The Kurdish History Timeline: This timeline provides a brief look of the history the Kurds and of the region in the Middle East inhabited by Kurdish people today. The history goes as far back as 8000 years and ancient references to the variety of peoples or tribes that once lived across Kurdistan give today's researchers a clue about where Kurdish ancestry lies.

| 6300 BC - AD 224 -to - AD 650 - 1923 - to - 1931 - 1975 - to - 1978 - 1991 - to - 1992 - 2004 - to - 2005 |

6300 BC:
Evidence dating back to 6300 BC shows that several ancient tribes once inhabited territories within the boundaries of the modern-day geographical region of Kurdistan and evidence in the various names given to the tribes suggests they are ancestors modern Kurds.

Ancient tribes in the region consisted of the Hurrians, Guti (Kardaka/Qardu/Lullubi), Subari, Kassites, Mani and Nairi. Historical references indicate some tribes were also followers of cult-like religions, which are possible predecessors to the religions of Yezidism, Yarsan, and Alevism practiced by modern Kurds.

4000 BC:
The first Hurrian kingdom, Urkesh, is established at the heart of Khabur river valley at the southern and southwestern parts of the modern-day geographical region of Kurdistan.

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

2183 BC:
The Gutians from the central Zagros mountains in the modern-day geographical region of Kurdistan defeat the Akkadian army and establish a dynasty. The capital of Gutium is established at Arraphkha, in present-day Kirkuk.

1725 BC:
The Amoritic-Hurrian kingdom, Yamhad, at the modern-day area of Aleppo begins disputing with the Hittities for the territories in the northern part of the modern-day geographical region of Kurdistan.

1500 BC:
A legendary Hurrian king, known only as Kirta, establishes the Kingdom of Mitanni near the Khabur river valley and begins expanding his kingdom and reclaiming former Hurrian territories.

1475 BC:
The Kassites from the Zagros Mountains in the modern-day geographical region of Kurdistan expand south and conquer the southern part of the kingdom of Babylon. The ancient Hittites conquer the northern part of the kingdom.

Kirta's Kingdom of Mitanni expands considerably from the Mediterranean coasts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, to the areas between the modern-day cities of Van and Orumieh, and southward into former ancient Assyrian territories in present-day Iraq. Mitanni becomes one of the most powerful kingdoms in the region and becomes very culturally influential in the region.

1480 BC:
The son of Kirta, Shuttarna I, assumes control of the Kingdom of Mitanni after Kirta dies, and the second son of Kirta, Parshatatar, takes over some time afterwards. A number of other kings success Parshatatar in the following decades.

1380 BC:
Shuttarna II takes over the Kingdom of Mitanni, and the Kingdom of Mitanni reaches its height in power and prosperity.

1350 BC:
The next king of Mitanni, Shuttarna III, faces considerable pressure from other expanding civilizations. Shuttarna III seeks support from the Assyrians but Mitanni is eventually defeated by the Hittites and the territory is annexed by the Hittites. Mitanni becomes vassal of the Hittite Empire and Kurtiwaza, a Hurrian, is installed as king.

1120 BC:
Remnant tribes of the Gutium are referred to as the Lullubi - which means highlanders in Aramaic - as well as the Qardu - whose name is claimed by scholars to be an ancient form the modern-day Kurd - come into confrontation with Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon and Tiglath-Pileser I of Assyria when the two empires begin expanding their territories. The lands of the Lullubi and Qardu, believed to be situated near modern-day Sulaymaniyah, eventually fall to Assyrian control.

1000 BC:
The Indo-European Medes and Persians begin migrating in very large numbers to the eastern flanks of the Zagros mountains.

745 BC:
After a period of weakness, the Assyrian Empire reasserts dominance and expands its territory into the highlands and the empire stretches as far and wide as the former Kingdom of Mitanni at its height of power. Assyria eventually conquers the former Gutium/Lullubi/Qarda lands and annexes Babylonia shortly afterwards as well.

671 BC:
The Assyrian Empire expands and dominates the Zagros mountains.

627 BC:
Weakened by internal strife, the Assyrian Empire falls to massive revolts by the Medes and the Babylonians.

612 BC:
Deioces establishes the Medya, or the Median Kingdom, and becomes the king with Ecbatana or modern-day Hamadan as its capital. Zoroastrianism becomes the kingdom's official religion and Magi priests are given special status in the kingdom.

