They have historically inhabited the mountainous areas to the south of lake van and lake urmia, a geographical area collectively referred to as kurdistan. The population of the kurdistan region is skewed young, with 36% aged 014 years and only 4% aged over 63. It is a 620mile 1,000 km strip of land that, stretching from the southeast to the northwest, extends from kermanshah iran to the gulf of iskenderun or alexandretta, turkey. History of the division of kurdistan, the kingdom of medes. The kurdish project has collected descriptions of the various historical sites in kurdistan for our readers like you. The contiguous kurdish regions of iran, iraq, turkey, and syria sit in the north central area of the middle east. Brushing over a depiction of 25 centuries of history in half an hour is obviously a tough task. To the question do you want the kurdistan region and the kurdistani areas outside the regions administration to become an independent state. By abdulkhaleq dosky, duhok, kurdistan niqash july 14, 2012 duhok, kurdistan region, its history includes tales of love, war and tourism. Texts and images are presented as fragments, to expose the inherent partiality of our knowledge. Since the early 20th century, the region has been divided between turkey, iran, syria, and iraq, all of which have repressed, often.
Today erbil is the capital of iraqs autonomous province of kurdistan. On the other hand, kurdistan has a lot of material specific to iraqi kurdistan. Documents for the retrospective history of kurdistan. Kurdistan, broadly defined geographic region traditionally inhabited mainly by kurds. The construction of contemporary turkey in large part marked the removal of kurdistan from the pages of history and as a people their very existence has been denied and all traces of their culture, language and. The book traces the history of the kurds by presenting photographs and accounts by colonial administrators, anthropologists, missionaries, journalists, and others who have traveled to kurdistan over the last century. In no way is this a definitive history of the kurds. The citadel remains at the heart of a thriving city with a population of 1. Kurdistan archive projects 19912008 susan meiselas. In addition to meiselass own photographs, kurdistan presents images and accounts by colonial administrators, anthropologists.
It was in the 1980s when the historian gwyn a williams posed the famous question. The history of the middle eastern ethnic group and their quest for kurdistan. Kurdistan puk, which led to the division of the iraqi kurdistan region into two territories of influence. The kurds have lived in a mountainous, roughly 74,000squaremile region known as kurdistan for the past two millennia. The history of kurdistan the pkk party program 1998, chapter two. Today, it faces a future branching in directions that could lead it towards success or disaster, freedom or renewed oppression.
The kurds quest for independence council on foreign relations. Following world war i, the treaty of sevres pdf, signed in 1920, dissolves. List of books and articles about kurds online research. The iraniraq war starting in 1980 provided an opportunity for the kurds to reunite their forces against saddam husseins regime and form the kurdistan front in 1987, which was met with extensive violence by iraqi security. The kurds are one of the worlds largest peoples without a state, making up. Comprising some thirty to forty million people, the kurds constitute the fourth largest ethnicity in western asia. Building a nationstate within a nationstate article pdf available in the middle east journal 683 july 2014 with 1,867 reads how we measure reads.
In this quick skimming through 1 can limit myself to merely pointing out a few major landmards and mentioning facts likely to help in the understanding of the present situation of the kurds. I will show some of the kurdish uprisings and the genocides against kurds by their enemies. Daniel sabr november 15, 2017 library, modern history of kurdistan 0 998. The first section is dedicated to those rulers, such as the ayyubid sultans of egypt and. Contemporary history of kurdistan region in iraq in march 1970 signed agreement with central government of iraq about establishing autonomic kurdistan. The encyclopaedia of kurdistan, kurdistanica is a digital information and database focusing on the kurdish people. The history in general of west asia the history of iraqs policy toward the kurds in northern iraq. To be more precise, the kurds are kind of mixture between the khurrites hurrians who lived in northernmesopotamia almost 5000 years ago and the medes who conquered them in vii bc they have founded an empire of medes. Kurdistan 7 essentials demographics the kurdistan region is composed of an ethnically diverse populace that includes kurds, arabs, assyrians, chaldeans, turkmen, and armenians.
The interviews were recorded between may and october in iraq, turkey, uk and usa 2008. The history of kurds is often compared with the history of the polish nation under rules of germany, russia and austria in 19th century the predecessors of the kurds are medes. The encyclopaedia of kurdistan network kurdistanica is a virtual organization in the form of a global academicprofessional open network for the creation and development of a multilingual kurdish encyclopaedia on the world wide web. But as a student of history and geography, my time in kurdistan. I think we should make this a redirect to kurdistan or the regional government.
Kurdish history is deeply intertwined with the geography and the politics of the modern kurdish regions. An interesting discussion of the recent history of the kurds, generally speaking from the end of the 19th century on that charts the role they have played in the wider region and the space they filled in the states of iran prior to the first world war and the newly formed nation states of turkey and iraq after ww1. Though only six million out of a total of 32 million kurds live inside the current territorial borders of iraq, these kurds have achieved the greatest autonomy of any of their brethren. As for israel, while there is a thunderous official silence on the subject, there is no doubt. Mcdowall therefore fills a large gap with this straightforward history, providing a wealth of information about the kurdish populations in. Kurdish nationalism versus postwar british and turkish geostrategies. Seizing the opportunity of a crack in kurdish unity, the central.
