World War I and the Interwar Kurdish Revolts: From the Ottoman Collapse to the Republic of Mahabad (1914–1947)
- Mehmet Özdemir
- 53 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Introduction
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 was supposed to create an opportunity for Kurdish independence. The Treaty of Sèvres in 1920 promised a Kurdish state. Instead, the postwar settlement produced the opposite: Kurdistan was divided between four new nation-states — Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria — and the Kurdish revolts of the 1918–1947 period were crushed one by one. This era produced the Simko Shikak revolt in Iran, Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji’s Kingdom of Kurdistan in Iraq, the Kocgiri rebellion and Sheikh Said revolt in Turkey, and the Republic of Mahabad — the most complete Kurdish state experiment of the twentieth century.
Every one of these experiments failed. But together they defined the modern Kurdish national movement and established the patterns — revolt, suppression, exile, and renewal — that would characterise Kurdish politics for the rest of the century.
Contents
Kurds in World War I (1914–1918)
When the Ottoman Empire entered World War I in 1914, Kurdistan became a frontline between Ottoman, Russian, and British forces. Kurdish tribal contingents fought on the Ottoman eastern front, and Kurdish regions suffered devastating campaigns, displacement, and famine. The wartime chaos also created openings for Kurdish autonomy: in 1914, a Kurdish uprising erupted near Bitlis, and between 1915 and 1916, multiple Kurdish rebellions broke out against Ottoman authority in the mountains of eastern Anatolia.
The Ottoman collapse in 1918 created a power vacuum that Kurdish leaders across the region attempted to fill. The Treaty of Sèvres (1920) between the Allied powers and the defeated Ottoman government included provisions for an autonomous Kurdistan with the possibility of full independence. But the treaty was never implemented. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s nationalist movement rejected Sèvres entirely, and the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) that replaced it made no mention of Kurdistan. The window of international support for Kurdish statehood had closed.
The Simko Shikak Revolt in Iran (1918–1922)
Simko Shikak was the chief of the Shekak Kurdish tribe in northwestern Iran who launched one of the most significant Kurdish revolts of the early twentieth century. By 1919, Simko had assembled an army of approximately 20,000 Kurds and established control over a self-governed area centred on Urmia. His territory at its height extended to Mahabad, Khoy, Miandoab, and Piranshahr.
Simko’s revolt was a complex mixture of Kurdish tribal ambition, Ottoman backing, and emerging nationalist sentiment. He defeated Iranian government forces at the Battle of Sawcubilax (Mahabad) in 1920, killing over 700 gendarmes. But his movement lacked administrative organisation and was tarnished by the 1918 assassination of the Assyrian patriarch Mar Shimun and subsequent massacres of Assyrian civilians. When Reza Khan seized power in Iran in 1921, he deployed a large military force that suppressed the revolt by 1922. Simko attempted another uprising in 1926 but was lured to a meeting and assassinated by Iranian forces in 1930.
Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji and the Kingdom of Kurdistan (1919–1924)
In British-occupied Mesopotamia, Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji — a religious leader from the Barzanji Sufi order based in Sulaymaniyah — was initially appointed by the British as governor of the Kurdish districts. But Mahmud had larger ambitions. In 1919, he declared himself King of Kurdistan and launched a revolt against British authority.
The British suppressed the first revolt using airpower — one of the earliest uses of aerial bombardment against a civilian population. Mahmud was wounded, captured, and exiled to India. But he returned in 1922 and declared the Kingdom of Kurdistan once more, establishing a functioning proto-state with its own government, currency, and newspaper. The kingdom lasted until 1924, when British forces again suppressed it. Mahmud continued guerrilla resistance until 1931.
Kurdish Revolts in the New Turkish Republic
The new Turkish Republic under Atatürk denied the existence of a separate Kurdish identity and pursued aggressive assimilation policies. The Kurdish response was a series of major revolts. The Kocgiri rebellion (1920–1921) was a Kurdish-Alevi uprising in central-eastern Anatolia that was brutally suppressed. The Beytussebap rebellion (1924) was an early challenge to the new republic.