625 BC:
Cyaxares, the grandon of Deioces, assumes control of Medya and begins uniting many of the ancient tribes west of Ecbatana to consolidate his power. Babylonian sources during this time refer to the Medes and the other ancient tribes in Zagros that are absorbed by Medya as the Qardu - believed to be an ancient form of the modern-day Kurd.

Cyaxares establishes and expands the Median Empire. The Median Empire stretches as far east into Persia and to the steps of modern-day China and as far west as modern-day central Anatolia.

589 BC:
Astyages, the son of Cyaxares, takes over the Median Empire. The empire experiences stability and the Zoroastrian religion is promoted and grows throughout the empire. The Magi priests have considerable influence over Astyages.

550 BC:
A revolt is orchestrated by Astyages' grandson, Cyrus the Great, and a Median general, Harpagus, who are both disatisfied with Astyages' policies and the considerable Magi influence in the empire. The revolt leads to the fall of the Median Empire.

549 BC:
Cyrus the Great takes over Medya and Persia, and establishes the Achaemenid Empire, later referred to as the Persian Empire by Western sources. Cyrus the Great introduces the first human rights charter in world history and promotes religious freedom throughout his empire.

530 BC:
Cyrus the Great dies and his son, Cambyses II, inherits the empire.

522 BC:
A conspiracy against Cambyses II unfolds and Cambyses II is assassinated by an assailant posing as his brother. During the turmoil, Darius, a Persian spearman who was close to Cambyses II, leads an assassination plan with six other nobles and is declared the new emporer shortly afterwards. He takes control of the armies and begins suppressing revolts throughout the empire.

401 BC:
Artaxerxes II is the third ruler of the the Achaemenid Empire after Darius and his throne is challenged by his brother, Cyrus the Younger. Cyrus the Younger hires Greek mercenary units known as the Ten Thousand in an attempt to wrest the throne from his brother.

The battles wage across the region referenced by ancient sources as Corduene or Gordyene in the highlands just south of Lake Van in the modern-day geographical region of Kurdistan. The name Corduene is believed by scholars to be related to the name of the Kurds.

331 BC:
Alexander the Great of Greek Macedon attacks the Achaemenid Empire that is now under Darius III and annexes it to his rapidly expanding Macedonian Empire.

312 BC:
The Greek Seleucid Empire is carved out of the remnants of the former Macedonian Empire and includes Medya.

220 BC:
A revolt against King Antiochus III of the Seleucid Empire is initiated by a Median satrap Molon. Molon incorporates an army of Cyrtii - a latinized ancient form of the word Kurdi - in Medya who are skilled slingers to fight against the Seleucid Empire. This also becomes the first time the name is written in Western sources. However, the uprising fails to overthrow the Seleucid monarchy.

100 BC:
The Kurdish royal house of Adiabene situated in the city of Erbil is converted to Judaism and an already established minority community of Jewish Kurds grows.

83 BC:
The Armenians under Tigranes the Great expand south and conquer whats left of the Seleucid territories, including Corduene.

65 BC:
Tigranes the Great and the Persian Parthian king, Phraates, have a dispute over Corduene. Phraates eventually takes Corduene and annexes it to the Parthian Empire. As Tigranes the Great had become weakened, the Parthian Empire's battles were mainly with the Romans in the following centuries.

AD 224:
A Persian ruler, Ardashir I, leads a revolt against the last Pathian ruler, Artabanus IV, and establishes the Sasanid Empire, which rules until AD 642. Kurdish tribes provide significant military assistance against the constant threats by the Romans as well as Khazars and other Turkic nomads in the northern territories of the empire.

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

1000:
The Persian poet Ferdowsi writes the Iranian national epic, 'Shahnameh' ('Book of Kings'), which includes Persian mythical and historical tales but also marks the first time that mythical and historical tales of the Kurds are written. The oral Kurdish stories of Kawa the Blacksmith who liberated Medya from Assyrian rule, and of hero and dragonslayer Rostam, are included in Shahnameh.

1141:
The Turko-Persian Seljuq Empire expands territory under the rule of Ahmad Sanjar. The name Kurdistan is used for a political entity for the first time in history by the Seljuqs for a province centered near Medya's capital, Ecbatana, or the modern-day city of Hamadan.

