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Revision as of 19:12, 12 June 2007

For other uses, see Kurdistan (disambiguation).
Kurdistan

Kurdish-Inhabited Areas
Location Parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Armenia
Area (Est.) 190,000 km² - 390,000 km²
74,000 sq.mi - 151,000 sq.mi
Population 25–30 Million (Est.)[1]

Kurdistan (Kurdish: Kurdistan/كوردستان, literally meaning "the land of Kurds"[2]; Ancient: Corduene, old: Koordistan, Curdistan, Kurdia, also Kurdish: Kurdewarî) is the name of a geographic and cultural region in the Middle East, inhabited predominantly by the Kurds.

As a traditional ethnographic region, Kurdistan is generally held to include the contiguous regions in northern and northeastern Mesopotamia with large Kurdish populations. From a political standpoint, Iraqi Kurdistan is the only region which has gained official recognition internationally as a federal entity.[3]


History

Main article: History of the Kurds

Ancient period

Much of Kurdistan corresponds roughly with the ancient Kingdom of Gutium, which is mentioned in cuneiform records about 2400 BC, and had its capital at Arraphkha. [4]

The tract to this day known as Kurdistan, the high mountain region south and south-east of Lake Van between Persia and Mesopotamia, was in the possession of Kurds from before the time of Xenophon, and was known as the country of the Carduchi (Greek: Καρδούχοι), as Cardyeneor Cordyene.[5]

Kingdom of Corduene, circa 60 BC

At their peak, the Romans ruled large Kurdish-inhabited areas, particularly the western and northern Kurdish areas in the Middle East. Kingdoms like Corduene were vassal states of the Roman Empire. From 189 BC to AD 384, the ancient kingdom of Corduene ruled northern Mesopotamia. It was situated to the east of Tigranocerta (i.e., to the east and south of present-day Diyarbakır in south-eastern Turkey). It became a vassal state of the Roman Republic in 66 BC. It remained allied with the Romans until AD 384.

Some of the ancient districts of Kurdistan and their corresponding modern names are listed below [6].

  1. Corduene or Gordyene (Siirt, Bitlis and Şırnak)
  2. Sophene (Diyarbakır)
  3. Zabdicene or Bezabde (Gozarto d'Qardu or Jazirat Ibn or Cizre)
  4. Basenia (Bayazid)
  5. Moxoene (Muş)
  6. Nephercerta (Miyafarkin)
  7. Artemita (Van)

Medieval period

Mediterranean and European lands, about 1097

In the second half of the 10th century, Kurdistan was shared amongst five big Kurdish principalities. In the North the Shaddadid (951–1174) (in parts of Armenia and Arran) and the Rawadid (955–1221) (in Tabriz and Maragheh), in the East the Hasanwayhid (959–1015) and the Annazid (990–1116) (in Hulwan, Kermanshah and Khanaqin) and in the West the Marwanid (990–1096) of Diyarbakır.

Kurdistan in the Middle Ages was a collection of semi-independent states called "emirates". A comprehensive history of these states and their relationship with their neighbors is given in the famous textbook of "Sharafnama" written by Prince Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi in 1597.[7][8] The most famous Kurdish Emirates included Baban, Soran, Badinan and Garmiyan in present-day Iraq; Bakran, Botan (or Bokhtan) and Badlis in Turkey, and Mukriyan and Ardalan in Iran.

Modern period

Main article: Kurdistan Okrug

In the 16th century, the Kurdish-inhabited areas were split between Safavid Iran and the Ottoman Empire after prolonged wars. The first important division of Kurdistan occurred in the aftermath of the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514. This division was formalized in the Treaty of Zuhab in 1639[9]. Before World War I, most Kurds lived within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire in the province of Kurdistan. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Allies agreed and planned to create several countries within its former boundaries. Originally Kurdistan, along with Armenia, was to be one of them, according to the never-ratified Treaty of Sèvres. However, the reconquest of these areas by Kemal Atatürk and other pressing issues caused the Allies to accept the renegotiated Treaty of Lausanne, accepting the border of modern Republic of Turkey and leaving the Kurds without a self-ruled region. Other Kurdish areas were assigned to the new British and French mandated states of Iraq and Syria under both treaties.

