In the modern world, not every nation, even a very large one, has its own state. There are many countries on the territory of which several peoples live at once. This causes a certain tension in society, and the country's leadership has to carefully listen to all groups of the population. One good example is Iraqi Kurdistan. This is an unrecognized republic that has its own anthem (from Iraq), languages (Kurmanji and Sorani), the Prime Minister and the President. The currency used in Kurdistan is the Iraqi dinar. People live on the territory of about 38 thousand square meters. km., the total population of 3.5 million people.
Features of Kurdistan
Kurds settled on the territory of several countries of the Middle East, including in Iraq. According to the constitution recently adopted in this country, Iraqi Kurdistan has the status of broad autonomy, somewhat similar to the position of a member of the confederation. But in fact, it turns out that the territories are semi-independent of the Iraqi government. However, the Catalans in Spain thought the same, but the main word was always for Madrid. And the country's authorities simply took and dissolved the parliament of Catalonia when the latter tried to express their opinion and secede from Spain.
Resettlement of ethnic Kurds
But the East is a delicate matter, there are completely different rules and customs. The territories of ethnic Iraqi Kurdistan (a referendum at the end of 2005 made adjustments by fully legitimizing the lands behind Kurds) include the following areas:
- Erbil.
- Suleimani.
- Dahuk.
- Kirkuk.
- Khanekin (specifically Diyal governorate);
- Mahmur.
- Sinjar.
These are all areas in which a lot of ethnic Kurds live. But besides them, in these territories many other peoples are settled. Only three governorates are generally called the Kurdistan region - Suleimani, Erbil and Dahuk.
The rest of the land inhabited by Kurds cannot yet boast of at least partial autonomy.
The referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan was planned to be held back in 2007. If all had succeeded, then the ethnic group living in the rest of Iraq would have gained independence, albeit partial. But the situation is aggravating constantly - a large number of Turkomans and Arabs live on these lands, who do not accept the laws of the Kurds and are mostly opposed to them.
Climate features in the territory of Kurdistan
On the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan there are a large number of lakes and rivers, the relief is mostly mountainous, the highest point is Mount Chik Dar, its peak is 3,611 meters above sea level. A lot of forests in the provinces - mostly in Dahuk and Erbil.
The total area of forest stands is 770 hectares. The authorities are planting greenery, the territories are forested. In total, three climatic zones can be distinguished in the territory of Kurdistan in Iraq:
- Subtropics prevail in the lowlands. Hot and dry summers with a temperature of 40 degrees, and winters are mild and rainy.
- Several areas with mountainous areas, where mostly cold winters with snows, but temperatures below zero drop extremely rarely. In the summer, it is very hot in the highlands.
- Highlands. Here the winters are very cold, the temperature is always below zero, the snow is leaving closer to June-July.
History of Southern Kurdistan before joining Iraq
There are suggestions that a modern ethnic group of Kurds was formed on the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan. It was originally inhabited by the Medes. So, near Sulaymaniyah, the very first written source, written in the Kurdish language, was found - this parchment dates from the 7th century. A small poem is written on it, in which the attack of the Arabs and the destruction of Kurdish shrines mourn.
In 1514, the Battle of Chaldyran took place, after which Kurdistan joined the possessions of the Ottoman Empire. In general, the population of Iraqi Kurdistan has been living for many centuries on the same territory. In the Middle Ages on these lands there were several emirates at once, having almost complete independence:
- Sinjar is the center in the city of Lales.
- Soran is the capital in Ravandus.
- Bahdinan is the capital in Amadia.
- Baban is the capital in Sulaymaniyah.
In the first half of the 19th century, these emirates were completely liquidated by Turkish troops.
History of Kurdistan in the 19th century
The first half of the 19th century was marked by the fact that in almost all the territories of Iraqi Kurdistan there were uprisings against the rule of the Ottoman emperors. But these rebellions were quickly suppressed, and the Turks, in fact, re-conquered all the lands.
Most of the tribes that lived in hard-to-reach places were not under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Some were able to maintain complete independence, while others only partial. The entire 19th century was marked by the struggle for independence of certain tribes of Kurdistan.
Kurdistan at the beginning of the 20th century
At the beginning of the 20th century, during the First World War, English troops entered Kirkuk, and Russians entered Suleimaniya. This happened in 1917, but soon the revolution in Russia destroyed the entire front. And only the British remained in Iraq, who were actively opposed by the Kurds.
The resistance was commanded by Barzanji Mahmoud, who himself proclaimed himself the Kurdistan king. The British planned to create a federation of Kurdish tribes in Mosul. But after the Kingdom of Iraq was formed, Mosul was incorporated into Iraq.
One of the assumptions why this happened exactly so is that a large oil field was discovered near Kirkuk in 1922. And the Anglo-Saxons were very fond of “black gold” and were ready to do anything to possess it - to overthrow the legitimate government, exterminate the peoples, arrange genocide, unleash long and bloody wars.
