Turkish Kurdistan
Encyclopedia
Turkish Kurdistan is an unofficial name for the southeastern part of Turkey
, which is inhabited predominantly by ethnic Kurds. The area covers between 190,000 to 230,000 km² (88,780 sq mi), or nearly a third of Turkey. The unofficial term references the region's geographical location with respect to the larger Kurdish region, often named Kurdistan, stretching across Turkey, Syria
, Iran
and Iraq
.
describes Turkish Kurdistan, historically, as covering at least 17 provinces
of Turkey
: Erzincan
, Erzurum
, Kars
, Malatya
, Tunceli
, Elazığ
, Bingöl
, Muş
, Ağrı
, Adıyaman
, Diyarbakır
, Siirt
, Bitlis
, Van
, Şanlıurfa aka Urfa
, Mardin
and Hakkâri or Çolamerik
, stressing at the same time that "the imprecise limits of the frontiers of Kurdistan hardly allow an exact appreciation of the area."
In Turkey, the 17 provinces of ancient Kurdistan covered around 190,000 km². Since 1987, four new provinces - Şırnak
, Batman
, Iğdır
and Ardahan
- have been created inside the Turkish administrative system
out of the territory of some of these provinces. The region has no unified administrative identity and the Turkish state rejects the use of the term "Kurdistan" to describe it. In addition to the provinces already mentioned, the region forms part of the wider geographic subdivisions of Southeastern Anatolia Region (Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgesi) and Eastern Anatolia Region (Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi).
The region forms the south-eastern edge of Anatolia
. It is dominated by high peaks rising to over 3,700m (12,000 ft) and arid mountain plateaux, forming part of the arc of the Taurus Mountains
. It has an extreme continental climate
— hot in the summer, bitterly cold in the winter. Despite this, much of the region is fertile and has traditionally exported grain and livestock to the cities in the plains. The local economy is dominated by animal husbandry
and small-scale agriculture
, with cross-border smuggling (especially of petroleum
) providing a major source of income in the border areas. Larger-scale agriculture and industrial activities dominate the economic life of the lower-lying region around Diyarbakır
, the largest Kurdish-populated city in the region. Elsewhere, however, decades of conflict and high unemployment has led to extensive migration from the region to other parts of Turkey and abroad.
, the Kurdish-inhabited regions of the Middle East came under the rule of local Kurdish chieftains, though they never established a unified nation state. During 10th and 11th centuries, the region was ruled by the Kurdish dynasty of Marwanid
. From the 14th century onwards the region was mostly incorporated into the Ottoman Empire
.
, there were two adiministrative units different than regular sanjaks: 1) Kurdish sancaks (Ekrad Beyliği), characterized by hereditary rule of the Kurdish nobility and 2) Kurdish governments (hükümet). The Kurdish sanjaks like ordinary sanjaks, had some military obligations and had to pay some taxes. On the other hand, the Kurdish hükümet neither pay taxes nor provided troops for the Ottoman Army. The Ottomans preferred not to interfere in their succession and internal affairs. As Evliya Çelebi
has reported, by the mid-17th century the autonomy of Kurdish emirates had diminished. At his time, out of 19 sancaks of Diyarbakir, 12 were regular Ottoman sanjaks, and the remaining were referred to as Kurdish sanjaks. Kurdish sanjaks were reported as Sagman, Kulp, Mihraniye, Tercil, Atak, Pertek, Çapakçur and Çermik. He also reported the Kurdish states or hükümets as Cezire, Egil, Genç, Palu and Hazo. In the late 18th and early 19th century, with the decline of Ottoman Empire
, the Kurdish principalities became practically independent.
government began to assert its authority in the region in the early 19th century. Concerned with independent-mindedness of Kurdish principalities, Ottomans sought to curb their influence and bring them under the control of central government in Istanbul. However, removal from power of these hereditary principalities, led to more instability in the region from 1840s onwards. In their place, sufi sheiks and religious orders rose to prominence and spread their influence throughout the region. One of the prominent Sufi leaders was Shaikh Ubaidalla Nahri, who began a revolt in the region between Lakes Van
and Urmia
. The area under his control covered both Ottoman and Qajar territories. Shaikh Ubaidalla is regarded as one of the earliest leaders who pursued modern nationalist ideas among Kurds. In a letter to a British Vice-Consul, he declared: the Kurdish nation is a people apart . . . we want our affairs to be in our hands'.'
