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Masoud Barzani (Kurdish: Mesud Barzanî; born 16 August 1946) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who has been President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region since 2005, as well as leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979.<br/><br/> Masoud Barzani succeeded his father, the Kurdish nationalist leader Mustafa Barzani, as the leader of the KDP in 1979. Working closely with his brother Idris Barzani until Idriss' death, Barzani and various other Kurdish groups fought Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq War. For much of this time, the Kurdish leadership was exiled to Iran.
Abdullah Ocalan is one of the founding members of the militant organization the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in 1978, which is listed as a terrorist organization internationally by some states and organizations, including NATO, the United States and the European Union.<br/><br/>Öcalan was arrested in 1999 by the CIA and Turkish security forces in Nairobi and taken to Turkey, where he was sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed gangs. The sentence was commuted to aggravated life imprisonment when Turkey abolished the death penalty in support of its bid to be admitted to membership in the European Union. <br/><br/> From 1999 until 2009, he was the sole prisoner on İmralı island, in the Sea of Marmara. Ocalan has acknowledged the violent nature of the PKK, but says that the period of armed warfare was over and that a political solution to the Kurdish question should be developed. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has resulted in over 40,000 deaths, including PKK members, the Turkish military, and civilians, both Kurdish and Turkish.
The Jews of Kurdistan are the ancient Eastern Jewish communities inhabiting the region known as Kurdistan in northern Mesopotamia, roughly covering parts of northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey.<br/><br/> Their clothing and culture is similar to neighbouring Kurdish Muslims and Assyrians. Until their immigration to Israel in the 1940s and early 1950s, the Jews of Kurdistan lived as closed ethnic communities. The Jews of Kurdistan largely spoke Aramaic as a lingua franca, with some additionally speaking Kurdish dialects, in particular the Kurmanji dialect in Iraqi Kurdistan.<br/><br/> Today, the large majority of the Jews of Kurdistan and their descendants live in Israel.
The Kurds are an ethnic Iranian group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of modern-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, a geo-cultural region often referred to as 'Kurdistan'. The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and, as a result, are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages.<br/><br/> The Kurds number about 40 million, the majority living in West Asia, including significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey outside of Kurdistan. A recent Kurdish diaspora has developed in Western countries, primarily in Germany. The Kurds are in the majority in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and in the autonomous region of Syrian Kurdistan and are a significant minority group in the neighboring countries Turkey and Iran, where Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue autonomy.
The Kurds are an ethnic Iranian group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of modern-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, a geo-cultural region often referred to as 'Kurdistan'. The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and, as a result, are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages.<br/><br/> The Kurds number about 40 million, the majority living in West Asia, including significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey outside of Kurdistan. A recent Kurdish diaspora has developed in Western countries, primarily in Germany. The Kurds are in the majority in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and in the autonomous region of Syrian Kurdistan and are a significant minority group in the neighboring countries Turkey and Iran, where Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue autonomy.
The Kurds are an ethnic Iranian group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of modern-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, a geo-cultural region often referred to as 'Kurdistan'. The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and, as a result, are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages.<br/><br/> The Kurds number about 40 million, the majority living in West Asia, including significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey outside of Kurdistan. A recent Kurdish diaspora has developed in Western countries, primarily in Germany. The Kurds are in the majority in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and in the autonomous region of Syrian Kurdistan and are a significant minority group in the neighboring countries Turkey and Iran, where Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue autonomy.
The Kurds are an ethnic Iranian group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of modern-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, a geo-cultural region often referred to as 'Kurdistan'. The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and, as a result, are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages.<br/><br/> The Yazidis are a Kurdish religious community whose syncretic but ancient religion Yazidism is linked to Zoroastrianism and ancient Mesopotamian religions.They live primarily in the Nineveh Province of Iraq. Additional communities in Armenia, Georgia, and Syria have been in decline since the 1990s as a result of significant migration to Europe, especially to Germany. In Armenia, the Yazidis are recognized as a national group.