The Kurdish delegation made a proposal at the San Francisco Peace Conference in 1945, showing the geographical extent of Kurdistan as claimed by the Kurds. This proposal encompasses an area extending from the Mediterranean shores near Adana to the shores of Persian Gulf near Bushehr, and it includes the Lur inhabited areas of southern Zagros[10][11].

Since World War I, Kurdistan has been divided between several states, in all of which Kurds are minorities. At the end of the First Gulf War, Allies established the safe haven in northern Iraq. Amid the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from three northern provinces, Iraqi Kurdistan emerged as an autonomous entity inside Iraq, with its own local government and parliament in 1992.


People

In addition to Kurds who comprise the majority of the population of the region there are also communities of Arab, Armenian, Assyrian, Azeri, Jewish, Ossetian, Persian, and Turkish people traditionally scattered throughout the region alongside Kurds. Most of its inhabitants being Muslim there are also significant numbers of various other religious sects such as Yazidi, Yarsan, Alevi, Christian, Jewish, Sarayi, Bajwan and Haqqa etc.

Geography

The Zagros Mountains from space, September 1992

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Kurdistan covers about 74,000 sq mi (191,660 km²), and its chief towns are Diyarbakır, Bitlis, and Van in Turkey, Mosul and Arbil [Kirkuk was previously stated here however the people do not get to vote until later this year 2007] in Iraq, and Kermanshah, Sanandaj and Mahabad in Iran.[12] According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, Kurdistan covers around 190,000 km² in Turkey, 125,000 km² in Iran, 65,000 km² in Iraq, and 12,000 km² in Syria and the total area of Kurdistan is estimated at approximately 392,000 km²[13]. Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in Kurdistan, which covers an area as big as France. The Kurdistan Province in Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan are both included in the usual definition of Kurdistan.

Historic map from 1721, showing borders of Curdistan provinces

Iranian Kurdistan encompasses Kurdistan Province and greater parts of West Azarbaijan, Kermanshah, Īlām provinces. Iraqi Kurdistan is divided into six governorates, three of which — and parts of others — are under the control of Kurdistan Regional Government. Syrian Kurdistan is mostly located in present-day northeastern Syria. This region covers greater part of the province of Al Hasakah. The main cities in this region are Al-Qamishli (Kurdish: Qamişlû) and Al Hasakah (Kurdish: Hesaka). Another region with a significant Kurdish population is in the northern part of Syria. The Kurdish-inhabited northern and northeastern parts of Syria in Kurdish is called "Kurdistana Binxetê". [14] (see Demographics of Syria and [15]), a large area of south eastern Turkey is also home to estimated 15 to 20 million Kurds.

Forests

Although Kurdistan has a harsh and cold climate, it is not a desert. Mountain chains are covered with pasture, and its valleys with forests. There are around 16 million hectares (160,000 km²) of forests in all parts of Kurdistan. Oaks, firs and other conifers can be found in those forests. The platanus, willow and poplar, are found near waters and rivers[13].

Mountains

Mountains, even to this day, have been important geographical and symbolic figures in Kurdish life, so that there is a saying that Kurds have no friends but the mountains [16]. The Mount Judi is the most important mountain in Kurdish folklore and along with Mount Ararat is one of the mountains that is thought to be the final resting place of Noah's Ark. Other important mountains of Kurdistan are Zagros Shingar, Qendil, Shaho, Gabar, etc.

