The Republic of Mahabad or the Republic of Kurdistan ( ku, کۆماری کوردستان / Komara Kurdistanê; fa, جمهوری مهاباد) 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 ...
self-governing
unrecognized state
A number of polities have declared independence and sought diplomatic recognition from the international community as sovereign states, but have not been universally recognised as such. These entities often have ''de facto'' control of their ...
in present-day
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, from 22 January to 15 December 1946. The Republic of Mahabad, a
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sove ...
of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, arose alongside the
Azerbaijan People's Government
The Azerbaijan People's Government ( az, آذربایجان میللی حکومتی - Azərbaycan Milli Hökuməti; fa, حکومت خودمختار آذربایجان) was a short-lived unrecognized secessionist state in northern Iran from Nov ...
, a similarly short-lived unrecognized Soviet puppet state.
The capital of the Republic of Mahabad was
Mahabad
Mahabad ( fa, مهاباد, ku, مەهاباد, translit=Mehabad), also Romanized as Mihābād and Muhābād and formerly known as Savojbolagh, is a city and capital of Mahabad County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its ...
in northwestern Iran. The state encompassed a small territory, including Mahabad and the adjacent cities of
Bukan
Bukan ( fa, بوکان, translit=Bukân, ku, بۆکان, translit=Bokan) is the capital of Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. As of 2016, its population was estimated to be near 193,501 people or 56,000 families. The city is situated ...
,
Oshnavieh
Oshnavieh ( fa, اشنويه, Oshnavīyeh; ku, شنۆ, translit=Şino) is the capital city of Oshnavieh County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 40,000 in 2,000 families.
The city is populated by Kurds ...
,
Piranshahr
Piranshahr ( fa, پیرانشهر; ckb, پیرانشار, Pîranşar) is a city located in West Azerbaijan Province in west Iran. It is the capital of Piranshahr County.
Piranshahr is the center of the traditional region of Mukriyan.
The go ...
and
Naghadeh
Naqadeh (; ; ), formerly known as Sulduz, is the main town of Naqadeh County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 72,975, in 18,320 families.
Name
Naqadeh is the current name of the town (and county). The for ...
. The republic moreover claimed the three cities of
Urmia
Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an al ...
,
Khoy
Khoy (Persian and az, خوی; ; ; also Romanized as Khoi), is a city and capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 200,985.
Khoy is located north of the province's capital and largest city ...
and
Salmas
Salmas ( fa, سلماس; ; ; ; syr, ܣܵܠܵܡܵܣ, Salamas) is the capital of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. It is located northwest of Lake Urmia, near Turkey. According to the 2019 census, the city's population is 127,86 ...
held by the Azerbaijan People's Government.
Background
Iran was invaded by the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
in late August 1941, with the Soviets controlling the north. In the absence of a central government, the Soviets attempted to attach northwestern Iran to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, and promoted
Kurdish nationalism
Kurdish nationalism (, ) is a nationalist political movement which asserts that Kurds are a nation and espouses the creation of an independent Kurdistan from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
Early Kurdish nationalism had its roots in the Ottoman ...
. From these factors resulted a Kurdish manifesto that above all sought autonomy and self-government for the Kurdish people in Iran within the limits of the Iranian state.
In the town of Mahabad, inhabited mostly by Kurds, a committee of middle-class people supported by tribal chiefs took over the local administration. A political party called the Society for the Revival of Kurdistan (''Komeley Jiyanewey Kurdistan'' or JK) was formed.
Qazi Muhammad
Qazi Muhammad ( ku, قازی محەممەد / Qazî Mihemed, fa, قاضی محمد; 1 May 1893 – 31 March 1947) was an Kurdish leader who founded the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and headed the short-lived, Soviet-backed Republic of ...
, head of a family of religious
jurists
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...
, was elected as chairman of the party. Although the republic was not declared until December 1945, Qazi's committee administered the area for more than five years until the fall of the republic.
[C. J. Edmonds, ''Kurdish Nationalism'', Journal of Contemporary History, pp. 87–107 6 1971]
In 1946
UNSC
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
passed resolutions
2,
3 and
5, urging and eventually facilitating the removal of Soviet forces still occupying Iran.