The Kurds are an ethnic Iranian group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of modern-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, a geo-cultural region often referred to as 'Kurdistan'. The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and, as a result, are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages.<br/><br/> The Kurds number about 40 million, the majority living in West Asia, including significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey outside of Kurdistan. A recent Kurdish diaspora has developed in Western countries, primarily in Germany. The Kurds are in the majority in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and in the autonomous region of Syrian Kurdistan and are a significant minority group in the neighboring countries Turkey and Iran, where Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue autonomy.
Masoud Barzani (Kurdish: Mesud Barzanî; born 16 August 1946) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who has been President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region since 2005, as well as leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979.<br/><br/> Masoud Barzani succeeded his father, the Kurdish nationalist leader Mustafa Barzani, as the leader of the KDP in 1979. Working closely with his brother Idris Barzani until Idris' death, Barzani and various other Kurdish groups fought Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq War. For much of this time, the Kurdish leadership was exiled to Iran.
The Flag of Kurdistan, also called Alaya Rengin ('The Colorful Flag') first appeared during the movement for Kurdish independence from the Ottoman Empire.<br/><br/> Consisting of a tricolor of red, white, and green horizontal bands with a yellow sun disk of 21 rays at its center, it is currently the official flag of the autonomous Kurdistan Region in Iraq, which is under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Mustafa Barzani (March 14, 1903 – March 1, 1979), also known as Mullah Mustafa was a Kurdish nationalist leader, and the most prominent political figure in modern Kurdish politics. In 1946, he was chosen as the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to lead the Kurdish revolution against Iraqi regimes.<br/><br/> Barzani was the primary political and military leader of the Kurdish revolution until his death in March 1979. He led campaigns of armed struggle against both the Iraqi and Iranian governments.
Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji (Kurdish: Mahmud Barzinji (1878 – October 9, 1956) was the leader of a series of Kurdish uprisings against the British Mandate of Iraq.<br/><br/> He was sheikh of a Qadiriyah Sufi family of the Barzanji clan from the city of Sulaymaniyah, which is now in Iraqi Kurdistan. He was styled King of Kurdistan during several of these uprisings.
Abdullah Ocalan is one of the founding members of the militant organization the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in 1978, which is listed as a terrorist organization internationally by some states and organizations, including NATO, the United States and the European Union.<br/><br/>Öcalan was arrested in 1999 by the CIA and Turkish security forces in Nairobi and taken to Turkey, where he was sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed gangs. The sentence was commuted to aggravated life imprisonment when Turkey abolished the death penalty in support of its bid to be admitted to membership in the European Union. <br/><br/> From 1999 until 2009, he was the sole prisoner on İmralı island, in the Sea of Marmara. Ocalan has acknowledged the violent nature of the PKK, but says that the period of armed warfare was over and that a political solution to the Kurdish question should be developed. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has resulted in over 40,000 deaths, including PKK members, the Turkish military, and civilians, both Kurdish and Turkish.
The Kurds are an ethnic Iranian group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of modern-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, a geo-cultural region often referred to as 'Kurdistan'. The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and, as a result, are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages.<br/><br/> The Kurds number about 40 million, the majority living in West Asia, including significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey outside of Kurdistan. A recent Kurdish diaspora has developed in Western countries, primarily in Germany. The Kurds are in the majority in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and in the autonomous region of Syrian Kurdistan and are a significant minority group in the neighboring countries Turkey and Iran, where Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue autonomy.
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (Kurdish: Parti Demokiratî Kurdistani Eran‎), abbreviated as PDKI or KDPI is a Kurdish political party in Iranian Kurdistan which seeks the attainment of Kurdish national rights within a democratic federal republic of Iran.
Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji (Kurdish: Mahmud Barzinji (1878 – October 9, 1956) was the leader of a series of Kurdish uprisings against the British Mandate of Iraq.<br/><br/> He was sheikh of a Qadiriyah Sufi family of the Barzanji clan from the city of Sulaymaniyah, which is now in Iraqi Kurdistan. He was styled King of Kurdistan during several of these uprisings.
Rojava or Western Kurdistan (Kurdish: Rojavaye Kurdistane) is a de facto autonomous region in northern and north-eastern Syria. Rojava consists of the three non-contiguous cantons of Afrin, Jazira and Kobani. Rojava is not officially recognized as autonomous by the government of Syria and as of 2015 was at war with Daesh, ISIS or the 'Islamic State'.<br/><br/> Kurds consider Rojava to be one of the four parts of a greater Kurdistan, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), and western Iran (Eastern Kurdistan).
