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An introduction to Kurdistan
Who Are the Kurds?
Explore Kurdish people, languages and history, with a guide to Kurdistan, cultural traditions and questions of identity.
Read the storyHistory / Culture / KurdistanAn independent archive, open to everyone
Our past. Our present. Our stories.
A history
without
borders.
Meet the people, discover the places, and follow the stories that make Kurdistan.
Explore the archive New here? Meet the Kurds1,586 articles. One living archive.
The news, in place
Kurdistan, in context.
Explore the places behind the headlines.
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News locations · not territorial boundaries
Published briefing
50 source-linked briefings. Select a pin or read a source below.
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01 / The reading room
Stories worth knowing.
Start here
States & empires
Saladin & the Ayyubid dynasty
Explore the story of Saladin and the dynasty he founded.
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Culture & mythology
Newroz: fire, freedom & renewal
The traditions and stories behind the Kurdish New Year.
Read storyPlaces & people
Erbil: a city of many histories
Discover Hewlêr, its citadel and its place in Kurdish life.
Read story02 / Follow your curiosity
Find your
own way in.
From ancient dynasties to the everyday traditions that connect us. There’s more than one way into the story.
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History & resilience
Origins, identity and the stories that endure.
356 articlesPeople & pioneers
The lives that left a lasting mark.
546 articlesStates & empires
Dynasties, emirates and shifting borders.
58 articlesWars & resistance
Conflict, courage and the pursuit of freedom.
49 articlesArt & culture
Language, music and the art of belonging.
460 articlesFood & traditions
A shared heritage, passed around the table.
7 articles03 / A culture, still living
More than history.
Spoken at home. Sung together.
Passed on, generation after generation.
Original archive illustration
Carry it forward
A language.
A melody.
A connection.
Discover the words, music and traditions that make a heritage feel like home.
A Kurdish word for today
04 / The journal
New to the archive.
Al-Ashraf Musa of Homs: The Last Ayyubid Prince
The last Ayyubid prince of Homs navigated family rivalry, Mongol invasion and Mamluk supremacy. A sourced account of his interrupt…
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Turan Shah: Saladin’s Brother and the Conquest of Yemen
Saladin’s elder brother led the Ayyubid expedition to Yemen in 1174. This biography explains the campaign, its aftermath and the n…
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April 16, 1991: The Announcement of Protected Relief Camps for Kurdish Refugees
What the 16 April 1991 protected-camp announcement promised Kurdish refugees, and how the UN and British parliamentary records cla…
Read articleIndependent. Open. For everyone.
The story continues.
And you’re part of it.
Kurdish History is an independent archive for anyone who wants to understand the people, culture and homeland of the Kurds. Every reader is part of that story.