Rivers

Map of Tigris–Euphrates watershed

There are many rivers in Kurdistan that are at least as important, if not more important, than oil. The plateaus and mountains of Kurdistan, which are characterized by heavy rainfall and in winter a heavy coat of snow, are a water reservoir for the Near and Middle East. This is the source of the famous Tigris and Euphrates Rivers as well as numerous other smaller rivers like the Khabur, Tharthar, Ceyhan, Araxes, Kura, Sefidrud, Karkha, Hezil, which their major tributaries spring from the mountains of Kurdistan. Those rivers that are entirely or nearly entirely in Kurdistan are usually of historical importance to the Kurds. Among these are the Murat (Arasān) and Buhtān rivers in northern and western Kurdistan (in Turkey); the Peshkhābur, the Lesser and the Greater Zab, and the Sirwan/Diyala in central Kurdistan (in Iraq); and the Jaghatu (Zarrinarud), the Tātā'u (Siminarud), the Zohāb (Zahāb), and the Gāmāsiyāb in southern Kurdistan etc. With their water, the Tigris and the Euphrates give life not only to the Mesopotamian plain and whole of Kurdistan but also to Iraq and Syria. These rivers, which flow down from heights of three to four thousand meters above sea level, are also very significant for the production of energy. Iraq and Syria have built numerous dams across these rivers and their tributaries. But the most important ones are a series of dams that were built by Turkey as part of the GAP project (Southeast Anatolia Project). The GAP project is still not complete, but it already supplies a significant proportion of Turkey's electrical-energy needs. Due to the extraordinary archæological richness of the land, almost any dam built in Kurdistan drowns a portion of Kurdish history [17].

Lakes

There are a number of lakes in Kurdistan. The eastern borders of Kurdistan ends with the Lake Urmia and the western borders with semi-contiguous Kurdish-inhabited regions on the Mediterranean shore. Lake Van is the world's fourth largest non-saline body of water by volume. The Zarivar Lake around Mariwan as well as Lake Dukan around the city of Sulaymaniyah are considerable touristic sites [17]

Underground resources

There are many oil and mineral resources in Kurdistan. KRG-controlled parts of Iraqi Kurdistan only by itself is estimated to have around 45bn barrels of oil reserves making it sixth largest in the world, mostly recently discovered and its extraction is said to begin within the first three months of 2007. These are excluding those of Kirkuk and Mosul, cities claimed by the KRG to be included in its territory. Albeit for a long time oil was extracted mainly in these two cities through Iraq by former Baath regime. Gas and associated gas reserves are in excess of 100 TCF. Other underground resources that exist in significant quantities in the region include copper, iron, zinc and limestone which is used to produce cement. The world's largest deposit of rock sulphur is located just southwest of Erbil (Hewlêr). Other important underground resources include coal, gold, marble etc.[18].

Subdivisions

Iraqi Kurdistan

Iranian Kurdistan

Turkish Kurdistan

Turkish Kurdistan (Turkish: Türkiye Kürdistanı or Kuzey Kürdistan ("Northern Kurdistan") or Kuzeybatı Kürdistan [1] ("Northwestern Kurdistan"), Kurdish: Kurdistana Tirkiyê [2] or Bakurê Kurdistanê [3] ("North of Kurdistan")) is an unofficial name for the southeastern part of Turkey densely inhabited by Kurds. The area covers about 230,000 km² (88,780 sq mi), or nearly a third of Turkey. It forms part of the wider Kurdish-inhabited region known as Kurdistan, which encompasses parts of Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq.[19]

The Encyclopaedia of Islam describes Turkish Kurdistan as covering at least 17 provinces of Turkey: Erzincan, Erzurum, Kars, Malatya, Tunceli, Elazığ, Bingöl, Muş, Ağrı, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Siirt, Bitlis, Van, Şanlıurfa aka Urfa, Mardin and Hakkâri, stressing at the same time that "the imprecise limits of the frontiers of Kurdistan hardly allow an exact appreciation of the area." [4]. Since 1987, four new provinces - Şırnak, Batman, Iğdır and Ardahan - have been created inside the Turkish administrative system out of the territory of some of these provinces. The region has no unified administrative identity and the Turkish state rejects the use of the term "Kurdistan" to describe it. In addition to the provinces already mentioned, the region forms part of the wider geographic subdivisions of Southeastern Anatolia Region (Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgesi) and Eastern Anatolia Region (Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi).