Idris Barzani (1944 – January 31, 1987) was a Kurdish politician in Iraqi Kurdistan. He was the brother of Massoud Barzani, a well-known Kurdish figure, and the father of Nechervan Idris Barzani.<br/><br/> He was often sent on diplomatic missions for the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP). He died on January 31, 1987, of a heart attack.
Mustafa Barzani (March 14, 1903 – March 1, 1979), also known as Mullah Mustafa was a Kurdish nationalist leader, and the most prominent political figure in modern Kurdish politics. In 1946, he was chosen as the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to lead the Kurdish revolution against Iraqi regimes.<br/><br/> Barzani was the primary political and military leader of the Kurdish revolution until his death in March 1979. He led campaigns of armed struggle against both the Iraqi and Iranian governments.
Rojava or Western Kurdistan (Kurdish: Rojavaye Kurdistane) is a de facto autonomous region in northern and north-eastern Syria. Rojava consists of the three non-contiguous cantons of Afrin, Jazira and Kobani. Rojava is not officially recognized as autonomous by the government of Syria and as of 2015 was at war with Daesh, ISIS or the 'Islamic State'.<br/><br/> Kurds consider Rojava to be one of the four parts of a greater Kurdistan, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), and western Iran (Eastern Kurdistan).
The Kurds are an ethnic Iranian group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of modern-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, a geo-cultural region often referred to as 'Kurdistan'. The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and, as a result, are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages.<br/><br/> The Kurds number about 40 million, the majority living in West Asia, including significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey outside of Kurdistan. A recent Kurdish diaspora has developed in Western countries, primarily in Germany. The Kurds are in the majority in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and in the autonomous region of Syrian Kurdistan and are a significant minority group in the neighboring countries Turkey and Iran, where Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue autonomy.
Rojava or Western Kurdistan (Kurdish: Rojavaye Kurdistane) is a de facto autonomous region in northern and north-eastern Syria. Rojava consists of the three non-contiguous cantons of Afrin, Jazira and Kobani. Rojava is not officially recognized as autonomous by the government of Syria and as of 2015 was at war with Daesh, ISIS or the 'Islamic State'.<br/><br/> The YPG (Yekineyen Parastina Gel or 'People's Protections Units') are the armed wing of the Kurdish autonomous movement in Rojava; the YPJ (Yekineyen Parastina Jine or 'Women's Protection Units') is the female armed wing of the Kurdish Autonomous movement in Rojava.
Mustafa Barzani (March 14, 1903 – March 1, 1979), also known as Mullah Mustafa was a Kurdish nationalist leader, and the most prominent political figure in modern Kurdish politics. In 1946, he was chosen as the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to lead the Kurdish revolution against Iraqi regimes.<br/><br/> Barzani was the primary political and military leader of the Kurdish revolution until his death in March 1979. He led campaigns of armed struggle against both the Iraqi and Iranian governments.
Shaykh Adi ibn Musafir al-Umawi (Kurd, died 1162), a descendant of Umayyad Caliph Marwan ibn al-Hakam, was born in the 1070s in the Beqaa Valley of present-day Lebanon. Adi is said to have been born in the village of Bait Far, near Baalbek, where the house of his birth was in and is still the place of pious pilgrimage.<br/><br/> The Yazidi consider him an Avatar of Tawuse Melek, the 'Peacock Angel'. His tomb at Lalish, Iraq is a focal point of Yazidi pilgrimage.<br/><br/> The Yazidis are a Kurdish religious community whose syncretic but ancient religion Yazidism is linked to Zoroastrianism and ancient Mesopotamian religions.They live primarily in the Nineveh Province of Iraq. Additional communities in Armenia, Georgia, and Syria have been in decline since the 1990s as a result of significant migration to Europe, especially to Germany. In Armenia, the Yazidis are recognized as a national group.
