kurdistan useful for Turkey as a buffer state. On 28 June 2014Hüseyin Çelik, a spokesman for the rulingJustice and Development Party(AKP), made comments to theFinancial Timesindicating Turkey's readiness to accept an independent Kurdistan in northern Iraq.This became increasingly less likely, however, when in July 2017, the Iraqi government declared victory in theBattle of Mosulagainst ISIS in the group’s last stronghold in the country. Following this, in September 2017, Iraqi Kurds held a one-sidedindependence referendumwhich eventually triggered amilitary operationwherein the Iraqi government forces attacked the Kurds, defeating them and forcing them to abandon the referendum. A month later, Iraq declared full victory over ISIS and re-established control over all previously occupied territory. Following the Kurds’ failed attempt to achieve independence, the government of Iraq has exacted severe punishment against KRI in a number of punitive measures.Some Kurdish officials in Iraq have described this as evidence of the Iraqi government’s aim to return to a centralised political system and abandon the federal system it adopted in 2005.In a leaked letter published byAl-Monitorin September 2023,Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of KRG warned about an imminent collapse of thefederal modelin Iraq (i.e. a return tocentralism) and urged the United States to intervene, saying: "I write to you now at another critical juncture in our history, one that I fear we may have difficulty overcoming. …[W]e are bleeding economically and hemorrhaging politically. For the first time in my tenure as prime minister, I hold grave concerns that this dishonorable campaign against us may cause the collapse of … the very model of a Federal Iraq that the United States sponsored in 2003 and purported to stand by since."According to a report published in 2024 by theWashington Institute for Near East Policy, Kurdistan Region's autonomy "hangs in the balance" due to several punitive measures imposed against the former by the government of Iraq in an effort to punish it and ultimately strip it completely of its autonomy.
Various sources have reported thatAl-Nusrahas issued afatwācalling for Kurdish women and children in Syria to be killed,and the fighting in Syria has led tens of thousands of refugees to flee toIraq's Kurdistan region.As of 2015, Turkey was actively supporting Al-Nusra,but as of January 2017, Turkey's foreign ministry has said that Al-Nusra is a terrorist group and has acted accordingly.
According to 2016 estimateKurdish Institute of Paris, total population of Kurdistan is around 34.5 million, and Kurds making 86% of population of Northern Kurdistan.There areArab,Turkic,Assyrian(Syriac),ArmenianandAzerbaijaniminorities in Northern Kurdistan.In Southern Kurdistan there areChristian(Assyrian and Armenian) and Turkish (Turkmen) minorities as well.IraqiandSyrian Turkmenshare close ties with Turkish people and do not identify with theTurkmenofTurkmenistanandCentral Asia.Kurdistan has also significant Caucasian population, Caucasians of Kurdistan includedChechensandIngushesinVarto,OssetiansinAhlatandCircassians. From early stage on, these Caucasians went through a process ofKurdificationand thereby had Kurdish as their mother tongue.
According to theEncyclopædia Britannica, Kurdistan covers about 190,000 km(or 73,000 square miles), and its chief towns areDiyarbakır(Amed),Bitlis(Bedlîs) andVan(Wan) in Turkey,Erbil(Hewlêr) andSulaymaniyahin Iraq, andKermanshah(Kirmanşan),Sanandaj(Sine),IlamandMahabad(Mehabad) in Iran.According to theEncyclopaedia of Islam, Kurdistan covers around 190,000 km(73,000 sq mi) in Turkey, 125,000 km(48,000 sq mi) in Iran, 65,000 km(25,000 sq mi) in Iraq, and 12,000 km(4,600 sq mi) in Syria, with a total area of approximately 392,000 km(151,000 sq mi).
Turkish Kurdistanencompasses a large area ofEastern Anatolia Regionandsoutheastern Anatoliaof Turkey and it is home to an estimated 6 to 8 million Kurds.
InA Dictionary of Scripture Geography(published 1846), John Miles describes Upper and Lower Kurdistan as following:
The northern, northwestern and northeastern parts of Kurdistan are referred to as upper Kurdistan, and includes the areas from west of Amed to Lake Urmia.
The lowlands of southern Kurdistan are called lower Kurdistan. The main cities in this area are Kirkuk and Arbil.
Much of the region is typified by acontinental climate– hot in the summer, cold in the winter. Despite this, much of the region is fertile and has historically exportedgrainandlivestock. Precipitation varies between 200 and 400 mm a year in the plains, and between 700 and 3,000 mm a year on the high plateau between mountain chains.The mountainous zone along the borders with Iran and Turkey experiencesdry summers, rainy and sometimes snowy winters, and damp springs, while to the south the climate progressively transitions towardsemi-aridanddesertzones.
Kurdistan is one of the most mountainous regions in the world with acold climatereceiving annualprecipitationadequate to sustain temperate forests andshrubs. Mountain chains harbor pastures and forested valleys, totaling approximately 16 million hectares (160,000 km), includingfirsand countryside is mostlyoaks,conifers,platanus,willow,poplarand, to the west of Kurdistan,olive trees.
