Kurdish History 1920 to Today

On August 10, 1920, the Allied Powers and Ottoman representatives signed the Treaty of Sèvres. Section III (Articles 62–64) explicitly provided for a local autonomy commission for Kurdish areas east of the Euphrates, with Article 64 allowing Kurds to petition the League of Nations for full independence within one year. However, following the Turkish War of Independence led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed on July 24, 1923. Lausanne superseded Sèvres, made no mention of Kurdish autonomy or rights, and partitioned Kurdish territories across Turkey, British Mandate Iraq, French Mandate Syria, and Qajar/Pahlavi Iran.

Kurdish historiography views the transition from Sèvres to Lausanne as the defining historical betrayal of the 20th century. Sèvres is remembered as the first international codification of Kurdish statehood, whereas Lausanne established the fourfold partition that fragmented Kurdish society, families, and cultural development.

Scholars (e.g., David McDowall, A Modern History of the Kurds; Martin van Bruinessen) analyze Lausanne as the triumph of Westphalian nation-state realpolitik over self-determination principles outlined in Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, initiating a century of state assimilation policies.

In September 1922, Sheikh Mahmoud Barzanji was recognized by British authorities as governor of Sulaymaniyah to stabilize the region. In November 1922, Sheikh Mahmoud declared himself King of Kurdistan (Melîkê Kurdistanê), appointed a formal government cabinet (including Prime Minister Sheikh Qadir and Education Minister Mustafa Pasha Yamulki), issued official postage stamps, and published the state newspaper Rojî Kurdistan. British forces suppressed the kingdom through aerial bombardment (RAF operations) and reintegrated Sulaymaniyah into the Iraqi state in July 1924.

The Kingdom of Kurdistan represents the earliest modern Kurdish constitutional monarchy attempt in Southern Kurdistan. British Colonial Office records (CO 730/28) detail the tension between British imperial oil interests in Kirkuk/Mosul and Kurdish demands for self-determination.

In February 1925, an armed uprising led by Sheikh Said of Piran (supported by the Kurdish organization Azadî) erupted across Diyarbakır, Elazığ, and Bingöl. The movement mobilized tens of thousands of fighters and laid siege to Diyarbakır. The Turkish government responded by declaring martial law, enacting the Takrir-i Sükun (Law on the Maintenance of Order), and establishing Eastern Independence Tribunals (Şark İstiklal Mahkemeleri). Sheikh Said and 47 leading commanders were captured, tried, and executed in Diyarbakır on June 29, 1925.

State Position: Turkish official accounts framed the uprising primarily as a reactionary religious revolt (irtica) against the newly established secular Republic and abolition of the Caliphate.
Kurdish Interpretation: Kurdish historiography and Azadî records emphasize that while religious rhetoric was used for mass mobilization, the core objective was national self-determination, language preservation, and resistance to Turkification policies.

In October 1927, the Xoybûn (Khoyboun) Kurdish national league declared the independence of the Republic of Ararat around Mount Ararat. Ibrahim Heski was appointed head of civilian administration, and former Ottoman officer General Ihsan Nuri Pasha served as Commander-in-Chief of the military forces. The government established modern civil councils, published the bulletin Agirî, issued official diplomatic notes to the League of Nations, and flew the Kurdish national tricolor flag. The republic held off multiple army corps until defeated in 1930 following a Turkish-Persian border adjustment that encircled Mount Ararat.

Scholars highlight Ararat as the first secular, modern-style Kurdish republic that united traditional tribal fighters with Western-educated Kurdish intellectuals (such as Celadet and Kamuran Bedir Khan). Ihsan Nuri Pasha’s military memoir La Révolte de l'Ararat provides detailed tactical accounts of the campaign.

Following the passage of the 1935 Tunceli Law (Law No. 2884), the Turkish state initiated full administrative and military integration of Dersim. Local Kurdish and Alevi tribes led by Seyid Riza resisted disarmament and administrative centralisation. In 1937–1938, extensive military operations involving ground forces and aerial bombardment were conducted across the Munzur valley. Seyid Riza was arrested during peace negotiations in Erzincan and executed with his son and five comrades in Elazığ on November 15, 1937.

Official Turkish state reports from the period record over 13,000 deaths and the forced exile of more than 11,000 people. Modern historians and human rights organizations estimate total casualties between 13,000 and 40,000. In 2011, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued an official state apology for the Dersim massacre on behalf of the state.

On January 22, 1946, in Chaharbagh Square in Mahabad, Qazi Muhammad declared the foundation of the Republic of Mahabad (Kurdish Democratic Republic). The state established:

• President: Qazi Muhammad; Prime Minister: Haji Baba Sheikh.
• Armed Forces: Commanded by General Mustafa Barzani, who led Peshmerga forces from Iraqi Kurdistan to defend the republic.
• Culture & Education: Introduced Kurdish as the official language of government and public education, published newspapers (Kurdistan, Hawar), established a national theatre, and adopted the Kurdish National Anthem (Ey Reqîb).

Before his execution, Qazi Muhammad entrusted the Kurdish national flag to General Mustafa Barzani, charging him with keeping the flag elevated for future generations. The Republic of Mahabad remains the foundational model of 20th-century Kurdish sovereignty.

