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Kurdistan
Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. Geographically, Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges. Kurdistan generally comprises the following four regions: southeastern Turkey ( Northern Kurdistan), northern Iraq ( Southern Kurdistan), northwestern Iran ( Eastern Kurdistan), and northern Syria ( Western Kurdistan). Some definitions also include parts of southern Transcaucasia. Certain Kurdish nationalist organizations seek to create an independent nation state consisting of some or all of these areas with a Kurdish majority, while others campaign for greater autonomy within the existing national boundaries. The delineation of the region remains disputed and varied, with some maps greatly exaggerating its boundaries. Histori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrian Kurdistan
Syrian Kurdistan or Rojava () is a region in northern Syria where Kurds form the majority. It is surrounding three noncontiguous enclaves along the Turkish and Iraqi borders: Afrin in the northwest, Kobani in the north, and Jazira in the northeast. The term started to become more widely known as Kurdish nationalist groups and parties started to use it to describe the political entity later known as "Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria". Syrian Kurdistan is one of the four ''Lesser Kurdistans'' that comprise Greater Kurdistan, alongside Iranian Kurdistan, Turkish Kurdistan, and Iraqi Kurdistan. A significant part of the Kurdish community of Afrin was displaced during the Turkish-backed Operation Olive Branch in 2018. History Origins, Middle Ages, and Ottoman Syria (1516–1920) Kurds, widely considered to be the largest stateless ethnic group, are an Iranic ethnic group inhabiting a mountainous region known as Kurdistan that spans parts of several sove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurds
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syria. Consisting of 30–45 million people, the global Kurdish population is largely concentrated in Kurdistan, but significant communities of the Kurdish diaspora exist in parts of West Asia beyond Kurdistan and in parts of Europe, most notably including: Turkey's Central Anatolian Kurds, as well as Kurds in Istanbul, Istanbul Kurds; Iran's Khorasani Kurds; the Caucasian Kurds, primarily in Kurds in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan and Kurds in Armenia, Armenia; and the Kurdish populations in various European countries, namely Kurds in Germany, Germany, Kurds in France, France, Kurds in Sweden, Sweden, and the Kurds in the Netherlands, Netherlands. The Kurdish language, Kurdish languages and the Zaza–Gorani languages, both of which belong to the Wes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Syria (Western Kurdistan), and northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan). Much of the geographical and cultural region of Iraqi Kurdistan is part of the Kurdistan Region (KRI), a semi-autonomous administrative division, autonomous region recognized by the Constitution of Iraq. As with the rest of Kurdistan, and unlike most of the rest of Iraq, the region is inland and mountainous. Etymology The exact origins of the name ''Kurd'' are unclear. The suffix ''-stan'' is an Iranian languages, Iranian term for region. The literal translation for Kurdistan is "Land of Kurds". The name was also formerly spelled ''Curdistan''. One of the ancient names of Kurdistan is ''Corduene''.A.D. Lee, ''The Role of Hostages in Roman Diplomacy with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Empire, within which Kurds were a significant ethnic group. With the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, its Kurdish-majority territories were divided between the newly formed states of Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, making Kurds a significant ethnic minority in each state. Kurdish nationalist movements have long been suppressed by Turkey and in the states of Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Since the 1970s, Iraqi Kurds have pursued the goal of greater autonomy and even outright independence against the Iraqi nationalist Ba'ath Party regimes, which responded with brutal repression, including the massacre of 50-100k Kurds in the Anfal campaign. The Kurdish–Turkish conflict, where Kurdish armed groups have fought against the state, has been ongoing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iranian Kurdistan
Iranian Kurdistan or Eastern Kurdistan () is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern Iran with either a majority or sizable population of Kurds. Geographically, it includes the West Azerbaijan province, Kurdistan province, Kermanshah province, Ilam province and parts of Hamadan province and Lorestan province. In totality, Kurds are about 10% of Iran's total population and nearly all of them are bilingual in their ethnic language and Persian. According to the last census conducted in 2006, the four main Kurdish-inhabited provinces in Iran – West Azerbaijan, Kermanshah province, Kurdistan province and Ilam province – had a total population of 6,730,000. Kurds generally consider northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan) to be one of the four parts of a Greater Kurdistan, which under that conception are joined by parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Syria (Western Kurdistan), and northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan). Outside the traditional Kurdista ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turkish Kurdistan
Turkish Kurdistan or Northern Kurdistan () is the southeastern part of Turkey where Kurds form the predominant ethnic group. The Kurdish Institute of Paris estimates that there are 20 million Kurds living in Turkey, the majority of them in the southeast. Southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan) is considered to be one of the four parts of Kurdistan, which also includes parts of northern Syria (Western Kurdistan), northern Iraq ( Southern Kurdistan) and northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan). The term Turkish Kurdistan is often used in the context of Kurdish nationalism, which makes it a controversial term among proponents of Turkish nationalism. The term has different meaning depending on context. Geography The Encyclopaedia of Islam delineates the geography of Turkish Kurdistan as following: Nonetheless, it is emphasized that "the imprecise limits of the frontiers of Kurdistan hardly allow an exact appreciation of the area." The region forms the south-eastern edge of Ana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurdish Languages
