Kurdish History Timeline
by Borgna Brunner
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Kurdistan

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The Kurds have lived in a mountainous, roughly 74,000-square-mile region known as Kurdistan for the past two millennia. Throughout their history they have remained under the thumb of various conquerors and nations. Since the early 20th century, the region has been divided between Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq, all of which have repressed, often brutally, their Kurdish minority. The Kurds, who number 20–25 million, are the largest ethnic group in the world without their own nation.

7th Century 1920s–1960s 1970s–1980s 1990s 2000s

7th Century The Kurds are conquered by the Arabs, beginning centuries of living under the rule of others. Their land is later occupied by the Seljuk Turks, the Mongols, the Safavid dynasty, and, beginning in the late 13th century, the Ottoman Empire.
1920 At the conclusion of World War I, the Ottoman Empire collapses. The Treaty of Sèvres proposes a division of the Ottoman Empire and its territory that includes an autonomous homeland for the Kurds. The treaty, however, is ultimately rejected.
1923 Turkey is recognized as an independent nation, and the Treaty of Lausanne is signed, replacing the Treaty of Sèvres. Under its terms, Turkey is no longer obligated to grant Kurdish autonomy. The treaty divides the Kurdish region among Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.
1925 A Kurdish uprising against the new Turkish Republic is suppressed.
1946 Iranian Kurds set up the short-lived Mahabad Republic with Soviet backing. It is swiftly crushed by Iran. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is founded by Iraqi Kurd Mustafa Barzani, and is dedicated to the creation of an independent Kurdistan.
1961 The Kurds of northern Iraq, led by Mustafa Barzani, leader of the Kurdish Democratic Party, revolt against the government of Abdul Karim Kassem. Iraq puts down the Kurdish revolt, and fighting between the Iraqi government and the Kurds continues for decades.
1970 A peace agreement is signed between the Iraqi government and the Kurds of northern Iraq, granting them some self-rule.
1974 The KDP attacks Iraqi troops after the government refuses to give them control of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, which was traditionally Kurdish territory. The government suppresses the crushes the revolt.
1975 Jalal Talabani, leader of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), leaves to found the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The two groups begin decades of conflict.
1978 In Turkey, Abdullah Ocalan helps to create the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, to seek Kurdish independence. He assumes leadership of the leftist organization.
1979 Iran's Islamic revolution sparks a Kurdish revolt in Iran that is then quickly suppressed by Iran.
1984 On August 15, under Ocalan's direction, the PKK turns to armed struggle. Thousands of Kurds in southeast Turkey join the cause, fuelled by nationalism and dissatisfaction with living conditions.
1988 Iraq retaliates against the Kurds for supporting Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, and through the "al-Anfal" ("spoils of war") campaign, slaughters thousands of civilians and uproots 1.5 million from their homes. Thousands flee to Turkey.
1991 After the Persian Gulf War, Iraq's Kurds rise up against Saddam Hussein, encouraged by the United States. Iraq quashes the rebellions, killing thousands. The U.N. coalition forces do not come to the aid of the Kurds, but eventually establish a no-fly zone in the north for their protection. Iraqi Kurds now control a 15,000-square-mile autonomous region in Northern Iraq populated by 3 million Kurds.

Turkey lifts ban set by former military government on the use of Kurdish language in unofficial settings. Kurdish remains illegal in schools, political settings, and broadcasts.
1992 A large-scale Turkish military operation attacks PKK bases in Iraq, where Kurdish safe havens had been allowed to develop by international forces after the Persian Gulf War.
1993 The Turkish government grants limited autonomy to the Kurds, though Kurdish political parties continue to be banned. Martial law is imposed to quell uprisings. Tens of thousands of security forces are sent to southeastern Turkey as the struggle intensifies.
1994 The two main political groups of the Iraqi Kurds, the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), led by Masoud Barzani (his father and grandfather were legendary Kurdish freedom fighters), and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), headed by Jalal Talabani, begin fighting each other for control of the Kurdish autonomous region.
1995 In a military operation similar to the one in 1992, about 35,000 Turkish troops invade PKK bases in Iraq.
1998 The PUK's Talabani and the KDP's Barzani sign a peace agreement, ending the four-year war between rival Iraqi Kurd factions.
1999 Abdullah Ocalan is captured, convicted of treason and separatism, and sentenced to death. It immediately spurs a rash of bombings and other terrorist attacks both in Turkey and abroad. Ocalan urges Kurdish rebels to pursue political rather than violent means.
2000 The Turkish government announces that Ocalan's sentence would be suspended until the case is reviewed by a European court.
2002 The Iraqi Kurdish regional parliament meets for the first time in six years, indicating a real sign of unity between Iraqi Kurdish factions since the 1994–1998 war.
2003 The Kurds join U.S. and British forces in defeating Saddam Hussein's regime.

Four Kurds are appointed by the U.S. to the Iraqi Governing Council, including Barzani and Talabani.
2004 In March 2004, Syrian Kurds rioted and clashed with police for several days after a brawl at a soccer game. It was Syria's worst unrest in decades.

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