The region north of the mountainous region on the border with Iran and Turkey features meadow grasses and such wild trees as,Abies cilicica,Fagus sylvatica,Quercus calliprinos,Quercus brantii,Quercus infectoria,Quercus ithaburensis,Quercus macranthera,Cupressus sempervirens,Platanus orientalis,Pinus brutia,Juniperus foetidissima,Juniperus excelsa,Juniperus oxycedrus,Prunus cerasus,Salix alba,Fraxinus excelsior,Paliurus spina-christi,Olea europaea,Ficus carica,Populus euphratica,Populus nigra,Crataegus monogyna,Crataegus azarolus,Prunus cerasifera,rose hips,Cercis siliquastrum,pistachio trees,pearandSorbus graeca. The desert in the south is mostlysteppeand would featurexericplants such aspalm trees,tamarix,date palm,fraxinus,poa,white wormwoodandchenopodiaceae.Thesteppeand desert in the south, by contrast, have such species aspalm treesanddate palm.
Animals found in the region include theSyrian brown bear,wild boar,gray wolf, thegolden jackal,Indian crested porcupine, thered fox,goitered gazelle,Eurasian otter,striped hyena,Persian fallow deer,long-eared hedgehog,onager,mangarand theEuphrates softshell turtle.Birds include, thehooded crow,common starling,Eurasian magpie,European robin,water pipit,spotted flycatcher,namaqua dove,saker falcon,griffon vulture,little crakeandcollared pratincole, among others.
Mountains are important geographical and symbolic features of Kurdish life, as evidenced by the saying "Kurds have no friends but the mountains."Mountains are regarded assacredby theKurds.Included in the region areMount JudiandArarat(both prominent in Kurdish folklore),Zagros,Qandil,Shingal,Mount Abdulaziz,Kurd Mountains,Jabal al-Akrad, Shaho, Gabar,Hamrin, andNisir.
Iraqi Kurdistan is a region relatively rich in water, especially for countries in theMiddle Eastregion. It is the source for much of the water supply for neighboring countries. It means that political stability and peace in the region are important to the water supply of the region and preventing wars.Many think that for conserving the water "returning to traditional water-conserving cultivation techniques" will be needed, as well as "communal economy"
Rivers
The plateaus and mountains of Kurdistan, which are characterized by heavy rain and snow fall, act as a water reservoir for the Near and Middle East, forming the source of theTigrisandEuphratesrivers, as well as other numerous smaller rivers, such as theLittle Khabur,Khabur, Tharthar, Ceyhan,Araxes, Kura, Sefidrud, Karkha, and Hezil. Among rivers of historical importance to Kurds are theMurat(Arasān) and Buhtān rivers in Turkey; the Peshkhābur, theLittle Zab, theGreat Zab, and theDiyalain Iraq; and the Jaghatu (Zarrinarud), the Tātā'u (Siminarud), the Zohāb (Zahāb), and the Gāmāsiyāb in Iran.
These rivers, which flow from heights of three to four thousand meters above sea level, are significant both as water sources and for the production of energy. Iraq and Syria dammed many of these rivers and their tributaries. Turkey has an extensive dam system under construction as part of theGAP (Southeast Anatolia Project); though incomplete, the GAP already supplies a significant proportion of Turkey's electrical energy needs.Due to the extraordinary archaeological richness of the region, almost any dam impacts historic sites.With the outbreak of theSyrian civil war, Turkey was accused of withholding water from the reservoirLake Assadin Syria, while filling theAtatürk damin Turkey.
Lakes
Kurdistan extends toLake Urmiain Iran on the east. The region includes Lake Van, the largest body of water in Turkey; the only lake in the Middle East with a larger surface is Lake Urmia – though not nearly as deep as Lake Van, which has a much larger volume.Urmia,Van, as well asZarivar Lakewest ofMarivan, andLake Dukannear the city ofSulaymaniyah, are frequented by tourists.
Kurdistan Regionis estimated to contain around 45 billion barrels (7.2×10^m) of oil, making it the sixth largest reserve in the world. Extraction of these reserves began in 2007.
Al-Hasakahprovince, also known asJaziraregion, has geopolitical importance ofoiland is suitable for agricultural lands.
In November 2011,Exxonchallenged the Iraqi central government's authority with the signing of oil and gas contracts for exploration rights to six parcels of land in Kurdistan, including one contract in the disputed territories, just east of the Kirkuk mega-field.This act caused Baghdad to threaten to revoke Exxon's contract in its southern fields, most notably theWest-QurnaPhase 1 project.Exxon responded by announcing its intention to leave the West-Qurna project.
As of July 2007, the Kurdish government solicited foreign companies to invest in 40 new oil sites, with the hope of increasing regional oil production over the following five years by a factor of five, to about 1 million barrels per day (160,000 m/d).Gas and associated gas reserves are in excess of 2,800 km(100×10^cu ft). Notable companies active in Kurdistan includeExxonMobil,Total,Chevron,Talisman Energy,Genel Energy,Hunt Oil,Gulf Keystone Petroleum, andMarathon Oil.
Other mineral resources that exist in significant quantities in the region includecoal,copper,gold,iron,limestone(which is used to producecement),marble, andzinc. The world's largest deposit of rock sulfur is located just southwest ofErbil.
In July 2012, Turkey and the Kurdistan Region signed an agreement by which Turkey would regularly supply the KRG with refined petroleum products in exchange for crude oil.