The Sheikh Said rebellion of 1925, the Ararat revolt and Republic of Ararat (1927–1930), the Zilan massacre of 1930, and the Dersim rebellion and suppression (1937–1938) were the defining Kurdish-Turkish conflicts of the interwar period. Each was met with overwhelming military force. The Dersim campaign in particular involved mass killings, forced displacement, and the devastation of an entire Kurdish-Alevi region. These events are covered in detail in a separate article on this site.
The Republic of Mahabad (1946)
The Republic of Mahabad, declared in January 1946 by Qazi Muhammad, was the most complete experiment in Kurdish statehood of the twentieth century. Backed by the Soviet Union during the Allied occupation of Iran, the republic established a government, a national flag, schools teaching in Kurdish, and a small army — which included Mulla Mustafa Barzani and his fighters who had crossed from Iraq.
The republic lasted only eleven months. When Soviet forces withdrew from Iran under Western diplomatic pressure, the Mahabad government lost its military protection. Iranian forces reoccupied the territory in December 1946. Qazi Muhammad was arrested and hanged in March 1947. Barzani and approximately 500 followers made a legendary fighting retreat across Turkey and Iran to reach the Soviet Union, where they remained in exile until 1958.
Legacy
The interwar period established that Kurdish aspirations for self-determination would be systematically opposed by every state that governed Kurdish territory. Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria each developed their own strategies for suppressing Kurdish identity and political organisation. The revolts of this era — from Simko to Mahabad — failed in their immediate objectives but created a body of political experience, military tradition, and national consciousness that would sustain the Kurdish movement through the rest of the century.
The Republic of Mahabad, despite its brief existence, remains the most potent symbol in Kurdish political imagination. Its flag, its institutions, and its martyred president Qazi Muhammad are central to Kurdish national identity across all four parts of Kurdistan. Barzani’s retreat to the Soviet Union became a founding myth of the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga movement. The interwar revolts did not achieve Kurdish independence, but they ensured that the Kurdish question would never disappear.
Key Events and Timeline
1914–1918 — Kurdish tribal contingents fight on the Ottoman eastern front; Kurdish rebellions erupt during wartime chaos
1918–1922 — Simko Shikak revolt in Iran; Kurdish self-governed area established around Urmia; suppressed by Reza Khan
1919–1924 — Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji declares Kingdom of Kurdistan in Sulaymaniyah; suppressed by British forces using airpower
1920 — Treaty of Sèvres promises Kurdish autonomy; Kocgiri rebellion in Turkey
1923 — Treaty of Lausanne replaces Sèvres with no mention of Kurdistan
1925 — Sheikh Said rebellion in Turkey; suppressed with mass executions
1927–1930 — Ararat revolt and Republic of Ararat; Zilan massacre 1930
1937–1938 — Dersim rebellion and massacre; Kurdish-Alevi region devastated by Turkish military
January–December 1946 — Republic of Mahabad declared by Qazi Muhammad with Soviet backing; collapses when Soviets withdraw
1947 — Qazi Muhammad executed; Mulla Mustafa Barzani leads legendary retreat to the Soviet Union
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Republic of Mahabad?
The Republic of Mahabad was a Kurdish state declared in January 1946 in northwestern Iran by Qazi Muhammad. Backed by the Soviet Union, it established a government, schools, and military. It lasted eleven months before Iranian forces reoccupied the territory after the Soviet withdrawal.
Who was Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji?
Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji was a Kurdish religious and political leader from Sulaymaniyah who declared himself King of Kurdistan in 1919 and again in 1922, establishing a Kurdish proto-state in British-occupied Iraq. He was suppressed by British forces using aerial bombardment but continued guerrilla resistance until 1931.
What happened to Kurdistan after World War I?
After World War I, the Treaty of Sèvres (1920) promised Kurdish autonomy, but it was never implemented. The Treaty of Lausanne (1923) replaced it with no provisions for Kurdistan. Kurdish territory was divided between Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, and every subsequent Kurdish revolt was suppressed by the governing state.
References and Further Reading
The Kurdish Project — Kurdish Statehood in the Twentieth Century, 2019
Wikipedia — Simko Shikak Revolt, Republic of Mahabad, Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji, Kocgiri Rebellion
McDowall, D. — A Modern History of the Kurds, 2004
Gunter, M.M. — Historical Dictionary of the Kurds, 2010
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