Most kurds speak northern kurdish or sorani, which both belong to the kurdish languages. The history of the middle eastern ethnic group and their quest for kurdistan kindle edition by charles river editors. Yet little has been written about them, their history, emergent nationalism, or enduring tribal rivalries. In collaboration with the kurdistan regional government and client representative rwf world, the team has embarked on a visionary project to share the story of the kurdish people with the.
Gunterhistorical dictionary of the kurds historical dictionaries of people and cultures. Kurdistan is a plateau inhabited by kurdish peoples that was absorbed after world war i into southeast turkey, northeast iraq, and northwest iran, with smaller sections in syria and russia. However after series of attacks on kurdish leaders made by baas party agents, agreement was terminated quickly, iraqi government sharpened repression to local population. Christian ancient history and the mythology of the kurds, the cultural height and depth of the kurdish people in the shadow of the numerous expeditions by alien peoples through kurdistan, the astounding variety of religions in kurdistan, with special stress on syncretism as the most striking feature of the kurdish religious culture. History of the kurds the kurdistan memory programme. But now an ancient bridge in the city of zakho urgently needs maintenance. On the anniversary of the proclaimed republic 22011946, part one. Daniel sabr november 15, 2017 library, modern history of kurdistan 0 619. Translated by the kurdistan tribune introduction the establishment of the kurdistan republic is the most significant historical event in the history of kurdistan and is so important because of the experience of the ku. We used to have two articles, one for southern kurdistan and one for kurdistan autonomous region, and it proved to be unworkable there was too much overlap. Will this historical relic go the same way so many of iraqs lost antiquities have. In our country, kurdistan, one of the most fertile regions of the earth, humanity for the first time in its history began to cultivate agriculture, have a settled life, and to raise livestock. April 20, 2020 modern history of kurdistan 0 saikh saeed who headed the kurdsih effort to free itself from the turkish rule in 1925, was the symbol of kurdish reistance to the the foreign yoke.
Hopes were high in kurdistan after the historic, if illadvised, referendum on independence earlier this month. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the kurds. Kurdish history, and it helps us see the dynamics of kurdish society over the. This is a book of quotations, with multiple and interwoven narratives taken from primary sources the raw materials from which history is constructed.
Kurdistan, in the shadow of history, was the inspiration for this site. Roj bash kurdistan unesco sites of kurdistan page 3. Kurdistan does not have boundaries on any map, but it extends over five middle eastern states. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Kurdistan was separated into 4 regions under the sykespicot and each region is occupied by a different country. Divided between turkey, iran, iraq, and syria, kurdistan is located in. Throughout their history they have remained under the thumb of various conquerors and nations. In an effort to share the history of kurdistan, the kurdish project has compiled a list of historic attractions in kurdistan. It has since been a matter of contention between the kurds and the states they inhabit. Regional implications of an independent kurdistan rand.
Challenges and achievements in iraq video documentary series on contemporary politics in kurdistan in iraq produced by s l james for the centre for kurdish studies, university of exeter. The drive for independent nationhood is a key part of kurdish history and identity. Kurds in the middle east now number some 25 million and represent major political and security challenges to the governments of turkey and iraq. Kurdistan, kurdish nationalism and international society by zeynep n. Unexpected support on this matter was recently received from saudi arabia, which sought to take revenge on ankara for its support of qatar. Turkey, iraq, iran, syria, and parts of the former soviet armenia. After exploring the various myths surrounding the origins of the kurds, sharaf khan examines the histories of various kurdish dynasties. Syrian forces crack down on mass demonstrations, which spread to. There is hardly a people in the islamic east whose origin and history, language and. This video will show you the history of southern kurdistan from 1900 till 2007. The kurds and the emergence of the modern middle east. While kurdistan remains a place of tolerance of all faith, the rise of religious extremism, is threatening to destroy the survival and freedom of belief and worship, compounded by the rise of ultranationalistic and religious regimes in the region. No rebellion frightened the godless repubic of turkey more.
With the dissolution of the ottoman empire after world war i, many kurds hoped for the establishment of an independent state in kurdistan. To be more precise, the kurds are kind of mixture between the khurrites hurrians who lived in northernmesopotamia almost 5000 years ago and the medes who conquered them in vii bc. Iraqi kurdistan a semiautonomous region in the north of iraq, and the closest thing to a. The site of the new kurdistan museum will be the first major institution to dedicate itself to the preservation and education of the kurds national heritage to the region and the world. The sharafnama is the first systematic attempt to write a history of the kurds and kurdistans various noble houses. The sharafnama is the first systematic attempt to write a history of the kurds and kurdistan s various noble houses. The construction of contemporary turkey in large part marked the removal of kurdistan from the pages of history and as a people their very existence has been denied and all traces of their culture, language and history are intended. Kaya a thesis submitted to the department of international relations of the london school of economics for the degree of doctor of philosophy, london, june 2012. Over the millennia, numerous ethnicities have migrated, settled or natively inhabited the area including turks, persians, arabs, kurds. In the shadow of history, gives form to the collective memory of the kurds and creates from scattered fragments a vital national archive.
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