The Kingdom of Kurdistan was a short-lived

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

state proclaimed in the city of

Sulaymaniyah Sulaymaniyah, also spelled as Slemani ( ku, سلێمانی, Silêmanî, ar, السليمانية, as-Sulaymāniyyah), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, not far from the Iran–Iraq border. It is surrounded by the Azmar, Go ...

following the collapse of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Officially, the territory involved was under the jurisdiction of the

British Mandate of Mesopotamia The Mandate for Mesopotamia ( ar, الانتداب البريطاني على العراق) was a proposed League of Nations mandate to cover Ottoman Iraq (Mesopotamia). It would have been entrusted to the United Kingdom but was superseded by the ...

Sheikh Mahmud revolts

During the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Kurds attempted to establish an independent state. On at least one occasion they succeeded and formed the Kingdom of Kurdistan, which lasted from September 1921 until July 1925. The

Shaykh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliteration of Arabic, transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonl ...

of the

Qadiriyyah The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ta ...

order of

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

s, the most influential personality in Southern Kurdistan, was appointed governor of the former ''

sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian language, Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησι� ...

'' of Duhok, but rallied against the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and declared an independent Kurdistan in May 1919. He was defeated in June. On 10 October 1921, a statement was issued in Suleymanyah, the capital of Kurdistan, to establish a

government. Sheikh

Mahmud Barzanji Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji ( ku, شێخ مه‌حموود بەرزنجی) or Mahmud Hafid Zadeh (1878 – October 9, 1956) was a Kurdish leader of a series of Kurdish uprisings against the British Mandate of Iraq. He was sheikh of a Qadiriyah Sufi ...

declared himself as the King of the Kingdom of Kurdistan. After the

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres (french: Traité de Sèvres) was a 1920 treaty signed between the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty ceded large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, Greece and Italy, as well ...

, which settled some territories, Sulaymaniya still remained under the direct control of the British High Commissioner. After the subsequent penetration of the Turkish "Özdemir" Detachment into the area, an attempt was made by the British to counter this by appointing Shaykh Mahmud governor again, in September 1922. The Shaykh revolted again, and in November declared himself King of the Kingdom of Kurdistan. Members of his cabinet included: *Shaikh Qadir Hafeed – Prime Minister *Abdulkarim Alaka, a Christian Kurd – Finance Minister *Ahmed Bagy Fatah Bag – Customs Minister *Hajy Mala Saeed Karkukli – Justice Minister *Hema Abdullah Agha – Labour Minister * Mustafa Pasha Yamolki – Education Minister''Mustafa Paşa bir müddet sonra Süleymaniye'de İngiliz destekli bir hükümet olan Şeyh Mahmud Berzenci hükümetinde Eğitim Bakanlığı görevine getirilmiştir.'' (Ferudun Ata, ''Süleymaniyeli Nemrut Mustafa Paşa: Bir İşbirlikçinin Portresi'', Temel, 2008, , p. 103.) *Shekh Mohammed Gharib – Interior Minister *Zaky Sahibqran – Defence Minister of the Kurdish National Army Barzanji was defeated by the British in July 1924, and in January 1926 the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

gave the mandate over the territory back to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, with the provision for special rights for Kurds. In 1930–1931, Shaykh Makhmud Barzanji made his last unsuccessful attempt. The British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

's Iraq Command acting on behalf of the Iraqi government in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

played a part in bringing the Kingdom of Kurdistan to an end.

References

Footnotes

General

# McDowell, D. (1996) ''A Modern History of the Kurds'', pp. 155–163, 194-196

External links

The Kingdom of Kurdistan

{{Kurdish organisations Former Kurdish states in Iraq History of Sulaymaniyah Governorate 1920s in Iraq Kurdistan, Kingdom of Kurdistan, Kingdom of Kurdish separatism in Iraq Sulaymaniyah Turkish War of Independence States and territories established in 1922 States and territories disestablished in 1924 1922 establishments in Iraq 1924 disestablishments in Iraq 20th century in Iraq Former countries of the interwar period History of the Kurdish people