The region forms the south-eastern edge of Anatolia. It is dominated by high peaks rising to over 3,700m (12,000 ft) and arid mountain plateaux, forming part of the arc of the Taurus Mountains. It has an extreme continental climate — hot in the summer, bitterly cold in the winter. Despite this, much of the region is fertile and has traditionally exported grain and livestock to the cities in the plains. The local economy is dominated by animal husbandry and small-scale agriculture, with cross-border smuggling (especially of petroleum) providing a major source of income in the border areas. Larger-scale agriculture and industrial activities dominate the economic life of the lower-lying region around Diyarbakır, the largest Kurdish-populated city in the region. Elsewhere, however, decades of conflict and high unemployment has led to extensive migration from the region to other parts of Turkey and abroad.[20]

Conflict and controversy

Main article: Kurds in Turkey

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 thousands of lives have been lost. The region saw several major Kurdish rebellions during the 1920s and 1930s. These were forcefully put down by the Turkish authorities and the region was declared a closed military area from which foreigners were banned between 1925 and 1965. A major campaign to eradicate separatist sentiment by severely restricting Kurdish cultural and political activities was undertaken by Turkey's first president, Kemal Ataturk, and continued in varying degrees of severity under his successors.[citation needed]

In 1983, the Kurdish provinces were placed under martial law in response to the activities of the militant separarist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).[19] An extremely violent guerrilla war took place through the rest of the 1980s and into the 1990s, in which much of the countryside was evacuated, thousands of Kurdish-populated villages were destroyed and numerous extrajudicial summary executions were carried out by both sides.[20] More than 37,000 people were killed in the violence and hundreds of thousands more were forced to leave their homes.[21] The situation in the region has since eased following the capture of the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in 1999 and the introduction of a greater degree of official tolerance for Kurdish cultural activities, encouraged by the European Union.[22] However, some political violence is still ongoing and the Turkish-Iraqi border region remains tense.[23]

Climate

There are many rivers flowing and running through mountains of Kurdistan making it distinguished by its fertile lands, plentiful water, picturesque nature. The mountainous nature of Kurdistan, the difference of temperatures in its various parts, and its wealth of waters, make Kurdistan a land of agriculture and tourism. The climate of Kurdistan is harsh, because of its high altitude. There is a lot of snowfall in the high mountains. Precipitation varies between 200 to 400 mm a year in the plains, and between 700 to 3,000 mm a year on the high plateaux between mountain chains[13].

Views of Kurdistan

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kurdistan.

See also

hujıh

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Kurdish Studies Program". Florida State University. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
  2. ^ Kurdistan, Encyclopaedia Britannica
  3. ^ Iraqi constitution, article 113, 1th
  4. ^ William Gordon East, Oskar Hermann Khristian Spate, The Changing Map of Asia: A Political Geography, 1961 - 436 pages, p: 105
  5. ^ http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16167/16167-h/raw7a.htm
  6. ^ J. Bell, A System of Geography. Popular and Scientific (A Physical, Political, and Statistical Account of the World and Its Various Divisions), pp.133–4, Vol. IV, Fullarton & Co., Glasgow, 1832.
  7. ^ http://www.mazdapublishers.com/Sharafnama.htm
  8. ^ For a list of these entities see Kurdistan and its native Provincial subdivisions
  9. ^ C. Dahlman, The Political Geography of Kurdistan, Eurasian Geography and Economics, Vol.43, No.4, pp.271–299, 2002.
  10. ^ C. Dahlman, The Political Geography of Kurdistan, Eurasian Geography and Economics, Vol.43, No.4, pp.274
  11. ^ The map presented by the Kurdish League Delegation, March 1945
  12. ^ Kurdistan, Encyclopædia Britannica
  13. ^ a b c Kurdistan, Encyclopædia of Islam — currently offline
  14. ^ Geographic Distribution of Kurdish and other Iranic Languages,
  15. ^ Syria, CIA World Factbook
  16. ^ John Bulloch and Harvey Morris, No Friends but the Mountains: The Tragic History of the Kurds, ISBN 0-195-08075-0
  17. ^ a b Economy: Water, The Encyclopædia of Kurdistan
  18. ^ Official statements on the oil and gas sector in the Kurdistan region, Kurdistan Development Corporation
  19. ^ a b "Kurd." The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas, 2005.
  20. ^ a b Martin van Bruinessen, "Kurdistan." The Oxford Companion to the Politics of the World, 2nd edition. Joel Krieger, ed. Oxford University Press, 2001.
  21. ^ "Kurdish rebels kill Turkey troops", BBC News, 8 May 2007
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference eb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ "Turkish soldiers killed in blast", BBC News, 24 May 2007

External links

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