The Barzani Revolts and the Rise of the Peshmerga (1931–1975)
- Rezan Babakir
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
For four decades, the name Barzani was synonymous with Kurdish armed resistance in Iraq. From Ahmed Barzani's revolt in 1931 to the collapse of Mustafa Barzani's final campaign in 1975, the Barzani family led a series of wars against the Iraqi state that created the Peshmerga as a recognised fighting force, tied down the majority of the Iraqi Army, and established the Kurdish national movement as a permanent feature of Iraqi politics.
This is the military history of those revolts: the battles, the campaigns, the tactical innovations, and the strategic failures that shaped Kurdish warfare from the British Mandate era to the Algiers Agreement.
Contents
The Early Barzani Revolts (1931–1945)
The first major Barzani revolt erupted in 1931, led by Sheikh Ahmed Barzani, the head of the Barzani tribal confederation in northern Iraq. Ahmed had unified several Kurdish tribes under Barzani leadership and challenged both the Iraqi government and British Mandate authorities. The revolt was suppressed by the Iraqi Army with British Royal Air Force (RAF) support — establishing a pattern in which Kurdish fighters would face not only ground forces but devastating air power.
Ahmed's younger brother, Mustafa Barzani, fought in the 1931–1932 revolt and would become the most important Kurdish military leader of the twentieth century. In 1943, Mustafa led a second Barzani revolt against the Iraqi monarchy. The revolt was again suppressed, but Mustafa had gained critical military experience and had begun to build the network of tribal alliances and Peshmerga fighters that would sustain Kurdish resistance for decades.
Mahabad and the Soviet Exile (1945–1958)
In 1945–1946, the Republic of Mahabad was established in Iranian Kurdistan under Qazi Muhammad, with Soviet backing. Mustafa Barzani served as the republic's military commander, leading Peshmerga forces in defence of the short-lived Kurdish state. When the Soviets withdrew their support and the Iranian Army advanced, Mahabad collapsed in December 1946. Qazi Muhammad was captured and executed.
Barzani refused to surrender. In one of the most remarkable military retreats in Kurdish history, he led approximately 500 fighters and their families on a fighting retreat across the Iranian-Soviet border into the USSR in 1947. The march crossed some of the most difficult terrain in the region, pursued by Iranian forces. Barzani and his men spent eleven years in Soviet exile before returning to Iraq in 1958 after the July Revolution overthrew the Hashemite monarchy.
The First Iraqi-Kurdish War (1961–1970)
The First Iraqi-Kurdish War began on 11 September 1961, when Mustafa Barzani launched the September Revolution against the government of Abdul Karim Qasim. Qasim had promised Kurdish autonomy after the 1958 revolution but failed to deliver. Barzani's initial force was small — roughly 600 Peshmerga — but grew rapidly as Kurdish tribes across northern Iraq rallied to his cause.
The war lasted nine years and tied down an extraordinary proportion of the Iraqi military. At its peak, eighty per cent of the Iraqi Army was engaged in combat against the Kurdish Peshmerga. The Kurds used the mountainous terrain of northern Iraq to devastating effect, employing guerrilla tactics that neutralised the Iraqi Army's advantages in heavy weapons, armour, and air power.
The most significant Peshmerga victory was the Battle of Mount Handrin in May 1966, near Rawanduz. Barzani's forces destroyed an entire Iraqi brigade in a battle that demonstrated the Peshmerga's ability to inflict decisive defeats on conventional military formations in mountain terrain. The Iraqi government, recognising the futility of continuing the campaign, eventually agreed to negotiations.
The war ended in a military stalemate. Total casualties were estimated between 75,000 and 105,000. The Iraqi-Kurdish Autonomy Agreement of March 1970 (the March 11 Agreement) recognised Kurdish autonomy in principle and promised a Kurdish autonomous region, a Kurdish vice-president, and Kurdish-language education. But the agreement was never fully implemented, and within four years the war resumed.
The Second Iraqi-Kurdish War and the Algiers Collapse (1974–1975)
In 1974, the Iraqi Baathist government under Saddam Hussein imposed a unilateral autonomy law that fell far short of the 1970 agreement. Barzani rejected it and resumed armed resistance. The Second Iraqi-Kurdish War was more intense than the first. The Peshmerga, now numbering tens of thousands and receiving covert military support from Iran, Israel, and the United States, fought a conventional as well as guerrilla campaign.
The war ended in catastrophe. In March 1975, the Algiers Agreement between Iraq and Iran resolved the Shatt al-Arab waterway dispute. In exchange for territorial concessions, Iran agreed to cease all support for the Kurdish revolt. Overnight, the Peshmerga lost their supply lines, their heavy weapons source, and their strategic depth. The Kurdish front collapsed within days.