1162:
Sheikh Adi ibn Mustafa, a Sufi who has signficant influence on the ancient Kurdish Yezidi religion, is buried at the holy Yezidi valley of Lalish in Kurdistan where Yezidis make their pilgramages. Sheikh Adi is believed by Yezidis to be a reincarnation of an angel that is central to their faith.

1168:
Kurdish warrior, Saladin, establishes and becomes the Sultan of a Kurdish Sunni Empire known as the Ayyubid Dynasty that eventually stretches from Egypt to Syria. Saladin also conquers parts of Diyarbakir, which remain in Ayyubid control until the Mongolians arrive a century later.

1187:
Saladin defeats the Crusaders and reclaims Jerusalem and grants amnesty and free passage to non-Muslims including the Christian army. Saladin's army successfully defeats the Crusaders of King Richard "the Lionheart" in the Third Crusade some years later. Saladin's dynasty ushers in an era of economic prosperity.

1193:
Saladin dies.

1200:
Saladin's brother, Al-Adil I (Sayf al-Din), assumes full control of the empire. He maintains good relations with Crusader states until 1217.

1218:
Al-Adil's son, Al-Kamil, assumes control of Cairo in 1218 and becomes the leader of the empire, and his brother, al-Mu'azzam, claims the thrown of Damascus. The Kurdish Ayyubids offer to negotiate with the Crusaders who refuse, and eventually defeat the Fifth Crusade.

1227:
Al-Kamil loses control of territories over the next ten years. Frederick II launches the Sixth Crusade during an ongoing strife between Al-Kamil and the Kurdish Ayyubids of Syria and Palestine. Al-Kamil negotiated a ten-year peace treaty with Frederick II.

1240:
As-Salih Ayyub takes control of Egypt and divisions ensue among the Kurdish Ayyubids and other Islamic groups.

1249:
Louis IX of France launches the Seventh Crusade in an attempt to capture Egypt. As-Salih Ayyub dies the same year, and his wife, Shajar al-Durr, assumes control of the Egyptian forces. She defeats the Crusaders with the help of the Turkic Bahri Mamluks.

1250:
As-Salih Ayyub's son, Turanshah, is proclaimed the new Ayyubid sultan. He is killed by the Mamluks during a revolt against him. Mamluk general, Aybak, becomes the new sultan of Egypt ending Kurdish Ayyubid control. Aybak forges a short-lived alliance with the Crusaders against the last of the Kurdish Ayyubids but eventually signs a treaty that allows An-Nasir Yusuf, grandson of Saladin, to rule Syria.

1258:
The Ayyubids lose control of Diyarbakir to the Mongolian invasions, and lose control of Syria next, officially ending the Kurdish Ayyubid's rule. An-Nasir Yusuf is killed.

1390:
Sultan Sahak has signficant influence of Kurdish followers of a cult-like religious faith and plays an important role in a new manisfestation of the religion called Yarsan or Ahl-i-haqq. Sahak is believed by Kakeyis - or Yarsan followers - to be a reincarnation of the divine. The religious expands among Kurds in southeastern parts of the modern-day geographical region of Kurdistan.

1400:
Another cult-like religious faith, Alevism, increases its number of followers among Kurds. The faith is centered around Imam Ali, cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who is believed by Alevis to be an important avatar of God.

1453:
The Eastern Roman Empire falls after the Turkic Ottomans conquer Constantinople and expand their empire into the territory.

1514:
Sultan Selim expands the Ottoman Empire and annexes Kurdish regions in the north and southwestern parts of the modern-day geographical of Kurdistan from Persia, while the remainder remains under Persian control.

1516:
Alevis are exposed to state massacres by the Ottomans.

1597:
The Kurdish poet, Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi, writes the first Kurdish history book, 'Sharafnameh' ('Book of Nobles'), in Persian in which he describes Kurdish ancestry in detail.

1609:
A Kurdish noble, Amir Khan Lepzerin, seeks independence for his expanding Kurdish principality and refuses orders from Shah Abbas I, monarch of the Persian Safavid Empire, to pledge allegiance to his war against the Ottomans.

The Battle of DimDim, named after the Kurdish fortress in the Biradost region around Lake Orumieh, takes place and after nearly one year of resistance, Amir Khan Lepzerin's principality is destroyed by the Safavid army. The Safavids execute the leaders and massacres the inhabitants of the region.

