Kurdish History Journal
Explore the ancient Zagros warfare of the Gutians, Lullubi, Medes, and Carduchoi — the highland battles that shaped Kurdish military history before the Kurds.
Read article →The 2016 US-KRG Memorandum of Understanding was the first formal bilateral military agreement between the US and the Kurdistan Region, recognising the Peshmerga as security partners.
Read article →The 2014 Erbil-Baghdad Oil Deal traded 550,000 bpd of Kurdish oil for 17% of Iraq’s budget and $1 billion Peshmerga funding during the ISIS crisis. It ultimately collapsed.
Read article →The 2005 Iraqi Constitution recognised the Kurdistan Region as a federal entity with its own government, language, and Peshmerga. Article 140 on Kirkuk was never implemented.
Read article →The Washington Agreement (1998) ended the Kurdish civil war between the KDP and PUK. Brokered by the US, it created a power-sharing deal that stabilised Kurdistan but entrenched division.
Read article →The Oil-for-Food Programme (1996) allocated 13 percent of Iraqi oil revenue to the Kurdish north, administered by the UN. It was the economic lifeline that sustained Kurdish autonomy.
Read article →The 1991 Iraqi-Kurdish autonomy negotiations followed the largest Kurdish uprising in history. When talks with Baghdad collapsed, the Kurds held free elections and established the KRG.
Read article →The 1975 Algiers Agreement between Iraq and Iran ended the Kurdish rebellion overnight. Iran and the US abandoned the Kurds, 1,400 villages were razed, and Barzani died in exile.
Read article →The 1970 Kurdish-Iraqi Autonomy Agreement promised Kurdish self-governance, language rights, and Kirkuk. Saddam Hussein betrayed every term, triggering war and decades of suffering.
Read article →Explore Kurdish boy and girl names, their meanings, spellings and cultural roots in the complete Kurdish Names Library.
Read article →The Baghdad Pact (1955) united Turkey, Iraq, and Iran in a Cold War military alliance that gave Western backing to the suppression of Kurdish national movements.
Read article →The Qavam-Sadchikov Agreement (1946) traded Soviet withdrawal from Iran for oil rights — sealing the fate of the Republic of Mahabad, the only independent Kurdish republic in history.
Read article →The Treaty of Saadabad (1937) united Turkey, Iran, and Iraq in a pact of non-aggression and non-interference — enabling each state to suppress its Kurdish population without interference.
Read article →The Treaty of Ankara (1926) awarded the Kurdish-majority Mosul vilayet to Iraq for oil royalties, finalising the division of northern and southern Kurdistan.
Read article →The Treaty of Lausanne (1923) erased Kurdistan from international law, replacing Sèvres’ promise of Kurdish autonomy with total silence. It sealed the four-part partition that persists today.
Read article →The Joint British-Iraqi Declaration (1922) was the first recognition of Kurdish autonomy in Iraq. Known as the Christmas Declaration, it was never honoured — yet its principle endures.
Read article →The Treaty of Sèvres (1920) was the only international treaty to recognise Kurdish self-determination. Articles 62-64 promised autonomy and a path to independence — but were never implemented.
Read article →In 1919, Kurdish and Armenian leaders signed a joint declaration at Paris calling for independent statehood for both peoples. Explore this historic act of solidarity.
Read article →The Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916) secretly divided Ottoman Kurdish lands between Britain and France, completing the four-part partition of Kurdistan that persists today.
Read article →The Second Treaty of Erzurum (1847) drew a precise border through Kurdistan under British and Russian mediation — transforming Kurdish partition into international law.
Read article →The First Treaty of Erzurum (1823) reaffirmed Kurdistan’s partition between Ottoman and Persian empires, with Kurdish tribes treated as subjects, not political actors.
Read article →The Treaty of Zuhab (1639) permanently divided Kurdistan between the Ottoman and Safavid empires. Its borders still define Turkey, Iraq, and Iran today.
Read article →The Peace of Amasya (1555) was the first formal partition of Kurdistan, splitting the Kurdish homeland between the Ottoman and Safavid empires without Kurdish consent.
Read article →In 1514, Kurdish emirs allied with Ottoman Sultan Selim I at Chaldiran in exchange for autonomy. Explore this pivotal and ultimately betrayed Kurdish agreement.
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