The breakup of the Ottoman Empire after its defeat in the First World War led to its dismemberment and establishment of the present-day political boundaries, dividing the Kurdish-inhabited regions between several newly-created states. The establishment and enforcement of the new borders had profound effects for the Kurds, who had to abandon their traditional nomadism for village life and settled farming.
was opposed by many Kurds, and has resulted in a long-running separatist conflict in which thousands of lives have been lost. The region saw several major Kurdish rebellions during the 1920s and 1930s. These were forcefully put down by the Turkish authorities and the region was declared a closed military area from which foreigners were banned between 1925 and 1965. The use of Kurdish language was outlawed, the words Kurds and Kurdistan were erased from dictionaries and history books, and the Kurds were only referred to as Mountain Turks.
In 1983, a number of provinces were placed under martial law in response to the activities of the militant separatist Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK). A guerrilla war took place through the rest of the 1980s and into the 1990s. By 1993 the total number of security forces involved in the struggle in southeastern Turkey was about 200,000, and the conflict had become the largest civil war in the Middle East. in which much of the countryside was evacuated, thousands of Kurdish-populated villages were destroyed and numerous extra judicial summary executions were carried out by both sides. More than 37,000 people were killed in the violence and hundreds of thousands more were forced to leave their homes. The situation in the region has since eased following the capture of the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan
in 1999 and the introduction of a greater degree of official tolerance for Kurdish cultural activities, encouraged by the European Union
. However, some political violence is still ongoing and the Turkish-Iraqi border region remains tense.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, which is inhabited predominantly by ethnic Kurds. The area covers between 190,000 to 230,000 km² (88,780 sq mi), or nearly a third of Turkey. The unofficial term references the region's geographical location with respect to the larger Kurdish region, often named Kurdistan, stretching across Turkey, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
Geography and economy
The Encyclopaedia of IslamEncyclopaedia of Islam
The Encyclopaedia of Islam is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies. It embraces articles on distinguished Muslims of every age and land, on tribes and dynasties, on the crafts and sciences, on political and religious institutions, on the geography, ethnography, flora and...
describes Turkish Kurdistan, historically, as covering at least 17 provinces
Provinces of Turkey
Turkey is divided into 81 provinces, called il in Turkish .A province is administered by an appointed governor , and was formerly termed a "governorate" ....
of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
: Erzincan
Erzincan Province
Erzincan Province is a province in the eastern region of Anatolia, Turkey, and home to Erzincan, a city which was destroyed and rebuilt after an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on December 27, 1939...
, Erzurum
Erzurum Province
Erzurum Province is a Province of Turkey, in the Eastern Anatolia Region of the country. It is bordered by the provinces of Kars and Ağrı to the east, Muş and Bingöl to the south, Erzincan and Bayburt to the west, Rize and Artvin to the north and Ardahan to the northeast. The provincial capital is...
, Kars
Kars Province
Kars Province is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its border with the Republic of Armenia.The provinces of Ardahan and Iğdır were until the 1990s part of Kars Province.-History:...
, Malatya
Malatya Province
Malatya Province is a province of Turkey. It is part of a larger mountainous area. The capital of the province is Malatya , which has many residents. Malatya is famous for its apricots. The area of Malatya province is 12,313 km². Malatya Province has 740,643 inhabitants. The population was...
, Tunceli
Tunceli Province
The Tunceli Province is a province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The province was named Dersim Province and was changed to Tunceli Province on January 4, 1936. with the "Law on Administration of the Tunceli Province" , no...
, Elazığ
Elazig Province
Elâzığ Province is a province of Turkey with its seat in the city of Elâzığ. The source of the Euphrates river is located in this province.The province has a population of 552,646 as of 2010...
, Bingöl
Bingöl Province
Bingöl Province is a province of Turkey in Eastern Anatolia. The province was created in 1946 out of parts of Elazığ and Erzincan. The new province was known as Çapakçur Province until 1950. Its neighbouring provinces are Tunceli, Erzurum, Muş, Diyarbakır, Erzincan and Elazığ. The province covers...
, Muş
Mus Province
Muş Province is a province in eastern Turkey. It is 8,196 km² in area, and has a population of 406,886 . The population was 453,654 in 2000. The provincial capital is the city of Muş...
, Ağrı
Agri Province
The Ağrı Province is a province in eastern Turkey, bordering Iran to the east, Kars to the North, Erzurum to the Northwest, Muş and Bitlis to the Southwest, Van to the south, and Iğdır to the northeast. Area 11,376 km². Population 542,022 ....
, Adıyaman
Adiyaman Province
Adıyaman Province is a province in south-central Turkey. The province was created in 1954 out of part of Malatya Province. Area 7,614 km². Population 590,935 , up from 513,131 in 1990. The capital is Adıyaman....
, Diyarbakır
Diyarbakir Province
Diyarbakır Province is a province in eastern Turkey. The province covers an area of 15,355 km² and the population is 1,528,958. The provincial capital is Diyarbakir...
