Portal:Kurdistan

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The Kurdistan Portal

Kurdistan (Kurdish: کوردستان, romanized: Kurdistan, lit. 'land of the Kurds'; [ˌkʊɾdɪˈstɑːn] ^ⓘ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo-cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. Geographically, Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges.

Kurdistan generally comprises the following four regions: southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan), and northern Syria (Western Kurdistan). Some definitions also include parts of southern Transcaucasia. Certain Kurdish nationalist organizations seek to create an independent nation state consisting of some or all of these areas with a Kurdish majority, while others campaign for greater autonomy within the existing national boundaries. Though, 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 century Seljuk chronicles. Many disparate Kurdish dynasties, emirates, principalities, and chiefdoms were established from the 8th to 19th centuries. Administratively, the 20th century saw the establishment of the short-lived areas of the Kurdish state (1918–1919), Kingdom of Kurdistan (1921–1924), Kurdistansky Uyezd i.e. "Red Kurdistan" (1923–1929), Republic of Ararat (1927–1930), and Republic of Mahabad (1946).

Iraqi Kurdistan first gained autonomous status in a 1970 agreement with the Iraqi government, and its status was re-confirmed as the autonomous Kurdistan Region within the federal Iraqi republic in 2005. There is also a Kurdistan Province in Iran, which is not self-ruled. Kurds fighting in the Syrian Civil War were able to take control of large sections of northern Syria and establish self-governing regions in an Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (commonly called Rojava), where they seek autonomy in a federal Syria after the war. (Full article...)

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The Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkish: Halkların Demokratik Partisi, acronymized as HDP; Kurdish: Partiya Demokratîk a Gelan), or Democratic Party of the Peoples, is a pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey. Generally left-wing, the party places a strong emphasis on participatory and radical democracy, feminism, minority rights, youth rights, and egalitarianism. It is an associate member of the Party of European Socialists (PES), a consultative member of the Socialist International, and a party within the Progressive Alliance (PA).

Aspiring to fundamentally challenge the existing Turkish–Kurdish divide and other existing parameters in Turkish politics, the HDP was founded in 2012 as the political wing of the Peoples' Democratic Congress, a union of numerous left-wing movements that had previously fielded candidates as independents to bypass the 10% election threshold. The HDP is in an alliance with the Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), often described as the HDP's fraternal party. From 2013 to 2015, the politicians of the DBP participated in peace negotiations between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Kurdistan-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Kurdish costumes, 1873. (from History of the Kurds)
Image 2
Present territory controlled by the Kurdistan Region in the context of the Iraqi conflict
(from Kurdistan Region)
Image 3Tunar Rahmanoghly singing kurdish song "Rinda Min". Khari Bulbul Music Festival (from Kurdish culture)
Image 4A valley in the north of the region, through which the Great Zab flows (from Kurdistan Region)
Image 5A grandma and her grandchild watching the “Nowruz” ceremony. (from Kurdish culture)
Image 6Kurdish autonomous states in Khurasani Kurdish exclave circa 1835. (from History of the Kurds)
Image 7Roman dependency of Corduene (as of 31 BC) (from History of the Kurds)
Image 8Governorates of Kurdistan Region (from Kurdistan Region)
Image 9The region uses the Iraqi flag in official ceremonies alongside the Flag of Kurdistan despite reluctance. (from Kurdistan Region)
Image 10The Kurdistan Region became politically divided with two administrations (the 50:50 system) with KDP controlling the Erbil and Duhok Governorates, while PUK took control of Sulaymaniyah Governorate to the east. (from Kurdistan Region)
Image 11Provisions of the Treaty of Sèvres for an independent Kurdistan (in 1920). (from History of the Kurds)
Image 12Traditional Kurdish food (from Kurdish culture)
Image 13Kurdish villagers working in a field (from Kurdistan Region)
Image 14Saladin, painted 1568 (from History of the Kurds)
Image 15Republic of Mahabad, 1945–1946. (from History of the Kurds)
Image 16Kingdom of Kurdistan in 1923. (from History of the Kurds)

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Credit: James Gordon

Iraqi Kurdish smugglers near the Iraq-Iran border

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Did you know

... that the body of Fateme Asadi was found 37 years after she was tortured and killed by the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan when she attempted to ransom her husband?
... that after the Iraqi government lost control of its northern territories following the 1991 Gulf War, the Legislative Council of the Autonomous Kurdistan Region was based in Baghdad?

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