Kurdistan

Kurdistan /ˌkɜːrdɪˈstɑːn/ (Kurdish: [ˌkurdɪˈstan]; "Homeland of the Kurds or Land of the Kurds"; also formerly spelled Curdistan; ancient name: Corduene) or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo-cultural region wherein the Kurdish people form a prominent majority population, and Kurdish culture, language, and national identity have historically been based. Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges.

Contemporary use of the term refers to four parts of a greater Kurdistan, which include parts of eastern and southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Syria (Western Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), and northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan). Some Kurdish nationalist organizations seek to create an independent nation state of Kurdistan, consisting of some or all of the areas with Kurdish majority, while others campaign for greater Kurdish autonomy within the existing national boundaries.

Iraqi Kurdistan first gained autonomous status in a 1970 agreement with the Iraqi government, and its status was re-confirmed as an autonomous entity within the federal Iraqi republic in 2005. There is a province by the name Kurdistan in Iran; it is not self-ruled. Kurds fighting in the Syrian Civil War were able to take control of large sections of northern Syria as forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad withdrew to fight elsewhere. Having established their own government, some Kurds called for autonomy in a democratic Syria; others hoped to establish an independent Kurdistan.

Kurdistan Province

Kurdistan Province or Kordestan Province or Kurdestan Province (Persian: استان کردستان‎‎, Kurdish: کوردستان Kurdistan) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, not to be confused with the greater geographical area of Iranian Kurdistan. The province of Kurdistan is 28,817 km² in area which encompasses just one-fourth of the Kurdish inhabited areas of Iran or Iranian Kurdistan . It is located in the west of Iran, in Region 3, and bound by Iraq on the west, the province of West Azerbaijan to its north, Zanjan to the northeast, Hamedan to the east and Kermanshah to the south. The capital of Kurdistan Province is the city of Sanandaj (Kurdish: Sinne‎). Other counties with their major cities are Marivan, Baneh, Saqqez, Qorveh, Piranshahr, Bijar, Kamyaran, Dehgolan, Diwandarreh and Sarvabad.

History

The mountainous lands of this area first encouraged Aryan tribes to settle in this region after their immigration to Iran. It was from here where the first plan to overthrow the Assyrian Empire began, leading to their defeat in 612 BCE, and setting the stage for the commence of the Median empire.

Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraqi Kurdistan, officially known as the Kurdistan Region (Central Kurdish: هه‌رێمی کوردستان‎, translit. Herêmî Kurdistan; Arabic: إقليم كردستان‎, translit. Iqlīm Kurdistān), is located in the north of Iraq and constitutes the country's only autonomous region. Bordering the Kurdish-inhabited regions of Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, and Syria to the west, it is frequently referred to as Southern Kurdistan (Central Kurdish: باشووری کوردستان; Northern Kurdish: Başûrê Kurdistanê). The region is officially governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), with the capital being Erbil.

Kurdistan is a parliamentary democracy with a regional assembly that consists of 111 seats.Masoud Barzani, who was initially elected as president in 2005, was re-elected in 2009. In August 2013 the parliament extended his presidency for another two years. His presidency concluded on 19 August 2015 after the political parties failed to reach an agreement over extending his presidency term. The new Iraqi constitution defines the Kurdistan Region as a federal entity of Iraq, and establishes Kurdish and Arabic as Iraq's joint official languages. The four governorates of Duhok, Hawler, Silemani, and Halabja comprise around 41,710 square kilometres (16,100 sq mi) and have a population of 8.35 million (2013 estimate). In 2014, during the 2014 Iraq Crisis, Iraqi Kurdistan's forces also took over much of the disputed territories of Northern Iraq.

Turkish Kurdistan

Turkish Kurdistan or Northern Kurdistan (Kurdish: Bakurê Kurdistanê‎) is an unofficial name of a portion of eastern Anatolia Region and southeastern Anatolia part of Turkey. The unofficial term references the region's geographical and historical location with respect to the larger Kurdish region. Historically, a large part of the northern area was part of Greater Armenia, but because of the Armenian Genocide, few Armenians live in the area.

Kurds generally consider what they refer to as Northern Kurdistan to be one of the four parts of a greater Kurdistan, which also includes parts of northern Syria (Rojava/Western Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), and western Iran (Eastern Kurdistan).

Geography and economy

In the census of 1965, Kurdish-speakers made up the absolute majority in Ağrı, Batman, Muş, Bingöl, Tunceli, Bitlis, Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Hakkâri, Siirt, Şırnak, Van and majority in Diyarbakır.

According to Encyclopædia Britannica there are 13 Kurdish majority provinces of Turkey: Iğdır, Tunceli, Bingöl, Muş, Ağrı, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Siirt, Bitlis, Van, Şanlıurfa, Mardin and Hakkâri.

Iranian Kurdistan

Iranian Kurdistan or Eastern Kurdistan (Kurdish: Rojhilatê Kurdistanê), is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern Iran inhabited by Kurds which borders Iraq and Turkey. It includes the Kurdistan Province, Kermanshah Province and most of Ilam Province and some parts of West Azerbaijan and North Khorasan.

Kurds generally consider Iranian Kurdistan (Eastern Kurdistan) to be one of the four parts of a greater Kurdistan, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Syria (Western Kurdistan), and northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan).

According to the last census conducted in 2006, the four Kurdish-inhabited provinces in Iran, West Azerbaijan (2,873,459), Kermanshah Province (1,879,385), Kurdistan Province (1,440,156), and Ilam Province (545,787) have a total population of 6,738,787. Pockets of Lurs inhabit the southern areas of Ilam Province.

From the 4 to 5 million Iranian Kurds, a significant portion are Shia. Shia Kurds inhabit Kermanshah Province, except for those parts where people are Jaff, and Ilam Province; as well as some parts of Kurdistan and Hamadan provinces. The Kurds of Khorasan Province in northeastern Iran are also adherents of Shia Islam. During the Shia revolution in Iran the major Kurdish political parties were unsuccessful in absorbing Shia Kurds, who at that period had no interest in autonomy. However, since the 1990s Kurdish nationalism has risen in the Shia Kurdish area, following the government's violent suppression of Kurds farther north.

Rojava

Western Kurdistan (Kurdish: ڕۆژاڤای کوردستان‎, Rojavayê Kurdistanê), known simply as Rojava ("the West"), is a de facto autonomous region in northern Syria, also known as Syrian Kurdistan. The region gained its autonomy in November 2013 as part of the ongoing Rojava Revolution, establishing a society based on principles of direct democracy, gender equality, and sustainability. Rojava consists of the three cantons of (from east to west) Jazira, Kobani, and Afrin. Rojava is unrecognized as autonomous by the government of Syria and is a participant in the Syrian Civil War.

Kurds generally consider Rojava to be one of the four parts of a greater Kurdistan, which also includes parts of eastern and southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), and northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan). However, Rojavan government and society is polyethnic.

Name

Rojava (Kurdish: Rojavayê Kurdistanê‎, from rojava meaning "west") is also known as Western Kurdistan or Syrian Kurdistan.