1640:
The Ottomans begin the first of twenty massacres against the Yezidis.

1692:
Kurdish poet, Ehmede Xani, writes a classic love story in Kurdish about Mem u Zin, considered the epopee of Kurdish literature.

1847:
Kurdish prince, Bedirxan Bey, the last prince of the Kurdish Emirate of Botan, begins a rebellion against the Ottomans who want to remove Cizre - a subdistrict of the Botan Emirate - from Botan and attach it to Mosul. The restructuring - or Tanzimat - is part of a general process to erode local Kurdish rulers' power, which Bedirxan opposes. Bedirxan's rebellion is suppressed by the Ottomans and he is removed from Botan and sent to Istanbul.

1850:
After increasing pressure on Yezidi communities in the Ottoman Empire, Yezidis begin migrating in large numbers to the Russian territories in the Caucasus.

1880:
An influential Kurdish landowner and head of the powerful Shemdinan family, Sheikh Sayyid Ubeydullah, calls for an uprising and receives vast support from the members of local Kurdish tribes. Sheikh Ubeydullah demands greater control in the region and demands recognition by the Ottomans of his authority as the ruler of Kurdistan and autonomy for Kurds. He accuses the Persian and Ottoman authorities of oppression against the Kurdish people.

The revolt results in the exile of Kurdish leaders to Istanbul.

1910:
Said Kurdi Nursi, a Kurdish Islamic scholar, begins the writing of what will become a six-thousand page interpretation of the Qu'ran and lays the foundation for the Nurcu movement - a modernist Islamic movement - that will attract Kurds and Turks through the middle of the century.

1918:
A Kurdish chieftan in Orumieh, Simko Shikak, revolts against Reza Shah in an attempt to exploit the weakness of the Persian government. Simko's rebellion fails and he is forced into hiding.

1919:
Kurdish leader, Sheikh Mahmoud Barzanji leads the first of several revolts against the British Mandate of Iraq from Southern Kurdistan. He begins raids against the occupying British forces in the region and declares himself the King of Kurdistan.

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.

Emin Ali Bedirxan, a Kurdish activist and son of the late Bedirxan Bey, presents a map of the modern-day geographical region of Kurdistan that includes parts of present-day Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, to the British High Commissioner in Istanbul. Emin Ali Bedirxan becomes a primary opponent of the Turkish Kemalist movement.

The British military begins using chemical weapons against Kurds and others in the British Mandate of Iraq in an attempt to suppress the uprisings.

1922:
Jaafar Sultan, a Kurdish chieftan in the Hewraman region, takes control of the Hewraman region between Marivan and Halabja. Sultan and his rebels fight a long battle against Reza Shah's army and the region eventually falls back to Persian control three years later.

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. Kurdish revolts are suppressed by Turkey and the Kurdish identity is denied and banned.

1924:
The British defeat Sheikh Mahmoud Barzanji's Kingdom of Kurdistan and sign Iraq over to the Arab King Faisal I. Sheikh Mahmoud is exiled.

1925:
A united Kurdish nationalistic revolt centered in Diyarbakir and Mardin against the Turks begins under the leadership of Sheikh Said Piran after he claimed that agreements with Turkish leader Kemal Mustafa Ataturk were violated. The rebellion is suppressed by the Turkish military.

1927:
Sheikh Said's brother, Sheikh Abdurrahman, launches a rebellion two years later in Malatya, Bingol, and Dogubayazit but he fails.

While in exile, Celadet Bedirxan - a Kurdish nationalist and son of the late Bedirxan Bey - forms the Xoybun Organization with another Kurdish nationalist, Memduh Selim, and Celadet becomes the organization's president.

Ihsan Nuri Pasha, a former Kurdish officer of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and the Kurdish nationalist Xoybun Organization initiate the Ararat Rebellion and successfully declare independence for the Kurdish Ararat Republic in present-day Dogubayazit.

1930:
Turkey destroys the Ararat Republic and takes control of the region. Ihsan Nuri goes to Tehran as a refugee where he later dies.

Kurdish chieftan and rebel, Simko Shikak, is found and executed. Reza Shah orders the deportation of hundreds of Kurdish chieftans from Persian territory and Kurdish lands are confiscated.

1931:
While in exile in Damascus, Celadet Bedirxan introduces the first Kurdish literary and patriotic publications - among them 'Hawar' - and also creates a Kurdish Latin alphabet system that will be used by many Kurdish publications and writers in the future.