Turkey tried to claim its rights to Mosul, claiming that the British occupied the territory illegally, but the League of Nations set the final point in December 1925, taking into account the demarcation line.
Iraqi monarchy
After Mosul was subordinated to Iraq, national rights were declared to the Kurds. In particular, only local residents could become officials in Kurdistan, and their language was equated with the state language - they should have taught it in educational institutions, and it should be the main one in office work, in the courts.
But, in fact, these rights were not realized - the officials were exclusively Arabs (at least 90% of the total), in the Kurdish language, teaching was conducted at the maximum in elementary school, industry did not develop. No elections in Iraqi Kurdistan could correct the situation.
Uprising 1930-1940
There was a clear discrimination of the Kurds - they were reluctantly hired, in military schools and universities. Suleimaniya was considered the capital of Kurdistan - it was from here that the self-proclaimed king Mahmoud Barzanji ruled. But, as soon as his last rebellion was crushed, the Kurzan tribe of Kurds took on the main role.
In particular, power is in the hands of Ahmed and Mustafa Barzani. They lead a series of rebellions against central authorities. In 1931-1932, the rebels were subordinate to Sheikh Ahmed, in 1934-1936. - Khalilu Hoshavi. And Mustafa Barzani led them between 1943 and 1945.
With the outbreak of World War II, in 1939, the Khiva organization appeared in Iraqi Kurdistan, which means “hope” in Kurdish. But in 1944 there was a split in it - the party “Ryzgari Kurd” left it. In 1946, it united with the Shorsh revolutionary party and formed the new Democratic Party, which was led by Mustafa Barzani.
The period from 1950 to 1975.
In 1958, the overthrow of the monarchy in Iraq occurred, which allowed for a short time to equalize the Kurds with the Arabs. There was a hope that improvements will occur in all spheres of life - both in the political and in the economic (in particular, in the agrarian). But the hopes did not materialize, in 1961 there was another uprising of the Kurds, called the "September".
It lasted almost 15 years and ended only in 1975. The reason for the uprising was the fact that the government, headed by Kassem at that time, chose the side of the Arabs, and to the Kurds, to put it mildly, he did not care.
The slogan of the rebellious people was one: "Freedom and autonomy to Kurdistan!" And in the first year, Mustafa Barzani took control of almost all the mountainous territories, whose population is almost one and a half million people.
In 1970, Saddam Hussein and Mustafa Barzani signed an agreement according to which the Kurds have every right to autonomy. It was initially said that within 4 years the development of a law on autonomy will be carried out. But at the beginning of 1974, unilaterally, official Baghdad passed a law that did not suit the Kurds.
Autonomy was granted, but only Kirkuk (in which huge oil reserves) remained behind Iraq, the Kurds were almost expelled from there by force. These territories were inhabited by Arabs.
Kurdistan during the reign of Saddam Hussein
After the defeat of the Kurds in 1975, mass emigration to Iran began. There was no question of any recognition of the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan, nor was it about elections and referenda. You could fight with weapons in your hands - this is exactly what happened in 1976. A new rebellion began under the leadership of Jalal Talabani. But his strength of resistance was simply insignificant. Therefore, although "autonomy" was proclaimed in the three provinces, it was completely subordinate to Baghdad.
In 1980, the Iran-Iraq war began, and the territory of Kurdistan became a battlefield. In 1983, the Iranians invaded Kurdistan, taking control of Penjvin and an area of 400 square meters near it in a few months. km In 1987, the Iranians reached Suleimani, but were stopped near it. And in 1988, Iraq completely expelled opponents from the territory of Kurdistan.
At the final stage, there was a purge - more than 180 thousand Kurds were taken out in army vehicles and destroyed. 700 thousand people were deported to camps. Of the 5,000 Kurdistan settlements, more than 4,500 were completely destroyed, most of them. Saddam harshly treated the population - the villages were bulldozed, and people, if they could, fled to Iran or Turkey.
Present
Throughout the 1990s, what happened before was happening - territories that historically belonged to the Kurds were thoroughly cleaned. The indigenous population was expelled, sometimes exterminated. All lands inhabited by Arabs, went under the complete control of Baghdad. But in 2003, the US troops invaded Iraq. On the side of the American troops came Iraqi Kurds. The long-standing oppression by Iraq of this people played a role.
It was on the territory of Kurdistan that the US military was transported. At the end of March, the contingent totaled 1,000 fighters. But the Turks restrained the high activity of the Kurds - they threatened to use force in the event of an invasion of Mosul and Kirkuk.
After the fall of Baghdad, autonomy still came to the Kurds. Several thousand companies are developing in the territory of Kurdistan and the emphasis is on tourism - there is something to see in the ancient lands. For foreign investors, investing in Iraqi Kurdistan is simply manna from heaven, since they are exempted from paying any taxes for the whole 10 years. Oil production is also actively developing - we can say that this is the basis of the economy of any country in the Middle East.