Foundation
![Qazi Muhammad](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Qazi_Muhammad.jpg)
In
western Azerbaijan, the Soviet commander at
Mīāndoāb summoned the Kurdish chieftains and transported them to
Baku in
Azerbaijan SSR.
There, in late September, 1945, the Prime Minister of the Azerbaijan SSR told them that neither their own nationalist party, the Komala-ye Žīān-e Kordestān, nor the Tūda Party was looked on favorably, that they should seek their goals within Azerbaijani autonomy, and that they should call themselves the Democratic Party of Kurdistan.
The Azerbaijan movement, one must keep in mind, was not created solely by Soviet pressures. The Kurds opposed, among other things, the government’s attempts at
detribalization
Detribalization is the process by which persons who belong to a particular Indigenous ethnic identity or community are detached from that identity or community through the deliberate efforts of colonizers and/or the larger effects of colonialis ...
. Thus, a concern for identity within their own communal groups seemed logical to both Kurds and Azeris in the aftermath of the Soviet occupation in 1941.
On December 10, the Democratic Party took control of
East Azerbaijan Province
East Azerbaijan Province ( fa, استان آذربایجان شرقی ''Āzarbāijān-e Sharqi''; az-Arab, شرقی آذربایجان اوستانی) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armeni ...
from Iranian government forces, forming the
Azerbaijan People's Government
The Azerbaijan People's Government ( az, آذربایجان میللی حکومتی - Azərbaycan Milli Hökuməti; fa, حکومت خودمختار آذربایجان) was a short-lived unrecognized secessionist state in northern Iran from Nov ...
. Qazi Muhammad decided to do likewise, and on December 15, the Kurdish People's Government was founded in Mahabad. On January 22, 1946, Qazi Muhammad announced the formation of the Republic of Mahabad. Some of the aims mentioned in the manifesto include:
*Autonomy for the Iranian Kurds within the Iranian state.
*The use of Kurdish as the medium of education and administration.
*The election of a provincial council for Kurdistan to supervise state and social matters.
*All state officials to be of local origin.
*Unity and fraternity with the Azerbaijani people.
*The establishment of a single law for both peasants and notables.
Education
Education was aimed to be provided for free and to be in Kurdish language. But at the beginning of the republic, the teachers had to translate from the textbooks in Persian language to the Kurdish language. Only at the end of the existence of the republic, textbooks in the Kurdish language were to be distributed to the schools.
On the same day, the formation of high school for girls was also announced.
Relationship to the Soviets
The Republic of Mahabad depended on Soviet support.
Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt, Jr., grandson of the former U.S. President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, wrote in 1947 in "The Kurdish Republic of Mahabad" that a major problem of the People's Republic of Mahabad was that the Kurds needed the assistance of the USSR; only with the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
did they have a chance. However, the Republic's close relationship with the USSR alienated it from most Western powers, causing them to side with Iran's central government. Qazi Muhammad did not deny that the Soviets funded and supplied his republic, but did deny that the
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) was a communist party. He portrayed this notion as a lie fabricated by the Iranian military authorities, and added that his ideals differed greatly from those of the Soviets.
Contemporaries – both friends and foes – tended to exaggerate the Soviet role in the ''Republic of Mahabad''. While Kurdish nationalist leaders
Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou
Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou ( ku, عهبدولڕهحمان قاسملوو, translit=Ebdulrehman Qasimlû; fa, عبدالرحمان قاسملو; 22 December 1930 – 13 July 1989) was an Iranian Kurdish politician and leader. Ghassemlou was t ...
and
Jalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani ( ku, مام جەلال تاڵەبانی, translit=Celal Talebanî; ar, جلال طالباني ; 1933 – 3 October 2017) was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the sixth president of Iraq from 2006 to 2014, as well as ...
stressed Soviet friendship and support, others like
Robert Rossow, Jr., the American
chargé d'affaires in neighboring
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
, and historian
William Linn Westermann
William Linn Westermann (September 15, 1873 – October 4, 1954) was an American historian and papyrologist who served as the president of the American Historical Association in 1944. He was regarded as an expert on the economy of the ancient wo ...
branded the republic a Soviet
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sove ...
. This notion was also widespread amongst Kurdish tribal leaders, many of whom disagreed with Qazi's leadership.