1937:
Seyid Riza, an Alevi, launches the Dersim Rebellion in the present-day Tunceli province. The rebellion is suppressed and researchers later estimate that between 50,000 and 80,000 civilians were massacred by Turkish military forces.

1938:
The Turkish State places the Kurdish southeast of Turkey under martial law and begins an indefinite military occupation of the region. In the following decades, villages are destroyed and mass deportations are implemented against Kurdish populations in the region.

1941:
Allied troops enter Iran during World War I and the army of Iran (Persia became the nation-state of Iran in 1935) is dissolved. A son of a Kurdish chieftan, Hama Rashid, takes control of Sardasht, Baneh and Marivan, but he is driven out by Iranian forces three years later.

1946:
Kurdish nationalist, Qazi Mohammad, and his underground nationalist Council of Kurdish Resurrection - later renamed the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) - in the northern part of the Kurdistan region in Iran are able to successfully take advantage of the Soviet occupation of Iran and declare an independent Kurdish state.

The Kurdistan Republic of Mahabad is founded, Qazi Mohammad is declared president, and Haji Baba Sheikh is declared prime minister. Kurdish nationalist and chieftan, Mullah Mustafa Barzani, provides military assistance to the Mahabad Republic and establishes the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which would later focus almost exclusively on fighting for Kurdish independence from Iraq.

In the short period of the new Kurdish republic, the Kurds establish a parliamentary system, open a printing press, and open schools in the Kurdish language.

The nation-state of Syria is established and a Ba'ath Regime assumes power. The regime later denies citizenship to several hundreds of thousands of Kurds in Syria.

1947:
After agreements with the United States and Britain, the Soviets drop their support for the Kurds in Iran and the Shah invades the Kurdistan Republic. Knowing that their army would not stand a chance without Soviet support, Qazi Mohammad orders his general, Mustafa Barzani, to abandon the republic and take the Soviet offer for safe passageway into the Soviet Union.

The Shah orders members of the Kurdistan government, including Qazi Mohammad, to be arrested and executed on counts of treason. The Shah bans the teaching of the Kurdish language and history.

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

1969:
A primarily Kurdish Marxist political organization, Komala, is founded by Kurdish university students along with the help of a number of Iranian leftists.

1970:
The Iraqi regime agrees to some Kurdish autonomy over limited areas of Kurdistan in Iraq, excluding some territories that millions of Kurds inhabit. Consequently, negotations between the Iraqi regime and the KDP fail.

1973:
A Kurdish activist and poet, Cigerxwin, who is exiled after being jailed in Damascus for his activist work publishes a Kurdish poetry collection, 'Kime Ez?' ('Who Are We?') that will be used by many influential Kurdish singers including the revolutionary performer and composer of traditional Kurdish music, Sivan Perwer.

1974:
The United States provides financial support to the KDP in an attempt to weaken the Iraqi government. After some limited autonomy is gained by the Kurds in Iraq, the KDP 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 the Iraqi Ba'ath Regime.

1975:
Discontent with the KDP 's tribal hierarchy, Jalal Talabani - a former member of the KDP - establishes the second largest Kurdish party in Southern Kurdistan, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Saddam Hussein and the Ba'athist regime begin a systematic Arabization campaign under which they expell hundreds of thousands of Kurdish inhabitants of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and its environs and replace them with Arabs.

1978:
Kurdish nationalist, Abdullah Ocalan, establishes the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and demands autonomy for Kurds in Turkey. The party is immediately outlawed.

1979:
Mustafa Barzani dies.

The Islamic Revolution begins in Iran and Ayatollah Khomeini declares a jihad against members or alleged associates of the Kurdish parties 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.

KDPI renews its armed insurgency in Iran, and Komala begins an armed insurgency in Iran.

1980:
A military coup in Turkey brings about a new wave of arrests against Kurdish activists including Mehdi Zana who is imprisoned for ten years for authoring Kurdish poetry and advocating human rights for Kurds, Ahmet Turk who is a prominent Kurdish politician and activist, and Mehmet Uzun who is a Kurdish novelist and activist in Turkey.

The use of the Kurdish language in public is banned in Turkey.

1982:
Komala joins two other leftist Iranian groups, and the three become the Communist Party of Iran.

