The Kingdom of Kurdistan (1921–1924): Sheikh Mahmud's State
The Kingdom of Kurdistan was a short-lived Kurdish state proclaimed by Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji in Sulaymaniyah in the early 1920s, crushed by British forces by 1924.
Read article →Kurdish History Journal
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The Emirate of Soran: Rawanduz and the Mir Kor
The Emirate of Soran was a Kurdish principality centred on Rawanduz, famed for the warrior-queen Mir Xanzad and Mir Muhammad, the powerful 19th-century 'Mir Kor'.
Read article →The Emirate of Bohtan: The Kurdish Princes of Cizre
The Emirate of Bohtan was a great Kurdish principality centred on Cizre, ruled by the Azizan dynasty and home of the epic Mem û Zîn and Bedir Khan Beg.
Read article →The Bradost Emirate and the Siege of Dimdim
The Bradost Emirate was a Kurdish principality famed for the 1609–1610 siege of Dimdim, where Khan Lepzerin made a legendary stand against Shah Abbas.
Read article →The Principality of Palu: A Kurdish Emirate on the Murat
The Principality of Palu was a Kurdish emirate on the Murat River near Elazığ, kin to the Eğil princes and later home to Sheikh Said of the 1925 revolt.
Read article →The Mahmudi Emirate: Kurdish Lords of Hoşap
The Mahmudi Emirate was a Kurdish principality south-east of Lake Van, famous for Hoşap Castle, rebuilt by the Mahmudi lord Sarı Süleyman Bey in 1643.
Read article →The Emirate of Bahdinan: The Kurdish Princes of Amadiya
The Emirate of Bahdinan was one of the great Kurdish principalities, centred on Amadiya in Iraqi Kurdistan, lasting from the late 14th century until 1843.
Read article →The Mukriyan Emirate: Kurdish Lords of Mahabad
Mukriyan was a Kurdish emirate of the Mukri tribe centred on Mahabad (old Savojbolagh) in north-western Iran, later the cradle of the 1946 Kurdish Republic.
Read article →The Ayyubids of Hasankeyf: The Last Ayyubid Dynasty
The Ayyubids of Hasankeyf were the last surviving branch of Saladin's Kurdish Ayyubid dynasty, ruling a Tigris fortress-principality from 1232 to about 1524.
Read article →The Donboli Dynasty: Kurdish Khans of Khoy
The Donboli were a Kurdish tribe and dynasty who ruled the city of Khoy in north-western Iran as hereditary khans until their fall under the Qajars.
Read article →The Emirate of Çemişgezek
The Emirate of Çemişgezek was a Kurdish principality of the Dersim highlands and an autonomous hereditary Ottoman sanjak recorded in the Sharafnama.
Read article →The Emirate of Kilis: The Kurdish Janbulad Dynasty and the Revolt of Ali Pasha
The Emirate of Kilis was ruled by the Kurdish Janbulad family of northern Syria, whose chief Ali Pasha led a famous 1607 revolt — and whose heirs became Lebanon's Jumblatts.
Read article →The Zakarids (Mkhargrdzeli): Medieval Armenia's Military Dynasty and the Question of Their Kurdish Origin
The Zakarids (Mkhargrdzeli) were a medieval dynasty of disputed Kurdish origin who reconquered Armenia from the Seljuks and ruled it under the Georgian crown.
Read article →The Principality of Eğil: The Bulduqani Dynasty and the Kurdish Lords of the Tigris (c. 1049–1864)
The Principality of Eğil (c. 1049–1864) was a Kurdish emirate near Diyarbakır ruled by the Bulduqani dynasty — among the longest-lived in Kurdish history.
Read article →Mosab Hassan Yousef: From the Heart of Hamas to a Fierce Champion of Kurdish Freedom
Explore Mosab Hassan Yousef's journey from Hamas to advocating for Kurdish freedom. Discover his powerful support for a Free Kurdistan.
Read article →Abdul Aziz Yamulki: The Kurdish General Behind the Plot Against Bakr Sidqi
Abdul Aziz Yamulki (1890–1981), Kurdish general in the Iraqi army and son of Mustafa Yamulki, was chief plotter of the 1937 coup against Bakr Sidqi.
Read article →Halis Öztürk: Kurdish Chieftain of the Ararat Rebellion
Halis Öztürk (1889–1977), Kurdish chieftain of the Sipkan tribe, fought in the 1930 Ararat rebellion and later served as a Turkish MP for Ağrı.
Read article →Ali Saip Ursavaş: The Kurdish-Born Warrior of Urfa
Ali Saip Ursavaş (1885–1939) was a Kurdish-born Ottoman and Turkish officer, hero of the defence of Urfa, and a controversial figure in Kurdish history.
Read article →Rojava and the Wars of Syrian Kurdistan: Revolution, ISIS, and the Fight for Survival (2004–2026)
The Rojava revolution and the wars of Syrian Kurdistan — from the 2012 revolution to the Battle of Kobani, the defeat of ISIS, Turkish operations, and the fight for survival in 2025–2026.
Read article →The Kurdish Struggle in Iran: From Revolution to Resistance (1979–2026)
The Kurdish struggle in Iran — from the 1979 rebellion to the KDPI assassinations, PJAK insurgency, and Iranian missile strikes on Kurdish opposition in Iraq.
Read article →The Turkey-PKK Conflict: Four Decades of War and the 2025 Ceasefire (1984–2025)
A factual chronology of the Turkey-PKK conflict from 1984 to the 2025 ceasefire — guerrilla war, urban warfare, cross-border operations, and the historic disarmament announcement.
Read article →Iraqi Kurdistan: From the 1991 Uprising to the Independence Referendum (1991–2017)
From the 1991 uprising to the Kurdish civil war, the 2003 Iraq War, and the 2017 independence referendum — the modern history of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Read article →World War I and the Interwar Kurdish Revolts: From the Ottoman Collapse to the Republic of Mahabad (1914–1947)
Kurdish revolts from World War I to the Republic of Mahabad — Simko Shikak, Sheikh Mahmud, Kocgiri, and the failed promise of Kurdish statehood.
Read article →The Fall of the Kurdish Emirates: Centralisation Wars of the Nineteenth Century (1806–1896)
The destruction of the Kurdish emirates in the nineteenth century — Mir Muhammad, Bedr Khan, Yezdanser, and the Hamidiye Cavalry.
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