History of the Kurds: The Timeline
Kurdish American Youth - by Goran Sadjadi | 02/10/05

The beginning of the Kurdish people and their history is one that is difficult to define but much research provides us with details that the Kurds are descendants of the Median Empire.

| 6300 BC - AD 224 -to - AD 650 - 1923 - to - 1946 - 1975 - to - 1978 - 1994 - to - 1998 - 2005 |

6300 BC:
Evidence dating back to 6300 BC shows that the Hurrian people inhabited the mountains of Kurdistan.
(Today, the Hurrian name is survived by the present Kurdish region of Hawraman.)

2500 BC:
Indo-European tribes begin migrating in small numbers and settle across the Zagros mountains of Mesopotamia.

1500 BC:
Hurrians expand and establish the Kingdom of Mitanni in Kurdistan.

1200 BC:
Indo-European tribes begin migrating in very large numbers. The tribes are comprised of Medes, Persians, Scythians, Sagarthians and Sarmathians.

900 BC:
Hurrian Kurdistan is dominated by the Indo-European tribes. Although a significant amount of the Hurrian culture remains, the Indo-European language is adopted by the people. Many ancient civilizations, such as the Assyrians, refer to all the people of Kurdistan as Kardu or Kordu.

728 BC:
Revolts by the Medes (Kurds) and Babylonians leads to the fall of the Assyrian Empire.
The Median Empire is established in 728 BC. Zoroastrianism is founded as the religion of the Median Empire. The Medes celebrate the new year (Newroz) at the beginning of Spring after Medya is liberated.
Under the rule of Cyaxares in 626 BC, the Median Empire expands.

550 BC:
A revolt is initiated by a former Median General, which leads to the fall of the Median Empire.
The General and the Median people give support to the leader of the revolt, Cyrus the Great, in overthrowing the King.
In 550 BC, Cyrus establishes the Persian Empire. The tribes are given rights to self-rule under Cyrus.

AD 224:
The Sasanian Dynasty is established and rules Persia until AD 642. The Kurds take part in ruling the dynasty, and due to their ancient warlike traditions, are able to provide significant military assistance against the Greeks and Romans.

650:
In the 7th Century, Islam is established and spreads throughout the Middle East.
Arabia expands and conquers parts of Kurdistan.

1168:
Kurdish warrior, Saladin, becomes the Sultan of Egypt and Syria and unites the Islamic world.
Saladin defeats the Crusaders and reclaims Jerusalem. He establishes Peace Treaties with the West and rules till his death in 1193.

1453:
The Roman Empire (Constantinople) falls, and shortly after, the Ottoman Empire is established.
The Ottoman Empire begins the invasions of tribal Kurdish kingdoms in Kurdistan.

1880:
After the last Kurdish kingdom falls, a united Kurdish nationalistic revolt against the Ottoman rule begins under the Xoybun leadership of Sheikh Said.

1920:
At the end of World War I, the European Powers draw the Treaty of Sevres in a Paris Peace Conference, which guarantees Kurds the right to independence.

1923:
The Turkish Republic is founded from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Sevres is abandoned and the Treaty of Laussanes is drawn, which does not include Kurdish rights to independence. The Kurdish revolts are suppressed by Turkey.

In the following decades, Turkey destroys thousands of Kurdish villages and begins a long campaign to eliminate Kurdish identity.

1946:
(Persia becomes Iran in 1935 and is occupied by the Soviet Union some time after.)
The Kurds take advantage of the occupation and declare an Independent Kurdish State. The Kurdistan Republic of Mahabad is established under the leadership of Qazi Mohammad. Mustafa Barzani establishes the Kurdistan Democratic Party with goals to establish a larger independent Kurdistan.

1946:
Syria is established and a Ba'ath Regime assumes power. The Regime denies citizenship to the Kurdish minority.

1947:
The Soviets drop their support for the Kurds in Iran and the Shah invades the Kurdistan Republic. The Shah orders members of the Kurdistan government, including Qazi Mohammad, to be arrested and executed.

1960:
(Iraq is declared a kingdom in 1932, and then a republic in 1958.)
Mustafa Barzani and his Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) begin one of several revolts against the oppressive Iraqi government.

1974:
The United States provides financial support to the PDK in an attempt to weaken the Iraqi government. After some limited autonomy is gained by the Kurds in Iraq, the PDK begins to attack Iraqi forces to take control of the Kurdish province of Kirkuk.The United States abandons the project, and the Kurdish revolts are suppressed by Iraq.
Mustafa Barzani dies in 1979.

1975:
Jalal Talabani, a former member of the PDK, establishes the second largest Kurdish party in Southern Kurdistan, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

1978:
Abdullah Ocalan establishes the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Northern Kurdistan demanding human rights for Kurds in Turkey.

1979:
The Islamic Revolution begins in Iran. Several Kurds in Iran are arrested and major cities in Eastern Kurdistan are bombed. Kurdish revolts begin but are quickly suppressed by the new Islamic Republic of Iran.

1984:
Under the leadership of Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK begins an armed struggle against the Turkish government.

1988:
Iraq's Ba'ath Regime launches a campaign called "Al-Anfal" (Spoils of War) in an attempt to alienate the Kurds. Thousands of Barzanis are executed and thousands civilian villages are destroyed. The campaign includes displacement of Kurds from their cities in the Kirkuk province. The Ba'ath orders several chemical bombings on Kurdish cities including the most infamous in Halabja, which kills 5000 civilians alone.

1989:
Dr. Qassimlou, leader of Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), meets with Iranian officials in an attempt to finalize the PDKI movements for the rights of Kurds in Iran, but he is assassinated. The Islamic Republic of Iran is convicted in the German court for the assassination.

1991:
Following the United States' Persian Gulf War against Iraq, the U.S. and the United Kingdom establish a "no-fly zone" over most of Southern Kurdistan in Iraq. The PDK and PUK take control of the provinces lying within the no-fly zone.

1992:
Turkey continues large-scale operations against the PKK, which include moving over 30,000 troops into Iraqi territory.

1994:
The PDK and the PUK begin fighting one another after disputes erupt over the control of Southern Kurdistan in Iraq.
After four long years of war, a peace treaty is signed between the two parties.

1998:
PKK is declared a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States after pressure from Turkey..
Abdullah Ocalan is captured a year later, imprisoned and sentenced to death. Ocalan sends a message to the PKK to stop violence.

2003:
The United States begins Operation Iraqi Freedom and with the help of the PDK and PUK, overthrows the Ba'ath Regime in Iraq.

2004:
PKK ends their ceasefire and resumes their struggle against Turkey.

After nearly ten years of imprisonment for her work as a Kurdish Rights Activist in Turkey, Leyla Zana becomes the first Kurd to receive the Sakharov Human Rights Prize in Europe.

Kurds in Western Kurdistan celebrate new Iraqi Transitional Administration Constitution, and Syrian officials order the arrests of several Kurds. Human rights organizations declare unfair treatment.

Turkey begins one of the final stages of talks with the European Union for their EU entry. However, several obstacles remain from eligibility of EU membership, including Turkey's unfair treatment of Kurds.

2005:
Kurds participate in the new government of Iraq and the PDK and PUK, along with several other smaller Kurdish parties, unite under one Kurdistan Alliance list. However, polls show that the population in Southern Kurdistan still desires independence from Baghdad.

(1) Izady, Mehrdad R. The Kurds: A Concise Handbook. 1992
(2) Kiepert, Heinrich. A Manual of Ancient Geography. 1881

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