Saddam Hussein and the Ba'athist regime arrests and kills up to 8,000 Kurdish people from the Barzani tribes in Iraq.

1983:
KDP and PUK attempt to take advantage of Iraq's preoccupation with the long war with Iran and escalate their insurgency in Iraq against Saddam Hussein.

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

The Iranian government begins expelling Kurdish villagers from the Hewraman region of Kurdistan in an effort to create a military zone to isolate the KDPI rebels.

Tensions rise between the KDPI and the Communist Party of Iran after a KDPI commander is killed and the two sides engage in four years of violence against one another before a peace agreement is reached and the two sides refocus on their struggle against the Iranian regime.

1986:
Saddam Hussein and Iraq's Ba'athist regime launch a genocidal campaign called al-Anfal (The Spoils of War) against the Kurdish civilian population in Iraq. The campaign involves massive displacements and deportations, mass graves, chemical bombings and later concludes by claiming the lives of up to 182,000 Kurdish people and the destruction of over 4000 towns and villages.

1988:
The Kurdish genocide in Iraq reaches its peak as the Ba'athist regime increases its attack on the Kurdish population using chemical weapons. The regime increasingly uses chemical weapons in many towns and villages including the most well-known attack in the Kurdish town of Halabja in which 5000 civilians are killed instantly.

1989:
Dr. Abdulrahman Qassimlou, leader of Kurdistan Democratic Part of Iran (KDPI), meets with Iranian officials in an attempt to finalize the KDPI movements for the rights of Kurds in Iran, but he is assassinated. The Islamic Republic of Iran denies allegations of their involvement in the assassination.

1991:
As a result Saddam's ongoing targeting of the Kurds, a refugee crisis unfolds in which hundreds of thousands of Kurds are forced to flee to the mountains along the Turkish-Iraq border. In response - at the end of the Persian Gulf War - the U.S. and the United Kingdom, establish a "no-fly zone" over part of Kurdistan in Iraq to protect the population from Saddam's warplanes.

The KDP, under the leadersip of Massoud Barzani, and the PUK, under Jalal Talabani, take control of most of three Kurdish-inhabited provinces in Iraq.

Saddam Hussein begins another Arabization campaign of systematically expelling hundreds of thousands of Kurds and other ethnic minorities from Kirkuk and other towns and villages around the oil-rich region not under KDP or PUK control and replaces the families with Arab residents. The campaign continues until 2003.

A Kurdish politician for a legal pro-Kurdish party, People's Labor Party (HEP), is assassinated in Malatya. The assassination is blaimed on Turkish intelligence forces. The assassinations increases support among Kurds for militancy.

The Turkish president, Turgut Ozal - who previously announces that he is part Kurdish - lifts the ban on the public use of the Kurdish language and also expresses willingness for a political solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey. Ozal dies of a heartattack less than three years later and his wife alleges an assassination was carried out.

1992:
Turkey continues large-scale operations against the PKK, which include moving over 30,000 troops into Iraqi territory. The KDP briefly attempts to root out the PKK from within Iraq but fails.

The successor to Dr. Qassimlou of the KDPI, Dr. Sadegh Sharafkandi, is assassinated while holding a meeting in Germany. The Islamic Republic of Iran is convicted in a German court for the assassination.

Turkish intelligence forces assassinate Musa Anter, a prominent Kurdish writer and poet who had been arrested for his Kurdish activism on more than 50 occasions, in Diyarbakir sparking massive protests by Kurds in the region and increasing support for militancy. The European Court of Human Rights finds Turkey guilty of the murder.

1993:
The People's Labor Party (HEP), is closed in Turkey by a constitutional court becoming the first of many legal pro-Kurdish parties to be closed by Turkish courts. In the next decade, the list of successors to HEP that are also closed are Democracy and Equality Party (DEP), the Freedom and Democracy Party (OZDEP), the People's Democracy Party (HADEP), and the Democratic People's Party (DEHAP).

1994:
The KDP and the PUK begin fighting one another after disputes erupt over the control of Kurdistan in Iraq.

1996:
KDPI officially announces an end to its armed struggle against Iran citing the lack of progress regarding Kurdish rights in Iran. Komala reemerges a few years earlier and rebels from both groups take refuge in Kurdistan in Iraq.

The KDP and PUK reach a peace agreement and end their civil war in Kurdistan in Iraq.

