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History of Kurdistan
Kurdistan's Flag
INTRODUCTION
Kurds, seminomadic,
tribal peoples who have
for centuries inhabited
a mountainous region of
southwestern Asia.
Although accurate
population figures are
difficult to attain, the
Kurdish population was
estimated at nearly 26
million in the 1990s.
Internationalization of
Islam
Encarta Historical
Essays reflect the
knowledge and insight of
leading historians. This
collection of essays is
assembled to support the
National Standards for
World History. In this
essay, Richard Foltz
examines the dynamics
and consequences of the
rapid expansion of Islam
that began in the 7th
century ad.
II WHERE THE
KURDS LIVE
Mountainous Terrain in
Iraq The area of Asia in
which the Kurds live
includes parts of Iran,
Iraq, and Turkey. Major
landforms include the
Taurus Mountains, the
Zagros Mountains, and
the Elburz Mountains,
and the Anatolian
Plateau.Christine
Osborne Pictures
More
than half the Kurds live
in southeastern Turkey.
About 25 percent reside
in northern Iran, and
about 17 percent live in
western Iraq. Most of
the remainder are found
in small parts of
northeastern Syria, and
in Armenia and several
of the other former
republics of the Union
of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR).
Together, these regions
make up a cultural area
traditionally known as
Kurdistan. In addition,
in the late 1990s an
estimated 850,000 Kurds
lived in Europe, more
than half of them in
Germany.
Geographically, the area
of Asia in which the
Kurds live is
predominantly
mountainous, and the
terrain has had a strong
impact on the Kurdish
economy and culture. The
entire area is in an
active seismic zone,
with frequent earthquake
activity. Mountain
ranges include the
Taurus Mountains, the
Zagros Mountains, and
the Elburz Mountains.
These mountains are
interspersed with
plateaus and hills, most
notably the eastern
Anatolian Plateau. Mount
Ararat is the region’s
highest peak, reaching
5,137 m (16,854 ft). The
region contains the
watershed of the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers.
Major lakes include Van
G?lü (Lake Van) and Lake
Urmia. The region’s
climate ranges from hot,
arid summers to bitterly
cold winters.
Although Kurds make up a
majority in the cultural
area of Kurdistan, they
comprise a minority in
all the countries in
which they live. For
years, the Kurds have
sought autonomy, or even
independence, for the
Kurdish region. These
demands have been
resisted, especially by
Turkey and Iraq in
recent decades.
III HOW THE KURDS
LIVE
Kurdish Folk Music
Living in an area of
approximately 194,250 sq
km (75,000 sq mi)
divided among Turkey,
Syria, Iraq, and Iran,
the Kurdish people are a
complex ethnic group,
varying linguistically
and culturally. Among
Kurds in Iran, music
connected with the
activities of daily life
and traditional social
events is most often
practiced. Among the
oldest traditions is
bard singing, and
although it is an
unprofitable profession,
it requires a lifetime
commitment. Singing this
epic song titled “Xanê
Keyqa,” is bard singer
Hadji Hemederes, who
accepts gifts such as
sugar and flour for his
services because money
is felt to be inadequate
payment."Xane Keyqa"
from Kurdish Folk Music
from Western Iran (Cat.#
Folkways FE 4103)
(p)1965 Smithsonian
Folkways Recordings. All
rights reserved.
Expand
Most
Kurds live in small
villages, although the
number of urban
residents is increasing.
Major cities in the
region include Mosul,
Kirk?k, Irb?l, and As
Sulaym?n?yah in Iraq;
Sanandaj and Saqqez in
Iran; and Diyarbak?r in
Turkey. The Kurds are
organized in numerous
clans, tribes, and
tribal confederations.
The majority are
Muslims, mostly of the
Sunni sect; a small
percentage are Shiites.
Many Kurdish Muslims are
also followers of
Sufism. Most of the
Kurds who are not
Muslims are followers of
the Cult of Angel, an
ancient Kurdish faith.
The primary language of
the Kurds is Kurdish, an
Indo-Iranian language
that includes a number
of different dialects.
Agriculture and
livestock raising are
the chief occupations.
Principal crops include
cereals, mostly wheat,
barley, rye, and oats.
Kurdish farmers also
grow cotton, olives,
rice, sugar beets, and
tobacco. In the summer
many Kurds take their
sheep, goats, donkeys,
and mules to higher
mountain pastures;
winter grazing occurs in
the lower plains. The
mountainous soils are
generally poor, and
vegetation is sparse and
seasonal; however, new
irrigation and
hydroelectric projects
sponsored by the Turkish
government on the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers
offer the potential for
improved agriculture and
development. The Kurds
have a strong tradition
of rug weaving, which
continues to be an
important economic
activity.
Some
Kurds work in mining
industries. Crude oil
reserves, located near
Kirk?k and Irb?l in
Iraq, are the most
important natural
resources. Other
important minerals
include chromium,
copper, and iron ore.
The Kurdish region also
contains deposits of
granite, limestone,
marble, and travertine,
which are used in the
construction industry.
IV HISTORY OF THE
KURDS
The Need for National
Belonging
In
the late 20th century
nationalism has served
as a driving force in
world affairs, fueling
political conflicts
around the globe, from
the Middle East to the
former Yugoslavia. In
this article, writer
Michael Ignatieff
provides insight into
this phenomenon by
examining the causes and
characteristics of
nationalism, its
historical development,
and its emotional basis
as the human desire to
belong.
open sidebar
Kurds have lived in
southwestern Asia since
as early as 2400 bc.
Many claim to be
descendents of the
Medes, a nomadic people
of the Media Empire
(900-500 bc). Most of
the Kurdish lands were
conquered by Arabs in
the 7th century. The
Arabs brought Islam to
the region, and most of
Kurds converted. The
Kurdish region later
fell to the Seljuks in
the 11th century and it
became part of the
Ottoman Empire in the
14th century.