Shiviti are meditative representations of a menorah candlestick used in some Jewish communities for contemplation over God's name. They are usually placed over the <i>amud</i> - the podium from which the prayer service is led by the <i>hazzan</i>.<br/><br/> The Jews of Kurdistan are the ancient Eastern Jewish communities inhabiting the region known as Kurdistan in northern Mesopotamia, roughly covering parts of northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey.<br/><br/> Their clothing and culture is similar to neighbouring Kurdish Muslims and Assyrians. Until their immigration to Israel in the 1940s and early 1950s, the Jews of Kurdistan lived as closed ethnic communities. The Jews of Kurdistan largely spoke Aramaic as a lingua franca, with some additionally speaking Kurdish dialects, in particular the Kurmanji dialect in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Armenian Genocide refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was implemented through wholesale massacres and deportations, with the deportations consisting of forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees. The total number of resulting Armenian deaths is generally held to have been between one and one and a half million. <br/><br/> Other ethnic groups were similarly attacked by the Ottoman Empire during this period, including Assyrians and Greeks, and some scholars consider those events to be part of the same policy of extermination. <br/><br/> It is widely acknowledged to have been one of the first modern genocides, as scholars point to the systematic, organized manner in which the killings were carried out to eliminate the Armenians, and it is the second most-studied case of genocide after the Holocaust. The word genocide was coined in order to describe these events.
Kurdistan or 'Land of the Kurds' is a roughly defined geo-cultural region wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population, and Kurdish culture, language, and national identity have historically been based.<br/><br/> Contemporary use of Kurdistan refers to parts of eastern Turkey (Turkish Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Iranian Kurdistan) and northern Syria inhabited mainly by Kurds. Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges, and covers small portions of Armenia.<br/><br/> Iraqi Kurdistan first gained autonomous status in a 1970 agreement with the Iraqi government and its status was re-confirmed as an autonomous entity within the federal Iraqi republic in 2005. There is also a province by the name Kurdistan in Iran, although it does not enjoy self-rule.<br/><br/> Some Kurdish nationalist organizations seek to create an independent nation state of Kurdistan, consisting of some or all of the areas with Kurdish majority, while others campaign for greater Kurdish autonomy within the existing national boundaries.
From 'Les Costumes Populaires De La Turquie' (1873). A collection of photographs by the famous photographer Pascal Sebah on the occasion of the universal exposition in Vienna in 1873.<br/><br/> The album represents the costumes of the different regions, and ethnic and religious groups of the Ottoman Empire. On the right is a Kurd from Aljazeera (Iraq). Center, a Kurd of Mardin (Syria). On the left is a shepherd from the province of Diyarbakir (Turkey).
The Hamidiye corps, full official name Hamidiye hafif süvari alayları, Hamidiye light cavalry regiments, were well-armed, irregular Sunni Kurdish, Turkish, Turkmen and Yörük, also Arab cavalry formations that operated in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire.<br/><br/> Established by and named after Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1891, they were intended to be modeled after the Russian Cossacks and were supposedly tasked to patrol the Russo-Ottoman frontier. However, the Hamidiye were more often used by the Ottoman authorities to harass and assault Armenians living in Turkish Armenia.<br/><br/> A major role in the Armenian massacres of 1894-96 has been often ascribed to the Hamidiye regiments, particularly during the bloody suppression of the revolt of the Armenians of Sasun (1894).
Jalal Talabani (Kurdish: Celal Tallebani, born 12 November 1933) is a leading Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the sixth President of Iraq from 2005 to 2014.<br/><br/> Talabani is the founder and has been secretary general of one of the main Kurdish political parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). He was a prominent member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council, which was established following the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime by the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Talabani has been an advocate for Kurdish rights and democracy in Iraq for more than 50 years.<br/><br/> Apart from his native Kurdish, Talabani is fluent in Arabic, Persian, and English. Talabani is a member of the Socialist International.
Masoud Barzani (Kurdish: Mesud Barzanî; born 16 August 1946) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who has been President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region since 2005, as well as leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979.<br/><br/> Masoud Barzani succeeded his father, the Kurdish nationalist leader Mustafa Barzani, as the leader of the KDP in 1979. Working closely with his brother Idris Barzani until Idris' death, Barzani and various other Kurdish groups fought Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq War. For much of this time, the Kurdish leadership was exiled to Iran.