The PKK insurgency reaches its peak and the Turkish military destroys thousands of Kurdish villages in an attempt to weaken the PKK's support. Approximately 2-3 million Kurds are displaced and forced to migrate to cities with no government compensation.

1998:
PKK is declared a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.

1999:
Abdullah Ocalan is captured in Kenya by Turkish intelligence agents, and he is imprisoned as the sole prisoner on Imrali Island in Turkey and is sentenced to death. Ocalan sends a message to the PKK to stop all violence.

2002:
The death penalty is abolished in Turkey as part of reform to be compliant with the EU and Abdullah Ocalan's prison sentence is reduced to a life in prison.

2003:
The United States begins Operation Iraqi Freedom and with the help of the KDP 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.

An extremist Kurdish nationalist group, Kurdistan Freedom Falcolns (TAK), emerges and begins bombing tourist targets in Turkey. The group is condemned by Kurdish intellectuals and the PKK. Turkey accuses the PKK of having ties with the group.

PJAK - a sister organization of the PKK - begins a Kurdish armed insurgency against Iran.

2005:
Kurds participate in the new government of Iraq and the KDP 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.

Jalal Talabani, leader of the PUK, becomes the first democratically elected and Kurdish president of Iraq. Massoud Barzani, leader of the KDP , becomes the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, and Nechirvan Barzani becomes the Prime Minister.

Kurdistan Region President Barzani has a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on an official visit to Washington D.C.; the first of its kind in modern Kurdish history.

Kurds organize peaceful protests that are violently suppressed by Iranian security forces. Security forces kill Kurdish youth leader, Shivan Qaderi, in Mahabad.

Turkish business and trade in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq drastically increases.

2006:
A Kurdish academic and political scientist from Mahabad, Dr. Abbas Vali, founds the independent University of Kurdistan - Hawler in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

2007:
A Kurdish politician from Sulaymaniyah, Dr. Barham Salih, founds the American University of Sulaimani in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

2008:
Ongoing bombardments by Iran and Turkey against the border region inside the Kurdistan Region of Iraq intensify and destroy tens of villages. The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq demand an end to the bombings and request that Turkey solve the Kurdish issue through dialogue with Turkey's Kurds.

The Turkish government begins an investigation against Ergenekon - an alleged clandestine, ultra-nationalist organization in Turkey with ties to members of the country's military and security forces - and arrests hundreds of people. Ergenekon is believed to be involved in coup plots in Turkey and also in the killings and disappearances of Kurds among other things.

2009:
The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq holds its second elections. Massoud Barzani is reelected president, Barham Salih is elected Prime Minister, and the KDP -PUK coalition resumes governing the region. Oppositional groups such as Change List (Gorran) and the Reforms List get a considerable number of seats in Kurdistan's Parliament and show a rising discontent in regions formerly dominated by the PUK.

The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) does considerably well in the local elections in Turkey.

The leader of the party and a longtime Kurdish activist and politician, Ahmet Turk, is one of many oppositional leaders in Turkey who meets with U.S. President Barack Obama during a visit to Turkey.

Turkey's ruling party - Justice and Development Party (AKP) - opens the first 24-hour Kurdish television channel in Turkey. The AKP launches the "Kurdish Opening" to solve the Kurdish question in Turkey, but later renames it to "Democratic Initiative". Turkey offers amnesty to Kurdish rebels and refugees in Iraq but further amnesty plans are scrapped after opposing pressure from nationalist Turks.

The DTP is shut down by a Turkish court after the court rules that the party has ties to the PKK and several of the party's members are banned from politics. DTP denies such ties. The party regroups as the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

The Iranian regime begins a campaign of arrests and executions against the Kurdish population in Iran. Meanwhile, non-Kurdish parts of Iran remain restless after protests against alleged election fraud are met with violence by Iranian security forces.

2010:
The Iranian government executes six Kurdish activists with no fair trial in a six-month period - including a popular Kurdish teacher, Farzad Kamangar - and the Kurdistan region in Iran begins massive strikes in protest.

The PKK declares its seventh ceasefire in history and media reports surface about dialogue between elements of the Turkish State and the imprisoned PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan.

Over a thousand Kurdish members of the banned DTP are arrested.

Iraqi elections take place and Jalal Talabani is renamed president of Iraq after several months of negotiations between parties in Iraq.

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

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