The Soviets were however generally ambivalent towards the Kurdish administration. They did not maintain a
garrison near Mahabad and also did not have any civil agent of sufficient standing to exercise any great influence. They encouraged Qazi's administration by practical benevolent operations such as providing motor transport, keeping out the Iranian army, and buying the whole of the tobacco crop. On the other hand, the Soviets initially did not like the Kurdish administration's refusal to be absorbed into the larger
Democratic Republic of (Persian) Azerbaijan, and discouraged the formation of an independent Kurdish state.
Following the fall of Mahabad, they however allowed for the safe passage of
Mustafa Barzani
Mustafa Barzani ( ku, مەلا مستهفا بارزانی, Mistefa Barzanî; 14 March 1903 – 1 March 1979) also known as Mela Mustafa (Preacher Mustafa), was a Kurdish leader, general and one of the most prominent political figures in mod ...
and his followers into the Soviet Union.
End
On 26 March 1946, due to pressure from Western powers including the United States, the Soviets promised the Iranian government that they would pull out of northwestern Iran. In June, Iran reasserted its control over Iranian Azerbaijan. This move isolated the Republic of Mahabad, eventually leading to its destruction.
Qazi Muhammad's internal support eventually declined, especially among the Kurdish tribes who had supported him initially. Their crops and supplies were dwindling, and their way of life was becoming hard as a result of the isolation. Economic aid and military assistance from the Soviet Union was gone, and the tribes saw no reason to support him. The townspeople and the tribes had a large divide between them, and their alliance for Mahabad was crumbling. The tribes and their leaders had only supported Qazi Muhammad for his economic and military aid from the Soviet Union. Once that was gone, many did not see any reason to support him. Other tribes resented the Barzanis, since they did not like sharing their already dwindling resources with them. Some Kurds deserted Mahabad, including one of Mahabad's own marshals, Amir Khan. Mahabad was economically bankrupt, and it would have been nearly impossible for Mahabad to have been economically sound without harmony with Iran.
Those who stayed began to resent the
Barzani Kurds
The Barzani tribe ( ku, Eşîra Barzanî) is a term for both the Kurdish Barzani tribe and for the confederation of various neighboring tribes inhabiting Barzan in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Barzanis are mostly Naqshbandi and one of the mo ...
, as they had to share their resources with them.
On 5 December 1946, the war council told Qazi Muhammad that they would fight and resist the Iranian army if they tried to enter the region. The lack of Kurdish tribal support however made Qazi Muhammad only see a massacre upon the Kurdish civilians performed by the Iranian army rather than Kurdish rebellion. This forced him to avoid war at all cost.
Ten days later, on 15 December 1946, Iranian forces entered and secured Mahabad. Once there, they closed down the Kurdish printing press, banned the teaching of Kurdish language, and burned all Kurdish books that they could find. Finally, on 31 March 1947, Qazi Muhammad was hanged in Mahabad on counts of treason. At the behest of
Archie Roosevelt, Jr., who argued that Qazi had been forced to work with the Soviets out of expediency, U.S. ambassador to Iran
George V. Allen
George Venable Allen (November 3, 1903 – July 11, 1970) was a United States diplomat. He served as ambassador to Iran during the crisis of 1946 and was involved in managing US relations amid the Cold War with the Soviet Union. He was involved ...
urged the Shah not to execute Qazi or his brother, only to be reassured: "Are you afraid I'm going to have them shot? If so, you can rest your mind. I am not." Roosevelt later recounted that the order to have the Qazis killed was likely issued "as soon as our ambassador had closed the door behind him," adding with regard to the Shah: "I never was one of his admirers."
Aftermath
Mustafa Barzani
Mustafa Barzani ( ku, مەلا مستهفا بارزانی, Mistefa Barzanî; 14 March 1903 – 1 March 1979) also known as Mela Mustafa (Preacher Mustafa), was a Kurdish leader, general and one of the most prominent political figures in mod ...
, with his soldiers from
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also inc ...
, had formed the backbone of the Republic's forces. After the fall of the republic, most of the soldiers and four officers from the Iraqi army decided to return to Iraq. The officers were condemned to death upon returning 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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and are today honored along with Qazi as heroes martyred for Kurdistan. Several hundred of the soldiers chose to stay with Barzani. They defeated all efforts of the Iranian army to intercept them in a five-week march and made their way to
Soviet Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
.
