Treaties Including Kurds and Kurdistan

Comprehensive Chronological List of Treaties, Pacts, Agreements, and Accords Involving or Affecting Kurds and Kurdistan

Kurdish Treaties Map

Date	Name	Description
672 BC	Vassal Treaty of Esarhaddon	Formal oaths of allegiance imposed by the Assyrian king on Median city-lords and chieftains, linking to early Median (proto-Kurdish) groups under Assyrian influence.
614 BC	Median-Babylonian Alliance Pact	Anti-Assyrian pact between Median king Cyaxares and Nabopolassar of Babylon, leading to the fall of Assur and strengthening Median control in regions ancestral to Kurds.
585 BC	Lydo-Median Treaty	Peace agreement mediated by Babylon and Cilicia after the "Battle of the Eclipse," setting the Halys River as the border between Lydian and Median empires, defining Median (proto-Kurdish) territories in Anatolia.
69 BC	Treaty between Gordyene and Rome	Agreement where King Zarbienus of Gordyene (ancient Kurdish region) sought Roman aid against the Armenian Empire, establishing Roman alliances in Kurdish hill countries.
296 AD	Rome-Sassanid Peace Treaty	Accord between Diocletian and Persians recognizing Roman influence over Gordyene, impacting Kurdish-inhabited border regions between empires.
1000 AD	Byzantine-Marwanid Agreement	Protocol granting Kurdish Marwanid emir titles like "Maxitros" and "Duke of the East" from Emperor Basil II, formalizing autonomy in eastern Anatolian Kurdish areas.
1192	Treaty of Jaffa	Truce ending the Third Crusade between Saladin (of Kurdish origin) and Richard the Lionheart, allowing shared access to Jerusalem and stabilizing Ayyubid (Kurdish-led) territories.
1229	Treaty of Jaffa	Agreement by Ayyubid Sultan al-Kamil ceding Jerusalem to Frederick II for ten years, reflecting ongoing diplomacy in Kurdish-influenced Ayyubid realms.
1514	Chaldiran Agreement / 1514 Accord	Partnership between Ottoman Sultan Selim I and Kurdish princes via Idris Bitlisi, granting Kurdish autonomy for border defense against Safavids after the Battle of Chaldiran.
1555	Peace of Amasya	First formal Ottoman-Safavid peace treaty dividing Kurdish lands into eastern (Safavid) and western (Ottoman) zones, setting precedents for future partitions.
1639	Treaty of Zuhab (also known as Shirin Palace Agreement)	Border agreement finalizing the Ottoman-Safavid division of Kurdistan, establishing foundations for modern Turkey-Iran-Iraq borders and fragmenting Kurdish territories.
1823	First Treaty of Erzurum (added; Ottoman-Qajar border pact)	Agreement between the Ottoman Empire and Qajar Persia resolving border disputes in Kurdish-inhabited regions, preceded the second treaty and influenced porous frontiers.
1847	Second Treaty of Erzurum	Treaty under British and Russian mediation replacing traditional frontiers with defined boundaries in Kurdish areas between Ottomans and Persians.
1916	Sykes-Picot Agreement (added; secret Anglo-French pact)	Secret accord dividing Ottoman Middle East into British and French spheres, partitioning Kurdish regions across future Iraq, Syria, and Turkey without Kurdish input.
1919	Kurdish-Armenian Declaration of Solidarity (added; Paris Peace Conference agreement)	Joint declaration at the Paris Peace Conference supporting independent Kurdish and Armenian states as buffers against Turkish nationalists.
1920	Treaty of Sèvres	Unratified post-WWI treaty proposing an autonomous or independent Kurdish state in Ottoman territories, subject to League of Nations approval.
1922	Joint British-Iraqi Declaration (added; communicated to League of Nations)	Statement recognizing Kurds' right to form a government within Iraq's borders, influencing Mosul's inclusion in Iraq.
1923	Treaty of Lausanne	Accord superseding Sèvres, establishing Turkey's borders without mentioning Kurdish rights, leading to the division of Kurdistan among Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.
1926	Treaty of Ankara (also known as Treaty of Angora)	Resolution of Mosul Province disputes between Turkey and Iraq, integrating southern Kurdish regions into Iraq under British mandate.
1937	Treaty of Saadabad	Regional security pact among Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan to maintain status quo and suppress Kurdish nationalist movements.
1946	Qavam-Sadchikov Agreement (added for 1946; also known as Soviet-Iranian Agreement of April 4, 1946)	Bilateral accord between Iranian Prime Minister Ahmad Qavam and Soviet Ambassador Ivan Sadchikov for Soviet troop withdrawal from northern Iran within six weeks, in exchange for oil concessions (later unratified); this enabled Iranian forces to reoccupy the region, leading to the surrender and dissolution of the short-lived Mahabad Republic (Republic of Kurdistan) on December 15, 1946.
1955	Baghdad Pact	Mutual security agreement including provisions for cooperating against Kurdish insurgencies in the region.
1970	Kurdish-Iraqi Autonomy Agreement (also known as March Manifesto or Peace Accord)	Accord granting Kurds limited autonomy, recognizing Kurdish as an official language, and amending Iraq's constitution to acknowledge Kurds as a nationality.
1975	Algiers Agreement	Bilateral Iran-Iraq deal settling border disputes, with Iran ending support for Iraqi Kurdish rebels in exchange for Shatt al-Arab concessions.
1991	Iraqi-Kurdish Autonomy Negotiations (added; post-Gulf War talks)	Failed negotiations between Kurdish leaders and Saddam Hussein aiming for expanded autonomy in northern Iraq.
1996	Oil-for-Food Programme Agreement (added; UN-Iraq deal)	UN accord allocating 13% of Iraqi oil revenues to northern Kurdish-controlled governorates for humanitarian aid.
1998	Washington Agreement (added; KDP-PUK peace deal)	US-brokered agreement between Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to end civil war and reunite Iraqi Kurdistan's administration.
2005	Iraqi Constitution (added; post-Saddam national charter)	Constitution recognizing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Kurdistan Parliament as federal entities, formalizing Kurdish autonomy in Iraq.
2014	Erbil-Baghdad Oil and Military Deal	Agreement between Iraqi government and KRG on sharing oil revenues and military resources to combat Islamic State threats.
2016	US-KRG Memorandum of Understanding (added)	Deal for increased US military aid to Peshmerga forces in Iraqi Kurdistan.