Kurdish (, , ) is a Northwestern Iranian language or group of languages spoken by Kurds in the region of Kurdistan, namely in southeast Turkey, northern Iraq, northwest Iran, and northern Syria. It is also spoken in northeast Iran, as well as in certain areas of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Kurdish varieties constitute a dialect continuum, with some mutually unintelligible varieties, and collectively have 26 million native speakers. The main varieties of Kurdish are Kurmanji, Sorani, and Southern Kurdish (). The majority of the Kurds speak Kurmanji, and most Kurdish texts are written in Kurmanji and Sorani. Kurmanji is written in the Hawar alphabet, a derivation of the Latin script, and Sorani is written in the Sorani alphabet, a derivation of the Arabic script. A separate group of non-Kurdish Northwestern Iranian languages, the Zaza–Gorani languages, are also spoken by several million ethnic Kurds.Kaya, Mehmet. The Zaza Kurds of Turkey: A Middle Eastern Minority i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudaw
Rudaw Media Network () is a media broadcaster in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The network is headquartered in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region. It delivers content in multiple languages, including English, Kurdish, Arabic, and Turkish. History Rudaw Media Network originated as a weekly print newspaper distributed in the Kurdistan Region and Europe, the network initially garnered international attention through its European edition, catering to the burgeoning diaspora communities of that era. In a noteworthy commitment to environmental sustainability, Rudaw transitioned from print to a fully digital format, discontinuing its newspaper publication. The network's diverse portfolio includes a weekly newspaper in the Sorani dialect, boasting a circulation of 3,000, a Kurmanji version circulated in Europe, a comprehensive website available in Kurdish, English, Arabic, and Turkish, and a satellite TV station. Rudaw Media Network is funded and supported by Rudaw Company, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurdish Culture
Kurdish culture is a group of distinctive cultural traits practiced by Kurdish people. The Kurdish culture is a legacy from ancient peoples who shaped modern Kurds and their society. Kurds are an Iranian ethnic group who live in the northern Middle East, in a region that the Kurds call Greater Kurdistan. Greater Kurdistan lies along the Zagros Mountains and the Taurus Mountains, and today comprises northeastern Iraq, northwestern Iran, northeastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey. Miscellaneous There is a lot of controversy about the Kurdish people from their origins, their history, and even their political future. Kurds are one of the largest ethnic groups that do not have an independent state recognized universally. Language Kurdish (Kurdî) is part of the North-Western division of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. Folklore The Kurds have a rich folkloric tradition which is increasingly endangered as a result of modernization, urbanization, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the Iraq–Kuwait border, southeast, Jordan to Iraq–Jordan border, the southwest, and Syria to Iraq–Syria border, the west. The country covers an area of and has Demographics of Iraq, a population of over 46 million, making it the List of countries by area, 58th largest country by area and the List of countries by population, 31st most populous in the world. Baghdad, home to over 8 million people, is the capital city and the List of largest cities of Iraq, largest in the country. Starting in the 6th millennium BC, the fertile plains between Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, referred to as Mesopotamia, fostered the rise of early cities, civilisations, and empires including Sumer, Akkadian Empire, Akkad, and Assyria. Known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zagros Mountains
The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of southeastern Turkey and northeastern Iraq. From this border region, the range continues southeast to the waters of the Persian Gulf. It spans the southern parts of the Armenian highlands, and the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau, ending at the Strait of Hormuz. The highest point is Mount Dena, at . Geology The Zagros fold and thrust belt was mainly formed by the collision of two tectonic plates, the Eurasian Plate and the Arabian Plate. This collision mainly happened during the Miocene (about 25–5 mya or million years ago) and folded the entirety of the rocks that had been deposited from the Paleozoic (541–242 mya) to the Cenozoic (66 mya – present) in the passive continental margin on the Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corduene
Gordyene or Corduene (; ; ) was an ancient historical region, located south of Lake Van, present-day eastern Turkey. According to the ''1911 Encyclopædia Britannica'', Gordyene is the ancient name of the region of ''Bohtan'', now Şırnak Province. It is mentioned as ''Beth Qardu'' in Syriac language, Syriac sources and is described as a small vassal state between Armenia and Parthian Empire in the mountainous area south of Lake Van in what is now Turkey. Corduene must also be sought on the left bank of the Tigris. Corduene is documented as a fertile mountainous district, rich in pasturage. The Kingdom of Gordyene emerged from the declining Seleucid Empire, and for most of its history it was a province of the Roman Empire and acknowledged the sovereignty of Ancient Rome, Rome. From 189 to 90 BCE, it enjoyed a period of independence. The people of Gordyene were known to have worshiped the List of Hurrian deities, Hurrian chief deity and weather god Teshub. Origins The origin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
