Kingdom of Kurdistan

The Kingdom of Kurdistan can refer to two kingdoms formed in the 1920s in the geo-cultural region of Kurdistan.

Southern Kurdistan (Northern Iraq)

**Hikûmetî Kurdistanî Başûr**
Kingdom of Kurdistan
National Anthem: NA

Language	Kurdish
Capital	Slemani
Area	Southern Kurdistan, (Nothern Iraq)
Existed	September 1922– July 1924
King	Mahmud Barzanji
Minister of Defense	Zaky Sahibqran

During the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Kurds in Iraq attempted to establish a semi-independent state. On at least one occasion they succeeded and formed the Kingdom of Kurdistan, which lasted from September 1922 - July 1924.Prince, J. (1993), "A Kurdish State in Iraq" in Current History, January.

Shaykh Mahmud Barzanji of Qadiriyyah Sufis order, the most influential personality in Southern Kurdistan,Eskander, S. (2000) "Britain's policy in Southern Kurdistan: The Formation and the Termination of the First Kurdish Government, 1918-1919" in British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 27, No. 2. pp. 139-163. was appointed Governor of the former sanjak of Sulaymaniya, but rallied against British and declared an independent Kurdistan in May, 1919. He was defeated in June.

On the 10th October, 1921, a statement was issued in Sulaymaniya, the capital of Kurdistan, to establish a Kurdish government. Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji declared himself as the King of the Kingdom of Kurdistan.Fatah, R. (2005) Mustafa Pasha Yamolki: his life and role in the Kurdish nationalist movement KurdishMedia.com

After the Treaty of Sèvres, which settled some territories, Sulaymaniya still remained under direct control of British High Commissioner. After the subsequent penetration of the Turkish army in the area, an attempt was made by British to counter this by appointing Shaykh Mahmud Governor again, in September 1922. The Shaykh revolted again, and in November declared himself King of the Kingdom of Kurdistan. Members of his cabinet included:.Fatah, R. (2006) ''The Kurdish resistance to Southern Kurdistan annexing with Iraq KurdishMedia.com

Shaykh Qadir Hafeed, a brother of Shaykh Mahmud - Prime Minister
Ahmed Bagy Fatah Beg - Customs Minister
Zaky Sahibqran - Defence Minister
Mustafa Pasha Yamolki - Education Minister
Abdulkarim Alaka - Finance Minister (a Christian)
Shaykh Mohammed Gharib - Interior Minister
Hajy Mala Saeed Karkukli - Justice Minister
Hema Abdullah Agha - Labour Minister

The army of the Kingdom of Kurdistan was called the Kurdish National Army. Barzanji was defeated by the British in July, 1924, and in January 1926 the League of Nations gave the mandate over the territory to Iraq, with the provision for special rights for Kurds. In 1930-1931 Shaykh Makhmud Barzanji made his last unsuccessful attempt.

The British Royal Air Force acting on behalf of the Iraqi government in Baghdad played a part in bringing the Kingdom of Kurdistan to an end.

Chemical attacks

Noam Chomsky in his book, Deterring Democracy, describes British rule in the first chemical attack against Kurds as follows:

Churchill was in favour of using air power and poison gas against ’uncivilized tribes’ and ’recalcitrant Arabs’ i.e. Kurds and Afghans.

In the 1990s, William Waldegrave, who was in charge of Prime Minister John Major’s Open Government initiative, ordered the removal from the Public Records Office of files detailing how British troops had used poison gas against Iraqi dissidents including Kurds in 1919.Chomsky, N. (1992), Deterring Democracy. New York: Hill and Wang. pp. 181-182.

Northern Kurdistan (Southeastern Turkey)

The second Kingdom of Kurdistan was attempted in southeastern Turkey in 1925 and only lasted 3 months before being put down by the Turkish army. The rebellion was initiated by Sheikh Said of Piran who was reported to have been assisted by tribal elements from Syria.Elphinston, W. G. (1946) "The Kurdish Question" in International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), Vol. 22, No. 1. (Jan., 1946), pp. 91-103. The rebels succeeded in occupying one third of the area of Kurdish Anatolia.Robins, P. (1993) "The Overlord State: Turkish Policy and the Kurdish Issue" in International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), Vol. 69, No. 4. (Oct., 1993), pp. 657-676.

References

Footnotes

General

McDowell, D. (1996) A Modern History of the Kurds, pp. 155-163, 194-196
Chomsky, N. (1999), The New Military Humanism - Lessons from Kosova. London: Pluto Press. p. 62

External links

History of Turkey | History of Iraq | History of the Kurds | Kurdistan

Königreich Kurdistan | royaume du Kurdistan | Qraliyeta Kurdistan

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