Barzani, broken and ill, fled to Iran and then to the United States. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1979. The 1975 collapse was the most devastating strategic defeat in modern Kurdish military history. It demonstrated the lethal vulnerability of Kurdish armed movements to the withdrawal of foreign support — a lesson that would be repeated in different forms in the decades that followed.
The Birth of the Peshmerga Tradition
The Barzani revolts created the Peshmerga — literally, those who face death — as the recognised Kurdish military force. What began as tribal levies under Ahmed and Mustafa Barzani evolved into a semi-professional guerrilla army capable of sustained operations against one of the largest conventional armies in the Middle East.
The military doctrine the Peshmerga developed during these wars — exploiting mountain terrain, avoiding set-piece battles where possible, striking at supply lines, and drawing conventional armies into overextended positions — would be refined over the following decades and deployed again during the 1991 uprising, the 2003 Iraq War, and the war against ISIS. The Barzani era established the Peshmerga not just as fighters but as the institutional embodiment of Kurdish national resistance.
Timeline
1931–1932 — Ahmed Barzani revolt. Suppressed by Iraq and RAF.
1943 — Mustafa Barzani revolt. Suppressed by Iraqi monarchy.
1945–1946 — Republic of Mahabad. Barzani serves as military commander.
1947 — Barzani's fighting retreat to the USSR. Eleven years of Soviet exile.
1958 — Barzani returns to Iraq after the July Revolution.
11 September 1961 — September Revolution begins. First Iraqi-Kurdish War.
May 1966 — Battle of Mount Handrin. Peshmerga destroy an entire Iraqi brigade.
March 1970 — Iraqi-Kurdish Autonomy Agreement (March 11 Agreement).
1974 — Second Iraqi-Kurdish War begins. Peshmerga receive Iranian, Israeli, and US support.
March 1975 — Algiers Agreement. Iran withdraws support. Kurdish revolt collapses.
1979 — Mustafa Barzani dies in exile in Washington, D.C.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Peshmerga mean?
Peshmerga is a Kurdish word meaning those who face death. It refers to the Kurdish military forces, particularly in Iraqi Kurdistan. The term became widely used during the Barzani revolts of the 1960s and 1970s and has since become the official designation of the Kurdistan Region's armed forces.
What was the Battle of Mount Handrin?
The Battle of Mount Handrin in May 1966 was the most significant Peshmerga victory of the First Iraqi-Kurdish War. Near Rawanduz in northern Iraq, Barzani's Peshmerga forces destroyed an entire Iraqi brigade. The battle demonstrated that Kurdish guerrilla fighters could inflict decisive defeats on conventional military formations when fighting in mountain terrain, and it forced the Iraqi government to pursue negotiations.
What was the Algiers Agreement?
The Algiers Agreement of March 1975 was a deal between Iraq and Iran that resolved the Shatt al-Arab waterway dispute. As part of the agreement, Iran ceased all support for the Kurdish revolt in Iraq. Without Iranian military supplies, strategic depth, and logistical support, the Kurdish front collapsed within days. It was the most devastating strategic defeat in modern Kurdish military history and demonstrated the lethal vulnerability of Kurdish movements to the withdrawal of foreign backing.
Who was Mustafa Barzani?
Mustafa Barzani (1903–1979) was the towering figure of twentieth-century Kurdish nationalism. He led three major revolts against the Iraqi government, co-founded the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), served as military commander of the Republic of Mahabad, spent eleven years in Soviet exile, and made the word Peshmerga known worldwide. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1979 after his final campaign collapsed following the Algiers Agreement.
What was the Republic of Mahabad?
The Republic of Mahabad (1946) was a short-lived Kurdish state established in Iranian Kurdistan under President Qazi Muhammad, with Soviet support. Mustafa Barzani served as its military commander. When the Soviets withdrew, the Iranian Army crushed the republic. Qazi Muhammad was executed. The Republic of Mahabad remains one of the most important symbols of Kurdish statehood, demonstrating both the possibility and the fragility of Kurdish self-governance.
How much of the Iraqi Army fought the Peshmerga?
During the First Iraqi-Kurdish War (1961–1970), approximately eighty per cent of the Iraqi Army was engaged in combat against the Kurdish Peshmerga at the peak of the conflict. Despite this massive commitment of regular military resources, the Iraqi government was unable to defeat the Kurdish guerrilla forces in the mountains of northern Iraq. The war ended in a military stalemate with estimated casualties between 75,000 and 105,000.
References
McDowall, David, A Modern History of the Kurds, I.B. Tauris, 2004.
Gunter, Michael, Historical Dictionary of the Kurds, Scarecrow Press, 2011.
Lortz, Michael G., The Kurdish Warrior Tradition and the Importance of the Peshmerga, Florida State University, 2005.
Jwaideh, Wadie, The Kurdish National Movement: Its Origins and Development, Syracuse University Press, 2006.
O'Ballance, Edgar, The Kurdish Revolt: 1961–1970, Faber and Faber, 1973.
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