See also
*
Mukriyan
Mukriyan () or 'Deryaz' was a Kurdish principality from the late 14th century to the 19th century centered around Mahabad. Mukriyan was a neighbor to the Emirate of Bradost.
Geography and tribes
Mukriyan encompassed the area south of Lake ...
*
Kurds in Iran
*
Azerbaijan People's Government
The Azerbaijan People's Government ( az, آذربایجان میللی حکومتی - Azərbaycan Milli Hökuməti; fa, حکومت خودمختار آذربایجان) was a short-lived unrecognized secessionist state in northern Iran from Nov ...
*
Persian Socialist Soviet Republic
The Persian Socialist Soviet Republic ( fa, ), also known as the Soviet Republic of Iran or Socialist Soviet Republic of Gilan, was a short-lived unrecognized state, a Soviet republic in the Iranian province of Gilan that lasted from June 1920 ...
*
Autonomous Government of Khorasan
*
Iran–Russia relations
Relations between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Persian Empire (Iran) officially commenced in 1521, with the Safavids in power. Past and present contact between Russia and Iran have long been complicatedly multi-faceted; often wavering betwe ...
Notes
References
*"The Republic of Kurdistan: Fifty Years Later", ''International Journal of Kurdish Studies'', 11, no. 1 & 2, (1997).
*''The Kurdish Republic of 1946'', William Eagleton, Jr. (London: Oxford University Press, 1963)
* Moradi Golmorad: "Ein Jahr autonome Regierung in Kurdistan, die Mahabad-Republik 1946–1947" in: ''Geschichte der kurdischen Aufstandsbewegungen von der arabisch-islamischen Invasion bis zur Mahabad-Republik'', Bremen 1992,
* M. Khoubrouy-Pak: ''Une république éphémère au Kurdistan'', Paris u.a. 2002,
*Archie Roosevelt, Jr., "The Kurdish Republic of Mahabad", ''Middle East Journal'', no. 1 (July 1947), pp. 247–269.
*William Linn Westermann, "Kurdish Independence and Russian Expansion", ''
Foreign Affairs'', Vol. 24, 1945–1946, pp. 675–686
*Kurdish Republic of Mahabad, Encyclopedia of the Orient
*"The Kurds: People without a country", ''Encyclopædia Britannica'
*
*Meiselas, Susan ''Kurdistan In the Shadow of History'', Random House, 1997.
*
*Yassin, Burhaneddin A., "A History of the Republic of Kurdistan", ''The International Journal of Kurdish Studies'', 11, nos. 1–2 (1997): 115–240.
*Yassin, Burhaneddin A., ''Vision or Reality: The Kurds in the Policy of the Great Powers, 1941–1947'', Lund University Press, Lund/Sweden, 1995. , Lund University Press. ou Chartwell-Bratt Ltd.
* Масуд Барзани. Мустафа Барзани и курдское освободительное движение. Пер. А. Ш. Хаурами, СПб, Наука, 2005.
* М. С. Лазарев. Курдистан и курдский вопрос (1923–1945). М., Издательская фирма «Восточная литература» РАН, 2005.
* Жигалина О. И. Национальное движение курдов в Иране (1918–1947). М., «Наука», 1988.
* История Курдистана. Под ред. М. С. Лазарева, Ш. Х. Мгои. М., 1999.
* Муртаза Зарбахт. От Иракского Курдистана до другого берега реки Аракс. Пер. с курдск. А. Ш. Хаурами. М.-СПб, 2003.
External links
The Republic of Kurdistan in Mehabad Encyclopaedia Kurdistanica.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Republic Of Mahabad
Republic of Mahabad,
Former Kurdish states in Iran
Former countries in the Middle East
Mahabad
Mahabad ( fa, مهاباد, ku, مەهاباد, translit=Mehabad), also Romanized as Mihābād and Muhābād and formerly known as Savojbolagh, is a city and capital of Mahabad County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its ...
History of West Azerbaijan Province
Iran–Soviet Union relations
Cold War history of Iran
20th century in Iran
Kurdish separatism in Iran
Former unrecognized countries
States and territories established in 1946
States and territories disestablished in 1946