, Siirt
Siirt Province
Siirt Province is a province of Turkey, located in the southeast. The province borders Bitlis to the north, Batman to the west, Mardin to the southwest, Şırnak to the south, and Van to the east. It has an area of 5,406 km² and a total population of 300,695...
, Bitlis
Bitlis Province
Bitlis Province is a province of eastern Turkey, located to the west of Lake Van.-History:Bitlis was formed as an administrative district in the 17th Century...
, Van
Van Province
Van Province is a province in eastern Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. It is 19,069 km2 in area and had a population of 1,035,418 at the end of 2010....
, Şanlıurfa aka Urfa
Sanliurfa Province
Şanlıurfa Province or simply Urfa Province is a province in Southeast Anatolia, Turkey. The city of Şanlıurfa is the capital of the province which bears its name. The population is 1,663,371 ....
, Mardin
Mardin Province
Mardin Province is a province of Turkey with a population of 744,606. The population was 835,173 in 2000. The capital of the Mardin Province is Mardin...
and Hakkâri or Çolamerik
Hakkari Province
Hakkâri Province is a province in the south east corner of Turkey. The administrative centre is located in the city of Hakkâri . The province covers an area of 7,121 km² and has a population of 251,302 . The province had a population of 236,581 in 2000.The province was created in 1936 out of...
, stressing at the same time that "the imprecise limits of the frontiers of Kurdistan hardly allow an exact appreciation of the area."
In Turkey, the 17 provinces of ancient Kurdistan covered around 190,000 km². Since 1987, four new provinces - Şırnak
Şırnak Province
The Şırnak Province is a Turkish province in southeastern Anatolia. It has a population of 430,109 . The population was 353,197 in 2000....
, Batman
Batman Province
Batman Province is a Turkish province southeast of Anatolia. The province's population exceeded 500,000 in 2010.The province is important because of its reserves and production of oil which was started in the 1940s. There is a 494-km long oil pipeline from Batman to the Turkish port of İskenderun....
, Iğdır
Igdir Province
Iğdır Province is a province in eastern Turkey, located along the border with Armenia, Azerbaijan , and Iran. Its adjacent provinces are Kars to the northwest and Ağrı to the west and south...
and Ardahan
Ardahan Province
Ardahan Province is a province in the far north-east of Turkey, at the very end of the country, where Turkey borders with Georgia . The provincial capital is the city of Ardahan.- Geography :...
- have been created inside the Turkish administrative system
Provinces of Turkey
Turkey is divided into 81 provinces, called il in Turkish .A province is administered by an appointed governor , and was formerly termed a "governorate" ....
out of the territory of some of these provinces. The region has no unified administrative identity and the Turkish state rejects the use of the term "Kurdistan" to describe it. In addition to the provinces already mentioned, the region forms part of the wider geographic subdivisions of Southeastern Anatolia Region (Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgesi) and Eastern Anatolia Region (Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi).
The region forms the south-eastern edge of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. It is dominated by high peaks rising to over 3,700m (12,000 ft) and arid mountain plateaux, forming part of the arc of the Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
. It has an extreme continental climate
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
— hot in the summer, bitterly cold in the winter. Despite this, much of the region is fertile and has traditionally exported grain and livestock to the cities in the plains. The local economy is dominated by animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
and small-scale agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, with cross-border smuggling (especially of petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
) providing a major source of income in the border areas. Larger-scale agriculture and industrial activities dominate the economic life of the lower-lying region around Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
, the largest Kurdish-populated city in the region. Elsewhere, however, decades of conflict and high unemployment has led to extensive migration from the region to other parts of Turkey and abroad.
History
During the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the Kurdish-inhabited regions of the Middle East came under the rule of local Kurdish chieftains, though they never established a unified nation state. During 10th and 11th centuries, the region was ruled by the Kurdish dynasty of Marwanid
Marwanid
Marwanid, , was a Kurdish dynasty in Northern Mesopotamia and Armenia, centered around the city of Amed . Other cities under rule were Arzan, Mayyāfāriqīn , Hisn Kayfa , Khilāṭ, Manzikart, Arjish. The founder of the dynasty was a Kurdish shepherd, Abu Shujā Bādh bin Dustak...