After the collapse of
the Ottoman Empire
following World War I
(1914-1918), the Kurds
were promised the
creation of an
independent state as
part of the Treaty of
Sèvres (1920); this part
of the treaty was never
ratified, however. The
Treaty of Lausanne
(1923), which superseded
the Treaty of Sèvres,
did not include
provisions for an
independent Kurdish
state. Since that time,
the issue of Kurdish
autonomy has been a
source of conflict and
political instability in
those countries with
large Kurdish
minorities.
During the 1920s
sporadic Kurdish revolts
broke out in Iran,
Turkey, and Iraq. In
Iran, the Kurds were
successful in securing
an autonomous republic
following World War II
(1939-1945), but this
lasted for only about a
year. In 1961 Iran
established a
semiautonomous Kordest?n
Province.
A- Kurds in Turkey
Kurdish Conflict in
Turkey Turkish soldiers
engage in a military
exercise against Kurdish
separatists in
southeastern Turkey.
Since 1984 the Kurdish
rebels have been waging
an armed secessionist
movement against the
Turkish
government.Caroline
Penn/Panos Pictures
Turkey put down Kurdish
revolts in 1925 and
1945; the Turkish
government also passed
various laws forbidding
the use of the Kurdish
language and imposing
other restrictions on
manifestations of
Kurdish nationalism. In
the mid-1990s, however,
the government lifted
some of these
restrictions, allowing,
for example, the
publication of materials
in Kurdish. Although all
Turkish Kurds possess
full Turkish citizenship
and millions of Kurds
have assimilated into
Turkish society,
relations between Kurds
and the Turkish
government continue to
be strained. In 1984 the
Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK), a Marxist group
considered a terrorist
organization by the
Turkish government,
launched an armed
struggle against Turkey
in an effort to secure
an independent Kurdish
homeland. The conflict
intensified, and in
March 1995 35,000
Turkish troops moved
across the border into
northern Iraq to prevent
PKK rebels from mounting
cross-boarder raids into
Turkey. Turkey withdrew
its troops six weeks
later. Over the next few
years Turkey
periodically sent troops
into Iraq for
retaliatory attacks,
each time withdrawing
its troops afterwards.
By mid-1999 at least
30,000 Kurdish rebels,
Turkish troops, and
civilians had been
killed or left homeless
as a result of the
fighting since 1984.
In
February 1999 Turkish
commandos, assisted by
U.S. intelligence
agencies, captured PKK
leader Abdullah Ocalan
in Nairobi, Kenya. The
arrest triggered
protests by Kurds living
in Germany, France, the
United Kingdom, and
elsewhere. ?calan was
imprisoned on a Turkish
island and faced charges
of treason, which could
result in a death
sentence under Turkish
law. Following the
arrest the Turkish
government hinted that
it would consider
reforming its policies
toward Kurds in Turkey
if the PKK would stop
its armed struggle.
However, in the
following weeks,
terrorist bombings
believed to be in
retaliation for Ocalan’s
capture occurred in
several Turkish cities.
B- Kurds in Iraq
Kurdish Refugee Camp In
1991 the Iraqi
government violently
suppressed a Kurdish
uprising, causing
hundreds of thousands of
Iraqi Kurds to flee to
Turkey and Iran. An
international coalition
established a protected
enclave in northern Iraq
and set up refugee camps
to administer aid to the
Kurds who remained in
the enclave region.AFP
Erbil - Hawlêr
After prolonged warfare
during the 1960s, in
1970 the Iraqi
government and Kurdish
leaders reached an
agreement providing for
Kurdish autonomy.
However, delays in
implementing the pledge
and Kurdish objections
to subsequent laws
prompted renewed
fighting in 1974, with
the Kurds receiving
support from Iran. At
the time, Iran and Iraq
were engaged in a border
dispute, and Iran hoped
that the Kurdish unrest
would work in its favor.
The Kurdish revolt
collapsed in 1975, when
the Iranian government
withdrew support for the
Kurds after reaching a
border agreement with
Iraq. Iraqi government
attacks on Kurds
continued throughout the
Iran-Iraq War
(1980-1988), during
which the Iraqi Kurds
sided with Iran. In 1988
the Iraqi government
used chemical weapons
against Kurds, killing
thousands and forcing
large numbers to flee
their homes. Iraqi Kurds
attempted another
uprising following
Iraq’s defeat by an
international coalition
of forces during the
Persian Gulf War in
1991. The revolt was
violently suppressed by
the Iraqi government,
attracting international
criticism. More than 1
million Iraqi Kurds fled
to Turkey, Iran, and the
mountainous areas of
northern Iraq.
Kurdish Revolt in Iraq
In
mid-1991 the United
Nations (UN) passed a
resolution demanding
that Iraq end repression
of the Kurds and other
groups and that it allow
international
organizations to deliver
humanitarian aid to
those in need. In April
of that year, an
international coalition,
including the United
States, Turkey, France,
and the United Kingdom,
responded to the
resolution by
establishing a protected
enclave for the Kurds
who remained in northern
Iraq. The coalition
members, along with
private relief agencies,
supplied Kurdish refugee
camps in the enclave
with food, medicine, and
other goods. In a
further effort to
protect Iraqi Kurds, in
June the international
coalition declared a
"no-fly zone" over
northern Iraq, thereby
guaranteeing Kurds some
degree of autonomy in
this small region. In
1992 Iraqi Kurds held
their first elections to
choose a leader and a
national assembly. The
government was largely
ineffective, however,
due to violent clashes
between two rival
Kurdish factions, the
Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK) and the
Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP).
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