1. September Revolution (1961): General Mustafa Barzani led a nationwide Kurdish revolution against successive military regimes in Baghdad, establishing liberated rural administrations across the mountainous north.
2. March 11, 1970 Autonomy Agreement: A 15-point bilateral accord signed between Mustafa Barzani and the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council (Saddam Hussein). It formally recognized Kurdish nationality, made Kurdish an official language in schools, allocated proportional parliamentary representation, and promised an administrative boundary census (notably for oil-rich Kirkuk).
3. 1974 Autonomy Conflict: Baghdad unilaterally enacted a truncated Autonomy Law without Kirkuk, Sinjar, and Khanaqin, triggering the resumption of all-out war.
4. 1975 Algiers Agreement: On March 6, 1975, Iraq (Saddam Hussein) and Iran (Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi), mediated by Algeria, signed the Algiers Accord. In exchange for territorial concessions in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, Iran abruptly terminated logistical, intelligence, and border support for the Kurdish movement, forcing the temporary cessation of the armed rebellion.

On August 23, 1962, the Syrian government issued Legislative Decree No. 93, mandating an exceptional one-day census known as the 1962 Hasakeh Census (conducted October 5, 1962). Following the census:

• Stateless Population: Approximately 120,000 Syrian Kurds were arbitrarily stripped of their Syrian citizenship, classified into Ajanib (foreigners) and Maktumeen (unregistered). By 2011, due to generational inheritance, this stateless population exceeded 300,000, denying them passports, property ownership, formal employment, and legal marriages.
• The Arab Belt (Al-Hizam al-Arabi, 1973): A state-sponsored demographic engineering plan formulated by Mohamed Talab Hilal that expropriated a 375 km long and 10–15 km deep fertile strip along the Turkish/Iraqi borders, establishing 40 model Arab villages (Ghamar) to displace Kurdish farming communities.

Human Rights Watch (1996 report: Syria: The Silenced Kurds) documented that the 1962 census violated international law (Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 15) and constituted deliberate racial and linguistic discrimination.

1. 1920s Revolts & Centralisation (Simko Shikak): Following WWI, Simko Shikak (Ismail Agha) established an autonomous Kurdish administration in northwestern Iran (Urmia, Salmas, Khoy) from 1918 to 1922, before state centralisation under Reza Shah Pahlavi.
2. 1946–1947 Republic of Mahabad: Sovereign Kurdish republic in Rojhilat led by President Qazi Muhammad until military defeat and public executions in Chaharbagh Square.
3. 1979 Iranian Revolution: Kurdish political parties (KDPI led by Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou and Komala) participated in the overthrow of the Shah, demanding "Democracy for Iran, Autonomy for Kurdistan."
4. August 1979 Jihad Declaration: Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa declaring Jihad against Kurdish autonomists, sending Revolutionary Guards and Islamic Revolutionary Court judge Sadegh Khalkhali to carry out summary executions across Paveh, Sanandaj, and Saqqez.
5. State Assassinations: Dr. Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou was assassinated during peace negotiations in Vienna (July 13, 1989); his successor Dr. Sadegh Sharafkandi was assassinated at the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin (September 17, 1992), with the German federal court issuing arrest warrants for top Iranian officials.
6. 2022 'Woman, Life, Freedom' (Jin, Jîyan, Azadî): Following the death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Jina (Mahsa) Amini from Saqqez on September 16, 2022, the Kurdish slogan "Jin, Jîyan, Azadî" ignited a global human rights movement against state authoritarianism.

1. 1983 Disappearance of 8,000 Barzani Men: In July–August 1983, Iraqi security forces rounded up 8,000 males aged 12 and above from the Barzani tribe residing in resettlement camps (Qushtapa, Baharka) near Erbil. They were transported to southern Iraqi deserts and systematically executed in mass graves.
2. Halabja Chemical Bombardment (March 16, 1988): Iraqi Air Force aircraft dropped chemical munitions (mustard gas, sarin, tabun, and VX nerve agents) on the civilian city of Halabja. An estimated 3,200 to 5,000 civilians perished immediately, with over 10,000 permanently injured by chemical burns and congenital birth defects.
3. The Eight Stages of Operation Anfal (Feb–Sept 1988): Directed by Ali Hassan al-Majid (Secretary General of the Ba'ath Northern Bureau under RCC Decree 28/3636 and Directive SF/4008):

• Anfal 1 (Feb 23 – Mar 18): Siege of the Siege of the Dolê Jafayeti valley (Sulaymaniyah).
• Anfal 2 (Mar 22 – Apr 1): Qara Dagh and surrounding districts.
• Anfal 3 (Apr 7 – Apr 20): Garmiyan Plain (the most lethal phase; thousands of women and children deported to Topzawa and executed at Nugra Salman).
• Anfal 4 (May 3 – May 8): Little Zab basin and Askar, Goptapa.
• Anfal 5, 6, 7 (May 15 – Aug 26): Rawanduz, Shaqlawa, Balisan, and Choman valleys.
• Anfal 8 (Aug 25 – Sept 6): Badinan region (Duhok, Amadiya, Zakho); final chemical attacks forcing 100,000 refugees across the Turkish border.

Human Rights Watch (1993 landmark report: Genocide in Iraq: The Anfal Campaign Against the Kurds) analyzed over 14 metric tons of captured Iraqi secret police and military files alongside 350+ forensic witness depositions and mass grave exhumations. HRW concluded that the Anfal Campaign constituted genocide under the 1948 UN Convention, resulting in:

• 182,000+ civilian deaths and disappearances.
• Destruction of over 4,500 Kurdish villages and religious shrines.
• Mass confinement in concentration camps (Topzawa, Dibs, Tikrit, and the fortress of Nugra Salman).