. From the 14th century onwards the region was mostly incorporated into the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
Kurdish Principalities of the Region
A tax register (or defter) dating back to 1527, mentions an area called vilayet-i Kurdistan, which included 7 major and 11 minor emirates (or principalities). The document refers to Kurdish emirates as eyalet(state), an indication of the autonomy enjoyed by these principalities. In a ferman (imperial decree) issued by Suleiman I, around 1533, he outlines the rules of inheritance and succession among Kurdistan beys i.e. Kurdish nobility. Hereditary succession was granted to Kurdish emirates loyal to the Ottomans, and Kurdish princes were granted autonomy within the Empire. The degree of autonomy of these emirates varied greatly and depended on their geo-political significance. The weak Kurdish tribes were forced to join stronger ones or become a part of Ottoman sancaks (or sanjak). However the powerful and less accessible tribes, particularly those close to the Iranian border, enjoyed high degrees of autonomy. According to a kanunname(book of law) mentioned by Evliya ÇelebiEvliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi was an Ottoman traveler who journeyed through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years.- Life :...
, there were two adiministrative units different than regular sanjaks: 1) Kurdish sancaks (Ekrad Beyliği), characterized by hereditary rule of the Kurdish nobility and 2) Kurdish governments (hükümet). The Kurdish sanjaks like ordinary sanjaks, had some military obligations and had to pay some taxes. On the other hand, the Kurdish hükümet neither pay taxes nor provided troops for the Ottoman Army. The Ottomans preferred not to interfere in their succession and internal affairs. As Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi was an Ottoman traveler who journeyed through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years.- Life :...
has reported, by the mid-17th century the autonomy of Kurdish emirates had diminished. At his time, out of 19 sancaks of Diyarbakir, 12 were regular Ottoman sanjaks, and the remaining were referred to as Kurdish sanjaks. Kurdish sanjaks were reported as Sagman, Kulp, Mihraniye, Tercil, Atak, Pertek, Çapakçur and Çermik. He also reported the Kurdish states or hükümets as Cezire, Egil, Genç, Palu and Hazo. In the late 18th and early 19th century, with the decline of Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, the Kurdish principalities became practically independent.
Modern history
The OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
government began to assert its authority in the region in the early 19th century. Concerned with independent-mindedness of Kurdish principalities, Ottomans sought to curb their influence and bring them under the control of central government in Istanbul. However, removal from power of these hereditary principalities, led to more instability in the region from 1840s onwards. In their place, sufi sheiks and religious orders rose to prominence and spread their influence throughout the region. One of the prominent Sufi leaders was Shaikh Ubaidalla Nahri, who began a revolt in the region between Lakes Van
Lake Van
Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country in Van district. It is a saline and soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world's largest endorheic lakes . The original outlet from...
and Urmia
Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia , ancient name: Lake Matiene) is a salt lake in northwestern Iran, near Iran's border with Turkey. The lake is between the Iranian provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea...
. The area under his control covered both Ottoman and Qajar territories. Shaikh Ubaidalla is regarded as one of the earliest leaders who pursued modern nationalist ideas among Kurds. In a letter to a British Vice-Consul, he declared: the Kurdish nation is a people apart . . . we want our affairs to be in our hands'.'
The breakup of the Ottoman Empire after its defeat in the First World War led to its dismemberment and establishment of the present-day political boundaries, dividing the Kurdish-inhabited regions between several newly-created states. The establishment and enforcement of the new borders had profound effects for the Kurds, who had to abandon their traditional nomadism for village life and settled farming.
Conflict and controversy
The incorporation into Turkey of the Kurdish-inhabited regions of eastern AnatoliaAnatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
was opposed by many Kurds, and has resulted in a long-running separatist conflict in which thousands of lives have been lost. The region saw several major Kurdish rebellions during the 1920s and 1930s. These were forcefully put down by the Turkish authorities and the region was declared a closed military area from which foreigners were banned between 1925 and 1965. The use of Kurdish language was outlawed, the words Kurds and Kurdistan were erased from dictionaries and history books, and the Kurds were only referred to as Mountain Turks.
In 1983, a number of provinces were placed under martial law in response to the activities of the militant separatist Kurdistan Workers Party
Kurdistan Workers Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
(PKK). A guerrilla war took place through the rest of the 1980s and into the 1990s. By 1993 the total number of security forces involved in the struggle in southeastern Turkey was about 200,000, and the conflict had become the largest civil war in the Middle East. in which much of the countryside was evacuated, thousands of Kurdish-populated villages were destroyed and numerous extra judicial summary executions were carried out by both sides. More than 37,000 people were killed in the violence and hundreds of thousands more were forced to leave their homes. The situation in the region has since eased following the capture of the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan , Kurdish founder of the terrorist organization called Kurdistan Workers' Party in 1978.Öcalan was captured in Nairobi and extradited to the Turkish security force, and sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed gangs...
in 1999 and the introduction of a greater degree of official tolerance for Kurdish cultural activities, encouraged by the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. However, some political violence is still ongoing and the Turkish-Iraqi border region remains tense.
External links
- Maps of Kurdish Regions by GlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...
- Map of Kurdish Population Distribution by GlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...
